“Because the mind is a hungry tiger that can never be satisfied, that which is timeless swims in and out of our hands, bringing us forward into places we wouldn’t go.”
~ Mark Nepo, “Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What is Sacred”
''I had to tame him,'' he realizes. ''It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me.”
~ Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
“All the spiritual traditions ask us to listen, that is, to move closer to what matters through the work of being, and to quiet the noise in our mind so we can return to an unscripted moment where the glow and pulse of life can show itself. All the contemplative practices ready us for the space that is stung open when a father dies or a dream shatters or we find ourselves in exile or put upon—and there’s nothing to do except sit and be with the mystery of what is. The only way to silence the speed and noise of the tiger is to sit before the world with an open heart as our lives finally open.”
— “The Book of Soul”, by Mark Nepo
“Compassion means to be with, feel with, suffer with. Classical Buddhist texts describe compassion as the quivering of the heart, a visceral tenderness in the face of suffering. In the Buddhist tradition, one who has realized the fullness of compassion and lives from compassion is called a bodhisattva. The bodhisattva’s path and teaching is that when we allow our hearts to be touched by suffering—our own or another’s—our natural compassion flowers. The bodhisattva’s aspiration is simple and powerful: “May all circumstances serve to awaken compassion.” When we are going through a divorce, afraid for our child, facing disease, facing death—whatever is happening can be a gateway to the clear and limitless compassion, which is the essence of Radical Acceptance.”
— Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
“In taking good care of yourself, you take good care of your beloved one. Self-love is the foundation for your capacity to love the other person. If you don’t take good care of yourself, if you are not happy, if you are not peaceful, you cannot make the other person happy. You cannot help the other person; you cannot lose. Your capacity for loving another person depends entirely on your capacity for loving yourself, for taking care of yourself.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, “Taming The Tiger Within, Mediations on Transforming Difficult Emotions: