Authentic happiness is not linked to an activity; it is a state of being, a profound emotional balance struck by a subtle understanding of how the mind functions.

Meditation is about cultivating constructive emotions, like altruism, compassion.

It's not the magnitude of the task that matters, it's the magnitude of our courage.

If contemplation of other people's pain just increases distress, then I think we should see it in another way. If we don't center too much on ourselves, then [we] increase our courage and our determination to remedy the pain, not our distress. If we have unconditional compassion, then it increases our courage. So that's the difference, self-centered motivation versus altruistic motivation.

You can't be at the same time a spiritual master and someone who is always angry. It doesn't work.

Happiness is not the endless pursuit of pleasant experiences - that sounds more like a recipe for exhaustion - but a way of being that results from cultivating a benevolent mind, emotional balance, inner freedom, inner peace, and wisdom. Each of these qualities is a skill that can be enhanced through training the mind.

Worries are pointless. If there's a solution, there's no need to worry. If no solution exists, there's no point to worry.