Meditation Quotes from the Masters

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

"When meditation is mastered,
the mind is unwavering,
like the flame of a lamp in a windless place."
~ Krishna

‎"The mental suffering you create is always some form of non-acceptance,
 some form of unconscious resistance to what is.
On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgement.
 The intensity of the suffering depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment."
~Eckhart Tolle

"There is pleasure when a sore is scratched,
But to be without sores is more pleasurable still.
Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires,
But to be without desires is more pleasurable still."
~ Arya Nagarjuna ‎

"Understand the suffering of worldly existence.
Abandon its causes of ignorance and selfishness.
Practice the path of meditation and compassion.
Awaken from suffering within Great Peace."
~Shakyamuni Buddha

"If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present."
~Lao Tzu

"To be free from bondage the wise person must practise discrimination between One-Self and the ego-self.
By that alone you will become full of joy, recognising Self as Pure Being, Consciousness and Bliss."
~ Adi Shankara  ‎

"Integrated meditation practice is like a healthy diet
which is indispensable for maintaining your vitality and resistance to disease.
Likewise, a balanced meditative practice in the course of a socially engaged way of life
heightens your psychological immune system, so that you are less vulnerable to mental imbalances of all kinds."
~Alan Wallace

"Learn to live without self concern.
For this you must know your own true being as indomitable, fearless and ever victorious.
Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination,
you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas, and live by truth alone."
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

“All that is necessary to awaken to yourself as the radiant emptiness of spirit
 is to stop seeking something more or better or different,
and to turn your attention inward to the awake silence that you are.”
~Adyashanti

"When one past thought has ceased and a future thought has not yet risen,
in that gap, in between, isn’t there a consciousness of the present moment;
 fresh, virgin, unaltered by even a hair’s breadth of a concept, a luminous, naked awareness?
Well, that's what naturally peaceful awareness is. "
~ Sogyal Rinpoche

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‎"The ultimate way of Being lies beyond all contradictory pairs of opposites
with which our two dimensional thinking mind operates.
As soon as we are successful in silencing the restless activity of the thinking mind
and give a chance to intuition, the pure all embracing spirit in us will manifest effortlessly."
~Lama Anagarika Govinda

"If your mind is happy then you are happy anywhere you go.
When wisdom awakens within you, you will see Truth wherever you look.
Truth is all there is.
It’s like when you learned how to read, you can then read anywhere you go."
~ Ajahn Chah

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others.
Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval.
Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts them.”
~Lao Tzu

"Sometimes, simply by sitting, the soul collects wisdom."
~Zen proverb

"There is more to life than simply increasing its speed."
~Mahatma Gandhi

"Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free.
 Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.
This is the ultimate."
~Chuang Tzu

"To meditate means to realize inwardly the imperturbability of the Essence of Mind.
The reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried away by the circumstances we are in. Those who are able to keep their mind unperturbed, irrespective of circumstances, have attained Inner Peace."
~Hui neng

"The appearances of the world are not the problem,
 it's clinging to them that causes suffering"
~Tilopa

"If you are unable to find the truth right where you are,
where else do you expect to find it?"
~ Dogen

"Within yourself is a stillness, a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself."
~Herman Hess

"This is the real secret of life ~
to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now.
And instead of calling it work, realize it is play."
~ Alan Watts

"Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success"
~ Swami Sivananda

 “Life is this simple:
we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time.
 This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true. ”
~ Thomas Merton

 "In meditation, silently and serenely, all words are transcended.
 In Illumination, all things appear as is.
Silence is the ceasing of ego-grasping.  Illumination is the functioning of the wonder of wisdom.
The unity of these two is awakening to Buddha Nature."
~Sheng Yen

"If you are willing to experience anything directly and immediately, whether good or bad, joyous or hateful,
you will recognize that what you are running from does not exist,
and what you are running toward is already here."
~ Gangaji

  "There is an intuitive knowing within us that we are eternal
but this gets covered over with the noise we create while identifying with the impermanent."
~ Mooji

"Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control."
~ Jack Kornfield

"Meditation is for you to realise that the deepest nature of your existence is beyond thoughts and emotions,
that it is incredibly vast and interconnected with all other beings."
~ Tenzin Palmo

"Enlightened understanding is not knowledge about the universe,
but the living experience of the nature of the universe."
~ Chogyal Namkhai Norbu

"The secret, or innermost, level of wisdom is pure intuition, clarity, lucidity, innate wakefulness, presence, and recognition of reality. This transcendental wisdom is within all of us,
it just needs to be discovered and developed, unfolded and actualized."
~ Lama Surya Das

"I don’t mind what happens. That is the essence of inner freedom.
It is a timeless spiritual truth: release attachment to outcomes,
deep inside yourself, you’ll feel good no matter what."
~Jiddu Krishnamurti

“Meditation in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one’s being,
and it points the way from bondage to freedom.”
~ DT Suzuki

"Wisdom leads to unity, but ignorance to separation.
So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance.
But when God is realised within, that is true knowledge."
~Sri Ramakrishna

"Since pure awareness of nowness is real Enlightenment,
in openness and contentment I found the Truth in my heart.
By simply relaxing in this uncontrived, open, and natural state,
we obtain the quality of effortless freedom of whatever arises."
~Dudjom Rinpoche

"Caught in the self-centered dream, only suffering;
holding to self-centered thoughts, exactly the dream;
each moment, life as it is, the only teacher;
being just this moment, compassion’s way."
~Charlotte Joko Beck

"Do not try to become anything.
Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator.
Do not become enlightened.
When you sit, let it be.
When you walk, let it be.
Grasp at nothing.
Resist nothing."
~ Ajahn Chah

"Have good trust in yourself,
not in the One that you think you should be,
but in the One that you are."
~Taizan Maezumi

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‎"Remember the clear light,
the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes,
to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind.
The natural state of the universe unmanifest.
Let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it.
It is your own true nature, it is home."
~Padmasambhava

“The Buddha said that all conscious beings possess an enlightened nature.
Because of that, we have this natural purity, peacefulness and power.
We can rest the mind naturally because we are already in possession of these qualities.
If one can rest the mind naturally, that’s the best meditation."
~Mingyur Rinpoche

"The ultimate meditation is: surrender to reality.
The more you fight, the more you are in conflict with it, the more you will be a loser.
In deep surrender, the ego disappears.
And when the ego is not there, for the first time you become aware of that which has always been there."
~Osho ‎

"At its core, meditation is about touching the spiritual essence that exists within us all.
Our spiritual essence is not something that we create through meditation it's already there,
deep within, behind all the barriers, patiently waiting for us to recognize it."
~Aaron Hoopes ‎

"True mindfulness is the awareness that everything you encounter
is a vigorous expression of the same living universe as you."
~ Brad Warner ‎

"The basic nature of all conscious beings is 'self-existing wakefulness'.
Self-existing meaning spontaneous or without effort and wakefulness meaning natural awareness.
To ignore our basic nature, is to wander in fear and confusion,
to directly realise our essential nature is to be Enlightened."
~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

‎"An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment.
This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything is perfectly managed by it.
Conclusively realise that what is unborn and illuminating is truly awakened and without effort,
rest naturally as the Unborn Mind.
Resting in this way, you are a living Buddha."
~ Bankei

‎"Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness,
in Pure Consciousness without objectification,
knowing without thinking, merging the finite into infinity"
~Swami Sivananda

"The four difficulties of sudden Awakening;
So close you can't see it.
So deep you can't fathom it.
So simple you can't believe it.
So good you can't accept it."
~Tibetan Buddhist proverb .

“We live in illusion and the appearance of things.
There is a reality. We are that reality.
When you understand this, you see that you are nothing,
and being nothing, you are everything.
That is all.”
~ Kalu Rinpoche ‎

"The Great Way of Meditation is not difficult for those who have no preferences.
When clininging and rejection are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised.
 Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the Truth then hold no opinions for or against anything."
~Seng Ts'an‎"

We should cast aside all childish games that fetter and exhaust body, speech and mind.
 Stretching out in inconceivable nonaction, in the unstructured matrix, the actuality of emptiness,
where the natural perfection of reality lies, we should gaze at the uncontrived sameness of every experience,
all conditioning and ambition resolved with finality.”
~ Longchenpa

"Awareness is the greatest alchemy there is.
Just go on becoming more and more aware
 you will find your life changing for the better in every possible dimension.
It will bring great fulfilment"
~Osho

“When you meditate the glory of the Divine shines forth.
You realize then that all along there was something tremendous within you and you did not know it.”
~Paramahansa Yogananda

‎"Each season has its own beauty.
To practice meditation is to open the mind so that all of them may be enjoyed.
When each season comes we should enjoy it;
& when it goes, we should let it go and open our mind to the next season."
~ Thich Thien-An

‎"Meditation means to be constantly extricating yourself from the clinging of mind.
 By letting go of even the thought ‘I,’ and 'me' what is left?
There is nowhere to stand and no one to stand there.
No separation anywhere.
Pure awareness.
Neither this, nor that.
Just clarity and being.”
~ Ram Dass

“The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions
and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages,
so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself.”
~Chogyam Trungpa

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.
 In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.”
~ Shunryu Suzuki ‎

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"If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.
Awakening appears when you stop wanting anything."
~Ajahn Sumedho

‎"Thoughts are impediments to seeing your deepest nature.
 Don't give rise to any thought, and discover who you are.
That ocean of eternal peace is you.
What is the difficulty that we suffer from?
It is that we seek peace elsewhere and do not experience that we are peace incarnate itself."
~PapaJi

"The natural purity of our mind is of no use to us if we are not aware of it,
and if we do not integrate it with our moving mind.
If we realize our innate purity, but only integrate with it from time to time, we are not totally awakened.
 Being in total integration all the time is final realization"
~Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

‎"Meditation is one of the rare occasions when we’re not doing anything.
Otherwise, we’re always doing something, we’re always thinking something, we’re always occupied.
We get lost in millions of obsessions and fixations.
But by meditating—by not doing anything--
all these fixations are revealed and our obsessions will naturally undo themselves like a snake uncoiling itself."
~Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

"He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment."
~ Meister Eckhart

"The affairs of the world will go on forever, do not delay the practice of meditation.
Once you have met with the profound instructions from a meditation master,
 with single pointed determination, set about realizing the Truth."
~Milarepa

‎"Judge nothing, you will be happy.
Forgive everything, you will be happier.
Love everything, you will be happiest."
~ Sri Chinmoy

‎"Happiness is your True Nature.
Within you is Unimaginable Beauty.
Your True Self is Bright and Shining this Moment.
Through the clear Realization of the Truth,
your Real Self will come shining through."
~ Robert Adams

“What we are looking for is what is looking.”
~ St Francis of Assisi

"Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."
~ Rumi

"People are scared to empty their minds
fearing that they will be engulfed by the void.
What they don’t realize is that
their own mind is the void."
~ Huang Po

"An Awakened person is someone who finds freedom in good fortune and bad."
~ Bodhidharma

"Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."
~ Lao Tzu

"God dwells in you, as you, and you don't have to 'do' anything to be God-realized or Self-realized,
 it is already your true and natural state.
Just drop all seeking, turn your attention inward,
and sacrifice your ego mind to the One Self radiating in the Heart of your very being.
For this to be your own presently lived experience,
Self-Inquiry Meditation is a direct and immediate way."
~Ramana Maharshi

‎"Even after the Truth has been realised, there remains that strong, obstinate impression that one is still an ego - the agent and experiencer. This has to be carefully removed by living in a state of constant identification with the supreme non-dual Self. Full Awakening is the eventual ceasing of all the mental impressions of being an ego."
~Adi Shankara

“Just go into the room, sit in the centre of the room, open the doors and windows, and see who comes to visit.
You will witness all kinds of scenes and actors, all kinds of temptations and stories, everything imaginable.
Your only job is to stay in your seat.
You will see it all arise and pass, and out of this, wisdom and understanding will come.”
~Ajahn Chah

‎"During meditation a silent mind is very important, but 'silent' does not mean closed,
the silent mind is an alert awakened mind; a mind seeking the very nature of reality.
 Also, the joy of silent wisdom comes from your own mind and is always there.
Constantly wherever you go, you can experience the joyful wisdom energy of the silent mind."
~Lama Yeshe

"You are not merely the body; you are 100% Pure Being. But you must find this out for yourself.
It must become your own discovery, happening in your innermost being."
~Mooji

"The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the world's ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
~ Atisha

"Wisdom leads to unity, but ignorance to separation. So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance. But when God is realised within, that is true knowledge."
~Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

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