The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

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

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

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

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

The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

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

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.

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

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

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

The menu is not the meal.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

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

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

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

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 practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

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

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.

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

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

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

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 nature of all things is like a magical illusion, a mirage, a dream, a reflection of the moon in water.

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

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

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.

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

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

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

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

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

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

The eye with which I see Buddha is the same eye with which Buddha sees me.

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

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

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

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

My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra. My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri. I belong to the caste of non-duality of these two.

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

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

The quality of every moment depends on the state of our minds.