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

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

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.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

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

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 requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

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

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

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.

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

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra. My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri. I belong to the caste of non-duality of these two.

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

When one sees with wisdom that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, one is liberated from suffering.

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

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

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

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

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

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

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

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

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

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.

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

The eye with which I see Buddha is the same eye with which Buddha sees me.

The five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

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

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

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

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

In the beginning, nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes.

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.

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

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

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

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

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

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.

The deepest form of happiness comes from discovering the natural peace of our own awareness.

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

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

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

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

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

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.