Ayya Khema

It is often thought that the Buddha's doctrine teaches us that suffering will disappear if one has meditated long enough, or if…

— Ayya Khema

Half the spiritual life consists of remembering what we are up against and where we are going.

— Ayya Khema

“In meditation, we have to give ourselves totally, with no holding back. Whatever meditation subject we have chosen, we must become immersed…

— Ayya Khema

“The teaching of the Buddha is called the Dhamma. He did not teach Buddhism, any more than Jesus taught Christianity.”

— Ayya Khema

“There is no one creator, but there is the realm of creation.”

— Ayya Khema

“when the words we speak or write come from inner experience and are heartfelt, they are always imbued with “trembling for the…

— Ayya Khema

“Wisdom comes only from the understood experience and from nothing else.”

— Ayya Khema

We could become quite satisfied with ourselves because we are sitting in meditation and are endeavoring to practice the spiritual path. Such…

— Ayya Khema

Unless we practice loving feelings toward everyone we meet, day in, day out, we're missing out on the most joyous part of…

— Ayya Khema

“To be in the present is actually to be in eternity.”

— Ayya Khema

the more we abandon ill-will and hatred, the easier it will be to meditate.

— Ayya Khema

Eventually we will find (mostly in retrospect, of course) that we can be very grateful to those people who have made life…

— Ayya Khema

A truly happy person is someone who is joyfully independent of outer conditions.

— Ayya Khema

“on the higher levels of the spiritual path, celibacy is considered a most important aspect of the training.”

— Ayya Khema

If we do not try, we will not know.

— Ayya Khema

Mindfulness is a mental activity that in due course eliminates all suffering.

— Ayya Khema

“Restlessness and worry are always connected to desire, and when we recognize this and let go of the desire, the heart is…

— Ayya Khema

“He first advocates practicing moral conduct as a foundation for spiritual development.”

— Ayya Khema

To look for total satisfaction in oneself is a futile endeavor. Since everything changes from moment to moment, where can self and…

— Ayya Khema

Whatever we attempt is a reflection of our inner thirst, which we hope to quench in all these external ways. What we…

— Ayya Khema

Mindfulness is not just a word or a discourse by the Buddha, but a meaningful state of mind. It means we have…

— Ayya Khema

"Wholeheartedly" means that we give our time, love, and energy unstintingly.

— Ayya Khema

Suffering is our best teacher because it hangs onto us and keeps us in its grip until we have learnt that particular…

— Ayya Khema

The Buddha compared anger with picking up hot coals with one's bare hands and trying to throw them at the person with…

— Ayya Khema

“When the eye sees, it simply registers color and shape. All the rest takes place in the mind.”

— Ayya Khema