Home > Work > Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening
1 " What you are looking for is what is looking. "
― Joseph Goldstein , Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening
2 " Whatever has the nature to arise has the nature to cease. "
3 " The greatest communication is usually how we are rather than what we say. "
4 " One of the great misconceptions we often carry throughout our lives is that our perceptions of ourselves and the world are basically accurate and true, that they reflect some stable, ultimate reality. This misconception leads to tremendous suffering, both globally and in our personal life situations. "
5 " We can then see for ourselves the obvious truth that when we cling or hold on to that which changes, we suffer. "
6 " Without the steadiness of concentration, it is easy to get caught up in the feelings, perceptions, and thoughts as they arise. We take them to be self and get carried away by trains of association and reactivity. "
7 " one of the most radical, far-reaching, and challenging statements of the Buddha is his statement that as long as there is attachment to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant, liberation is impossible. "
8 " Aspirations inspire us, while expectations simply lead us into cycles of hope and fear: hope that what we want will happen; fear that it won’t. "
9 " whatever we frequently think of and ponder, that will become the inclination of our minds. "
10 " Hatred never ceases by hatred; it only ceases by love. "
11 " Why be unhappy about something if it can be remedied? And what is the use of being unhappy about something if it cannot be remedied? "
12 " All things arise when the appropriate conditions are present, and all things pass away as conditions change. Behind the process, there is no “self” who is running the show. "
13 " Finally, my mind just settled into the realization that accidents happen, and a mantra suddenly appeared in my mind, one that has served me well since: anything can happen anytime. "
14 " When we see deeply that all that is subject to arising is also subject to cessation, that whatever arises will also pass away, the mind becomes disenchanted. Becoming disenchanted, one becomes dispassionate. And through dispassion, the mind is liberated. "
15 " How does feeling our breath or taking a mindful step help anyone else? It happens in several ways. The more we understand our own minds, the more we understand everyone else. We increasingly feel the commonality of our human condition, of what creates suffering and how we can be free. Our practice also benefits others through the transformation of how we are in the world. If we’re more accepting, more peaceful, less judgmental, less selfish, then the whole world is that much more loving and peaceful, that much less judgmental and selfish. "
16 " Distortion of view takes place when we hold so deeply to our viewpoint that not even known facts can sway our beliefs. "
17 " This attachment to the body also deeply conditions our fear of death. The more we cling, the harder it is to let go. "
18 " Where is the end of seeing, of hearing, of thinking, of knowing? "
19 " Consciousness is not a thing that exists, but an event that occurs. "
20 " We can also strengthen the quality of ardor by reflecting on the transiency of all phenomena. Look at all the things we become attached to, whether they are people or possessions or feelings or conditions of the body. Nothing we have, no one in our lives, no state of mind is exempt from change. Nothing at all can prevent the universal process of birth, growth, decay, and death. "