The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness

Fresh awareness of whatever arises … is sufficient.

Meditation is actually a very simple exercise in resting in the natural state of your present mind, and allowing yourself to be simply and clearly present to whatever thoughts, sensations, or emotions occur.

Every mental affliction is actually the basis of wisdom.

Positive emotions—such as love, compassion, friendship, and loyalty—strengthen the mind, build our confidence, and enhance our ability to assist those in need of help.

One of the most important lessons I learned during my years of formal training was that whenever I blocked the compassion that is a natural quality of my mind, I inevitably found myself feeling small, vulnerable, and afraid.

The essence of his teaching was that any factor can be understood as compulsive to the degree that it obscures our ability to see things as they are, without judgment. If someone is yelling at us, for example, we rarely take the time to distinguish between the bare recognition “Oh, this person is raising his voice and saying such and such words” an

If you find yourself struggling with a lot of distractions, you can use every distraction as an object of meditation. Then they cease to be distractions and become supports for your meditation practice.”

Whatever satisfaction we might experience when we attain something or someone we desire doesn’t last. Whatever or whoever made us happy today, this month, or this year is bound to change. Change is the only constant of relative reality.

The body of meditation, it’s said, is nondistraction. Whatever thoughts are perceived by the mind are nothing in themselves. Help this meditator who rests naturally in the essence of whatever thoughts arise to rest in the mind as it naturally is.