As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

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

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

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

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

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

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 trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.