Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

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 spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

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

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

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 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.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

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

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

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

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

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

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.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.

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.

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

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

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

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

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.

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

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

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 present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.