BODHIDHARMA

1
“The fools of this world prefer to look for sages far away. They don't believe that the wisdom of their own mind is the sage . . . the sutras say, "Mind is the teaching." But people of no understanding don't believe in their own mind or that by understanding this teaching they can become a sage. They prefer to look for distant knowledge and long for things in space, Buddha images, light, incense, and colors. They fall prey to falsehood and lose their minds to insanity.”

2
“To find Buddha, you have to see your nature. Whoever sees his nature is a Buddha. If you don't see your nature, invoking Buddhas, reciting sutras, making offerings, and keeping precepts are all useless. Invoking Buddhas results in good karma, reciting sutras results in a good memory, keeping precepts results in good rebirth, and making offerings results in future blessings-but no Buddha.”

3
“If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you'll understand both.”

4
“Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom.”

5
“The Buddha is your real body, your original mind.”

“If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it's the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past.”

“Not thinking about anything is zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is zen. To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha.... Using the mind to reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation.”

“Buddha means awareness, the awareness of body and mind that prevents evil from arising in either.”

“As mortals, we're ruled by conditions, not by ourselves.”

“To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings.”

“The mind is always present. You just don't see it.”

“The essence of the Way is detachment.”

“Still others commit all sorts of evil deeds, claiming karma doesn't exist. They erroneously maintain that since everything is empty, committing evil isn't wrong. Such persons fall into a hell of endless darkness with no hope of release. Those who are wise hold no such conception.”

“Many roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice.”

“Buddhas don't practice nonsense.”

“Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher's help.”

“Those who remain unmoved by the wind of joy silently follow the Path.”

“Regardless of what we do, our karma has no hold on us.”

“And as long as you're subject to birth and death, you'll never attain enlightenment.”

"Buddhas move freely through birth and death, appearing and disappearing at will."