Who Am I?

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

“The Buddha taught that even your happiness is dukkha - a Pali word meaning “suffering” or “unsatisfactoriness.” It is inseparable from its opposite. This means that your happiness and unhappiness are in fact one. Only the illusion of time separates them.”

“The mistake we make is that when we’re feeling another person is not treating us in the way that makes us feel secure and loved, we fixate our attention on that person and what’s wrong with them. We also fixate on what’s wrong with us. Instead, we can bring forward two wings of awareness: the wing of mindfulness (noticing what’s going on inside us) and the wing of kindness (compassion to what’s going on inside us).”

“All beings have Buddha-nature, much like how a Christian might say that a person has a soul or is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Because of Buddha-nature, all beings will ultimately attain Buddhahood, no matter how many lifetimes it takes. Our job in daily life is to actualize our Buddha-nature.”

“Love is the essence of all religion, mysticism, and philosophy, and for the one who has learned this, love fulfills the purpose of religion, ethics, and philosophy, and the lover is raised above all diversities of faiths and beliefs.”

“The form is perceived and the eye is its perceiver. The eye is perceived and the mind is its perceiver. The mind with it’s modifications is perceived and the Witness (the Self) is verily the perceiver, But It (the Witness) is not perceived (by any other).

“To be in love with what is now — that’s the way. That’s the only way. The rest is just the ego trying to survive.”

“Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”

“When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You’re able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently.”

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”

“Real wisdom is recognizing and accepting that every experience is impermanent. With this insight you will not be overwhelmed by ups and downs. And when you are able to maintain an inner balance, you can choose to act in ways that will create happiness for you and for others. Living each moment happily with an equanimous mind, you will surely progress toward the ultimate goal of liberation from all suffering.”

“You think that you have to make an effort to awaken from the dream, but the effort is part of the dream. Rejoice, your Home is already here.”

“It has nothing to do with effort. Just turn away, look between the thoughts, rather than at the thoughts. When you happen to walk in a crowd, you do not fight every man you meet, you just find your way between. When you fight, you invite a fight. But when you do not resist, you meet no resistance. When you refuse to play the game, you are out of it.”