To know that these are people who for a moment, in glory, in light, were true warriors, and you had the chance to associate with them, to live with them, to share with them, words and moments of power - this is the nature of spiritual study.

We want to know what our self is. We are the sky. Our thoughts are the birds that come and go. You can enjoy the birds and their beauty, but it is the sky that lasts.

Initially the student, in some traditions, is given a mantra, a particular word of power to focus on. While thoughts are cascading through your mind during meditation, you should be absorbed in the repetition of a mantra.

Look for the things in your life that bring you stillness and happiness, not the things that make you crazy. Look inside yourself and look for that perfect stillness.

Some people think Taoism means not doing anything, just going on with your life. That has little or nothing to do with Taoism.

Nothing is distinct and separate. The waves of the ocean arise and have a separate birth, crashing on the shore, but then back into the ocean they go. They never left it. There is no movement in Nirvana.

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.