Someday, with no effort at all, you will understand. You only have to allow yourself to be there, to touch deeply each thing you encounter, to walk mindfully, and to help others with the whole of your being. This is the practice of non-practice.
A sexual relationship is an act of communion between body and spirit. This is a very important encounter, not to be done in a casual manner. In our soul there are certain areas – memories, pain, secrets – that are private, that we would share only with the person we love and trust the most. We do not open our heart and show it to just anyone.
The wheat field needs clouds and sunshine. So in this slice of bread there is sunshine, there is cloud, there is the labor of the farmer, the joy of having flour, and the skill of the baker and then – miraculously! – there is the bread. The whole cosmos has come together so that this piece of bread can be in your hand. You don’t need to do a lot of hard work to get this insight. You only need to stop letting your mind carry you away with worrying, thinking, and planning.
If we consume toxic magazine articles, movies, or video games, they will feed our craving, our anger, and our fear.
Standing in line at a grocery store or a restaurant, or waiting for the time to eat, we don’t need to waste our time. We don’t need to “wait” for one second. Instead, we can enjoy breathing in and out for our nourishment and healing. We can use that time to notice that we will soon be able to have food, and we can be happy and grateful during that time. Instead of waiting, we can generate joy.
Creating happiness is an art. Living together is an art. Even with a lot of goodwill, you can still make the other person very unhappy. Goodwill is not enough. We need to know the art of making the other person happy. Art is the essence of life. Try to be artful in your speech and actions. The substance of art is mindfulness. When you are mindful, you are more artful.
The more you understand, the more you love ; the more you love, the more you understand. They are two sides of one reality. The mind of love and the mind of understanding are the same .
We must begin to live fully and truly, every moment of our daily lives.
What you read and write can help you heal, so be thoughtful about what you consume.
Withough suffering you cannot grow.
When you love someone, the most precious gift you can give your loved one is your true presence.
Mindfulness makes you and the other person happy and free. The other person may be caught in her worries, anger, and forgetfulness, but with mindfulness you can save her and yourself.
We have to learn to build safety with our in-breath and our out-breath. We have to learn to build safety with our steps, with our way of acting and reacting, with our words and our efforts to build communication.
In our sangha, we have a porch we call, Listening to the Rain Veranda. We made it specially for that purpose – so we could sit there and listen to the rain and not need to think about anything. Listening to the rain can help the mind come to stillness.
Emptiness means to be full of everything but empty of a separate existence.
When we’re able to smile at a provocation, we can be aware of our ability, appreciate it, and continue in this way.
To “love our enemy” is impossible, because the moment we love him, he is no longer our enemy.
Reconciliation means to work it out within yourself so that peace can be restored. Reconcile with yourself for the sake of the world, for the sake of all living beings. Your peace and serenity are crucial for all of us.
Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are. Tell me where you eat, and I will tell you who you are. We.
Throughout our life we produce energy. We say things and do things, and every thought, every word, and every act carries our signature. What we produce as thoughts, as speech, as action, continues to influence the world, and that is our continuation body. Our actions carry us into the future. We are like stars whose light energy continues to radiate across the cosmos millions of years after they become extinct.