The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

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

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

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

The root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

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

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

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

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

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

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

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

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

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

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

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

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

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

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

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

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

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.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 sign of wisdom is constant joy.

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

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.

When concentration is developed, wisdom arises. When wisdom arises, one becomes disenchanted with the five aggregates.

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

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

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

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

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

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

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

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.

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

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

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

Birth and death are neither two things nor one thing. Life is not an appearance, death is not a disappearance.

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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.

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

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

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