Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

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.

The development of wisdom does not occur in isolation but requires the cultivation of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.

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

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.

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

When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

The deepest form of happiness comes from discovering the natural peace of our own awareness.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

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

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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.

The practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive in the present moment.

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

Our own life has to be our message.

When mindfulness and concentration are strong, insight into the three characteristics naturally unfolds.

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

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

To live is enough.

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

Mindfulness is being aware of what's going on, not trying to control what's going on.

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

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

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

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

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

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

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.

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

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

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

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

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.

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

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.

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

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

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery.