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

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible. For whom emptiness is not possible, nothing is possible.

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

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

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

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

The best way to solve a problem is to help someone else solve their problem.

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

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

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

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

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

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

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

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

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

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

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

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

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

Be happy at the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

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

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.

True happiness is born of letting go of what is unnecessary.

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

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

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

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

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

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

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.

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

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

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

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

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

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.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

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

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

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

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

The everyday practice is simply to develop complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions.