“And I have known meditators filled with doubt and self-condemnation when the practice has been stormy. Practicing with our best effort during periods of crisis and personal struggle may not bring about spiritual highs. It may, however, bring something more important: a strengthening of the inner qualities that sustain a spiritual life for the long term: mindfulness, persistence, courage, compassion, humility, renunciation, discipline, concentration, faith*, acceptance, and kindness.” LifeInspirationalHealingStrengthBuddhismMindfulnessZenWell BeingSelf Compassion Book:The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice Source: The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice
“Many of us have hearts that are encrusted with anxieties, fears, aversions, sorrows, and an array of defensive armor. The non-reactive and accepting awareness of mindfulness will help to dissolve these crusts. The practice has a cyclic quality; it is self-reinforcing. At first, the practice will allow us to let go of a small amount of defensiveness. That release allows a corresponding amount of openness and tender- heartedness to show itself. This process encourages us to drop even more armor. Slowly, a greater sense of heartfeltness supports the further development of mindfulness. As our neurotic thought patterns drop away, layers of judgment and resistance atrophy, and the need to define our selves through hard-held identities relaxes. As this happens, the natural goodness of the heart shines by itself. The impulses to be aware, happy, compassionate, and free, all come from the goodness of our hearts. As we connect to these intentions and allow them to motivate our mindfulness practice, the practice becomes heartfelt.” LifeInspirationalHealingCompassionBuddhismSelf LoveMindfulnessZenWell Being Book:The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice Source: The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice
“Our intentions - noticed or unnoticed, gross or subtle contribute either to our suffering or to our happiness. Intentions are sometimes called seeds. The garden you grow depends on the seeds you plant and water. Long after a deed is done, the trace or momentum of the intention behind it remains as a seed, conditioning our future happiness or unhappiness.” InspirationalLongSometimesDoneSpiritualSufferingGrowsWaterBehindsDependsGardenRemainsPlantIntentionDeedsSeedsSubtleUnhappinessOur FutureGrossMomentumConditioningUnnoticedFuture Happiness Book:The Issue at Hand Source: The Issue at Hand
