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

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

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

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.

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

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

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

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

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

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

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

If I had any position, I would thereby have a flaw. But since I have no position, I alone am without flaw.

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 contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.

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.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

Life is available only in the present moment.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

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.

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

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

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

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

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

The dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither excess nor deficiency. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

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

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

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

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

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

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

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.

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

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

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

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

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil.

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

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

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

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

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

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

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

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

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

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

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.

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

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.