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

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

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

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

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

When we know the truth, we become people who don't have to think much, we become people with wisdom.

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

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

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

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

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

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

The difference between being caught in thoughts and being mindful of thoughts is like the difference between being in a movie and watching a movie.

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

When you love someone, you have to have trust and confidence. Love without trust is not yet love.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

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

Every moment is a fresh beginning. Every breath is a new chance.

The more you give, the more you have. That's the economics of kindness.

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

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

To live is enough.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

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

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

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

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

Suffering is not the end of the story; it is the middle of the story.

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

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.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

The key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

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

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

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

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.

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

The menu is not the meal.

If I had any position, I would thereby have a flaw. But since I have no position, I alone am without flaw.

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

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

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

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

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

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.

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

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.