“When dealing with people, remember you are
not dealing with creatures of logic,
but creatures of emotion.”

“Better than a thousand words mindlessly spoken is one word of truth that helps bring peace to the listener.”

“The idea of being human is to find one’s own infinity.”

“

Authentic fearlessness arises from this connection with basic, unconditional goodness. By goodness here, we simply mean being yourself. Accepting yourself - rather than trying to be good by being solemn and religious about your behavior - leads to uplifted confidence in body, speech, and mind.

When goodness and virtue are awakened through the sitting practice of meditation, you train yourself to have good posture and to harmonize your mind and your body. Then goodness or virtue develops naturally in your speech and throughout your life, and you find the genuine way of working with others……….

………Being genuine mans not having aggression and being true to oneself………….What we need, to begin with, is to develop kindness toward ourselves, and then to develop kindness toward others. This approach may sound very simpleminded, which it is. At the same time it’s very difficult to practice……

……By naturally being here we have less resentment. When we are resentful, we are somewhere else, because we are preoccupied with something else. Being a warrior is being simply here without distraction and preoccupation. And by being here, we become cheerful. We can smile at our fear…..

….So fearlessness is not the simpleminded product of overcoming or overpowering your fear, For the warrior, fearlessness is a positive state of being. It is filled with delight, cheerfulness, and a sparkle in your eyes.

”

“The only real security is not insurance or money or a job, not a house and furniture paid for, or a retirement fund, and never is it another person. It is the skill and humor and courage within, the ability to build your own fires and find your own peace.”

“There’s only so much you can do. At some point they have to break their own fear.”

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

“You have to develop yourself first; then you can begin to work with others. In the Shambhala tradition we don’t jump the gun, so to speak. As warriors, we don’t put on a suit of armor to go into battle against the setting sun until we are sure that we ourselves are fundamentally strong, well trained, and in good health. Essentially, we know that we have unconditional confidence so that we can stand on our own, without any gadgetry. We also make sure that the tools we use and the armor we don are well made. The armor of gentleness and fearlessness fits us well and is completely broken in, so that it will work with us rather than against us.”

“There is so little truth being told in popular culture.”

“My dad taught me that to be a writer is a decision and a habit. It’s not anything lofty, and it doesn’t have that much to do with inspiration. You have to develop the habit of being a certain way with yourself. You do it at the debt of honor. I’ve written 13 books now. It’s not really important that I write a lot more books, but I do it as a debt of honor. I got one of the five golden tickets to be a writer, and I take that seriously. I don’t love my own work at all, but I love my own self. I love that I’ve been given the chance to capture the stories that come through me.”