In a monastic setting, if someone doesn't want to obey the rules and just wants to live the way they've always lived as a lay person, then why did they become ordained? They have no sense that they have to give something up to gain so much.

I remember asking my mother if she believed in reincarnation and she said that that sounded very sensible, and I thought, yes, it does to me too. So I always believed in it. I can't remember when I didn't.

I think many monks hesitate to change things.

Everyone should not be ordained, but for those who really feel that the only thing that matters in this world is the Dharma, then it is a logical step to adopt a form of life that automatically precludes worldly distractions.

Whether we're in retreat or out in the world, we should try to develop the quality of awareness as much as possible.

If you're meeting with the dharma, you have probably been a human being before.

The Buddha himself said, "I still use conceptual thinking, but I'm not formed by it." And that's the Buddha.