Philosophy 03 (May 24 - Dec 25)

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Rest Your Mind

When mind is leading you, you are a sentient being.

When mind is resting, you are a buddha.

- Jigme Losel Wangpo, “Beyond Time”

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Your Most Profound Teachers

When you become uncomfortable or frightened, remember that difficult emotions are your most profound teachers.

- Ruth King, “Soothing the Hot Coals of Rage”

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Overcoming Negative Emotions

We can overcome our negative emotions not by rejecting them — trying to push them away — but by skillfully using them.

- Phakchok, “Creating a Confident Mind”

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Knowing Death

The most effective thing in getting to know death, isn’t being with dying people but sensing myself as being a continually dying person.

- Sallie Jiko Tisdale, “Travel Guide to the End of Life”

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Actualizing Awakening

So many factors demand our attention; isn’t it awesome that we have at least some influence over what we choose to focus on?

And if there is power in acknowledging and being thankful for even small blessings, the power of finding meaning in the face of suffering, can be transformative.

- Pamela Gayle White, “Skunked by Gratitude”

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Letting Go of Thoughts

The more we learn to let go of thoughts, the more we gain the ability to drop our negative stories.

- Sean Murphy, “Get Out of Your Head”

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Living with Death

Most of us try to avoid the sense that death can come at any time but its timing is unknown to us.

Can we live each day as if it were our last?

Can we relate to one another as if there were no tomorrow?

- Joan Halifax, “The Nine Contemplations”

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Live Playfully

Life can be like a play with no script.

All the more reason to take pleasure in improvising your role, don’t you think?

- Shunmyo Masuno, “How to Let Things Go”

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Loosen Your Convictions

We must be willing to not be so sure about who we are, what we’re here to do and why.

And we have to let go of the belief that what we can see and touch and name, is more real and more relevant than what’s not visible.

- Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, “Signs of the Unseen”

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Enjoy the Journey

The Buddha’s teachings on mindfulness point to one end—realization and release from suffering.

Still, there are rewards along the way — greater compassion and a clear conscience, for two.

And even, dare I say it, happiness.

- Joan Duncan Oliver, “Do I Mind?”