Just the way they are is a lesson that lasts for the rest of your life.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Thoughts, emotions and sensations come and go in awareness, the way galaxies, stars, and planets move through space. Just as space isn’t defined by the objects that move through it, awareness isn’t defined or limited by the thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and so on that is apprehended.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Just look at the thought itself, rather than the causes and conditions from which it emerges.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Once you begin following after a thought, you lose touch with what’s happening in the here and now, and you begin imagining all sorts of fantasizes, judgments, memories, and hoer scenarios that may have nothing to do with he reality of present moment.

And the more you allow yourself to get caught up in this type of mental wandering, the easier it becomes to drift away from the openness of the present moment.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

For most of us, our natural mind or Buddha-nature is obscured by the limited self-image created by habitual neuronal patterns - which, in themselves, are simply a reflection o fthe unlimited capacity of the mind to create any condition it chooses. Natural mind is capable of producing anything, even ignorance of its own nature.

In other words, not recognizing natural mind is simply an example of the mind's unlimited capacity to create whatever it wants. Whenever we feel fear, sadness, jealousy, desire, or any other emotion that contributes to our sense of vulnerability or weakness, we should give ourselves a nice pat on the back. We've just experienced the unlimited nature of the mind.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Ultimately, happiness comes down to choosing between the discomfort of becoming aware of your mental afflictions and the discomfort of being controlled by them.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Buddha realized that true freedom lay not in withdrawal from life but in a deeper and more conscious engagement in its processes.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

If you're determined to think of yourself as limited, fearful, vulnerable, or scarred by past experience, know only that you have chosen to do so.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Buddhists don't see the mind as a discrete entity, but rather as a perpetually unfolding experience.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Anger needs no training to grow. On the relative level, compassion requires training. Relative compassion is like an illusion, but a good illusion that causes other illusions to dissipate.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

If we try too hard, meditation becomes difficult. But it is so easy... Meditation is resting in our own natural awareness.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

The opportunity to experience yourself differently is always available.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

In order to change the world, first change yourself. If you change yourself, a lot of things around you can change.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

At the beginning of meditation training, we identify

(1) the observer,
(2) the observed, and
(3) the observing act.

As our practice matures, these three become indistinguishable.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

To diminish grasping at appearances as if they have a real essence, watch all things as if they were reflections in a mirror.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Happiness and unhappiness are not primarily created by the material world or the physical body. First and foremost, they are decisions of the mind.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Anger needs no training to grow. On the relative level, compassion requires training. Relative compassion is like an illusion, but a good illusion that causes other illusions to dissipate.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

The expectations you bring to meditation practice are often the greatest obstacles you will encounter.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

The intention to meditate is more important than what happens when you meditate.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Here we are relaxing in our body and mind while being aware that that is what we are doing. By being aware that we are relaxing when we are relaxing, we come to gain control over our mind. So that's easy, right? It is very easy. You do not need to do anything. You do not need to meditate. You do not need to create anything. You do not need to work hard. Therefore it is easier than sleeping! When we want to sleep, we need to make our bed and make sure there's a nice pillow and then finally we lay down and relax.

When we relax in this way what is our mind like? Our mind is relaxed and comfortable but still we cannot identify it; we can't point at our mind and say "this is my relaxed mind" or "this is my comfortable mind." This meditation technique that has just been described is called shamatha or calm abiding meditation without object.

Beginners probably would not experience that type of meditation for more than two, three or five seconds, but that's fine. We should practice in short segments many times. If we set out a very large container and put it in a place where it could catch drops of water, these single drops of water will cause the whole container to become full.

In the same way, if we practice in short segments many times, our meditation will improve. We shouldn't think thoughts like "I need to sit for a long time," "I need to stop my thoughts," because thoughts will happen and we cannot stop them. We can't shoot our thoughts, we can't burn our thoughts, and even if we set off a bomb, that will not stop our thoughts. That is the nature of mind. We do not need to stop our thoughts. What do we need? We need mindfulness. The main point about shamatha meditation is mindfulness, or, in other words, awareness.

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche