We often regret the past because we weren’t truly present for it.
The antidote is to live each moment so fully that, even if it’s painful, we can say, ‘I was there. I felt it all.’
Héctor García & Francesc Miralles, Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment
We spend all our energy and waste our lives trying to re-create these zones of safety, which are always falling apart. That’s the essence of samsara – the cycle of suffering that comes from continuing to seek happiness in all the wrong places.
Pema Chodron, Comfortable with Uncertainty
There is a deep difference between inactivity and rest. Inactivity is often filled with mental chatter and tension. True rest is a mindful ‘non-doing.’ It is the art of releasing the need to control, to achieve, and to manage every moment. It is in these moments of sincere letting go that we truly restore ourselves and come back to our natural state of ease.
Joseph Emet, Buddha’s Book of Happiness: Teachings for Achieving Lasting Peace, Joy, and Fearlessness
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke was secretary to the sculptor Auguste Rodin when he temporarily lost the ability to write. To Rodin, this meant that Rilke had stopped seeing.
He suggested that the poet go to the Paris Zoo every day and look at one animal until he “saw” it.
Seventy-two poems later, all about a panther, Rilke could say, as he later said of the painter Paul Cezanne , “Suddenly one has the right eyes“
Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage
One of the foundational “truths” of Buddhism is that there is an unsatisfactory nature to our existence, which does not mean that we are getting it wrong.
“Dukkha” arises from the brain’s tendency to crave what it doesn’t have, resist what it doesn’t like, and cling to what’s fleeting
– leading to a background hum of stress.
Rich Hanson, Buddhas Brain
People often ask, ‘How do I attain enlightenment?’ But these questions themselves are the problem. You are already complete – nothing is lacking. The moment you seek something outside yourself, you move away from the truth. Zen is not about acquiring knowledge or achieving some special state. It is about realizing what has always been here, before thought arises.
When you sit in zazen, just sit. Do not try to become a Buddha – Buddha is already sitting. Do not try to stop thoughts – just let them come and go like clouds in the sky. The more you chase after enlightenment, the farther it runs away. But when you give up all seeking, even the desire for enlightenment, then – without expecting it – you may suddenly see. Let go of everything, even the idea of ‘letting go.’ Then, for the first time, you are truly free.
Yamada Ryōun Roshi, Japanese Rinzai Zen master
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