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

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

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

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

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

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

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

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

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

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

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

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

The menu is not the meal.

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

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

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

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

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

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.

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.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

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

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

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

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

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

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

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 fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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