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

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

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

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

Compassion is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

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

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

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

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

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

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

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.

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

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

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

Our own life has to be our message.

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

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

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.

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.

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible. For whom emptiness is not possible, nothing is possible.

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

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

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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

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

The past is gone, the future is not yet here. Live in the present moment with awareness.

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.

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

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

The everyday practice is simply to develop complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

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

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

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

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

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

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

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

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.

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

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.