How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his own experience - free from the clouds of religiosity that often surround them Yet it's difficult to distinguish the tools themselves from their cultural packaging.

We actually need intelligent doubt and skepticism; they protect us against mistaken views and propaganda.

Two aspects to the relative world: relaxation and time management.

I still noticed that little streak of rebelliousness coming up in me again - the same sense of dissatisfaction I had felt earlier with the empty rituals and institutionalized values of all religious traditions.

True wisdom is free of the dramas of culture or religion and should bring us only a sense of peace and happiness.

To discover your real questions, simply take a time-out. Stop looking ahead of yourself at where you’re going or backward at where you’ve been. When you do stop, there’s a sense of going nowhere. There’s a sense of gap, which is a tremendous relief. You can simply breathe and be who you are.

In the end, we have nothing to lose by opening our hearts.