Some Collected Sayings of My Master

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
To understand everything is to forgive everything.
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

A jug fills drop by drop.

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering.

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.

There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.

He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.

In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.

As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts.

To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.

Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.

Look within, thou art the Buddha.

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.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.

You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy.

Until he has unconditional and unbiased love for all beings, man will not find peace.

A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another, the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden.

Always be mindful of the kindness and not the faults of others.

Life is so very difficult. How can we be anything but kind.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

A noble person is mindful and thankful for the favors he receives from others.

He is able who thinks he is able.

Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.

Master your words. Master your thoughts. Never allow your body to do harm. Follow these three roads with purity and you will find yourself upon the one way, the way of wisdom.

Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.

If you light a lamp for someone else it will also brighten your path.

You only lose what you cling to.

There is no fire like passion / No crime like hatred, / No sorrow like separation, / No

sickness like hunger, / And no joy like the joy of freedom.
You are the source / Of all purity and impurity. / No one purifies another.
It is better to do nothing / Than to do what is wrong. / For whatever you do, you do to yourself.
To share happiness / And to have done something good / Before leaving this life is sweet.
The fragrance of sandalwood and rosebay / Does not travel far. / But the fragrance of virtue / Rises to the heavens.
It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property.
The greatest prayer is patience.
The wise have mastered / Body, word and mind. / They are the true masters.
Think: Happy, at rest,/ may all beings be happy at heart. / Whatever beings there may be, / weak or strong, without exception, / long, large, / middling, short, / subtle, blatant, / seen & unseen, / near & far, / born & seeking birth: / May all beings be happy at heart.
A jug fills drop by drop.
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.
To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
On life’s journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.
The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.
Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
It is better to travel well than to arrive.
To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere.
If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
Anan, Anan, be a light unto yourself.
Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.
There is only one time / when it is essential to awaken. / That time is now.
If it is not truthful and not helpful, don’t say it. / If it is truthful and not helpful, don’t say it. / If it is not truthful and helpful, don’t say it. / If it is truthful and helpful, wait for the right time.
Your work is to discover your world / and then with all your heart give yourself to it.
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
In what is seen, there should be just the seen; / In what is heard, there should be just the heard; / In what is sensed, there should be just the sensed; / In what is thought, there should be just the thought.
He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak in the world.
These teachings are like a raft, to be abandoned once you have crossed the flood. Since you should abandon even good states of mind generated by these teachings, How much more so should you abandon bad states of mind!
Conquer the angry man by love. / Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness. / Conquer the miser with generosity. / Conquer the liar with truth.
Let your love flow outward through the universe, / To its height, its depth, its broad extent, / A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, her only son, so one should cultivate an unbounded mind towards all beings, and loving-kindness towards all the world.
Knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.
Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise.