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

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

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

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.

The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

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

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

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

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

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

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

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

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

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

The past is gone, the future is not yet here. Live in the present moment with awareness.

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

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

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

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

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.

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.

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

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

When things fall apart and we're on the verge of we know not what, the test of each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

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

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

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

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.

Mindfulness is being aware of what's going on, not trying to control what's going on.

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

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

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.