If I had to summarize the entirety of an enlightened person’s life in a few words, it would be complete acceptance of what is. As we accept what is, our minds are relaxed and composed while the world changes rapidly around us.

The purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. How much am I doing about my anger, attachment, hatred, pride, and jealousy? These are the things we must check in our daily lives

When you are making a decision, try to assess how many people it will benefit. If it satisfies only your ego and unnecessarily hurts many, then it is the wrong decision.

An exceptional relationship is not one with a good beginning but one with a good ending. Relationships often begin accidentally, but when it comes to ending them, we usually have choices. Choose the ending wisely.

If you are raising a child, then remember this: It is okay for your child to do well in one area and not so well in others. Help your child go deep in her area of interest. Intelligence is not just about getting straight A’s and high SAT scores. It is also about being able to empathize and be attuned to how other people feel.

When you lower yourself, the world elevates you. When you elevate yourself, the world lowers you. When you arrive at the peak of enlightenment, you will understand: Your peak is the same height as your neighbor’s. At the peak, you see everyone’s holiness.

The biggest obstacle to learning is pretending to know even when you don’t. It is better to admit you don’t know something; if you pretend, you have to act as if you knew all along. It is easier to learn when you set aside your pride and are honest.

Dream big but start small. A small adjustment can have a big effect on your life. For example, if you want to be healthier, then start by going to bed a half hour earlier. If you want to lose weight, then start by drinking water instead of soda. If you have an important project to complete, then start by getting your desk organized.

Life isn’t a hundred-meter race against your friends, but a lifelong marathon against yourself. Rather than focusing on getting ahead of your friends, first try to discover your unique color.

People react differently to the same situation. If we look at it more closely, we see it’s not the situation that is troubling us, but our perspective on it.

When the mind looks outward, it is swayed by the heavy winds of the world. But when the mind faces inward, we can find our center and rest in stillness.

According to Professor Kang-Nam Oh, the faithful can be divided roughly into two groups: people of “surface faith” and people of “in-depth faith.” The surface faithful are bound by spiritual symbols; they often dispute the spiritual symbols of other faiths. The in-depth faithful understand meanings deeper than the symbols. They can find similar meanings in the symbolism of diverse spiritual traditions, and harmony among such traditions.

When you are disappointed, don’t wait too long to say so. When you bottle up your feelings, the river of emotion swells, making it difficult to cross over and speak calmly.

When we are joyful, our heart opens up to new things. When we are in a bad mood, we can’t be open to new things, no matter how wonderful they are. Without joy in our heart, our progress in life is slow and uninteresting.

The art of maintaining a good relationship can be compared to sitting by a fireplace. If we sit too close for too long, we become hot and possibly burned. If we sit too far away, we cannot feel the warmth. Similarly, no matter how well we get along with someone, if we stick too close without building in some personal space, we soon feel trapped and burned out.

Love makes the world look beautiful. When there is love, there is beauty. When love is drying up in your life, look for the beauty around you. That is where love can be found.

Don’t struggle to heal your wounds. Just pour time into your heart and wait. When your wounds are ready, they will heal on their own.

Rather than always seeking comfort from others, offer your comfort and listen to others. In the process of helping, you will be healed.

If you are sincere about reaching enlightenment, you can learn even from a child, or from the person who insults you on the street. The entire world becomes your teacher.

If you have developed critical intelligence but neglected emotional intelligence, then you may not be sensitive to the suffering of others. If you have developed emotional intelligence but neglected spiritual intelligence, then you may lose hope after seeing the world’s suffering. If you have developed spiritual intelligence but neglected critical intelligence, then you may fall victim to the abuse of a cult.

Stop worrying about what others think and just do what your heart wishes. Do not crowd your mind with “what ifs.” Uncomplicate your life and own up to your desires. Only when you are happy you can help to make the world a happier place.

Your freedom is more important than money. It is better to live the kind of life you want than to earn more and be constrained. Don’t sell your freedom. If someone urges you to follow his path for success but it is not what your heart desires, then listen to your heart before it is too late.

Everything in this universe is evanescent. Because it is evanescent, it is also precious. Spend this precious moment wisely and beautifully.

The noise from a motorcycle assaults the driver more than anyone. The driver has only himself to blame when he is old and can’t hear anything. When you speak ill of others, it hurts you more than anyon because your negativity is loudest within you.

If someone comes up to me and says, “Let’s see whose religion is right,” I first listen respectfully, then say, “Thank you for introducing me to aspects of your religion that I didn’t know much about. I appreciate that.” If I were to engage in an argument in order to win, the only result would be that someone would feel hurt. Even if I did win, what good would result? The other person would only feel defeated.

A moral purist who is quick to judge others often fails to see the flaws within himself.

When our mind is noisy, the world is as well. And when our mind is peaceful, the world is, too.

When you don’t like someone, try to figure out what it is you don’t like; see whether you have a similar flaw within yourself. The flaw that you immediately notice in someone you meet is probably a flaw of yours, too. If you didn’t have it, you wouldn’t have noticed it so quickly.

The multimillion-copy bestselling book of spiritual wisdom about the importance of slowing down in our fast-paced world, by the Buddhist author of Love for Imperfect Things “Wise advice on how to reflect and slow down.” —Elle Is it the world that’s busy, or is it my mind? The world moves fast, but that doesn’t mean we have to. This bestselling mindfulness guide by Haemin Sunim (which means “spontaneous wisdom”), a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher born in Korea and educated in the United States, illuminates a path to inner peace and balance amid the overwhelming demands of everyday life. By offering guideposts to well-being and happiness in eight areas—including relationships, love, and spirituality—Haemin Sunim emphasizes the importance of forging a deeper connection with others and being compassionate and forgiving toward ourselves. The more than twenty full-color illustrations that accompany his teachings serve as calming visual interludes, encouraging us to notice that when you slow down, the world slows down with you.

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Books

The multimillion-copy bestselling book of spiritual wisdom about the importance of slowing down in our fast-paced world, by the Buddhist author of Love for Imperfect Things “Wise advice on how to reflect and slow down.” —Elle Is it the world that’s busy, or is it my mind? The world moves fast, but that doesn’t mean we have to. This bestselling mindfulness guide by Haemin Sunim (which means “spontaneous wisdom”), a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher born in Korea and educated in the United States, illuminates a path to inner peace and balance amid the overwhelming demands of everyday life. By offering guideposts to well-being and happiness in eight areas—including relationships, love, and spirituality—Haemin Sunim emphasizes the importance of forging a deeper connection with others and being compassionate and forgiving toward ourselves. The more than twenty full-color illustrations that accompany his teachings serve as calming visual interludes, encouraging us to notice that when you slow down, the world slows down with you.

Zen Buddhist teacher, bestselling author & founder of the School for Broken Hearts in Seoul.Born in South Korea and educated at Berkeley, Harvard, and Princeton, he received formal monastic training from Haein monastery, South Korea and taught Asian religions at Hampshire College in Massachusetts for seven years.He is one of the most influential Zen monks in the world, with over 1.5 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. His first book, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down has been translated into more than 35 different languages and sold over four million copies.His second book, Love for Imperfect Things was the number one bestseller of the year 2016 in South Korea and became available in multiple languages in 2019.

HAEMIN SUNIM

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