Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

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

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

Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.

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

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

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

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

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.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

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

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

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

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

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.

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

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

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

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

Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.

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

Just as the wise do not take a mirage to be water, nor an echo to be a voice, so the enlightened do not take the world to be real.

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.

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.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

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

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.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

The Buddha and all sentient beings are nothing but expressions of the one mind. There is nothing else.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

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

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

The deepest form of happiness comes from discovering the natural peace of our own awareness.

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

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

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

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

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

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

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

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

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.