The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

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

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

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

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

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

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

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

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

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

Just as the wise do not take a mirage to be water, nor an echo to be a voice, so the enlightened do not take the world to be real.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

The nature of everything is empty and clear, and the mind is beyond both existence and nonexistence.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

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

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

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

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

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

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

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

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

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

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

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.

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

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

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

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

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

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

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

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

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of liberation.

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

The path to liberation is through understanding the true nature of mind and matter through direct observation.

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

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

The deepest form of happiness comes from discovering the natural peace of our own awareness.

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.

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

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

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

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.

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

The ultimate revolution is the spiritual revolution, where we learn to see reality as it truly is.

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