The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.

The dharma is not outside of you. Looking for it elsewhere is like placing a Buddha on your head while searching for him everywhere else.

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

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

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

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.

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

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

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

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

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

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

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

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

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

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

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

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

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

When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

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

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

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

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 movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

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

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

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

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.

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

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

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

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

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.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

Study the Buddha's teaching which is present in every moment.

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