Quotes "The ultimate goal of yoga is to always observe things accurately, and therefore never act in a way that will make us regret our actions later." - TKV Desikachar "The skill of mindfulness creates a condition of bare attention in which the meditator observes things as they are in order to notice what is just there, without grasping or aversion." - Joseph Goldstein "There are many paths up the mountain, but there is only one mountain." - Swami Kripalu Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquility, nor is it attempting to be a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes. - Chogyam Trungpa "The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings." - TKV Desikachar "The breath is the intersection of the body and mind." - Thich Nhat Hanh "It is often thought that the Buddha's doctrine teaches us that suffering will disappear if one has meditated long enough, or if one sees everything differently. It is not that at all. Suffering isn't going to go away; the one who suffers is going to go away." "Life is painful. Suffering is optional." - Sylvia Boorstein "One must endure the caterpillars if one is to become acquainted with the butterflies." - The Little Prince Before speaking, consider whether it is an improvement upon silence - Swami Kripalvanadaji "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - Confucius' In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth - Mahatma Gandhi "Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world." - Miguel de Cervantes "When an individual has achieved complete understanding of his true self, he will no longer be disturbed by the distracting influences within and around him" "It won't do to go around saying you're a Dzogchen meditator when all you are is a belching, farting lout!" - Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche "If you are beautiful, your makeup never rubs off, even while scuba-diving or fighting aliens" "The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love, Born out of compassion for all human beings. As the shadow follows the body, As we think, so we become." - Sayings of the Buddha as cited by Das, 1997 (p. 130) "Many people who approach the practice of Buddhism are willing to sacrifice one or two hours of their day in order to perform some ritual practice or engage in meditation. Time is relatively easy to give up, even though their life may be very busy. But, they are not willing to change anything of their personality - they are not willing to forgo anything of their negative character. With this type of approach to Buddhism, it hardly matters how much meditation we do, our practice remains merely a hobby or a sport. It does not touch our lives. In order actually to overcome our problems, we have to be willing to change - namely to change our personality. We need to renounce and rid ourselves of those negative aspects of it that are causing us so much trouble." from The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra by H.H. the Dalai Lama & Alexander Berzin "Enlightenment is intimacy with all things. - Jack Kornfield "When we pay careful attention to the present moment, we can trust that an adequate, adaptive response will appear. - Tom Borkevec "Life and love are life and love, a bunch of violets is a bunch of violets, and to drag in the idea of a point is to ruin everything. - D.H. Lawrence "If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty. - Lao-Tzu "As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life." - Buddha "A long time ago, Descartes sad, “I think, therefore I am.” … But if you are not thinking, what?" - Seung Sahn "Action has meaning only in relationship and without understanding relationship, action on any level will only breed conflict. The understanding of relationship is infinitely more important than the search for any plan of action." - J. Krishnamurti "Just as the dawn is the forerunner of the arising of the sun, so true friendship is the forerunner of the arising of the noble eightfold path." - Buddha "In a certain sense, Zen is feeling life instead of feeling something about life." - Alan Watts "Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one." - Voltaire "Do not fear the arising of thoughts—only be concerned lest your awareness of them be tardy." - Unknown "The mind precedes all things, the mind dominates all things, the mind creates all things." - Buddha "There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life." - Federico Fellini "Bhikkhus, there are these five ways of removing annoyance, by which annoyance can be entirely removed by a bhikkhu when it arises in him. What are the five? Loving-kindness can be maintained in being towards a person with whom you are annoyed: this is how annoyance with him can be removed. Compassion can be maintained in being towards a person with whom you are annoyed; this too is how annoyance with him can be removed. Onlooking equanimity can be maintained in being towards a person with whom you are annoyed; this too is how annoyance with him can be removed. The forgetting and ignoring of a person with whom you are annoyed can be practiced; this too is how annoyance with him can be removed. Ownership of deeds in a person with whom you are annoyed can be concentrated upon thus: 'This good person is owner of his deeds, heir to his deeds, his deeds are the womb from which he is born, his deeds are his kin for whom he is responsible, his deeds are his refuge, he is heir to his deeds, be they good or bad.' This too is how annoyance with him can be removed. These are the five ways of removing annoyance, by which annoyance can be entirely removed in a bhikkhu when it arises in him." - [AN V.161 Aghatapativinaya Sutta] "Metta embraces all beings Karuna embraces all those who suffer Mudita embraces the prosperous Upekkha embraces the good, bad, loved and unloved, pleasant and unpleasant. - [Vism. 318] "The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill Where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep." - Rumi

This work has been sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.