Just to be alive is enough.

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

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

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

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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

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

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

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

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

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

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

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

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

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

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

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

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

The difference between being caught in thoughts and being mindful of thoughts is like the difference between being in a movie and watching a movie.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

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.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

Every moment is a fresh beginning. Every breath is a new chance.

The Buddha's teachings are not a religion, but a science of mind.

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

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

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

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

A pure mind is always full of love - real love for all others.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

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

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

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

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

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

When I run from suffering, it follows me. When I face suffering with equanimity, it runs from me.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay.