happiness is never won that way

"Whatever realization may come by way of silence, our happiness is never won that way. Happiness is not happiness unless it is shared. For happiness is the one thing in all the world that comes to us only at the moment we give it, and is likewise increased by being given away."

- Clark Strand, “The Wisdom of Frogs”, tricycle.com

do we come back?

"The important question is not whether we go away sometimes, but whether we come back. Although we may never be able to handle everything that comes along perfectly, it is the intention to face what is happening that allows a relationship to keep moving forward."

- John Welwood. "Journey of the Heart: The Path of Conscious Love." HarperPerennial, 1996

a better time on the trip

"In the long run the pessimist may be proven right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip." 

- Daniel L. Reardon

stop and notice

“Until we stop and notice what is happening in the present moment, we cannot generate joy, awareness, or compassion.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh. “Work.” Parallax Press.

this is all there is right now!

“But I’m so young!

I have so many things to do yet!

Well! that’ll sure keep you from

Being here & now

Life is passing me by!

Hmmmmmm

But, if I live just in the here & now

won’t there be chaos? What happens

if the telephone rings?

Well: the here & now is the fact

that the telephone is ringing!

Pick it up!

Well: what if somebody wants to

make an appointment to see me

3 weeks from now?

Right!

Write it down. That’s here & now

Well, what happens 3 weeks from now?

3 weeks from now there’s that

appointment. Then: that is here & now.

When your child comes down the stairs

This is the first moment all over again

This is

Buddha meeting Buddha

Over toast & coffee

Over milk & porridge

Over mu tea & brown rice

We never had breakfast before!

This is it!!

This is all there is

Right now!

If it’s not good enuf, man, it’s not good enuf”

- Ram Dass. “Be Here Now (Enhanced Edition).” HarperCollins, 2010-10-26.

a respectful awareness

“Mindfulness is this kind of attention. It is a nonjudging, receptive awareness, a respectful awareness.”

- Jack Kornfield. “Bringing Home the Dharma.” Shambhala Publications.

giving in to anger

"When you give in to aversion and anger, it’s as though, having decided to kill someone by throwing him into a river, you wrap your arms around his neck, jump into the water with him, and you both drown. In destroying your enemy, you destroy yourself as well."

- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, "Putting Down the Arrow", tricycle.com

take life as it comes

“Relax, lad. Take life as it comes. Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can.”

- Robert Jordan. “The Eye of the World.” Tom Doherty Associates.

why be upset about it?

"If you can do something to change the circumstances, why be upset about it? And if you cannot do anything to change the circumstances, why be upset about it?"

- Ogyen Trinley Dorje, "Your Own Noble Heart," Tricycle Magazine, Summer 2013

in the pursuit of enlightenment

"In the pursuit of knowledge, something is added every day. In the pursuit of enlightenment, something is dropped every day."

- Lao Tzu

feeling grateful for what we already have

“Feeling grateful for what we already have, being aware that we have more than enough conditions for happiness in the present moment is very important. It is good to start the day with this sort of awareness.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh. “Work.” Parallax Press.

learning how to think

“'Learning how to think' really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.

It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.”

- David Foster Wallace. “This Is Water.” Little, Brown and Company, 2009-04-14.

when two people connect being-to-being

"The ground of a strong and lasting commitment is the passionate connection between two people whose beings say yes to each other. When two people connect being-to-being, they experience a deep 'soul-resonance' that goes beyond mere romance or desire."

- John Welwood. "Journey of the Heart: The Path of Conscious Love." HarperPerennial, 1996

disengaging from confusion

"Once we taste the freedom that comes with independence, it gets easier. We realize how much we have lost by desperately holding on, and we know how much there is to gain through disengaging from confusion. We can do this while expanding our most precious qualities: our good heart and our compassion for others."

- Dzigar Kongtrul, “Old Relationships, New Possibilities”, tricycle.com

you start to go for something deeper

"And you start to go for something deeper. You start to go to meet another human being in truth. And truth is scary. Truth has bad breath at times; truth is boring; truth burns the food; truth is all the stuff. Truth has anger; truth has all of it. And you stay in it and you keep working with it and your keep opening to it and you keep deepening it."

- Ram Dass, ramdass.org

trying to control the future

"Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter's place...chances are that you'll cut your hand."

- Lao Tzu

keep alive your understanding

"The seeds of anger are always there. But when you notice, when you keep alive your understanding, they have no chance to manifest. Understanding is something that stays with you, and practicing the precepts, practicing meditation, helps you deepen your understanding all the time."

- Thich Nhat Hanh, “Interbeing with Thich Nhat Hanh”, tricycle.com

choosing to work with obstacles

"Commitment means choosing to work with those obstacles that interfere with the free flow of love, both in ourselves and in the relationship."

- John Welwood. "Journey of the Heart: The Path of Conscious Love." HarperPerennial, 1996

act with skillful intentions

"The teaching on karma starts with the principle that people experience happiness and sorrow based on a combination of their past and present intentions. If we act with unskillful intentions either for ourselves or for others, we’re going to suffer. If we act with skillful intentions, we’ll experience happiness. So if we want to be happy, we have to train our intentions to always be skillful."

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Head & Heart Together”, tricycle.com