Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

When you’re caught in the idea that this body is you, or this mind is you, you underestimate your value. But, when you can free yourself from the notion of self and see your body and mind as a stream of being of all your ancestors, you’ll begin to treat your body and mind with more respect.

We should not be too sure of our ideas. We should be ready to let go of them. What we consider to be a misfortune may turn out to be a fortune later on. It depends on our way of handling the situation.

It’s not by having a large Gross Domestic Product that society can be happy; it’s by producing compassion. You have the right to pursue economic growth, but not at the expense of life.

Mindfulness, concentration, and insight can be generated in every moment of your daily life, and it’s these energies that make you spiritual.

In every one of us there is also a warrior. The warrior brings a determination to go ahead. You refuse to give up.

I remember at first thinking that I need to access the present moment with my mind. But I’ve slowly understood that I can access it most directly with the senses: the smell of the woods, the edge of the breeze, the sound of the rain, the rumble of humanity through the asphalt.

The action of that bodhisattva is to remove the complex of worthlessness and low self-esteem.

Many of us live as though we’re dead, but, as soon as we know how to breathe mindfully and to walk mindfully, we can resurrect ourselves and come back to life.

If you can learn how to transform your anger, sadness, and despair, and if you can learn how to use loving speech and deep listening, you can become a real hero capable of offering happiness to many people.

you have to invent new ways of doing it, so that the breathing, walking, and sitting always brings you delight, solidity, and peace.