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 past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

When you recognize that pain and suffering are impermanent, you become free.

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

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.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

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

Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.

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

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

Few among men are they who cross to the further shore. The others merely run up and down the bank on this side.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

When you realize the emptiness of all phenomena, compassion will arise in your heart for all sentient beings who do not understand this truth.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

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

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

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

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

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

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

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

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

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

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

The quality of every moment depends on the state of our minds.

The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

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

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

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

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

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