One does not practice meditation to become a great meditator. We meditate to wake up and live, to become skilled at the art of living.
Interpretation
Meditation is not about mastering the practice, but about improving our lives.
This quote emphasizes that the primary purpose of meditation is not to excel in the act itself, but to enhance our awareness and ability to live fully and authentically. By meditating, we cultivate skills that help us navigate life with greater intention and presence.
In practice
In a mindfulness workshop, a facilitator could use this quote to illustrate the purpose of meditation.
Whatever is happening, whatever is changing, whatever is going or not going according to my plans - I release my hold on all of it. I leave behind who I think I am, who I want to be, what I want the world to be. I come home to the great peace of the present moment.
Meditation practice is like piano scales, basketball drills, ballroom dance class. Practice requires discipline; it can be tedious; it is necessary. After you have practiced enough, you become more skilled at the art form itself. You do not practice to become a great scale player or drill champion. You practice to become a musician or athlete. Likewise, one does not practice meditation to become a great meditator. We meditate to wake up and live, to become skilled at the art of living.
If you're interested in opening the doors to the heavens, start with the door to your own secret self. See what happens when you offer to another a glimpse of who you truly are. When your heart is undefended, you make it safe for whomever you meet to put down his burden of hiding, and then you both can walk through the open door.
Every day we're given a choice: We can relax and float in the direction that the water flows, or we can swim hard against it. If we go with the river, the energy of a thousand mountain streams will be with us . . . if we resist the river, we will feel rankled and tired as we tread water, stuck in the same place.
Grief is an expression that you loved well.
May you listen to the voice within the beat even when you are tired. When you feel yourself breaking down, may you break open instead. May every experience in life be a door that opens your heart, expands your understanding and leads you to freedom.
Man is only great when he acts from passion.
To start from the self and try to understand all things is delusion. To let the self be awakened by all things is enlightenment.
Many people excuse their own faults but judge other persons harshly. We should reverse this attitude by excusing others' shortcomings and by harshly examining our own.
Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you.
Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.
Awareness cannot be taught, and when it is present it has no context. All contexts are created by thought and are therefore corruptible by thought. Awareness simply throws light on what is, without any separation whatsoever.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.