Resistance to unwanted circumstances has the power to keep those circumstances alive and well for a very long time.

Once you create a self-justifying storyline, your emotional entrapment within it quadruples.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we're supposed to live up to. We feel we're supposed to be better than we are in some way. But with this practice you take yourself completely as you are. Then ironically, taking in pain - breathing it in for yourself and all others in the same boat as you are heightens your awareness of exactly where you're stuck.

Treat yourself as your own beloved child.

Meditation is about seeing clearly the body that we have, the mind that we have, the domestic situation that we have, the job that we have, and the people who are in our lives. It's about seeing how we react to all these things. It's seeing our emotions and thoughts just as they are right now, in this very moment, in this very room, on this very seat. It's about not trying to make them go away, not trying to become better than we are, but just seeing clearly with precision and gentleness.

Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?