Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

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

Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we cannot make the wisest choices in our lives.

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

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

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

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

The best way to solve a problem is to help someone else solve their problem.

Peace and negativity cannot coexist just as light and darkness cannot coexist.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

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

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

If it isn't good, let it die. If it doesn't die, make it good.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

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

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

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.

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

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

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

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

The more precisely you note, the more clearly you understand. The more clearly you understand, the stronger your insight becomes.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

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

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

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

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

The Noble Eightfold Path is a path of training: training in ethical conduct, training in mental discipline, and training in wisdom.

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

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

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

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

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

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

The root of suffering is attachment.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

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.

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.

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

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

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.

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

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

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.

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

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

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

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