James

“See confusion as confusion. Acknowledge suffering as suffering. Feel pain and sorrow and divisiveness. Experience anger or fear or shock for what they are. But you don't have to think of them as evil - as intrinsically bad, as needing to be destroyed or driven from our midst. On the contrary, they need to be absorbed, healed, made whole. (15)”
― Steve Hagen, Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs – A Clear, Engaging Zen Guide for Spiritual Inquiry and Practice

“What makes human life--which is inseparable from this moment--so precious is its fleeting nature. And not that it doesn't last but that it never returns again.”
― Steve Hagen, Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs – A Clear, Engaging Zen Guide for Spiritual Inquiry and Practice

“If it's Truth we're after, we'll find that we cannot start with any assumptions or concepts whatsoever. Instead, we must approach the world with bare, naked attention, seeing it without any mental bias - without concepts, beliefs, preconceptions, presumptions, or expectations. (6)”
― Steve Hagen, Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs – A Clear, Engaging Zen Guide for Spiritual Inquiry and Practice

“We often think we know things when in fact it's only our imagination taking us further and further away from what is actually happening. What we imagine then seems very real to us. Soon we're caught up in our imaginary longings and loathings. But if you're here - truly present - you realize there's nothing to run from or to go after. You can stay calm...Just be with this moment and see what's going on. (9)”
― Steve Hagen, Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs – A Clear, Engaging Zen Guide for Spiritual Inquiry and Practice