The most heartbreaking thing of all is how we cheat ourselves of the present moment.

Surrendering, letting go of possessiveness, and complete nonattachment-all are synonyms for accumulating merit.

The Process of becoming unstuck requires tremendous bravery, because basically we are completely changing our way of perceiving reality.

It's hard to know whether to laugh or to cry at the human predicament. Here we are with so much wisdom and tenderness, and—without even knowing it—we cover it over to protect ourselves from insecurity. Although we have the potential to experience the freedom of a butterfly, we mysteriously prefer the small and fearful cocoon of ego.

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

When we practice generating compassion, we can expect to experience our fear of pain. Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us. The trick to doing this is to stay with emotional distress without tightening into aversion, to let fear soften us rather than harden into resistance.

The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.