“When we see beyond self, we no longer cling to happiness. And when we stop clinging, we can begin to be happy.”

When we gain some understanding we need to chew on it again so that we see it for ourselves with certainty: paccattam.

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

Steady practice is keeping mindful in every posture, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down.

To give up doing evil is more important than making merit.

The ladle is in the soup pot every day, but it doesn’t know the taste of the soup. You must reflect and meditate.

These days people don’t search for the Truth. People study simply in order to find knowledge necessary to make a living.

Isn’t it wonderful how the sky can take that dirty water and change it into pure, clean water? Your mind can do the same with your defilements if you let it.

People go through life blindly, ignoring death like revellers at a party feasting on fine foods. They ignore that later they will have to go to the toilet, so they do not bother to find out where there is one.

If you let go completely you will have complete peace.

No. It’s simply a thorn. It doesn’t give suffering to anybody. If we step on it, we suffer immediately.

Letting go a little brings a little peace. Letting go a lot brings a lot of peace. Letting go completely brings complete peace.

If it isn’t good, let it die. If it doesn’t die, make it good.

If you let go a lot you will have a lot of happiness. If you let go completely you will be free.

Whatever he taught, we should practise it. Only bowing to him is not enough. We need to renounce, give up, stop, so that we may see the Buddha.

One day some people came to the master and asked: How can you be happy in a world of such impermanence, where you cannot protect your loved ones from harm, illness or death?

Your only job is to stay in your seat. You will see it all arise and pass, and out of this, wisdom and understanding will come.

All Buddhas preach emptiness. Why? Because they wish to crush the concrete ideas of the students. If a student even clings to an idea of emptiness, he betrays all Buddhas.

He felt warm and familiar. He felt solid and safe. I wanted to cling to his shirt, bury my face into the warm curve of his neck, and never let go.

Refraining from all evil, not clinging to birth and death, working in deep compassion for all sentient beings, respecting those over you and pitying those below you, without any detesting or desiring, worrying or lamentation – this is what is called Buddha. Do not search beyond it.

One clings to life although there is nothing to be called life; another clings to death although there is nothing to be called death. In reality, there is nothing to be born; consequently, there is nothing to perish.

Man is only a moral being because he lives in society, since morality consists in solidarity with the group, and varies according to that solidarity. Cause all social life to vanish, and moral life would vanish at the same time, having no object to cling to.

No man can cause more grief than that one clinging blindly to the vices of his ancestors.

A fellow is more afraid of the trouble he might have than he ever is of the trouble he’s already got. He’ll cling to trouble he’s used to before he’ll risk a change.

As drivers desert the city I find myself clinging more and more to my father’s belief that a man without a car is not really a man.