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

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

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

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

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

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.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

The key to transformation is not to fight with our experience but to open to it with awareness.

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

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

Forgiveness is not a moral issue. It's a power issue. When we hold onto grievance and resentment, we are giving our power away.

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

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

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

The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

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.

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

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

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

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

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

Freedom is not found in the absence of difficulty, but in our relationship to it.

Be happy at the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

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

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

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

A pure mind is always full of love - real love for all others.

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

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

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

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

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world.

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

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

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.

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

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.

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

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

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

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

The five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.