Ayya Khema – Quotes

the more we abandon

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

Half the spiritual life

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

We could become quite satisfied with ourselves because we are sitting in meditation and are endeavoring to practice the spiritual path. Such satisfaction with ourselves is not the same as contentment. Contentment is necessary, self-satisfaction is detrimental. To be content has to include knowing we are in the right place at the right time to … Read more

To look for total

To look for total satisfaction in oneself is a futile endeavor. Since everything changes from moment to moment, where can self and where can satisfaction be found? Everybody is unhappy simply because of unfilled desire. Everybody is looking for something that isn’t available. Ayya Khema

If we divide into

If we divide into two camps–even into violent and the nonviolent–and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence within ourselves. We must work on ourselves and … Read more

Mindfulness is a mental

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

As long as we

As long as we have practiced neither concentration nor mindfulness, the ego takes itself for granted and remains its usual normal size, as big as the people around one will allow. Ayya Khema

Whatever we attempt is

Whatever we attempt is a reflection of our inner thirst, which we hope to quench in all these external ways. What we are looking for lies within us, and if we gave out time and energy to an interior search, we would come across it much faster, since that is the only place where it … Read more

From contact comes feeling.

From contact comes feeling. From feeling comes reaction. This is what keeps us in the cycle of birth and death. Our reactions to our feelings are our passport to rebirth. Ayya Khema

Wholeheartedly means that we

“Wholeheartedly” means that we give our time, love, and energy unstintingly. Ayya Khema