When you breathe in, the air enters your body and calms all the cells of your body. At the same time, each “cell” of your breathing becomes more peaceful and each “cell” of your mind also becomes more peaceful. The three are one and each one is all three. This is the key to meditation. Breathing brings the sweet joy of meditation to you. It is

Concentration of the mind is stopping it from running around from one object to another in order to stay with just one object. We stay with one object in order to observe it and to look deeply into it. In this way, stopping and observing become one.

You can pass half your life seeking riches and fame without ever holding your little toe between your fingers in awakened awareness.

The eighth method aims at the transformation of the energy of feelings. By observing the true nature of any feeling, we can transform its energy into the energy of peace and joy. When we understand someone, we can accept and love him. Once we have accepted him, there is no longer any feeling of reproach or irritation against him. The energy of the

The ninth method helps us identify the functions of the mind (other than the feelings, which were treated in methods seven and eight), such as perception, thinking, reasoning, discriminating, imagining, and all the activities of the subconscious as well. As soon as one of these psychological phenomena arises, we should identify it while breathing

Life in this world is both painful and miraculous. The Buddhist traditions of the Southern schools stress the painful side, while the Buddhist traditions of the Northern schools help us realize and appreciate the marvels of life.

Everything that exists can be placed into one of the Four Establishments of Mindfulness—namely the body, the feelings, the mind, and the objects of the mind. “All dharmas” is another way of saying “the objects of the mind.” Although all dharmas are divided into four, in reality they are one, because all Four Establishments of Mindfulness are all

Seeing that there is a precious jewel in our pocket, we give up every attitude of craving or coveting like one who is deprived. Seeing that we are lions, we do not long to nurse from a mother deer. Seeing that we are the sun, we give up the candle’s habit of fearing the wind will blow us out. Seeing that life has no boundaries, we give up all

Only after we become blind will we be aware that having eyes to see the blue sky and the white clouds is miraculous. While we can see, we are rarely aware of this miracle. Practicing meditation is to be aware of both what is painful and what is miraculous. Happiness is the nourishment of the meditator, and it is not necessary to look for it outside