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 greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

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

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

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

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 path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

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

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

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

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

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

The ultimate revolution is the spiritual revolution, where we learn to see reality as it truly is.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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.

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

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

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

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

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 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.

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

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

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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 secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

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

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

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

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

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.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

If I had any position, I would thereby have a flaw. But since I have no position, I alone am without flaw.