Highlights
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As soon as we pay attention to our breath, as we breathe in, these three things—body, breath, and mind—come together.
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When you make a soup, you have to add together all the right ingredients in harmony and let them simmer. Our breath is the broth that brings the different elements together. We bathe spirit and mind in our breath and they become integrated so they are one thing. We are whole.
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We don’t need to control our body, mind, and breath. We can just be there for them. We allow them to be themselves. This is nonviolence.
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Instead of describing sitting meditation as the practice of concentration, looking deeply, and getting insight, I like to describe sitting as enjoying doing nothing. Primarily, sitting is to enjoy the pleasure of sitting, being fully alive and in touch
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with the wonders of our working bodies, the cool air, the sounds of people and birds, and the changing colors of the sky.
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“Zen” is the Japanese pronunciation of dhyana, which is the Sanskrit word for meditation.
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if the foundation of our being is not strong enough, then the more we do, the more troubled our society becomes.
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The quality of our presence is the most positive element that we can contribute to the world.
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Becoming aware of your breathing is the first step in taking care of yourself.
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sit. We don’t need to sit with an intention like getting smarter or becoming enlightened. We can sit just to enjoy sitting and breathing.
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in. To be alive is the greatest of all miracles, and you can rejoice in being alive. When you breathe in this way, your breath is a celebration of life.
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Whenever we perform our daily activities with mindful awareness, we’re practicing meditation.
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As we become freer and happier, we cease to act in ways that make others suffer, and we are able to bring about change in ourselves and help others around us become free.
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When we sit, we bring joy and nourishment to ourselves and to others. Every time we sit, we can sit in such a way that the world can profit from our sitting. We are solid. We are relaxed. We are calm. We are happy while sitting. We sit as if we are sitting on a lotus flower, not on a heap of burning charcoal.
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When you sit, sit in such a way that you feel you have already arrived. To sit doesn’t mean to struggle.
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The people who put her in prison were trying to control her. She had to practice so she wouldn’t lose her mind; sitting like that gave her space in her heart.
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People can try to steal many things from us, but they can’t steal our determination and our practice.
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If you don’t have enough compassion for yourself and for others, you won’t have the courage to cut off the afflictions that make you suffer.
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When you have a toothache, the feeling is very unpleasant. When you don’t have a toothache, you usually have a neutral feeling; you’re not aware of your non-toothache. When you are mindful of not having a toothache, then what was a neutral feeling becomes a feeling of peace and joy. You are so happy not to have a toothache in this moment. By
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transforming neutral feelings into joyful ones, we nourish our happiness.
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When you sit alone quietly, it’s something beautiful, even if nobody sees it. When a little flower appears in a crack between two rocks, it’s a beautiful sight. People may never see it, but that’s okay.
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Consider daily sitting meditation to be a kind of spiritual food. When we sit, we produce the energy of mindfulness and a