The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.

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

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

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

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

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

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

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

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

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

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

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

The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

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

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

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

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 world is its own magic.

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

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

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

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

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

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

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

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

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

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

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

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 farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

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.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

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

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

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 secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

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.

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

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

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.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

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

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

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

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

Birth and death are neither two things nor one thing. Life is not an appearance, death is not a disappearance.