Christopher Kijowski

“For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is
the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do
so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. —Bhagavad Gita”
― Chris Niebauer, No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism

“As writer Dinty Moore put it: “If there is a God, I should live my life according to principles of kindness, compassion, and awareness, and if there is no God, well then I should live my life according to principles of kindness, compassion, and awareness anyway. How wonderfully simple.”
― Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond

“THE FOUR TRUTHS OF SUFFERING Over 2,500 years ago, seven weeks after attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha gave his first teaching in the Deer Park outside Varanasi. There he taught the Four Noble Truths. The first is the truth of suffering—not only the kind of suffering that is obvious to the eye, but also the kind, as we have seen, that exists in subtler forms. The second is the truth of the causes of suffering—ignorance that engenders craving, malice, pride, and many other thoughts that poison our lives and those of others. Since these mental poisons can be eliminated, an end to suffering—the third truth—is therefore possible. The fourth truth is the path that turns that potential into reality. The path is the process of using all available means to eliminate the fundamental causes of suffering. In brief, we must: Recognize suffering, Eliminate its source, End it By practicing the path.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

“Perhaps Nickel was the very afterlife that awaited him, with a White House down the hill and an eternity of oatmeal and an infinite brotherhood of broken boys.”
― Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys