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21 " You have to realize that happiness is not something you find at the end of the road. You have to understand that it is here, now. "
― Thich Nhat Hanh , You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment
22 " The Zen master Linji (also known as Rinzai) said, “The miracle is walking on the earth, not walking on water or fire. The real miracle is walking on this earth. "
23 " partner, with your children. It is the way to love your body. It is the way to take care of your nervous system. This is very important. The basis of practice is to be here: “I am here for my breathing; I am here for my body; I am here for my troubles, for my depression, and for my suffering.” The Second Miracle of Mindfulness THE OTHER The first miracle of mindfulness is our true presence—being here, present, and totally alive. Then, if you are really here, something else will also be here: the presence of the other. You are here and the other is here. What is the other? It could be your heart; your eyes; your body; or your in-breath. The other is the "
24 " The wave can live the life of a wave, but it can also do better. It can live every moment of its life deeply touching its nature of no-birth and no-death, that is, its nature as water. "
25 " The Buddha said that we should not be afraid of the past; but he did warn us not to lose ourselves in it, either. We should not feed our regret or pain over the past, and we should not get carried away by the past. We do need to study and understand the past, however, because by looking deeply into the past we learn a lot of things that can benefit the present and the future. The past is an object of our study, of our meditation, but the way to study it or meditate on it is by remaining anchored in the present moment. We "
26 " There is no need to travel a great distance to touch the Kingdom of God, because it is not located in space or time. "
27 " Hell is in us, like a seed. We need to cultivate the positive within us so we can generate the energy of understanding and compassion and transform hell. "
28 " The deep insight of impermanence is what helps us do this. It is very useful to keep our concentration on impermanence alive. You think the other person in your life is going to be there forever, but that is not true. That person is impermanent, just like you. So if you can do something to make that person happy, you should do it right away. Anything you can do or say to make him or her happy—say it or do it now. It’s now or never. "
29 " In; out. Deep; slow. Calm; ease. Smile; release. "
30 " We should not try to escape from our pain. We should look at it directly. Looking at suffering deeply, we will have deep insight into its nature, and the path of transformation and healing will present itself to us. "
31 " Getting rid of the concept of self is the work of all meditators, because suffering is born from this concept. "
32 " Meditation is not about turning yourself into a battlefield where one side fights the other, because the basis of Buddhist meditation is nonduality. "
33 " We move about life in our own corpse because we are not touching life in depth. We live a kind of artificial life, with lots of plans, lots of worries and anger. Never are we able to establish ourselves in the here and now and live our lives deeply. We have to wake up! We have to make it possible for the moment of awareness to manifest. This is the practice that will save us—this is the revolution. "
34 " You think the other person in your life is going to be there forever, but that is not true. That person is impermanent, just like you. So if you can do something to make that person happy, you should do it right away. Anything you can do or say to make him or her happy—say it or do it now. It’s now or never. "
35 " I urge you to write this phrase down on a card and put it up on the wall of your room: “Are you sure of your perceptions? "
36 " Conflict and suffering are often caused by a person not wanting to surrender his concepts and ideas of things. In the relationship between a father and a son, for example, or between partners, this happens all the time. It is important to train yourself to let go of your ideas about things. Freedom is cultivated by this practice of letting go. If you look deeply, you may find that you are holding on to a concept that is causing you to suffer a great deal. Are you intelligent enough, are you free enough, to give up this idea? "
37 " Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. "
38 " Happiness is a function of compassion. If you do not have compassion in your heart, you do not have any happiness. The "
39 " Debes saber cómo desembarazarte de las cosas que te hacen sufrir. Puedes alcanzar la felicidad soltando…, soltando incluso tus ideas sobre la felicidad. Quizás creas que para ser feliz debes cumplir determinados requisitos, pero, si observas profundamente, descubrirás que son precisamente esas mismas nociones las que te impiden alcanzar la felicidad y acaban haciéndote sufrir. "
40 " For my part, I promise you that I will do my best to recognize and water the positive seeds in you. You have very positive seeds in you, and I appreciate them a lot. Every time these seeds manifest, I am very happy, because at such times you are wonderful. You are so full of love and joy that I vow to water these seeds in you every day. I see as well that there are seeds of suffering in you, and I will make every effort not to water these. In that way I will not make you suffer, and I will not make myself suffer, either.” That is the practice. "