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

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

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

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

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

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

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

The Four Noble Truths are not merely theoretical propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our experience.

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

The world is its own magic.

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

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.

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

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

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

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

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

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what's happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening.

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

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

The highest mantra is to be without deception. The highest medicine is to have few desires. The highest meditation is not to be attached.

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

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

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

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

The more we understand the nature of our mind, the more we understand the nature of our world.

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

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

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.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

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

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

Better to have one moment of genuine meditation than to perform religious activities for a thousand years.

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

Our own life has to be our message.

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

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

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

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

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

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