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

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

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

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

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

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

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.

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

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

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.

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

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

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

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

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

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

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

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

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

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

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

The five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

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

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

In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city of gandharvas, that's how birth, and that's how living, that's how dying are taught to be.

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.