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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

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

To live is enough.

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

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

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

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

Forgiveness is not a moral issue. It's a power issue. When we hold onto grievance and resentment, we are giving our power away.

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

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

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

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

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.

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

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

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

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

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

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

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

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

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

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

The practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive in the present moment.

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

We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things.

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

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

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

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

The practice is like peeling an onion. Layer after layer of delusion is removed through continuous mindfulness.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

Meditation is not an escape from reality but a way to understand reality as it truly is.

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.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

The goal of the Buddhist path is not to add something to our existence but to discover something that has been there all along.

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

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

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

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.

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

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

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.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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 key to transformation is not to fight with our experience but to open to it with awareness.

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.