Never underestimate the power of compassionately recognizing what's going on.

Deep down in the human spirit, there is a reservoir of courage. It is always available, always waiting to be discovered.

Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

One way to practice staying present is to simply sit still for a while and listen. For one minute, listen to the sounds close to you. For one minute, listen to the sounds at a distance. Just listen attentively.

The essence of practice is always the same: instead of falling prey to a chain reaction of revenge or self-hatred, we gradually learn to catch the emotional reaction and drop the story lines.

Openness doesn’t come from resisting our fears but rather from getting to know them well.

Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things.