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

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

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

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

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

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.

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

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

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 dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

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

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

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

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

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

The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech.

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

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

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.

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

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

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

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

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

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

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

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 root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.

Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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

Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, just as ice and water are of the same substance.

My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra. My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri. I belong to the caste of non-duality of these two.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

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

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

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

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

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

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

The nature of mind is like a mirror. It is not affected by whatever appears in it, yet it never fails to reflect everything perfectly.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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