When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

The key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

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

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

Though the view should be as vast as the sky, keep your conduct as fine as barley flour.

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

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through cultivation of altruism, of love, of compassion.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

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

Every sensation shares the same characteristic - arising, passing. Arising, passing. Learn to observe objectively.

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what's happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening.

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

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

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

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

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

The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.

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

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

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

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.