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

you can simply observe whatever thoughts, feelings, or sensations come up, hang out for a couple of seconds, and then disappear, and acknowledge, “Oh, that’s what’s going on in my mind right now.” Wherever you are, whatever you do, it’s essential to acknowledge your experience as something ordinary, the natural expression of your true mind. If you

feelings of limitation, anxiety, fear, and so on are just so much neuronal gossip. They are, in essence, habits. And habits can be unlearned.

the true nature of all living creatures is already completely free from suffering and endowed with perfect happiness: In seeking happiness and avoiding unhappiness, regardless of how we go about it, we’re all just expressing the essence of who we are.

In classical Buddhist texts, it’s compared to offering candy to a mute. The mute undoubtedly experiences the sweetness of the candy, but is powerless to describe it.

The primordial purity of the ground completely transcends words, concepts, and formulations. —JAMGÖN KONGTRUL, Myriad Worlds, translated and edited by the International Committee of Kunkhyab Chöling

One of the great benefits of meditation on sound is that it gradually teaches you to detach from assigning meaning to the various sounds you hear. You learn to listen to what you hear without necessarily responding emotionally to the content. As you grow accustomed to giving bare attention to sound simply as sound, you’ll find yourself able to list

Any daily activity can be used as an opportunity for meditation. You can watch your thoughts as you go through your day, rest your attention momentarily on experiences like taste, smell, form, or sound, or simply rest for a few seconds on the marvelous experience of simply being aware of the experiences going on in your mind.

Fortunately, the more familiar we become with examining our minds, the closer we come to finding a solution to whatever problem we might be facing, and the more easily we recognize that whatever

The Tibetan word for meditation, gom, literally means “becoming familiar with,” and Buddhist meditation practice is really about becoming familiar with the nature of your own mind—a bit like getting to know a friend on deeper and deeper levels.

Compassion is the spontaneous wisdom of the heart. It’s always with us. It always has been, and always will be. When it arises in us, we’ve simply learned to see how strong and safe we really are.