The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

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.

True happiness is born of letting go of what is unnecessary.

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

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

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

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

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

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

The nature of everything is empty and clear, and the mind is beyond both existence and nonexistence.

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

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.

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

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.

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

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

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

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.

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.

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

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

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

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

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

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

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

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

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 nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

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

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

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

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

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

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

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

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

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

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

The Four Noble Truths are not merely theoretical propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our experience.

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

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

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

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