Quotes and Pictures in Choosing to Be
One of the features of Choosing to Be that I don’t often talk about in interviews is that each
chapter begins with a quote and a picture.
The quotes are from the teachers and authors who have contributed significantly to my meditation
practice. I recommend many of their books in my Library Carousel on the Choosing to Be Home Page.
The pictures are of Poohbear and Catzenbear, and were taken by me before I began working on the book.
I was shooting with very fast black & white film (in the old fashioned way before digital) so that I could
catch them in action. When I started on the book, I looked through the hundreds of photos to find those
that would provide a visual image that contributed to each chapter. I am including thumbnails of some
of the pictures with the quotes to illustrate what I mean. Enjoy!
Chapter One. Deciding to Stay
So what exactly is this Buddha Nature?
It is the sky-like nature of our mind.
~Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Chapter Two. Building the Team
All sentient beings have Buddha nature.
~The Buddha, Mahaparinirvana Sutra
Chapter Three. Just Sitting
Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything.
Then eventually you will resume your own true nature.
~Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Chapter Four. Finding Joy
Joy isn’t something we have to find. Joy is
who we are if we’re not preoccupied with something else.
~ Charlotte Joko Beck, Nothing Special
Chapter Five. Walking on Our Toes
Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.
~Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step
Chapter Six. Dealing with Dogs
As our mind becomes more lucid in meditation practice,
hindrances show themselves more noticeably.
~ Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation
Chapter Seven. Letting Go of Tuna: The Hindrance of Clinging
When we look at wanting, we experience
the part of ourselves that is never content.
Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart
Chapter Eight. Lovingkindness: The Hindrance of Anger
Life is strictly an adult education class and this is the most
important lesson, namely to cultivate and make the heart grow.
~Ayya Khema, Being Nobody, Going Nowhere
Chapter Nine. Watching the Water: The Hindrance of Sleepiness
Sometimes just bringing an interested awareness to sleepiness
itself will dispel it and bring clarity and understanding.
Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart
Chapter Ten. Catzenbear’s Tranquility: The Hindrance of Restlessness
When the mind is restless, it is the proper time for cultivating tranquility,
because an agitated mind can easily be quieted by it.
~Nyanaponika Thera, The Five Mental Hindrances
Chapter Eleven. Poohbear’s Rapture: The Hindrance of Doubt
And when he sees himself free of these five hindrances,
joy arises; in him who is joyful, rapture arises.
~Nayanaponika Thera, The Five Mental Hindrances
Chapter Twelve. Gaining Wisdom
Use your life to wake you up.
~Pema Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape
