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

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

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

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

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.

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

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

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

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

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

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

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

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

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

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.

The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

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

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

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

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

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

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

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

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

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

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

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

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

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

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

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

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

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

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

The more we understand our mind, the more we understand the world.

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

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

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

The mind is the source of all happiness and the source of all suffering.