The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

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

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

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 person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

Meditation is like catching a fish. If you try to catch it quickly, you'll miss it. If you have patience and know how to wait, the fish will come.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

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

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

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

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

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

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

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

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

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

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

The highest mantra is to be without deception. The highest medicine is to have few desires. The highest meditation is not to be attached.

The art of living... is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

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

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

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

Mindfulness is attention to life, and life itself is sacred.

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

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

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

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

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

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.

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

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

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.

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

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

To live is enough.

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

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

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