Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

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

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.

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

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

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

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

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

The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

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

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

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

The nature of mind is clearer than the sky, yet we keep looking elsewhere.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

Many people think excitement is happiness... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

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

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

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 more you give, the more you have. That's the economics of kindness.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

Life is like a cup of tea. It's all in how you make it.

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

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

My religion is to live and die without regret.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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

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

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

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

Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know.

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

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

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

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

When you love someone, you have to have trust and confidence. Love without trust is not yet love.