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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

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

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

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

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

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

If you want to find peace, then look at that point where you find you're dissatisfied and investigate what's really going on.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

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

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.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

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

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

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

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

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

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

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

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

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

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

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

The root of suffering is attachment.

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

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

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

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

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

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

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

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

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

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.

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

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

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

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

When we know the truth, we become people who don't have to think much, we become people with wisdom.