Quotes About Mindfulness

O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!

Sad? Oh, I don't see that; nothing in life is worth calling sad. According to Heraclitus, everything is sad; according to Democritus, nothing is sad. The true secret is to take things as they come, and not trouble yourself sufficiently about anything to give it power to trouble you.

us were able to do so. Our eating may be out of control

even though I may think like a compulsive overeater, I don't have to act like one.

The only way I can assure myself of the best possible future is to live as well as I can today.

First thing every morning before you arise say out loud, 'I believe ' three times.

Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all." "Be patient and tough; one day this pain will be useful to you.

The least thing upset him on the links. He missed short putts because of the uproar of butterflies in the adjoining meadows.

Never fight an inanimate object.

True happiness isn't enhanced by pleasure or diminished by sadness, but exists in spite of those things.

Instead of unthinkingly rushing into action, we can ask ourselves: Do I really want to do this? Is anybody going to be hurt by this? Will I like having done this?

disputing nothing is the first step through the difficult door of happiness

I really like to sometimes go into food detox and eat very simply.

I could worry about his health but somehow not about my own. We throw ourselves away a little each day.

Abandon your notions of the past, without attributing a temporal sequence! Cut off your mental associations regarding the future, without anticipation! Rest in a spacious modality, without clinging to [the thoughts of] the present. Do not meditate at all, since there is nothing upon which to meditate. Instead, revelation will come through undistracted mindfulness — Since there is nothing by which you can be distracted.

O, [you], with your mind far away, thinking that death will not come, Entranced by the pointless activities of this life, If you were to return empty-handed now, would not your [life's] purpose have been [utterly] confused? Recognise what it is that you truly need! It is a sacred teaching [for liberation]! So, should you not practise this divine [sacred] teaching, beginning from this very moment?

death holds up an all-seeing mirror, 'the mirror of past actions', to our eyes, in which the consequences of all our negative and positive actions are clearly seen and there is a weighing of our past actions in the light of their consequences, the balance of which will determine the kind of existence or mental state we are being driven to enter.

The root of faults is nothing other than your ego-clinging, the attitude of deluded fixation, so cut the ties of ego-clinging! Cast away the fixation on enemy and friend! Forsake worldly concerns! Abandon materialistic pursuits! Engage in nothing but the Dharma from the core of your heart! Just as a seedling doesn't grow on a stone, there will be no enhancement without removing the fault of ego-clinging. You should therefore abandon the root of all evils, ego-clinging. (p. 90)

When you hear pleasant or unpleasant words, understand them to be an empty resounding, like an echo. When you encounter severe misfonune and misery, understand it to be a temporary occurrence, a deluded experience. Recognize that the innate nature is never apart from you.

The awakened state of mind is neither male nor female.

When realization occurs you should definitely be free from samsara, so that your disturbing emotions naturally subside and become original wakefulness. What is the use of a realization that fails to reduce your disturbing emotions?

When your body is in seclusion your mind will be also. Give up idle gossip and speak less. If you hurt another's feelings, both of you create negative karma […] don't allow yourself to feel attached or hostile. Maintain a peaceful frame of mind. Give up angry and harsh words; instead speak with a smiling face.

The guru said: If you want to genuinely practice the Dharma, do what is virtuous, even the most minute deed. Renounce what is evil, even the tiniest deed. The largest ocean is made from drops of water; even Mount Sumeru and the four continents are made of tiny atoms. (p. 30)

To be a meditator doesn't simply mean to live in a cave; it means to train oneself in the true meaning [of the natural state].