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 person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

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

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

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

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

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

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

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

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

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

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

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

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

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

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

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

The obstacle is the path.

Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

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

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

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 creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

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

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.

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

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

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

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

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

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

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

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

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

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

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

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.