1
Awakening does not mean a change in difficulty, it means a change in how those difficulties are met.Mark Epstein
2
When we stop distancing ourselves from the pain in the world, our own or others, we create the possibility of a new experience, one that often surprises because of how much joy, connection, or relief it yields. Destruction may continue, but humanity shines through.Mark Epstein
3
The picture we present to ourselves of who we think we ought to be obscures who we really are.Mark Epstein
4
[The Buddha] is not dividing himself into worthy and unworthy pieces; he is one being, indivisible, immune from the tendency to double back and beat up on himself. He has seen the worst in himself and not been taken down.Mark Epstein
5
To be free, to come to terms with our lives, we have to have a direct experience of ourselves as we really are, warts and all.Mark Epstein