The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

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

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

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

The root of suffering is attachment.

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

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.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

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

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

Every thought, every word, and every action leaves an imprint on our mind.

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

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

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

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

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

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

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

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

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

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

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

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.

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

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

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

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

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

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

Study the Buddha's teaching which is present in every moment.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

Through violence, you may solve one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.

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

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.

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

When I run from suffering, it follows me. When I face suffering with equanimity, it runs from me.

The world is its own magic.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

When you generate negativity, you are the first victim of your negativity.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

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

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

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

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

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.