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

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

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

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

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

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.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.

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

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

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

The root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

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

Mindfulness is not just bare attention but wise attention that leads to understanding and insight.

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

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.

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

The Noble Eightfold Path is a path of training: training in ethical conduct, training in mental discipline, and training in wisdom.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

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

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

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

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.

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

The only way to experience truth is to look within, to observe oneself.

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

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

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

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

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

A pure mind is always full of love - real love for all others.

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

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

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

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

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

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

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

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

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

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

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.