Bodhidharma Quotes – Wisdom from a Zen Master

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.

Do not seek for the truth, only cease to cherish opinions.

When you reach the top of the mountain, keep climbing.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

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.

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.

A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune is not steadfast, but foolish.

Purity or impurity depends on oneself, no one can purify another.

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

To find a Buddha, all you have to do is see your nature.

The wise man lets go of all results, whether good or bad, and focuses on the action alone.

Your actions are a reflection of your inner state. If you want to change the world, start by changing yourself.

The world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming it.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, a trusted friend is the best relative, and liberation is the supreme bliss.

The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it’s open.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

When the student is ready, the master appears.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

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

The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.

The mind is a monkey, swinging from thought to thought. Only through discipline can it find stillness.

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.

The mind is like water. When it’s turbulent, it’s difficult to see. When it’s calm, everything becomes clear.

Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax.

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.

The more you know, the less you understand.

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

The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.

The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.

Patience is the key to everything. You cannot rush enlightenment.

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

Your body is not separate from your mind. The two must be in harmony for balance to be achieved.

The true miracle is not walking on water or in the air, but simply walking on this earth.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

Life is short, and we never have enough time for the hearts of those who travel the way with us. O, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.

The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

The mind is a dangerous place. Don’t go there alone.

Don’t be afraid to fall. It’s how we learn to fly.

It is better to travel well than to arrive.

The only way out is through.

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

Failure is not falling down, it is staying down.

The greatest battle is not physical, but mental.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.