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

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

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

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

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

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

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

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.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

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

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

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

When we know the truth, we become people who don't have to think much, we become people with wisdom.

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

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

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.

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

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

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.

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

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

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

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

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

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

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

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

The root of suffering is attachment.

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.

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.