We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.

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

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

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

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

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

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

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

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

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

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

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

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

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

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

When the mind is ready to understand, the truth will come to meet it.

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.

The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

When I run from suffering, it follows me. When I face suffering with equanimity, it runs from me.

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

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

Peace and negativity cannot coexist just as light and darkness cannot coexist.

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

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

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

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a new state of mind, but to recognize what is already present.

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

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

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

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

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.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

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

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

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.