We say that to 'give up all evil and to develop the good' is the heart of the Buddha's teaching. If we only make merit but have not stopped doing bad things, then we will never have a day of completion. It is like an overturned bowl which is left outside in the rain. Even if the water is falling right on it, it only touches the outside and not the inside. In this way the bowl will never get full.

When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing.

We don't meditate to see heaven, but to end suffering.

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: You won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

To define Buddhism without a lot of words and phrases, we can simply say, 'Don't cling or hold on to anything. Harmonize with actuality, with things as they are.'

Happiness and suffering do not depend on being poor or rich, they depend on having the right or wrong understanding in our mind.

Wisdom is in yourself, just like a sweet ripe mango is already in a young green one.