If you’re aggressive in your dealings, that’s how you’ll be regarded in the world. You might smile and give generously, but if you frequently explode in anger, people never feel comfortable in your presence and you’ll never have peace of mind.
The point is that our true nature is not some ideal that we have to live up to. It’s who we are right now, and that’s what we can make friends with and celebrate.
We don’t experience the world fully unless we are willing to give everything away.
As we practice, we begin to know the difference between our fantasy and reality.
This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we go.
Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.
The first noble truth of the Buddha is that when we feel suffering, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong. What a relief.
Pain is not a punishment; pleasure is not a reward.
Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.
What’s encouraging about meditation is that, even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we’re closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance.
We cannot be present and run our story-line at the same time.
Without giving up hope – that there’s somewhere better to be, that there’s someone better to be – we will never relax with where we are or who we are.
We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.
The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.
A further sign of health is that we don’t become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it’s time to stop struggling and look directly at what’s threatening us.
When we protect ourselves so we won’t feel pain, that protection becomes like armor, like armor that imprisons the softness of of the heart.
Without loving-kindness for ourselves, it is difficult, if not impossible, to genuinely feel it for others.
The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.
I equate ego with trying to figure everything out instead of going with the flow. That closes your heart and your mind to the person or situation that’s right in front of you, and you miss so much.
In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.