Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future
The past no longer is. The future has not yet come.
Look deeply at life as it is.
In the very here and now the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly – How can we bargain with it
The sage calls the person who lives in mindfulness night and day “one who knows the better way to live”
The Buddha, Bhaddekaratta Sutta
Just like the trees growing in the mountains, sacredness is always there. It is part of existence. The consequence of losing our connection with this truth can sometimes by quite dangerous. And when we lose this understanding, we develop a mechanical relationship with the world, within as well as without. We develop a mechanical relationship with ourselves and also with the outer world, the world of nature, and with humanity as a whole.
Anam Thubten, Embracing Each Moment
To experience conflicts knowingly, though it may be distressing, can be an invaluable asset. The more we face our own conflicts and seek out our own solutions, the more inner freedom and strength we will gain. Only when we are willing to bear the brunt can we approximate the ideal of being the captain of our ship. A spurious tranquillity rooted in inner dullness is anything but enviable. It is bound to make us weak and an easy prey to any kind of influence.
Karen Horney, Our Inner Conflicts: A Constructive Theory of Neurosis
In times of deep darkness, we not only need light — we need to be light for one another. That’s a message we must take to heart as we find ourselves lost once again in the all-too-familiar darkness of America’s culture of violence. Who better to deliver that message than Mary Oliver, in a powerful poem that re-tells the story of the Buddha’s last words. Before he died, she tells us, “He looked into the faces of that frightened crowd” and said, “Make of yourself a light.”
We are the frightened crowd the Buddha looked into as he drew his last breath. We are the people who need to be light for one another.
Parker Palmer
Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
You must love the crust of the earth on which you dwell.
You must be able to extract nutriment out of a sandheap.
You must have so good an appetite as this, else you will live in vain.
Thoreau
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