"It is for a sole object, a sole aim, verily a lofty object and a lofty aim that the Buddha appears in this world. Now that sole object, that sole aim, that lofty object, that lofty aim referred to is the "sight" of Buddha-Knowledge."

"To realize that nothing can be seen but to retain the concept of "invisibility" is like the surface of the sun obscured by passing clouds. To realize that nothing is knowable but to retain the concept of "unknowability" may be likened to a clear sky disfigured by a lightning flash. To let these arbitrary concepts rise spontaneously in your mind indicates that you have misidentified the Essence of Mind [cittasya dharmata], and that you have not yet found the skilful means to realize it. If you realize for one moment that these arbitrary concepts are wrong, your own spiritual light will shine forth permanently."

"It was to ordinary men, not to other Buddhas, that Buddha Gautama preached this Sutra."

"The Sutra tells you plainly that there is only the Buddha Vehicle, and that there are no other vehicles, such as the second or the third. It is for the sake of this sole vehicle that Buddha had to preach to us with innumerable skilful devices, using various reasons and arguments, parables and illustrations, etc. ... You should appreciate that you are the sole owner of these valuables and they are entirely subject to your disposal. When you are free from the arbitrary conception that they are the father's, or the son's, or that they are at so and so's disposal, you may be said to have learned the right way to recite the Sutra."

"To start by seeking for Trikaya and the four Prajnas is to take an entirely wrong course (for being inherent in us they are to be realized and not to be sought). To try to "grasp" or "confine" them is to go against their intrinsic nature."

"If I tell you that I have a system of Law [Dharma] to transmit to others, I am cheating you. What I do to my disciples is to liberate them from their own bondage with such devices as the case may need."

"When your mind is enlightened, you will know the Essence of Mind, and then you may tread the Path the right way. Now you are under delusion, and do not know your Essence of Mind. Yet you dare to ask whether I know my Essence of Mind or not. If I do, I realize it myself, but the fact that I know it cannot help you from being under delusion. Similarly, if you know your Essence of Mind, your knowing would be of no use to me. Instead of asking others, why not see it for yourself and know it for yourself?"

"Knowing Buddha means nothing else than knowing sentient beings, for the latter ignore that they are potential Buddhas, whereas a Buddha sees no difference between himself and other beings. When sentient beings realize the Essence of Mind, they are Buddhas. If a Buddha is under delusion in his Essence of Mind, he is then an ordinary being. When your mind is crooked or depraved, you are ordinary beings with Buddha-nature latent in you. On the other hand, when you direct your mind to purity and straightforwardness even for one moment, you are a Buddha. Within our mind there is a Buddha, and that Buddha within is the real Buddha. If Buddha is not to be sought within our mind, where shall we find the real Buddha? Doubt not that Buddha is within your mind, apart from which nothing can exist. Since all things or phenomena are the production of our mind, the Sutra says, "When mental activity begins, things come into being; when mental activity ceases, they too cease to exist.""

"There was once, in a remote part of the East, a man who was altogether void of knowledge and experience, yet presumed to call himself a physician."

"There are some who bear a grudge even to those that do them good."

"Whoever … prefers the service of princes before his duty to his Creator, will be sure, early or late, to repent in vain."

"Guilty consciences always make people cowards."

"What is bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh."

"Men are used as they use others."

"Wise men say that there are three sorts of persons who are wholly deprived of judgment,—they who are ambitious of preferment in the courts of princes; they who make use of poison to show their skill in curing it; and they who entrust women with their secrets."

"There is no gathering of the rose without being pricked by the thorns."

"It has been the providence of Nature to give this creature [the cat] nine lives instead of one."

"We ought to do our neighbor all the good we can. If you do good, good will be done to you; but if you do evil, the same will be measured back to you again."

"[Arvind] Sharma recommends introducing the study of Arthashastra in all schools in all languages. ....Some others suggest that Panchatantra ought to be taught at very young ages as a popular version of strategic thinking. It is interesting that the Arabs took the Panchatantra and translated/adapted it into their children's stories, which reached Europe as Aesop's Fables."

"The influence of the Panchatantra upon the Arabian Nights, however, is beyond question."

"Hindu literature is especially rich in fables; indeed, India is probably responsible for most of the fables that have passed like an international currency across the frontiers of the world. Buddhism flourished best in the days when the Jataka legends of Buddha’s birth and youth were popular among the people. The best-known book in India is the Panchatantra, or “Five Headings” (ca. 500 A.D.); it is the source of many of the fables that have pleased Europe as well as Asia."

"That possession was the strongest tenure of the law."

"Honest men esteem and value nothing so much in this world as a real friend. Such a one is as it were another self, to whom we impart our most secret thoughts, who partakes of our joy, and comforts us in our affliction; add to this, that his company is an everlasting pleasure to us."

"He that plants thorns must never expect to gather roses."

"祖云。不思善不思惡。正與麼時那箇是明上座。本來面目。"

"雲門因僧問。如何是佛。門云。乾屎橛。"

"南泉因趙州問。如何是道。泉云。平常心是道。"

"洞山和尚因僧問。如何是佛。山云。麻三斤。"

"瑞巖彥和尚。每日自喚主人公。復自應諾。乃云。惺惺著喏。他時異日。莫受人瞞。喏喏。"

"月庵和尚問僧。奚仲造車一百輻。拈卻兩頭。去卻軸。明甚麼邊事。"

"佛語心為宗。無門為法門。"

"趙州和尚因僧問。狗子還有佛性。也無。州云。無。"

"東山演師祖曰。釋迦彌勒猶是他奴。且道他是阿誰。"

"芭蕉和尚示眾云。爾有拄杖子。我與爾拄杖子。爾無拄杖子。我奪爾拄杖子。"

"首山和尚。拈竹篦示眾云。汝等諸人若喚作竹篦則觸。不喚作竹篦則背。汝諸人且道。喚作甚麼。"

"達磨面壁。二祖立雪斷臂云。弟子心未安。乞師安心。磨云。將心來。與汝安。祖云。覓心了不可得。磨云。為汝安心竟。"

"五祖曰。譬如水牯牛過窗櫺。頭角四蹄都過了。因甚麼。尾巴過不得。"

"趙州因僧問。如何是祖師西來意。州云。庭前柏樹子。"

"五祖曰。路逢達道人。不將語默對。且道將甚麼對。"

"五祖問僧云。倩女離魂。那箇是真底。"

"南泉云。心不是佛。智不是道。"

"馬祖因僧問。如何是佛。祖曰。非心非佛。"

"如世良馬見鞭影而行。"

"馬祖因大梅問。如何是佛。祖云。即心是佛。"

"不是風動不是幡動仁者心動"

"提起云窮諸玄辨。若一毫致於太虛。竭世樞機。似一滴投於巨壑。"

"南泉和尚因僧問云。還有不與人說底法麼。泉云。有。僧云。如何是不與人說底法。泉云。不是心不是佛不是物。"