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

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

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

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

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

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

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

Peace and negativity cannot coexist just as light and darkness cannot coexist.

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

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

The measure of success in spiritual life is how peaceful you are.

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

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

Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change. Being is always becoming.

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.

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

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.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.

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 Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

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

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

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

The root of suffering is attachment.

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

The world is its own magic.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

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

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

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a better past.

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

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

Panic is a gateway to wisdom. When we learn to stay present with our panic, it becomes our teacher.

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

My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra. My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri. I belong to the caste of non-duality of these two.

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

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

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

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

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

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.