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

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

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

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

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

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

The root of suffering is attachment.

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

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

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

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

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

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

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.

Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

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

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

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

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

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

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

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

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

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.

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

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

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

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

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