The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

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

The goal of the Buddhist path is not to add something to our existence but to discover something that has been there all along.

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

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

The root of suffering is attachment.

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

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

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

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

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

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

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.

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

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

The essence of all phenomena is empty and clear like space. The nature of mind is awareness-emptiness like the sun and sky.

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

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

To live is enough.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

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

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.

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

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

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

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

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.

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

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

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

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

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

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

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

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

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