The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

The mind is the source of all happiness and the source of all suffering.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

The menu is not the meal.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city of gandharvas, that's how birth, and that's how living, that's how dying are taught to be.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

Just to be alive is enough.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible. For whom emptiness is not possible, nothing is possible.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

Appearances are mind, mind itself is emptiness, emptiness itself is spontaneous presence.

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

In the beginning, nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes.

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.