Advanced meditators are not even desirous of liberation anymore - that is just another attachment. There is no liberation. There is no bondage. These are just ideas of the mind.

You don't force change; you just open yourself to its possibilities and let it work through you.

Select companions who are striving for enlightenment. They all have their imperfections, certainly, but at least their attention is moving in the right direction.

The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for people to work in teams, more difficult for people here to live in harmony, in a monastery.

The anti-pleasure movement in self-discovery is very strong. I have big news for them, if they ever get to enlightenment, which is unlikely the way they're approaching it, they're going to find that enlightenment is very pleasurable.

Mindfulness is the ability to do physical things in a harmonious way; it is a way to remain centered in a physical world that is out of balance.

They are not happy out there. Take a walk today and look at how many people smile. Look at how troubled they are, unhappy, stressed out. Go through the ghetto or go through Beverly Hills.