The nature of all things is like a magical illusion, a mirage, a dream, a reflection of the moon in water.

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.

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

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

The past is gone, the future is not yet here. Live in the present moment with awareness.

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

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

Forgiveness is not a moral issue. It's a power issue. When we hold onto grievance and resentment, we are giving our power away.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

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

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.

The grass is greener where you water it.

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.

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

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

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

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.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

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.

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

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

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

To be attached to a thing means that mind and the thing meet and grow into each other.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

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

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

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.

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

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

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

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

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

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

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

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

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

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

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