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

 

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

 

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 impermanence - 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