The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

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

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

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.

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

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

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

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

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

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.

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.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

The essence of all phenomena is empty and clear like space. The nature of mind is awareness-emptiness like the sun and sky.

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

The path to liberation is through understanding the true nature of mind and matter through direct observation.

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

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

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

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

The more we understand our mind, the more we understand the world.

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

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

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

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

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.

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

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.

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

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

Few among men are they who cross to the further shore. The others merely run up and down the bank on this side.

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

When concentration is developed, wisdom arises. When wisdom arises, one becomes disenchanted with the five aggregates.