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

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

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

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

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

The world is its own magic.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

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.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

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

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

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

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.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

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

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.

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

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

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

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

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

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.

The Four Noble Truths are not merely theoretical propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our experience.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

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

The root of suffering is attachment.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

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

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

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

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

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

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

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

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.

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

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

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

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

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.