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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
David Michie
Read between
April 11 - May 3, 2021
Be careful not to heed even your most instinctive hatred of other kinds of
beings, dear reader. You were almost certainly one of them in a previous lifetime.
What was once the solution to a problem becomes a problem in itself. We need to break free.”
In Buddhism we define love as ‘the wish to give happiness to others.’
“So relax. Let go of whatever story it is you have conceived about yourself, because it’s only a story. Don’t take it all so seriously. Don’t fool yourself into believing that what really is only a thought is the truth.”
Compassion begins with self-acceptance. Self-acceptance first requires letting go of negative thoughts about yourself. And it requires being aware of the negative thoughts to begin with.
The here and now. What contentment it held! Why spoil it by thinking?
“What moves from one lifetime to another with the flow of subtle consciousness isn’t the acquired personality. It isn’t intelligence, a memory, religious views, or race. It isn’t even species.”
“Buddhism is about understanding our own true nature. What and who we really are. Having a head full of ideas about this only gets us so far. What really matters is discovering it for ourselves. And that’s only possible by training the mind so that we can experience our most subtle levels of consciousness directly.”
meditation makes you more aware of what is happening so that you can change.”
‘Mind is the forerunner of all actions. All deeds are led by mind, created by mind. If one speaks or acts with a serene mind, happiness follows, as surely as one’s shadow.’”
even when the world outside was in a state of tumult, by drawing attention to the present moment, we could experience an abiding serenity.
“Both happiness and unhappiness arise from thought. Our challenge is to develop those thoughts that create happiness and avoid those that cause us to suffer. So much of the time, we are having negative thoughts without realizing what is happening because we’re so caught up in them. Or because we can’t help ourselves. But with mindfulness, it’s possible to become more aware. To observe what we are thinking, and if necessary, to change.”
“When we think of other beings with compassion, this makes us happiest. When we consider how to help others avoid suffering and give them contentment, we, ourselves, are the first to benefit.”
“No matter how far we travel, we can never escape from ourselves,”
The main purpose of Buddhism is to experience the nature of mind. How our minds work is the main focus.”
“The mind is like a garden,” he told me. “You choose what to grow: weeds or flowers.”
when a thought arises, we practice to acknowledge, accept, let go.”
usually we’re thought-huggers. As soon as a thought arises in our mind, we engage with it. We become absorbed in it, no matter what it is. No matter how badly it hurts us.”
A thought is merely a thought. A temporary conception. It is not a fact. Nor a truth. Every thought you’ve ever had has gone. It isn’t here now, is it?”
“Meditation has been proven to help people with recurring depression. Neuroscientists say that the insula, which is the part of the brain where we feel unhappiness, is wired to the executive functioning of the brain, which searches for reasons. Unhappy thoughts lead to unhappy feelings. Then we ask ourselves why we’re feeling so sad and this prompts more unhappy interpretations, beliefs, attitudes—” “A vicious spiral.”
“Initially, your own mind may seem like nothing more than an inert void, merely the background to your thoughts. But the longer you are able to abide with mind, the more you begin to experience its qualities. How it has
the nature of clarity, and light. How, more and more, we feel a sense of tranquility, of well-being. Perhaps we start off thinking that meditation is a cognitive exercise, but we discover it is as much about a feeling, a state of being. Our primordial consciousness has no boundaries, its natural state is one of radiance and abiding bliss. When we experience it, we no longer think of ourselves as being just this.” She pointed to her own body. “We realize that our true nature is altogether different.”
“Our only job is to let go of all the agitation obscuring our own mind. To abide in its pristine nature. This is very useful—not only in formal meditation but when we’re dealing with difficult situations.”
‘The objective world rises from the mind itself.’”
How different life seemed when seen as part of a much larger story. How much more meaningful, if causes created in one lifetime could be seen to manifest in the next.
“Sometimes it can take a shock, an outside event, to help us find our way to a more useful life.”
