Quotes About Meditation

Meditation is the chewing upon the truths we have heard. The beasts in the old law which did not chew the cud were unclean; the professing Christian who does not by meditation chew the cud, is to be accounted unclean. Meditation is like the watering of the seed; it makes the fruits of grace to flourish.

learn Christ, is to believe in him; "my Lord, and my God,"Jno. 20. 28 when we do not only believe God, but in God, which is the actual application of Christ to ourselves, and as it were the spreading of the sacred medicine of his blood upon our souls.

In meditation there must be a staying of the thoughts upon the object. A man who rides quickly through a town or village: he minds nothing. But an artist who is looking on a curious piece views the whole portraiture of it, he observes the symmetry and proportion, he minds every shadow and color.

Leave not off reading the Bible till you find your hearts warmed. Read the word, not only as a history, but labor to be affected with it. Let it not only inform you, but inflame you.

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.

The voice of wisdom is silent, except to the open mind.

We're responsible. We have control. The clear nature of our mind is always there, waiting to be revealed when the clouds of the disturbing attitudes are dispelled. This is our human beauty; this is our potential.

Thubten Chodron

Vesak Day, May 31, 2007

serenity (shamatha)

We can look at our work as service to society and as an opportunity to learn more about ourselves by interacting with others. Our work will thus become an occasion to practice the teachings that we meditate on.

When the powerful wisdom that understands the nature of the mind arises, the dark clouds of ego disappear. Beyond the ego—the agitated, uncontrolled mind—lie everlasting peace and satisfaction. That's why Lord Buddha prescribed penetrative analysis of both your positive and your negative sides. In particular, when your negative mind arises, instead of being afraid, you should examine it more closely.

As we observe our thoughts carefully we will notice that they arise, abide, and disappear themselves. There is no need to expel thoughts from our mind forcefully; just as each thought arises from the clear nature of our mind, so too does it naturally dissolve back into this clear nature.

As each thought disappears in this way, we should train ourselves to feel that this disappearance is even more real than the thought's original concrete appearance.

The only sensible approach is to train ourselves to observe our thoughts without following them. This deprives them of their compulsive energy and is therefore like removing the pot of boiling water from the fire. Eventually calmness and clarity will prevail.

Meditation is an alert state of mind, the opposite of sluggishness; meditation is wisdom. You should remain aware every moment of your daily life, fully conscious of what you are doing and why and how you are doing it.

The Buddhist attitude is that it doesn't matter how many delusions you have, how confused you are, how much sin or negativity you have created, it is possible, absolutely possible, to totally eradicate all of it.

These days, people study and train to become psychologists. Lord Buddha's idea is that everybody should become a psychologist. Each of you should know your own mind; you should become your own psychologist. This is definitely possible; every human being has the ability to understand his or her own mind. When you understand your own mind, control follows naturally.

The transformation of the mind is the ultimate healing. I may be the one saying all this, but the actual healing has to come from you, from your own mind. The healing comes through your meditation, through your positive thinking, which basically means through your own wisdom and compassion. Meditation on emptiness and on loving kindness and compassion ends the need for healing. Through this ultimate healing, you will never have to experience disease again. (p. 10)

the mind is a dependent arising, which means that it exists in dependence upon causes and conditions, our mind can be transformed in any way we choose;

If you neglect to protect your mind, you can neither close the door to suffering nor open the door to happiness.– Lama Zopa Rinpoche

O prince, abide in meditative equipoise on the spacelike ultimate. [16] In the illusionlike subsequent periods, reflect on karma and its fruits." When the teacher revealed

He is untainted by elaborations of the eight mundane concerns.77

Now my own self is the enemy, and sentient beings are the friends.