修行境：身是菩提樹，心如明鏡臺。 What characterizes a practitioner: The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind a mirror bright. - Master Sheng Yen

世俗境：身如玉樹臨風，心如平湖秋月。 What characterizes an ordinary person: The body is a tree swaying in the wind, the mind a placid lake with the reflection of the autumn moon. - Master Sheng Yen

月缺月圓日，若晦若明時；風雨無月夜，月亮本常明。 While the moon waxes and wanes, it is always there. When all the obstructions are removed, it reveals itself. - Master Sheng Yen

走路健康鍊身，更可修行鍊心，快走驅遣妄情，慢走發慧習 定。 Walking is a great way to train one's body and mind. Walking fast helps dispel illusions, walking slowly helps nurture concentration and wisdom. Master Sheng Yen

人上有人，山高水長。Always keep humility in mind and one can accomplish anything. - Master Sheng Yen

大夢誰先覺，離夢想顛倒。 Whoever wakes from this never-ending dream of ours will be far removed from illusions and inverted views. - Master Sheng Yen

禪法即是心法，萬法由心生滅。 The study of Ch'an is the study of mind. All phenomena are manifestations of one's mind. - Master Sheng Yen

勿因有事而憂，寧為無事而喜。 When you can keep your mind unruffled by the ups and downs in life, you will experience true joy. - Master Sheng Yen

臨渴掘井緩不濟急，即時學佛即時解惑。 As you do not wait till you are thirsty to start digging a well, do not wait till you are in trouble to start learning the Dharma. - Master Sheng Yen

百千計畫忙碌一生，萬緣放下前程似錦。 You can plan and plot your life down to the smallest details, yet it is when you let go of all self-centered concerns that your life will finally flourish. - Master Sheng Yen

人生若夢誰都會說，終生作夢怎麼不醒。 Everybody says life is like a dream, so why does everybody refuse to wake from this dream? - Master Sheng Yen

驚覺執迷已近悟，知迷不悟錯中錯。 You are already near enlightenment if you are aware of your faults; you are near a disaster if you refuse to recongize and rectify them. - Master Sheng Yen

天堂地獄由心造，成佛作祖心外無。 Heaven and hell are both in one's mind, there is no attaining Buddhahood outside of one's mind. - Master Sheng Yen

危機化為轉機時，絕路走出活路人。Turn a crisis into an opportunity, turn a dead end into a new path. - Master Sheng Yen

雨露霜雪本無主，風雲雷電應時現。 As soon as thunder and lightning begin, one can expect a rain storm to follow. This is the workings of causes and conditions - Master Sheng Yen

戲外看戲忘了戲，夢中作夢不知夢。 Those watching a play often forget it is only a play, those dreaming often forget they are in a dream. - Master Sheng Yen

夕陽西下明天見，旭日東昇近黃昏。 When the sun sets, remember that it will rise again tomorrow; when the sun rises, remember that the sunset is not far behind. - Master Sheng Yen

世間本無垢與淨，祇緣自起分別心。 The difference between "pure" and "impure" only exists in a discriminating mind. - Master Sheng Yen

雲門日日是好日，行腳步步履芳草。 For a Buddhist, every day is a good day, everywhere is a good place. - Master Sheng Yen

水深千丈終見底，山高萬里海中昇。 Even the deepest ocean is not bottomless, even the tallest mountain has a base, everything great starts small. - Master Sheng Yen

教育為千秋大業，賢能乃百代楷模。 Education is an undertaking that will have impact for a thousand years, morality is a lodestar that will shine for a hundred generations. - Master Sheng Yen

青山綠水廣長舌，鳥語花香說妙法。 The green mountains and bubbling streams, the chirping birds and fragrant flowers -- everything around you can be an eloquent Dharma teacher if you know where to look. - Master Sheng Yen

天上人間樂與苦，自心造作自身受。Happiness and suffering are both created by one's own mind. - Master Sheng Yen

河山猶在，景物遷移；日月長運，人事全非。 As time goes by, one sees that nothing escapes the law of impermanance. - Master Sheng Yen

駕行般若船苦海普渡，常登涅槃山心性不動。 Command the ship of prajna, wisdom, and help those on the sea of suffering; climb the mountain of nirvana and keep one's mind unperturbed. - Master Sheng Yen