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

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.

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

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

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

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

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

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

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

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

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

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

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

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

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

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.

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

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

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

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.

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

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

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of liberation.

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.

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

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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

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

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

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

Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, just as ice and water are of the same substance.

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

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.

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

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

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

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

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

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

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

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.

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.

The root of suffering is attachment.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

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

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.