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Delight is Spiritual
Each sentient being is like a sleeping buddha who is dreaming about inherent existence of self and of all phenomena, and believing the dream to be true.
The practice of buddhism is like the method to wake up from this dream, by waking up to the reality of the lack of inherent existence of self and of all phenomena, to become a fully awakened buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings who are still dreaming.
~CHAMTRUL RINPOCHE
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“When Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh was invited to the San Francisco Zen Center, the students asked him what they could do to improve their practice. He had entered a monastery at age sixteen, was an ordained monk, and had endured the horrors of the war in Vietnam. I imagine they expected some rigorous prescription for deepening their spiritual life.
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“Thich Nhat Han’s response: ‘You guys get up too early for one thing; you should get up a little later. And your practice is too grim. I have just two instructions for you. One is to breathe, and one is to smile.’”
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- “True Refuge,” by Tara Brach.
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There is a special quality of stillness in a person who encounters the shadow wholeheartedly.
