We have to have a purpose greater than the endless struggle to satisfy personal desires.

Mastery does not come from dabbling. We have to be prepared to pay the price. We need to have the sustained enthusiasm that motivates us to give our best.

By removing that which is petty and self-seeking, we bring forth all that is glorious and mindful of the whole.

As we get deeper, we move closer and closer to other people; we feel closer to life as a whole.

My grandmother lived in a universe filled with life. It was impossible for her to conceive of any creature - even the smallest insect, let alone a human being - as insignificant. In every leaf, flower, animal, and star she saw an expression of a compassionate universe, whose laws were not competition and survival of the fittest but cooperation, artistry and thrift. . . .

Love is so exquisitely elusive. It cannot be bought, cannot be badgered, cannot be hijacked. It is available only in one rare form: as the natural response of a healthy mind and healthy heart.

This is the central principle of meditation: we become what we meditate on.