We are such spendthrifts with our lives, the trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to...

Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and the spiritual, and it...

One doesn’t have to be religious to lead a moral life or attain wisdom.

One who is patient glows with an inner radiance.

If a man speaks many holy words but he speaks and does not, this thoughtless man cannot enjoy the life of holiness: he is like a cowherd who counts the cows of his master.Whereas if...

A boddhisattva is someone who is on the way to becoming a buddha. All of us become boddhisattvas as soon as we start to take our Zen work seriously and the work we do contributes...

A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself.

Following feeling, relying on liking or wanting, we are not free. The freedom to “do as we like” is not freedom of choice because we are ruled by the powerful property of feeling; we cannot...

The willingness to challenge hardships taps the power within human beings to transform even a place of tragedy into a stage for fulfilling one’s mission.

Westereners often think that the East is one vast Buddhist temple, which is rather like thinking the West is one vast Carthusian monastery. If the [Western people who like Buddhism] were to visit the East,...

All phenomena do not inherently exist because of being dependent-arisings. All phenomena do not inherently exist because of being dependently imputed.

But, the true reason for the success of such new expositions [translated Eastern religious texts] is to be found where they are the most accommodating, least rigid, least severe, most vague, and ready to come...

Dream: I look for Lama Lodrö Kagyu teacher friend hearing he’s ill & I’m ill, too – I enter his room and he says “I’ve been trying to find you – I wanted you to...

There is a yearning that is as spiritual as it is sensual. Even when it degenerates into addiction, there is something salvageable from the original impulse that can only be described as sacred. Something in...

It is never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesn’t depend on how long it has been running; a shift in...

Compassion grows in us when we know how the energy of love is available all around us.

Many Buddhist temple priests regard their parishioners as possessions and fear their departure as a diminishing of assets.

As I cooked in the cauldron of motherhood, the incredible love I felt for my children opened my heart and brought me a much greater understanding of universal love. It made me understand the suffering...

Before I had studied Chan for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and rivers as rivers. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains...

I loved Enso Roshi’s teachings. I loved learning about life. I loved life. It was a good thing to feel. I loved life, and I loved learning, and I was still learning. I was not,...

If you know how to be happy with the wonders of life that are already there for you to enjoy, you don’t need to stress your mind and your body by striving harder and harder,...

If we take something to be the truth, we may cling to it so much that when the truth comes and knocks on our door, we won’t want to let it in.

When fear and suffering are disliked by me and others equally what is so special about me that I protect myself and not the other?

Worry does not keep it from raining tomorrow, but it does keep it from being sunny today.

Consider this:1. Would you ride in a car whose driver was on the consciousness-expanding “entheogenic” drug LSD?And here’s a bonus question:2. Why does an “expanded consciousness” include the inability to operate a motor vehicle?

The more we genuinely care about others the greater our own happiness & inner peace.

The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion...

By god the Buddhist means that from which the universe was born, the unborn of the Buddhist scriptures, and by soul that factor in the thing called man which moves towards enlightenment. Why need more...

Man is an onion made up of a hundred integuments, a texture made up of many threads. The ancient Asiatics knew this well enough, and in the Buddhist Yoga an exact technique was devised for...

normal life,” which I had tried so hard to achieve. Now I had to face my own mind.

All relaxation does is allow the truth to be felt. The mind is cleared, like a dirty window wiped clean, and the magnitude of what we might ordinarily take for granted inspires tears.

If you are involved with the intensity of crescendo situations, with the intensity of tragedy, you might begin to see the humor of these situations as well. As in music, when we hear the crescendo...

Yes, Kālāmas, it is proper that your have doubt, that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen in a matter which is doubtful. Now, look you Kālāmas, do not be led by reports, or...

… “The world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world,” says an old Buddhist teaching. In other words: Get used to it.

Meditation is doing what you are doing – whether you are doing formal meditation or child care.

I read of a Buddhist teacher who developed Alzheimer’s. He had retired from teaching because his memory was unreliable, but he made one exception for a reunion of his former students. When he walked onto...

Although contemplating the nature of the body highlights its less attractive features, the purpose of the exercise is not to demonize the body. While it is certainly true that at times the discourses describe the...

Instead of catching ourselves after we first felt angry, we develop a visceral sensitivity to what’s happening within us in the moment & through mindfulness, we can shape our reaction right away.

In order to do anything about the suffering of the world we must have the strength to face it without turning away.

There was a small glass vase between us, three gladioli in a few ounces of water. One of the gladioli had dropped a petal- brushstroke of purple on fine white cloth. Rinpoche drank the last...

Whatever is impermanent is dukkha’ (Yad aniccaṃ taṃ dukkhaṃ).

Every day Zuigan used to call out to himself, “Master!” and then he answered himself, “Yes, Sir!” And he added, “Awake, Awake!” and then answered, “Yes, Sir! Yes, Sir!””From now onwards, do not be deceived...

We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that’s death. Seeking security or...

When you are a young person, you are like a young creek, and you meet many rocks, many obstacles and difficulties on your way. You hurry to get past these obstacles and get to the...

The present moment is the substance with which the future is made. Therefore, the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. What else can you do?

Limitations gone:Since my mind fixed on the moon,Clarity and serenityMake something for whichThere’s no end in sight.

Why is it that one of the best songs in the world has to be written by the BeeGees?”Benedict

One of the best ways to support the development of patience is to cultivate happiness with yourself.

Our actions speak for us & they speak loudly.

I am a lover of what is, not because I’m a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality.