Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

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

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

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.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

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

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

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

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

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention.

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

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

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

If it isn't good, let it die. If it doesn't die, make it good.

Our defilements are like tame tigers. If you feed them, they're tame. If you stop feeding them, they'll eat you up.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

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

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

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

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

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

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

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

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

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

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

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.

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.

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

The more precisely you note, the more clearly you understand. The more clearly you understand, the stronger your insight becomes.

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

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

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

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

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.

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

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

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

The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

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

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.

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

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

The true path is not difficult; just avoid picking and choosing.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.