To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

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

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 essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

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

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

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

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

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

To see nothing is to perceive the Way, and to understand nothing is to know the Dharma.

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

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

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.

Just to be alive is enough.

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

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

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.

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.

Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change. Being is always becoming.

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

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.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

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

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

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

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

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

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

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

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

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

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 Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

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

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

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

When one sees with wisdom that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, one is liberated from suffering.

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

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.

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

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

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

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

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.

Just as the wise do not take a mirage to be water, nor an echo to be a voice, so the enlightened do not take the world to be real.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

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

The menu is not the meal.

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