Every person I've known has had an effect on me, as have people whom I've not met in the physical in this life, but whom I've met inwardly, teachers from other eras - Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramakrishna and Lao Tse.

Reincarnation is not what a lot of people think. Yes, we are eternal. No, everyone does not attain enlightenment; it's not necessary; life is smarter than we are.

I like to shop. I don't always buy things when I shop, but I think it's fun to go out and look at the worlds of colors. I love to roam through supermarkets. I am a great lover of household products. I particularly like the packaging of cereal boxes.

The causal body is the part of a person that lives forever. It is what you would call the soul. It doesn't dissolve along with the physical and astral bodies at the end of an incarnation.

Zen is not a religion. There is no room for a cult. There is no dependence on a teacher. There is only learning how to use your own mind and making it strong.

The bully on the block who beats up somebody doesn't become more powerful. All they do is walk around inside their own mind with an inflated ego.

There are different pathways - be it Zen, tantra, karma yoga, or jnana yoga. Different ways have been devised to do the same thing for different types of people according to their temperament.