Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.

The Buddha's teachings are not a religion, but a science of mind.

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

The menu is not the meal.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

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

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.

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.

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

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 deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

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.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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

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

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change.

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.

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

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

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

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

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

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

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.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

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

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

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

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

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

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

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

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

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

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

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

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

The root of suffering is attachment.

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

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

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

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

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

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

When you realize the emptiness of all phenomena, compassion will arise in your heart for all sentient beings who do not understand this truth.

The nature of all things is like a magical illusion, a mirage, a dream, a reflection of the moon in water.