I was reminded of the Four Immutable Laws of the Spirit: Whoever is present are the right people. Whenever it begins is the right time. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened. And when it's over, it's over.

Everything was coming together by coming apart . . . It is the most difficult Zen practice to leave people to their destiny, even though it's painful - just loving them, and breathing with them, and distracting them in a sweet way, and laughing with them . . . if something was not my problem, I probably did not have the solution.

If our lives are made up of a string of a thousand moments, at some of those moments we look a lot more spiritually evolved than at others.

My best teachers were mess, failure, death, mistakes, and the people I hated, including myself.

I just try to love and serve everyone, and bring everyone water, and lend an ear; that's what Jesus said to do.

I can tell you that what you're looking for is already inside you.

Tell the truth as you understand it. If you're a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act - truth is always subversive.