True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

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

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

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.

The dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither excess nor deficiency. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

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

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

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.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

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

When one sees with wisdom that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, one is liberated from suffering.

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

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.

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

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

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

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

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

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

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

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

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

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

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

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

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.

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

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

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

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

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

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

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

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

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

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

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

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.

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