The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

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

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

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

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

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

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

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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

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

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

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

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.

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

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 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 farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

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

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

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

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

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

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

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.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

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

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.

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

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

To live is enough.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

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

The Buddha's teachings are not a religion, but a science of mind.

True happiness is born of letting go of what is unnecessary.

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.

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

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

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

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?

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

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

For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible. For whom emptiness is not possible, nothing is possible.

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

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

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

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

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