What matters is that you meditate, you're seeking enlightenment, you're on the pathway to enlightenment, and you're having fun. Don't look for reassurance in the eyes of others. Look for reassurance in your own eyes. Only you know if Buddhist practice is improving the quality of your life.

In the beginning, when you are meditating, just ignore thought. Shine it on. Then after you are comfortable sitting there, try selectively eliminating negative thoughts, thoughts that agitate the mind.

Meditation is essential because meditation opens the mind to itself.

As a dialectical teacher, I have had many lives where I have taught Zen and Tibetan Buddhism and mysticism. I teach in many different modalites. But the theme that unites them - is love.

There's no right or wrong in the study of enlightenment. There's only experience.

If there wasn't a way around the samskaras, no one would ever become enlightened.

When you have grown accustomed to sitting and meditating, try to stop your thoughts. That's the bottom line in meditative practice.