Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

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

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

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

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

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

The nature of mind is like a mirror. It is not affected by whatever appears in it, yet it never fails to reflect everything perfectly.

To live is enough.

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

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

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

The world is its own magic.

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

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.

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

When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.

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.

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

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

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

The root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

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

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

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

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

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

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

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

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

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

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

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.

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

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

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

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

To see nothing is to perceive the Way, and to understand nothing is to know the Dharma.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

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

Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.

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

The root of suffering is attachment.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

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

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

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.

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

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

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change.