You're not insensitive or indifferent, but you're also not vulnerable to the upheavals that cause emotional stress because you can buffer that... So that's the result of meditation; you could call that emotional balance.

In a way, there's nothing wrong with playing the piano, but it's not a huge trauma if you don't.

The way you experience [pain] can change so much depending on your attitude.

Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment.

Envy and jealousy stem from the fundamental inability to rejoice at someone else's happiness or success

By breaking down our sense of self-importance, all we lose is a parasite that has long infected our minds. What we gain in return is freedom, openness of mind, spontaneity, simplicity, altruism: all qualities inherent in happiness.

We deal with our mind from morning until evening. This mind can be our best friend or our worst enemy. We should do everything we can to improve outer circumstances - remedying poverty, inequalities, conflicts, and so on - while also doing our best to achieve a state of mind that give us the inner resources to deal with the ups and downs of life.