Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.

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

The true path is not difficult; just avoid picking and choosing.

As surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

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

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

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

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

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

Silence is sometimes the best answer.

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

Where is the place that your original face has not yet emerged?

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

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

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

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

The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

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

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

The world is its own magic.

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

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.

Just as the wise do not take a mirage to be water, nor an echo to be a voice, so the enlightened do not take the world to be real.

Panic is a gateway to wisdom. When we learn to stay present with our panic, it becomes our teacher.

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

In meditation, we are continuously discovering who and what we are.

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