The strongest factor in conditioning is sex, in the sense that the first thing that a person is really taught is whether they are male or female.

In meditation we get a sense of the countless selves within ourselves, the different forms they take. Those that don't seem positive or helpful we push aside. Those that seem progressive we enjoy.

None of this has ever been or will ever be; all is an appearance, all is an illusion. Illusions are truth. All illusions are real. We say illusion, meaning that they're shadows.

We live in a world that is dominated by war, hate, violence and suspicion. Those are the things that come naturally in this world. So you have to will something else.

Think about the flowers. Life is just a bunch of pretty pictures. All this is supposed to do is force you beyond the mind, when you realize that you can't figure it out.

In the West when you talk about yin and yang, people normally think of yin and yang as something that's linear. But in the east we tend to think of yin and yang as circles. They're two circles that actually can lie on top of each other, yet they remain separate.

When you meditate, you focus to clear the mind and to bring the willpower together. But then, toward the end of the session let go, just become eternity.