“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”
“Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world tickle your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world. You are willing to share your heart with others.”
Impermanence is easy to understand. The fact that things are temporary is not the problem. Rather, it’s the attachment we have to people and things that makes us unhappy. Say we have a new jacket we like enormously. After wearing it only a few times, we get some wet paint on it, or we tear it. We feel annoyed. […] We must look it right in the eye, this dissatisfaction caused by change, and acknowledge it.
Enlightenment is ego’s ultimate disappointment.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.
If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.
Many people think excitement is happiness…. But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.
It is impossible to build one’s own happiness on the unhappiness of others. This perspective is at the heart of Buddhist teachings.