Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

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

Life is like a cup of tea. It's all in how you make it.

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

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

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

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

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

The Buddha's teaching challenges us to master the art of living, to live in a way that leads to the extinction of suffering.

Suffering is not the end of the story; it is the middle of the story.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

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

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

The Buddha and all sentient beings are nothing but expressions of the one mind. There is nothing else.

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

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.

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

The eye with which I see Buddha is the same eye with which Buddha sees me.

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

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

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

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

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

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

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.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

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

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

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

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

Life is available only in the present moment.