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

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

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

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

The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

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

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

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

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

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 three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

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

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

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

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

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

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

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

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

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

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

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

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.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

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?

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.

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

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.

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

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

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

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

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

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

Change is the nature of every phenomenon. Accept this truth and you will live a happy life.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

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

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

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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

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

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

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.