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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

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

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

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

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

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

The goal of the Buddhist path is not to add something to our existence but to discover something that has been there all along.

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

When concentration is developed, wisdom arises. When wisdom arises, one becomes disenchanted with the five aggregates.

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.

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.

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

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

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

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

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

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

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The menu is not the meal.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

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

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

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

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

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

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

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

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

The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.

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

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

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

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

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

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

Everybody has the light of Buddha within, but they don't look for it.

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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

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

The world is its own magic.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

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

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

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

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

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