A raft needed to cross the river is discarded when the other shore is reached, not carried about on one's head.

Long is the night for the sleepless. Long is the road for the weary. Long is samsara (the cycle of continued rebirth) for the foolish, who have not recognised the true teaching.

You have to do your own work; Enlightened Ones will only show the way. Those who practise meditation will free themselves from the chains of death

Those who walk in the Way should avoid sensualism as those who carry hay would avoid coming near the fire.

All rising to great places is by a winding stair.

The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There's only one moment for you to live, and that is the present moment

Therefore, be islands unto yourselves. Be your own refuge. Have recourse to none else for refuge. Hold fast to the Dharma as a refuge. Resort to no other refuge. Whosoever, either now or after I am gone, shall be islands unto themselves, shall seek no eternal refuge, it is they, among my disciples who shall reach the very topmost height! But they must be keen to progress.