Quotes About Practice

People often ask if it is difficult to be a celibate monk or nun, but to practice mindfulness as a monastic is in many ways easier than to practice as a layperson. To refrain from sexual activity altogether is much easier than to have a healthy sexual relationship.

When you and your partner share an aspiration and a practice, there is no place for jealousy, because you're both faithful to the same aspiration. Whatever the other person does, you do it with him. You share everything. That is the spirit of upeksha. It makes fidelity possible.

We have to practice continuously and not just superficially. It can't be done half-heartedly. We have to be determined to grasp our mind. A period of continuous diligent practice will surely lead to transformation

Words and ideas are only useful if they are put into practice.

In the second turning, we "Encourage" ourselves to practice this path. This is realized by learning, reflecting, and practicing. As we learn, whether by reading, listening, or discussing, we need to be open so we can see ways to put what we learn into practice. If learning is not followed by reflecting and practicing, it is not true learning.

If you are fortunate enough to be more successful on the path of practice than your brother or sister in the Dharma, find skillful and humble ways to help that person.

If we practice conscious breathing, we will calm the turmoil and sorrow in our minds whenever they appear. If at first our practice is not successful, we continue until we see the results. When we see that the practice works, slowly our faith in it grows. Our faith is always based on empirical evidence. We do not believe it just because it has been repeated many times by others.

So many individuals, children, couples, and families have been destroyed by sexual misconduct. To practice the Third Precept is to heal ourselves and heal our society. This is mindful living.

Brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth, I vow to use truthful and loving speech. When my mouth is fragrant with right speech, a flower blooms in the garden of my heart.

If Bodhidharma is the ideal man, it is because his image is that of a hero who has broken the chains of illusion that enclose man in the world of emotions. The hammer that is used to break these chains is the practice of Zen.

You have to be clear-minded. In the context of war, we grew deeper in our practice of nonviolence. Nonviolence is not a set of techniques that you can learn with your intellect. Nonviolent action naturally arises from the compassion, lucidity, and understanding you have within.

In a family, if there is one person who practices mindfulness, the entire family will be more mindful. Because of the presence of one member who lives in mindfulness, the entire family is reminded to live in mindfulness.

As we learn, whether by reading, listening, or discussing, we need to be open so we can see ways to put what we learn into practice. If learning is not followed by reflecting and practicing, it is not true learning.

To practice aimlessness doesn't mean that we don't have a dream or aspiration. It means to stay in touch with the ultimate dimension in the present moment, so we can realize our dreams with joy, ease, and freedom.

The Zen practitioner must . . . strive to liberate himself from his attachment to knowledge and to open the door of his being in order that truth might enter.

Te invito a que pienses profundamente en la práctica de la plena consciencia como una forma maravillosa de proporcionar alimento espiritual, tanto a tu comunidad como a ti mismo. Esa es una energía capaz de alimentar al mundo. Y cuando ves que esta práctica nutre al mundo, te sientes muy feliz porque estás conectado con la vida y sirviéndola de un modo muy real.

If we know how to handle the little sufferings, we don't have to suffer on a daily basis. We can practice letting go of what the French call les petites miseres, the little miseries, and save our energy to embrace and soothe the true pains of illness and loss that are unavoidable.

Of course, you have the right to suffer, but as a practitioner, you do not have the right not to practice. We all need to be understood and loved, but the practice is not merely to expect understanding and love. It is to practice understanding and love. Please don't complain when no one seems to love or understand you. Make the effort to understand and love them better.

Kung-an [koans] were in vogue during the Tang Dynasty. Each Zen practitioner had a kung-an to work on. But before this period, Zen Masters did not need kung-an. The kung-an is, therefore, not something absolutely indispensable to the practice of Zen. It is, more or less, a skillful means created by Zen Masters in order to help people who work under their direction.

I write in a journal first, briefly. Then read something I've read many times before, for about half an hour, then rework what I wrote the day before.

All in all, I just don't trust journalists - and I don't think it's a good practice for me to trust journalists.

People say I don't have a jump shot, so that's what I've been working on.

You try to figure out the best way to throw the shot put, or the perfect way to long jump, and you don't ever get it. You just chip away, chip away, chip away as time goes on.

Once you land a jump, you put it straight in the program. That's the way I've always been doing it.