Quotes from Stephen Mitchell

The self is a friend for him who masters himself by the Self; but for him who is not self-mastered, the self is the cruelest foe.

Blessed are the man and the woman who have grown beyond their greed and have put an end to their hatred and no longer nourish illusions. But they delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Their leaves will not fall or wither.

What is the gospel according to Jesus? Simply this: that the love we all long for in our innermost heart is already present, beyond longing.

If good happens, good; if bad happens, good.

What we are tempted to call a disaster is sometimes the first, painful stage of a blessing.

all streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. humility gives it its power. if you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. if you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.

Children understand that 'once upon a time' refers not only--not even primarily--to the past, but to the impalpable regions of the present, the deeper places inside us where princes and dragons, wizards and talking birds, impassable roads, impossible tasks, and happy endings have always existed, alive and bursting with psychic power.

What may appear to be proud ungrateful and headstrong fron the outside may from the inside express an unshakable integrity of character. Pride, if it doesn't step over the line into arrogance, is simply an unprejudiced self-esteem. Ingratitude is the appropriate response to a kindness that has hooks on it. Headstrong is another word for trusting your own heart.

The river rises, flows over its banks and carries us all away, like mayflies floating downstream: they stare at the sun, then all at once there is nothing.

But self-abasement is just inverted egoism. Anyone who acts with genuine humility will be as far from humiliation as from arrogance.

Happily ever after doesn't begin with Once upon a time: it begins with Now.

Love softens everything except our sense of integrity.

wishes are like magnifying glasses they enlarge and focus an intention that is already inside us.

Whatever thought grips the mind at the time of death is the one which will propel it and decide for it the nature of its future birth. Thus if one wants to attain god after death, one has to think of him steadfastly... This is not as simple as it sounds, for at the time of death the mind automatically flies to the thought of an object (i.e. money, love) which has possessed it during its sojourn in the world. Thus one must think of god constantly.

Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her.

He doesn't hear but sees the Voice.

Knowledge is better than practice; meditation is better than knowledge; and best of all is surrender, which soon brings peace.

When there's no way out, you just follow the way in front of you.

The change of language is a change in reality.

Savor your food, make each of your days a delight, bathe and anoint yourself, wear bright clothes that are sparkling clean, let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand, and give your wife pleasure in your embrace. That is the best way for a man to live.

I am speechless: what can I answer? I put hand on my mouth. I have said too much already; now I will speak no more.

Remember: life is a breath; soon I will vanish from your sight. The eye that looks will not see me; you may search, but I will be gone. Like a cloud fading in the sky, man dissolves into death. He leaves the whole world behind him and never comes home again.

Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.