True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

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

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.

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

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

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

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

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

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

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

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

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

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

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.

Mindfulness is not just bare attention but wise attention that leads to understanding and insight.

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

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

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

When mindfulness and concentration are strong, insight into the three characteristics naturally unfolds.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

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

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

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

Change is the nature of every phenomenon. Accept this truth and you will live a happy life.

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

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

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

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.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

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

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

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

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

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.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

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

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.

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

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

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

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

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

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

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