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

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

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

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

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.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

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

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

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

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

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

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a new state of mind, but to recognize what is already present.

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

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

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

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

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what's happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

The world is its own magic.

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

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

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

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

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

Every thought, every word, and every action leaves an imprint on our mind.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

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

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

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

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

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

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.

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

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

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

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

When we see the nature of the mind, we see that we are not our thoughts.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

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

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

We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things.

The art of living... is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.