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

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

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

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

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

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

Freedom is not found in the absence of difficulty, but in our relationship to it.

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

Many people think excitement is happiness... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.

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

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

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

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

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

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

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

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

Our own life has to be our message.

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

Mindfulness is attention to life, and life itself is sacred.

Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

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

To what shall I compare this life? It is like a boat that left at dawn, leaving no trace.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

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

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

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

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

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

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

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

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

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

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

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.

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.

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

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

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

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.

Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay.

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.