Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness

by Mark Epstein

there were healthy ways as well as unhealthy ways of dropping the oppressive feeling of the self. While people tend to turn first to the unhealthy ways, such as using drugs or alcohol, there are actually much more fulfilling ways of losing oneself, of which meditation is a good example.

we need to learn how to immobilize our reactive and anticipatory minds so that we can make the connections we are seeking.

If we feel empty, taught the Buddha, we must not let that emptiness paralyze us. If we are reaching for intimacy, we must let ourselves get out of the way. If we want peace, we must first learn how to quiet our own minds. If we want release, we must learn how to cease our own craving.