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

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

Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.

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

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

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

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

When you recognize that pain and suffering are impermanent, you become free.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Few among men are they who cross to the further shore. The others merely run up and down the bank on this side.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

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

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

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

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.

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

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

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

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

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

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

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

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

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

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

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

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

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

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

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

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

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

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

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.

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

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

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

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

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.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

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

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.