The purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness, which underlies the whole of life and death

At every moment in our lives we need compassion, but what more urgent moment could there be than when we are dying? What more wonderful and consoling gift could you give to dying people than the knowledge that they are being prayed for, and that you are taking on their suffering and purifying their negative karma through your practice for them?

Why exactly are we so frightened of death that we avoid looking at it altogether? Somewhere, deep down, we know we cannot avoid facing death forever. We know, in Milarepa's words: "This thing called 'corpse' we dread so much is living with us here and now."

The spiritual journey is one of continuous learning and purification. When you know this, you become humble.

This dying forces you to look into yourself. And in this, compassion is the only way. Love is the only way.

Light must come from inside. You cannot ask the darkness to leave; you must turn on the light.

Western laziness consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so that there is no time at all to confront the real issues.