Reading quotes about meditation is one way I keep my practice alive.

I find that opening my mind to divergent points of view, particularly from different spiritual teachers, is a beneficial tool and one that allows me to have new experiences in meditation.

Three years after I began meditating, I stumbled upon Sogyal Rinpoche’s book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, and gained a completely new perspective on the practice. Pema Chodron, on the other hand, penetrates my mind with simple, but powerful ideas that explain the purpose of meditation. And Mooji always stops me in my tracks and leaves me thinking, “Wow, he’s right.”

Throughout the years, I’ve compiled a collection of meditation quotes that still inspire me to this day. Below are 17 I’ve chosen to share, with the hope that they inspire you with the same intensity they have inspired me.
 

“If you can’t meditate in a boiler room, you can’t meditate.” ~ Alan Watts

“If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent.” ~ Pema Chodron

“It is sometimes said that the first stages of the meditation process are the most difficult. The first distraction is the physical body. Sometimes there is real pain in sitting, and sometimes the ego just tries to distract us by creating itches we will want to scratch.” ~ Sarasvati Buhrman

“The secret is not to “think” about thoughts, but to allow them to flow through the mind, while keeping your mind free of afterthoughts.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche

“Watch your thoughts as you watch the street traffic. People come and go; you register without response. It may not be easy in the beginning, but with some practice you will find that your mind can function on many levels at the same time and you can be aware of them all.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

“Mind is there, in front of you. Don’t log in.” ~ Mooji

“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there (buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.” ~ Deepak Chopra

“All of man’s difficulties are caused by his inability to sit, quietly, in a room by himself.” ~ Blaise Pascal

“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 Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

“If you have time to breathe you have time to meditate. You breathe when you walk. You breathe when you stand. You breathe when you lie down.” ~ Ajahn Amaro

“Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better, it’s about befriending who we are.” ~ Pema Chodron

“Just try to keep your mind in the present. Whatever arises in the mind, just watch it and let go of it. Don’t even wish to be rid of thoughts. Then the mind will return to its natural state. It’s very simple. Hold on to nothing. It’s as though you are walking down a road. Periodically you will run into obstacles. When you meet defilements, just see them and overcome them by letting them go. Don’t think about the obstacles you’ve already passed; don’t worry about those you have not yet seen.” ~ Ajahn Chah

“Whatever you find yourself thinking, let that thought rise and settle, without any constraint. Don’t grasp at it, feed it or indulge it; don’t cling to it and don’t try to solidify it. Neither follow thoughts nor invite them; be like the ocean looking at its own waves, or the sky gazing down on the clouds that pass through it.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche

“Mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy.” ~ Kabira

“Realization is nothing new to be acquired. It is already there, but obstructed by a screen of thoughts. All our attempts are directed to lifting this screen and then realization is revealed.” ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

“If we read the stories of the great spiritual teachers of the past, we find that they have attained spiritual realization through a great deal of meditation, solitude and practice. They did not take any shortcuts.” ~ Rajiv Mehrontra

“There is no need to believe or disbelieve your thoughts—just don’t enter anything. They don’t distract you; you get distracted. Nothing exists in itself as a distraction. It is you who get distracted. Why?” ~ Mooji

Author: Elyane Youssef

Editor: Nicole Cameron

Image: Alexandru Zdrobau/Unsplash