First, in the field of morality, we train to pay attention to our actions and speech, and to realize that everything we do and say has consequences. We cannot divorce spiritual practice from the everyday actions of our lives.

Genuine happiness does not come from accumulating pleasant feelings.

The Dalai Lama goes to the heart of things in the most simple and down-to-earth way. “We are visitors on this planet,” he has said. “We are here for ninety, one hundred years at most. During that period we must try to do something good, something useful with our lives. Try to be at peace with yourself and help others to share that peace. If you

Especially at the beginning of the practice, most of us get in touch with some physical pain. And then there are our various reactions to it: fear, self-pity, defensiveness, or avoidance. Mostly, we just don’t like it. We try to just “watch the pain” but really we are trying to bargain with it: “I’ll watch you… if you go away.”

By making right speech an active part of our spiritual path, we can bring wisdom and sensitivity to what we say.

“There is one thing we always

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes. MARCEL PROUST

for the welfare and happiness of all beings.”

Mindfulness