The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

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

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

To live is enough.

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

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

In the beginning, nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

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.

Appearances are mind, mind itself is emptiness, emptiness itself is spontaneous presence.

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

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

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

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

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

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.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

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

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

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

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

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

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

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

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

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

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

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.