Quotes About Mindfulness

While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes.

If you think while you walk, you're not really walking.

When you speak, allow the insight of our collective humanity to speak through you. When you walk, don't walk for yourself alone; walk for your ancestors and your community. When you breathe, allow the larger world to breathe for you.

Life is miraculous, even in its suffering. Without suffering, life would not be possible. There is nothing permanent, and there is no separate self. Neither is there impermanence or no-self. When we see life deeply, there is no death. Therefore, it isn't necessary to say "everlasting life.

it's nice if everyone sits down together to enjoy three sounds of the bell, nine times of breathing in and out. People practicing breathing with a small bell in this way are able to enjoy much peace and harmony together. That is what I call true civilization. You don't need a lot of modern gadgets in order to be civilized. You need only a small bell, a quiet space, and your mindful in-breath and out-breath.

Admonish yourself strongly. Scrutinize yourself deeply.

Don't ask me anything more. My essence is wordless.

Let go of the past. Let go of the future. Let go of the present. Proceed to the opposite shore with a free mind, leaving behind all conditioned things.

Remember that there is only one important time and that is now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person you are with, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future? The most important pursuit is making the person standing at your side happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life.

When people say, "Don't just sit there, do something," they're urging you to act. But if the quality of your being is poor—if you don't have enough peace, understanding, and equanimity, if you still have a lot of anger and worries—then your actions will also be poor.

To bring happiness to others, we must be happiness. And this is why we always train ourselves to first take care of our own bodies and minds. Only when we are solid can we be our best and take good care of our loved ones.

One's breath, after all, is hardly attached to any particular creed.

Happiness is impermanent, like everything else. In order for happiness to be extended and renewed, you have to learn how to feed your happiness. Nothing can survive without food, including happiness; your happiness can die if you don't know how to nourish it. If you cut a flower but you don't put it in some water, the flower will wilt in a few hours. Even if happiness is already manifesting, we have to continue to nourish it.

If we practice stopping while attending to e-mails, surfing the Web, attending meetings or appointments, folding the laundry, washing the dishes, or taking a shower, we are living deeply.

Harboring thoughts keeps hatred alive.

I vow to live each moment fully and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

Mindful eating means simply eating or drinking while being aware of each bite or sip.

Dear master, I think it would be better for each of us to watch ourself. To look after oneself means to look after both of us. That way I am sure we will avoid any accidents and will earn enough to eat.' " The Buddha said: "The child spoke correctly.

The present moment contains the whole of life.

It's like when you're flying in an airplane. Whenever severe turbulence comes along, the seatbelt keeps you from getting thrown around the cabin. Mindful breathing is your seatbelt in everyday life—it keeps you safe here in the present moment. If you know how to breathe, how to sit calmly and quietly, how to do walking meditation, then you have your seatbelt and you're always safe.

It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not.

When you walk, arrive with every step. That is walking meditation. There's nothing else to it.

Compassion is not an idea or something we can imagine. It is a mental formation that has an immediate result in action of body, speech, or mind. It is rooted in understanding. When we understand why we suffer we can be compassionate to ourselves. When we understand how others suffer then we can be compassionate to them.

The best way of preparing for the future is to take good care of the present, because we know that if the present is made up of the past, then the future will be made up of the present. All we need to be responsible for is the present moment. Only the present is within our reach. To care for the present is to care for the future.