There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

The root of suffering is attachment.

Meditation is not an escape from reality but a way to understand reality as it truly is.

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

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

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

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.

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

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

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

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

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

Compassion is not mere sentiment but a powerful force that can transform both ourselves and others.

The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

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.

My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra. My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri. I belong to the caste of non-duality of these two.

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

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

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

The menu is not the meal.

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

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

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

When you generate negativity, you are the first victim of your negativity.

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

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.

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

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

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

The goal of the Buddhist path is not to add something to our existence but to discover something that has been there all along.

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.

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

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

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

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

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.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

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.

Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.

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.

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

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