Chapter 1: Entering the Heart of the Buddha:

• Buddha was not a god. He was a human being like you & me, and he suffered just as we do. If we go to the Buddha with our hearts open, he will look at us, his eyes filled w/ compassion, and say, "because there is suffering in your heart, it is possible for you to enter my heart."
• Please don't think that because you are unhappy, because there is pain in your heart, that you cannot go to the Buddha. It is exactly because there is pain in your heart that communication is possible. Your suffering and my suffering are the basic condition for us to enter the Buddha's heart, and for the Buddha to enter our hearts.
• The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn it around, you can see the land. The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy. When one tree in the garden is sick, you have to care for it. But don't overlook all the healthy trees. Even while you have pain in your heart, you can enjoy the many wonders of life -- the beautiful sunset, the smile of a child, the many flowers & trees. To suffer is not enough. Please don't be imprisoned by your suffering.
• Without suffering, you can't grow. Without suffering, you cannot get the peace and joy you deserve. Please don't run away from your suffering. Embrace it and cherish it. Go to the Buddha, sit with him, and show him your pain. He will look at you with loving kindness, compassion, and mindfulness...

Chapter 2: The First Dharma Talk:

• The Buddha said, "Dear friends, I have seen deeply that nothing can be by itself alone, that everything has to inter-be with everything else. I have seen that all things are endowed with the nature of awakening."
• ...the Four Noble Truths are the existence of suffering, the making of suffering, the possibility of restoring well-being, and the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to well-being.
• The Buddha then declared "...Because I myself have identified suffering, understood suffering, identified the causes of suffering, removed the causes of suffering, confirmed the existence of well-being, obtained well-being, identified the path to well-being, gone to the end of the path, and realized total liberation, I now proclaim to you that I am a free person." At that moment the Earth shook, and the voices of the gods, humans, and other living beings throughout the cosmos said that on the planet Earth, an enlightened person had been born and had put into motion the wheel of the Dharma, the Way of Understanding and Love. (...) Since then, 200,600 years have passed, and the wheel of the Dharma continues to turn. It is up to us, the present generation, to keep the wheel turning for the happiness of the many.
• He had learned firsthand that if you destroy your health, you have no energy left to realize the path. The other extreme to be avoided, he said, is indulgence in sense pleasures -- being possessed by sexual desire, running after fame, eating immoderately, sleeping too much, or chasing after possessions.
• The third point is engagement in the world. The teachings of the Buddha were not to escape from life, but to help us relate to ourselves and the world as thoroughly as possible. The Noble Eightfold Path includes Right Speech and Right Livelihood. These teachings are for people in the world who have to communicate with each other and earn a living.

Chapter 3: The Four Noble Truths:

• Our suffering is holy if we embrace it and look deeply into it. If we don't, it isn't holy at all. We just drown in the ocean of our suffering.
• We need to recognize and identify the spiritual and material foods we have ingested that are causing us to suffer.
• The Third Noble Truth is the cessation (nirodha) of creating suffering by refraining from doing the things that make us suffer.

Chapter 4: Understanding the Buddha's Teachings:

• Usually when we read or hear something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing. If we read or listen with an open mind and an open heart, the rain of the Dharma will penetrate the soil of our consciousness.
• While reading or listening, don't work too hard. Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth only has to open herself up to the rain. Allow the rain of the Dharma to come in and penetrate the seeds that are buried deep in your consciousness.
• Just as a wrestler takes hold of the head or the shoulders of someone weaker than himself, restrains and coerces that person, and holds him down constantly, not letting go for one moment, so a monk who meditates in order to stop all unwholesome thoughts of desire and aversion, when these thoughts continue to arise, should grit his teeth, press his tongue against his palate, and do his best to use his mind to beat down and defeat his mind.
• Please remember that a sutra or a Dharma talk is not insight in and of itself. It is a means of presenting insight, using words and concepts. When you use a map to get to Paris, once you have arrived, you can put the map away and enjoy being in Paris. If you spend all your time with your map, if you get caught by the words and notions presented by the Buddha, you'll miss the reality. The Buddha said many times, "My teaching is like a finger pointing to the moon. Do not mistake my finger for the moon."
• After reading a sutra or any spiritual text, we should feel lighter, not heavier. Buddhist teachings are meant to awaken our true self, not merely to add to our storehouse of knowledge.

Chapter 5: Is Everything Suffering?:

• A table will only make us suffer if we attribute permanence or separateness to it. When we are attracted to a certain table, it is not the table that causes us to suffer. It is our attachment. We can agree that anger is impermanent, without a separate self, and filled with suffering, but it is strange to talk about a table or a flower as being filled with suffering. The Buddha taught impermanence and nonself to help us not be caught in signs.
• ...nirvana, the joy of completely extinguishing our ideas and concepts, rather than suffering, is one of the Three Dharma Seals.
• To say, "Life is suffering" is too general. To say that craving is the cause of all our suffering is too simplistic. We need to say, "The basis for this suffering is such and such an affliction," and then call it by its true name. If we have a stomachache, we need to call it a stomachache. If it is a headache, we need to call it a headache. How else will we find the cause of our suffering and the way to heal ourselves?
• It is true that the Buddha taught the truth of suffering, but he also taught the truth of "dwelling happily in things as they are" (drishta dharma sukha viharin). To succeed in the practice, we must stop trying to prove that everything is suffering. In face, we must stop trying to prove anything.

Chapter 6: Stopping, Calming, Resting, Healing:

• We are riding a horse, we don't know where we are going, and we can't stop. The horse is our habit energy pulling us along, and we are powerless. We are always running, and it has become a habit. We struggle all the time, even during our sleep. We are at war within ourselves, and we can easily start a war with others. We have to learn the art of stopping - stopping our thinking, our habit energies, our forgetfulness, the strong emotions that rule us. When an emotion rushes through us like a storm, we have no peace. We turn on the TV and then we turn it off. We pick up a book and then we put it down. How can we stop this state of agitation? How can we stop our fear, despair, anger, and craving? We can stop by practicing mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful smiling, and deep looking in order to understand.
• With mindfulness, we have the capacity to recognize the habit energy every time it manifests. "Hello, my habit energy, I know you are there!" If we just smile to it, it will lose much of its strength. Mindfulness is the energy that allows us to recognize our habit energy and prevent it from dominating us.
• Forgetfulness is the opposite. We drink a cup of tea, but we do not know we are drinking a cup of tea. We sit with the person we love, but we do not know that she is there. We walk, but we are not really walking. We are someplace else, thinking about the past or the future. The horse of our habit energy is carrying us along, and we are its captive. We need to stop our horse and reclaim our liberty. We need to shine the light of mindfulness on everything we do, so the darkness of forgetfulness will disappear.
• We have to learn the art of breathing in & out, stopping our activities, and calming our emotions. We have to learn to become solid and stable like an oak tree, and not be blown from side to side by the storm.
• 5 stages to calm your body & mind and look deeply at them: 1) recognition, 2) acceptance, 3) embracing, 4) looking deeply, 5) insight (26)
• Once the pebble is at the bottom, it continues to rest, allowing the water to pass by. When we practice sitting meditation, we can allow ourselves to rest just like that pebble. We can allow ourselves to sink naturally into the position of sitting - resting, without effort. We have to learn the art of resting, allowing our body & mind to rest. If we have wounds in our body or our mind, we have to rest so they can heal themselves.
• We have to learn to rest. Lying down is not the only position for resting. (...) Meditation does not have to be hard labor. Just allow your body & mind to rest like an animal in the forest. Don't struggle. There is no need to attain anything.
• Stopping, calming, and resting are preconditions for healing. If we cannot stop, the course of our destruction will just continue. The world needs healing. Individuals, communities, and nations need healing.

Chapter 7: Touching Our Suffering:

• We must, first of all, recognize that we are suffering & then determine whether its basis is physical, physiological, or psychological. Our suffering needs to be identified.
• Our suffering is us, and we need to treat it with kindness & nonviolence. We need to embrace our fear, hatred, anguish, and anger. "My dear suffering, I know you are there. I am here for you, and I will take care of you." We stop running from our pain. With all our courage and tenderness, we recognize, acknowledge, and identify it.
• The doctor tells us the name & all the characteristics of our illness. After studying, reflecting upon, and practicing the First Noble Truth, we realize that we have stopped running away from our pain. We can now call our suffering by its specific name and identify all of its characteristics.
• The Buddha said, "When something has come to be, we have to acknowledge its presence & look deeply into its nature. When we look deeply, we will discover the kinds of nutriments that have helped it come to be and that continue to feed it."
• What we eat or drink can bring about mental or physical suffering. We must be able to distinguish between what is healthful & what is harmful.
• Much of our suffering comes from not eating mindfully. We have to learn ways to eat that preserve the health & well-being of our body and our spirit. When we smoke, drink, or consume toxins, we are eating our own lungs, liver, and heart.
• We are exposed to so many forms, colors, sounds, smells, tastes, and objects of touch, and ideas that are toxic & rob our body and consciousness of their well-being. When you feel despair, fear, or depression, it may be because you have ingested too many toxins through your sense impressions.
• If we are mindful, we will know whether we are "ingesting" the toxins of fear, hatred, and violence, or eating foods that encourage understanding, compassion, and the determination to help others. With the practice of mindfulness, we will know that hearing this, looking at that, or touching this, we feel light & peaceful, while hearing that, looking at this, or touching that, we feel anxious, sad, or depressed. As a result, we will know what to be in contact with & what to avoid.
• Use your Buddha eyes to look at each nutriment you are about to ingest. If you see that it is toxic, refuse to look at it, listen to it, taste it, or touch it. Ingest only what you are certain is safe.
• ...the Buddha turned to his Sangha & said, "Dear friends, do you know that you are the happiest people on Earth? You have no cows or sesame plants to lose." We always try to accumulate more & more, and we think these "cows" are essential for our existence. In fact, they may be the obstacles that prevent us from being happy. Release your cows and become a free person. Release your cows so you can be truly happy.