All the wars, all the hatred, all the ignorance in the world come out of being so invested in our opinions.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. Even if we run a hundred miles an hour to the other side of the continent, we find the very same problem awaiting us when we arrive.

If there's any possibility for enlightenment, it's right now, not at some future time. Now is the time.

In the end, that's what we all need more than anything else: to be there for each other, in every kind of situation.

Anyone who stands on the edge of the unknown, fully in the present without reference point, experiences groundlessness. That's when our understanding goes deeper, when we find that the present moment is a pretty vulnerable place and that this can be completely unnerving and completely tender at the same time.

The point is that our true nature is not some ideal that we have to live up to. It's who we are right now, and that's what we can make friends with and celebrate.

Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.