“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” ― Eckhart Tolle
You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child. – Dogen
Even for a moment do not think that you are the body. Give yourself no name, no shape. In the darkness and the silence reality is found. — Nisargadatta Maharaj
Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing more courageous, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth; because love is born of God, and cannot rest but in God, above all created things. – Thomas A Kempis
What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we cannot cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? – Thomas Merton
“The past has no power over the present moment.” ― Eckhart Tolle
The knower and the known are one. Simple people imagine that they should see God, as if He stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one in knowledge. – Meister Eckhart
You’re not living until it doesn’t matter a tinker’s damn to you whether you live or die. At that point you live. When you’re ready to lose your life, you live it. – Anthony de Mello
Humanity, divine limitation; Divinity, human perfection. – Hazrat Inayat Khan
God created the world in such a way that he still creates it without ceasing. All that belongs to the past and future is remote and alien to God. – Meister Eckhart
The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When like and dislike are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction however and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. – Seng T’san
Step out of the circle of time. And into the circle of love. -Rumi
Friendship is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. – Aristotle
The only true liberty is in the service of that which is beyond all limits, beyond all definitions, beyond all human appreciation: that which is All, and which therefore is no limited or individual thing: The All is no-thing, for if it were to be a single thing separated from all other things, it would not be All. – Thomas Merton
The peace which is the most important is that which comes to the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe. – Black Elk
No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees. – Thomas Merton
Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do children as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. – Helen Keller
A hermit is one who renounces the world of fragments that he may enjoy the world wholly and without interruption. – Kahlil Gibran
In each mirror, each moment. A new face reveals His beauty. – Fakhruddîn Irâqî
I would rather feel compassion than know the meaning of it. – St. Thomas Aquinas
We are always peace. To get rid of the idea that we are not peace is all that is required. – Ramana Maharshi
In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments – there are consequences. – Robert Green Ingersoll
When the mystic’s spiritual eye is opened, his physical eye is closed; he sees nothing but God. – Abu Sulayman Ad-Darani
When people talk about war, I vow with all beings to raise my voice in the chorus and speak of original peace. – Robert Aitken
Happiness depends on what you can give, not on what you can get. – Swami Chinmayananda
We are members of a vast cosmic orchestra in which each living instrument is essential to the complementary and harmonious playing of the whole. – J. Allen Boone
You are all searching for the silence of the mountain. But you’re looking for something outside. This silence is accessible to you right now, inside the center of your own being. – Ramana Maharshi
“A woman is god shining through subtle veils.” – Rumi
People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life… I think that what we’re really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive. – Joseph Campbell
When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much. – Fen-Yang
A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
It is not the world but attachment to it which is the root of all misery. – Swami Nityaswarupananda
The way is not difficult; only there must be no wanting or not wanting. – Chao-Chou
The secret of human freedom is to act well, without attachment to the results. – From the Bhagavad Gita
As a mountain is unshaken by the wind, so the heart of a wise person is unmoved by all the changes on this earth. – Buddha
The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When like and dislike are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction however and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. – Seng T’san
I believe that man must get rid of illusions that enslave and paralyze him; that he must become aware of the reality inside and outside of him in order to create a world which needs no illusions. Freedom and independence can be achieved only when the chains of illusion are broken. – Erich Fromm
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should see sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Within each of us there is a silence as vast as the universe. We long for it. We can return to it. – Jack Kornfield
If you want to realize the truth, don’t be for or against. The struggle between good and evil is the primal disease of the mind. – Seng Ts’an
The sage embraces things. Ordinary men discriminate amongst them and parade their discriminations before others. So I say; those who discriminate, fail to see. – Chuang-Tzu
Most people believe the mind to be a mirror, more or less accurately reflecting the world outside of them, not realizing on the contrary that the mind is itself the principal element of creation. – Rabindranath Tagore
Rehearse death. To say this is to tell a person to rehearse his freedom. A person who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. He is above, or at any rate, beyond the reach of, all political powers. – Seneca
Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past. – Jack Kornfield
In the empty heart, void of self can be heard the echoing cry, “I am the Truth.” Thus is man one with the eternal. Travelling, travel and traveler have become one. – Mahmud Shabistari
Beauty is not caused, – it is; Chase it and it ceases, Chase it not and it abides… – Emily Dickinson
To find perfect composure in the midst of change is to find nirvana. – Shunryu Suzuki
The human body is finite; the spirit is boundless. Before you begin to pray, cast aside what limits you and enter into the world of the Infinite. Turn to God alone and have no thought of self at all. Nothing but God will exist for you when self has ceased to be. – Dov Baer of Mezhirech
The soul is created in a place between Time and Eternity: with its highest powers it touches Eternity, with its lower Time. – Meister Eckhart
Things are entirely what they appear to be and behind them… there is nothing. – Sartre
You are not your body; you are the eye. When you see the spirit, you are free of the body. A human being is an eye – the rest is just flesh and bones. Whatever your eye sees, you are that. – Rumi
We are more curious about the meaning of dreams than about things we see when awake. – Diogenes
Watermelons and Zen students grow pretty much the same way. Long periods of sitting till they ripen and grow all juicy inside, but when you knock them on the head to see if they’re ready – sounds like nothing’s going on. – Peter Levitt
For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life. – William Blake
We are completely unaware of our true nature because we identify ourselves with our body, our emotions and our thoughts, thus losing sight of our unchanging Centre, which is pure consciousness. When we return to our true nature, our thoughts and perceptions no longer appear as modifications of a single substance, they come into being and subside like waves of the ocean. – Jean Klein
Think not of the amount to be accomplished, the difficulties to be overcome, or the end to be attained, but set earnestly at the little task at your elbow, letting that be sufficient for the day. – Sir William Osler
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all being in the world. – Lao Tzu
You will have peace to the extent that you have God, and the further you are away from God the less you will be at peace… Thus you may measure your progress with God by measuring your peace or the lack of it. – Meister Eckhart
Humanity is exalted not because we are so far above other living creatures, but because knowing them well elevates the very concept of life. – Edward O. Wilson
Know that when you learn to lose yourself, you will reach the Beloved. There is no other secret to be learned, and more than that is not known to me. – Al-Ansari
Nature is but a name for an effect whose cause is God. – Cowper
If one is a true learner of the Way, one does not search for the faults of the world, but rather speedily applies oneself to attain genuine insight. If one only can see with perfect clarity, then all is completed. – Rinzai
Happiness is not a reward – it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment – it is a result. – Robert Green Ingersoll
How shall I grasp it? Do not grasp it. That which remains when there is no more grasping is the Self. – Panchadasi
“I seek the meaning of existence,” said the stranger. “You are of course assuming,” said the Master, “that existence has a meaning.” “Doesn’t it?” “When you experience existence as it is – not as you think it is – you will discover that your question has no meaning,” said the Master. – Anthony de Mello
I’m not young enough to know everything. – J.M. Barrie
O God! if I worship Thee in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not thine everlasting beauty. – RÂBI‘A
What is worship? To realize reality. What is the sacred law? To do no evil. What is reality? Selflessness. – Ansari of Herat
A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe’; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison. – Albert Einstein
Among the great things which are to be found among us, the being of nothingness is the greatest. – Leonardo da Vinci
I, God, am in your midst. Whoever knows me can never fall. Not in the heights, nor in the depths, nor in the breadths. For I am love, which the vast expanses of evil can never still. – Hildegard of Bingen
Finally, out of reach – No bondage, no dependency. How calm the ocean, Towering the void. – Tessho
Obey the nature of things, and you will walk freely and undisturbed. – Seng T’san
Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. – Robert Louis Stevenson
The experience of life consists of the experience which the spirit has of itself in matter and as matter, in mind and as mind, in emotion, as emotion, etc. – Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
God is silence and is most easily reached in silence. – Baha’ ad-din Naqshband
There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. – Shakespeare
“Allow me to explain the good news my religion proclaims,” said the preacher. The master was all attention. “God is love. And God loves and rewards us forever if we observe God’s commandments.” “If?” said the master. “Then the news isn’t all that good, is it?”– Anthony de Mello
“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” ― Eckhart Tolle
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; The wise grows it under his feet. – James Oppenheim
Here is a test whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t. – Richard Bach
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t. – Robert Benchley
If we could, and we must, establish a deep long abiding relationship with nature, with the actual trees, the bushes, the flowers, the grass and the fast moving clouds, then we would never slaughter another human being for any reason whatsoever. – Jiddu Krishnamurti
Do not worry about anything ever, For the grace of God is in every shape and form. – Sufi saying
“When God threw me, a pebble, into this wondrous lake I disturbed its surface with countless circles. But when I reached the depths I became very still.” – Khalil Gibran
It is easy to understand God as long as you don’t try to explain him. – Joubert
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.– Ralph Waldo Emerson
At the sound of the bell in the silent night, I wake from my dream in this dream world of ours. Gazing at the reflection of the moon in a clear pool, I see, beyond my form, my real form. – Unknown
Love is difficult, because loving is not enough: We must, like God, ourselves be Love. – Angelus Silesius
In God there is no duality. In that Presence “I” and “we” and “you” do not exist. “I” and “you” and “we” and “He” become one…. Since in the Unity there is no distinction, the Quest and the Way and the Seeker become one. – Mahmud Shabistari
I tell you one thing – If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather learn to see your own faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger, my child;
this whole world is your own. – Sri Sarada Devi
It is difficult to find happiness in oneself but it is impossible to find it anywhere else. – Schopenhauer
True happiness cannot be found in things that change and pass away. Pleasure and pain alternate inexorably. Happiness comes from the Self and can be found in the Self only. Find your real Self and all else will come with it. – Nisargadatta Maharaj
The temple of our purest thoughts is silence. – Sarah J. Hale
We have not come here to take prisoners, but to surrender ever more deeply to freedom and joy. – Hafiz
Nature is the glass reflecting God, as by the sea reflected is the sun, too glorious to be gazed on in his sphere. – Young
Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender in love, because there follows immediate peace. – From the Bhagavad Gita
The divine is not something high above us. It is in heaven, it is in earth, it is inside us. – Morihei Ueshiba
The greatest of all delusions is the conviction that knowledge is not a delusion. – Tripura Rahasya
It took me forty years on earth. To reach this sure conclusion: There is no Heaven but clarity, No Hell except confusion. – Jan Struther
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. – The Dalai Lama
The Self is hidden in the hearts of all, as butter lies hidden in cream.
Realize the Self in the depths of meditation; The Lord of Love, supreme reality, who is the goal of all knowledge. This is the highest mystical teaching. – From the Shveteshvatara Upanishad
A mind that has come to the stillness of wisdom shall know being, shall know what it is to love. Love is neither personal nor impersonal. Love is love, not to be defined or described by the mind as exclusive or inclusive. Love is its own eternity; it is the real, the supreme, the immeasurable. – Aldous Huxley
Things flourish, then each returns to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness: Stillness is called return to life, return to life is called the constant. knowing the constant is called enlightenment. – Lao Tzu
God is the universal substance in existing things. He comprises all things. He is the fountain of all being. In Him exists everything that is. – Giordano Bruno
Each atom hides beneath its veil. The soul-amazing beauty of the Beloved’s face. – Mahmud Shabistari
Prayer is the wing wherewith the soul flies to heaven, and meditation the eye wherewith we see God. – Ambrose
The master never seemed to have his fill of gazing at his firstborn child. “What do you want him to be when he grows up?” someone asked. “Outrageously happy,” said the master. – Anthony de Mello
The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; By doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth. – Pierre Abelard
