The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

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

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

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

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.

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

The root of suffering is attachment.

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

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

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.

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

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.

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

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

The world is its own magic.

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

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

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

Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, just as ice and water are of the same substance.

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

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

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

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

When you realize the emptiness of all phenomena, compassion will arise in your heart for all sentient beings who do not understand this truth.

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

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

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

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

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

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

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

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

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

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

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

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

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.

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

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.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

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.

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.

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.

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

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

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

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

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.