An old Zen rule of thumb is not to answer until one has been asked three times.

You cannot avoid paradise. You can only avoid seeking it.

Whenever we say a person's name, notice whether we have stated more than a fact. For example, the judgment, 'She's thoughtless' goes beyond the facts 'She said she'd call me and she didn't.

Meditation practice is simply moving from a life of hurting myself and others to a life of not hurting myself and others.

It's of no use to look back and say, "I should have been different." At any given moment, we are the way we are, and we see what we're able to see. For that reason, guilt is always inappropriate.

To some degree we all find life difficult, perplexing, and oppressive. Even when it goes well, as it may for a time, we worry that it probably won't keep on that way.

We have to face the pain we have been running from. In fact, we need to learn to rest in it and let its searing power transform us.