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

Life is nothing but a continuous chain of sensations. Pleasant or unpleasant, observe them objectively.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

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

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

To be attached to a thing means that mind and the thing meet and grow into each other.

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

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

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

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

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

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.

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

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

The only thing that we truly have control over is our attitude toward experience.

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

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.

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

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

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

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

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

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

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.

The best way to solve a problem is to help someone else solve their problem.

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

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

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.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

The nature of mind is clearer than the sky, yet we keep looking elsewhere.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

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

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

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

The trouble is, you think you have time.

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

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

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

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.

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

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

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

Just to be alive is enough.

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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