Don't think you have to be solemn to meditate. To meditate, well, you have to smile a lot.

I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering.

That is why those who are not capable of being there in the present moment, they don't really live their life - they live like dead people.

Enlightenment is always there. Small enlightenment will bring great enlightenment. If you breathe in and are aware that you are alive - that you can touch the miracle of being alive - then that is a kind of enlightenment.

It is often said that the Buddha's teaching is only a raft to help you cross the river, a finger pointing to the moon. Don't maistake the finger for the moon. The raft is not the shore. If we cling to the raft, if we cling to the finger, we miss everything. We cannot, in the name of the finger or the raft kill each other. Human life is more precious than any ideology, any doctrine.

With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment.

The fact that I am standing there and washing bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions.