David Hood

“Whenever you begin, sit comfortably and at ease. Let your body be at rest and your breathing be natural. Close your eyes. Take several full breaths and let each release gently. Allow yourself to be still. Now shift awareness away from the breath. Begin to listen to the play of sounds around you. Notice those that are loud and soft, far and near. Just listen. Notice how all sounds arise and vanish on their own, leaving no trace. Listen for a time in a relaxed, open way. As you listen, let yourself sense or feel or imagine that your mind is not limited to your head. Sense that your mind is expanding to be like the sky—open, clear, vast, like space. There is no inside or outside. Let the awareness of your mind extend in every direction like the sky. Now all the sounds you hear will arise and pass away in”
― Jack Kornfield, Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

“The poet Hafiz writes, Don’t surrender your loneliness So quickly. Let it cut more deep. Let it ferment and season you As few human Or even divine ingredients can.”
― Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology

“Sharing food is a metaphor for all giving. When we offer someone food, we are not just giving that person something to eat; we are giving far more. We give strength, health, beauty, clarity of mind, and even life, because none of those things would be possible without food. So when we feed another, this is what we are offering: the substance of life itself.”
― Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

“As the Buddha said, “People with opinions just go around bothering one another.”
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life