Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.

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

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

Faith is the firm foundation, diligence the supporting pillar, and wisdom the roof of the house of practice.

The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

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

When you love someone, you have to have trust and confidence. Love without trust is not yet love.

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

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.

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

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

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

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

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

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

The grass is greener where you water it.

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

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

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

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

The movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.

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.

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

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

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

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

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

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

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 development of wisdom does not occur in isolation but requires the cultivation of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

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

Be happy at the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

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 mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

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

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.

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

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

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