The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with.

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.