If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

My religion is to live and die without regret.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

The essence of all phenomena is empty and clear like space. The nature of mind is awareness-emptiness like the sun and sky.

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

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

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

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

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

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

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

Appearances are mind, mind itself is emptiness, emptiness itself is spontaneous presence.

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.

Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city of gandharvas, that's how birth, and that's how living, that's how dying are taught to be.

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

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

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

As a flower that is lovely and beautiful, but is scentless, even so fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who does not practice it.

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

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.

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.