“People who are enlightened in previous lifetimes have a certain degree of difficulty in regaining their enlightenment. Sometimes it comes in childhood. Sometimes it takes many years to reintegrate the personality structure that they gained when they first entered into this world.” PeopleWorldYearsFirstsSometimesCertainTeacherChildhoodThis WorldPersonalityDegreesEnlightenmentDifficultyStructureLifetimeEnlightened Author:Frederick Lenz
“Being a Buddhist monk means never losing one's optimism in spite of all difficulties. It also means being harder on yourself than any of your teachers ever were.” MeanTeacherBuddhismLosingOptimismDifficultyHarderBuddhistSpiteMonkEtiquetteBuddhist Monk Author:Frederick Lenz
“Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read.” PurposeTeacherTroubleCostConsciousDifficultyFixed Book:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Source: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
“Poetry is difficult, I mean interesting poetry, not confessional babble or emotive propaganda. Reading a new poet is discovering an entire world, what Stevens called a 'mundo' and it takes a lot of time to orientate oneself in such a world. What we have to learn to do then, as teachers and militants of a poetic insurgency, is to encourage people to learn to love the difficulty of poetry. I simply do not understand much of the poetry that I love.” PeopleWorldMeanReadingDifficultInterestingTeacherPoetDifficultyOneselfPropagandaPoetry IsPoeticDiscoveringInsurgency Author:Simon Critchley
“Taking the one seat describes two related aspects of spiritual work. Outwardly, it means selecting one practice and teacher among all the possibilities, and inwardly, it means having the determination to stick with that practice through whatever difficulties and doubts arise until you have come to true clarity and understanding.” MeanTwoSpiritualUnderstandingPracticeDoubtTeacherPossibilityAspectDeterminationDifficultySticksWork OutAriseClarityRelatedSeatsSpiritual Work Author:Jack Kornfield