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

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

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

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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.

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

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

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

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

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

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

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

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

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

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

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

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

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

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

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Though the view should be as vast as the sky, keep your conduct as fine as barley flour.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

Mindfulness is being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different.

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

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

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

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery.

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

The only way to experience truth is to look within, to observe oneself.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

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.

If you want to find peace, then look at that point where you find you're dissatisfied and investigate what's really going on.

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

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

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