Expectations of goals and rewards (such as Enlightenment) are recognized for what they are: last-ditch attempts by the ghostly self to subvert the process to its own ends. The more we become conscious of the mysterious unfolding of life, the clearer it becomes that its purpose is not to fulfill the expectations of our ego.

This body is fragile. It is just flesh. Listen to the heartbeat. Life depends on the pumping of a muscle.

The origin of the conflict, frustration, and anxiety we experience does not lie in the nature of the world itself but in our distorted conceptions of the world.

We cannot choose whether to engage with the world, only how to.

Erotic names, robes, insignia of office, titles- the trappings of religion- confuse as much as they help.

Our conceptions of the world affect our perceptions of the world which, in turn, condition the way we subsequently conceive the world.

In taking the everyday details of life for granted, we fail to appreciate the extraordinary fact that we are conscious at all.