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

The five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

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

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

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

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.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

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

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

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

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

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

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

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.

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

The mind is the source of all happiness and the source of all suffering.

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

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

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

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.

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

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

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

Life is like a cup of tea. It's all in how you make it.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.

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

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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.

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

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

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

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

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

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

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

The Buddha's teaching challenges us to master the art of living, to live in a way that leads to the extinction of suffering.

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

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

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

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.