Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change.

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

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

Everybody has the light of Buddha within, but they don't look for it.

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

When you recognize that pain and suffering are impermanent, you become free.

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

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

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

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

The menu is not the meal.

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

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

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

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

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

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 secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.

Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

True happiness is born of letting go of what is unnecessary.

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

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

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

When we know the truth, we become people who don't have to think much, we become people with wisdom.

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.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

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

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

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity.

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

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

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

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

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

Few among men are they who cross to the further shore. The others merely run up and down the bank on this side.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

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

Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.

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.

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

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

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

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

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

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

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

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

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