“The best discipline is taming your mind stream.”

Taming our mind stream is the essence of the whole practice. We really need to put some effort into it. That is important. It is not going to happen by just wishing, “Well, gee, I wish my mind would get tamed,” or, “Buddha, Buddha, Buddha please make my mind calm,” or, “When are the scientists going to develop the pill that will give me samadhi?” Taming our minds is going to come about through making effort ourselves.

Making effort is different from pushing ourselves. This is quite important. I remember once I went to a Montessori school and we were showing the kids how to meditate, and there was a little girl in the front row who was squeezing her eyes shut. That is not making effort. That is having a tight mind. That is trying too hard. That is pushing yourself. There definitely has to be an element of self-acceptance in this and a certain degree of mental relaxation, but also a mind that stays on track.

Relaxation does not mean falling asleep and staying on track does not mean you are galloping on a horse. You want the middle way somehow between those, where you are consistent in doing your practice and there is selfacceptance, and as you keep trying you keep going deeper. That is a very important element of this whole thing.

“365 Gems of Wisdom” e-book is out now!