The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

Our own life has to be our message.

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.

Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

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.

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

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

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

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

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

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

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

In the beginning, nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes.

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

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

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

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.

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

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

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

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

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.

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

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

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

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

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.

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

My religion is to live and die without regret.

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

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

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

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

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

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

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

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

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

To live is enough.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

If I had any position, I would thereby have a flaw. But since I have no position, I alone am without flaw.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

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

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

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