Steve Hagen Quotes

And here we are with our improved human world that we've spent a great deal of time and energy working on. We've improved the rivers and the lakes and the land and our society and our ways of living to the point where we now wonder if the human race will survive. ~ Steve Hagen

Right view is not a concept or belief. ... [It] is simply seeing Reality as it is, here and now, moment after moment[;] ... relying on bare attention ... before conceptual thought arises[;] ... relying on what we actually experience rather than on what we think. ~ Steve Hagen

[W]hat purpose does it serve to deny actual experience in order to run with an idea instead? ~ Steve Hagen

[W]e ignore the Whole, we're taken in by the parts. We're seduced by objects of our consciousness ~ Steve Hagen

As little children we readily accept the first story we're given at home, or school, or church. We're told stories of nationalism, religion, racism, politics, and family. All too often we accept them before we learn to weigh them against other views. And all too often we're inclined to accept these (or other) frozen views rather than see each situation for what it is. ~ Steve Hagen

Belief is at best an educated, informed conjecture about Reality. ~ Steve Hagen

Nothing holds us back but our thoughts. ~ Steve Hagen

By our very attempt to grasp an explanation, we leave things out. ~ Steve Hagen

Every atom, every minuscule part of the universe is nothing other than movement and change. ~ Steve Hagen

Give your mind a lot of space and it quiets down; try to control, quiet, or restrict it, and it goes wild. ~ Steve Hagen

[A] view of the world is nothing more than a set of beliefs, a way to freeze the world in our mind. ... [T]his can never match Reality, ... because the world isn't frozen. ~ Steve Hagen

Usually we hold a frozen view of ourselves as well as of the world 'out there.' ... We identify with groups, behaviours, habits, and beliefs. ~ Steve Hagen

Neatly packaging everything gives us the illusion we ... know something. ~ Steve Hagen

There's no rule in the end, but only the situation and the inclination of your mind ~ Steve Hagen

When we see Reality, we are completely beyond the world of words and concepts. We experience what words cannot express, what ideas cannot contain, what speech cannot communicate. ~ Steve Hagen

We may also notice … each feeling … is transitory and impermanent. Eventually, through simple observation, our feelings, while no less vivid, will become less urgent, and will cease to have such a firm hold on our emotions and actions. We will be able to see each feeling as it arises without feeling compelled to act on it. ~ Steve Hagen

[B]ecause of change, what we love continues to appear, and what we hate never lasts forever. ~ Steve Hagen

We commonly see things 'out there' and go after them. Our mind is thus characterised by division and separation. ~ Steve Hagen

This desire to hold on, to somehow stop change in its tracks, is the greatest source of woe and horror and trouble in our lives. ~ Steve Hagen

Truth is not ... something to believe or disbelieve. The things we believe are always less than Truth[.] ~ Steve Hagen

What makes human life
which is inseparable from this moment
so precious is its fleeting nature. And not that it doesn't last but that it never returns again. ~ Steve Hagen

It's called enlightenment. It's nothing more or less than seeing things as they are rather than as we wish or believe them to be. ~ Steve Hagen

[S]elfless action, action done while free of a sense of self. Action in which you don't see yourself as separate from other things. ~ Steve Hagen

We pass by the joys of life without knowing we've missed anything. ~ Steve Hagen

We can only be here. We can't leave. We are always here. ~ Steve Hagen

No words - Buddha's, mine, or anyone else's - can see for you. ~ Steve Hagen

This moment is complete unto itself. There's nothing lacking in this moment ~ Steve Hagen

Our problem is that we don't pay attention to what we actually know. We give our attention to what we think - to what we have ideas or beliefs about - and we discard what we actually see. ~ Steve Hagen

[W]hen we speak about people based on what we think, feel, or hope rather than on what we observe or experience, we deprive them of their humanity. We have replaced what they are, in all their fluid vitality, with our own crystallised ideas, opinions, and beliefs. ~ Steve Hagen

We've formed many a theory and belief, but as we look about the human world, it is clear that nobody actually knows what's going on. Yet claims to Truth are being made at every hand, including the claim that there is no Truth. ~ Steve Hagen

One day, soon after the Buddha's enlightenment, a man saw the Buddha walking toward him. The man had not heard of the Buddha, but he could see that there was something different about the man who was approaching, so he was moved to ask, Are you a god? ~ Steve Hagen

Good times come and go. And bad times do the same. ~ Steve Hagen

[O]nce in a while there's that fleeting moment when the kindest thing you can do for another is to utter a severe word or a sharp observation that may hurt momentarily; ~ Steve Hagen

A buddha recognizes that anything put into speech is never completely reliable. ~ Steve Hagen

Our ignorance is such that most of us don't realize we're thirsty. Or, if we realize we're thirsty, we look for water in the wrong place. We go into fire looking for cool refreshment. And often we're confused about what our thirst actually is. ~ Steve Hagen

Buddhist writings (including this book) can be likened to a raft. A raft is a very handy thing to carry you across the water, from one shore to another. But once you've reached the other shore, you no longer need the raft. Indeed, if you wish to continue your journey beyond the shore, you must leave the raft behind. Our problem is that we tend to fall in love with the raft. ~ Steve Hagen

When we latch on to an identity, it's easy to take offence. But we offend ourselves. We lock ourselves into very rigid ways of seeing and thinking and reacting. ~ Steve Hagen

The moment that we hold some solidified idea about Reality- rather than relying on direct perception of the world- we inevitably give rise to anxiety and fear. ~ Steve Hagen

By simply attending to how we feel without trying to judge or change our feelings, we may notice that there's no real distinction between self and other. If it's a grey day inside, ... it's a grey day outside as well. ~ Steve Hagen

Rituals, ceremonies, prayers, and special outfits are inevitable, but they do not - they cannot - express the heart of what the Buddha taught. In fact, all too often, such things get in the way. They veil the simple wisdom of the Buddha's words, and distract us from it. ~ Steve Hagen

The buddha-dharma ... is about directly seeing Truth, prior to forming any ideas about it. It is about responding to each particular situation as it comes ... , not according to some ... program of dos and don'ts. ~ Steve Hagen

You want to not have any problems. ~ Steve Hagen

Meditation begins now, right here. It can't begin someplace else or at some other time. To paraphrase the great Zen master Dogen, "If you want to practice awareness, then practice awareness without delay." If you wish to know a mind that is tranquil and clear, sane and peaceful, you must take it up now. If you wish to free yourself from the frantic television mind that runs our lives, begin with the intention to be present now.

Nobody can bring awareness to your life but you.

Meditation is not a self-help program--a way to better ourselves so we can get what we want. Nor is it a way to relax before jumping back into busyness. It's not something to do once in awhile, either, whenever you happen to feel like it.

Instead, meditation is a practice that saturates your life and in time can be brought into every activity. It is the transformation of mind from bondage to freedom.

In practicing meditation, we go nowhere other than right here where we now stand, where we now sit, where we now live and breathe. In meditation we return to where we already are--this shifting, changing ever-present now.

If you wish to take up meditation, it must be now or never. ~ Steve Hagen

True freedom doesn't lie in the maximization of choice, but, ironically, is most easily found in a life where there is little choice. ~ Steve Hagen

[E]ven in getting the wonderful things we long for, we tend to live in want of something more[.] ~ Steve Hagen

Good' crystallised ... breeds arrogance and hostility ~ Steve Hagen

This will never come again ~ Steve Hagen

Liberation of mind is realising that we don't need to buy any story at all. It's realising that before our confused thought, there actually is Reality. We can see it. All we have to do it to fully engage in this moment as it has come to be. ~ Steve Hagen

[W]hen you practise right meditation, you 'cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words and following speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate your self. ~ Steve Hagen

If we believe in ... an everlasting self, it's tantamount to claiming that we have existed before all else came into being. We may as well fancy ourselves as being the cause of all creation. ~ Steve Hagen

The buddha-dharma does not invite us to dabble in abstract notions. Rather, the task it presents us with is to attend to what we actually experience, right in this moment. You don't have to look "over there." You don't have to figure anything out. You don't have to acquire anything. And you don't have to run off to Tibet, or Japan, or anywhere else. You wake up right here. In fact, you can only wake up right here.
So you don't have to do the long search, the frantic chase, the painful quest. You're already right where you need to be. ~ Steve Hagen

We might think that by tossing a ball we initiate an action, but this is merely an arbitrary point in a beginningless line of action. ~ Steve Hagen

[L]iberation [doesn't occur] in wearing robes or performing ritual acts. ~ Steve Hagen

We all know the maxim "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." It's because we want the horse to drink that we become frustrated, because it's literally not in our power to accomplish the job we've set out to do for ourselves. ~ Steve Hagen

We can't find any definitive beginning or end to … anything really. ~ Steve Hagen

Buddhism is not a belief system. It's not about accepting certain tenets or believing a set of claims or principles. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It's about examining the world clearly and carefully, about testing everything and every idea. Buddhism is about seeing. It's about knowing rather than believing or hoping or wishing. It's also about not being afraid to examine anything and everything, including our own personal agendas. ~ Steve Hagen

We're never called on to do what hurts. We just do what hurts out of ignorance and habit. Once we see what we're doing, we can stop. ~ Steve Hagen

Buddha is not someone you pray to, or try to get something from. Nor is a buddha someone you bow down to. A buddha is simply a person who is awake - nothing more or less. ~ Steve Hagen

There's nothing to prove, nothing to figure out, nothing to get, nothing to understand. When we finally stop explaining everything to ourselves, we may discover that in silence, complete understanding is already there. ~ Steve Hagen

[I]mpermanence [is] the very thing that makes [life] vibrant, wonderful, and alive. ~ Steve Hagen

Why would anyone want to awaken to the Reality that they're not even here in the first place? ~ Steve Hagen

The impossibility of arriving at Truth by giving up your own authority and following the lights of others. Such a path will only lead to an opinion. ~ Steve Hagen

[W]e're caught by our concepts ... [C]oncepts are not Reality. ~ Steve Hagen

We imagine that things come into existence, endure for a while, and then pass out of existence ~ Steve Hagen

we face the woeful prospect that we're intelligent creatures living in a meaningless world. ~ Steve Hagen

With actors like Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Harrison Ford, what made them such icons is that even in dramatic movies, their characters had a sense of humor. ~ Patrick Wilson

Time is a river rolling into nowhere. We must live while we can, and we'll drink our cup of laughter. ~ Steve Winwood

The key to good listening isn't technique, it's desire. Until we truly want to understand the other person, we'll never listen well. ~ Steve Goodier

If you're saving, you're succeeding ~ Steve Burkholder

The company I invested in is probably a leader in that area. They're a company called Second Spectrum, which happens to be based in LA but was started by two USC computer-science professors. It's filled with guys who love sports, who played sports, but really look like programmers. ~ Steve Ballmer

When I first came to L.A., I worked at the Magic Castle, and it was so much fun. But the best part of magic for me these days is not having to do it for a living. It's being able to pull a trick out when people least expect it, when they don't know that you do magic. ~ Steve Valentine

My father still is a lawyer, and my mom was a teacher and then later a career counselor. ~ Steve Case

Congress should just do its job and pass a transportation-infrastructure bill - a regular bill that doesn't borrow money and mortgage my future. ~ Steve Stivers

Which comes first: Good or Evil? Usually evil. Good counters. ~ Steve Chapman

Before we work on artificial intelligence, why don't we do something about natural stupidity? ~ Steve Polyak

Finally, Groucho stopped working on his roast beef, put down his fork, leaned over to her and said, "Look, will you stop calling him 'Gumbo'? Gumbo's a type of soup. My brother's name is 'Gummo!'" In ~ Steve Stoliar

We are extremely proud to represent all of Radio One's stations within the Katz Radio Group. For the past five years we have worked diligently alongside Radio One to build their business in the markets we have historically represented including Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia , Raleigh and Columbus. At a time of significant growth in the African American consumer market the addition of the remaining Radio One stations expands our ability to deliver strategic marketing solutions to our agency and advertiser customers. ~ Steve Shaw

Messy" is a word we use to explain a conflict with an expectation we had. Eliminate the expectation, and you eliminate the "messy". ~ Steve Maraboli

The nation's obligation to her defenders is as old as that defense itself. ~ Steve Buyer

Words reveal your beliefs and intentions. Actions reveal your character. When they are in alignment, they reveal your greatest life. ~ Steve Maraboli

Anything nice that's said about me is diametrically opposed to who I am. ~ Steve Carell

What you want most out of life is the thing you have to give the most of ~ Steve Harvey

What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds. ~ Steve Jobs

For me the top music though has to be Rock or Hip Hop and artists like Kanye West. ~ Steve Purdy

Pour the bulk of your time into action, not deciding. The state of indecision is a major time waster. Don't spend more than 60 seconds in that state if you can avoid it. Make a firm, immediate decision, and move from uncertainty to certainty to action. Let the world tell you when you're wrong, and you'll soon build enough experience to make accurate, intelligent decisions. ~ Steve Pavlina

The only thing I know about Moses is him coming down from the mountain with the commandments and saying 'The good news is I got him down to 10. The bad news is adultery is still in. ~ Steve Kluger

A woman can't change a man because she loves him. A man changes himself because he loves her. ~ Steve Harvey

And then you take a look at Spaces, there is this great innovation that came out of nowhere. We have the number one blogging site in the world because of the innovation that's there. ~ Steve Ballmer

I use a quill pen dipped in India ink. I also like Faber-Castell brush pens and Pigma Micron pens. And I work on Duo-Shade board. ~ Steve Breen

Hard work is painful when life is devoid of purpose. But when you live for something greater than yourself and the gratification of your own ego, then hard work becomes a labor of love. ~ Steve Pavlina

Herein lies our problem. If we level that much land to grow rice and whatever, then no other animal could live there except for some insect pest species. Which is very unfortunate. ~ Steve Irwin

Words are the true weapons of mass destruction ~ Steve Berry

A mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought ... alone. ~ Steve Wozniak

Stop blaming outside circumstances for your inside chaos. ~ Steve Maraboli

For as long as I'm able to write songs and sing them, it's just about making them ones I feel proud to sing again and again. ~ Steve Forbert

You can't really conduct your life by one or two phrases. ~ Steve Martin

Be careful," Tommy said. "Why do people always tell me to do that?" I asked. "Because you always do something stupid," Tommy answered. "And by stupid, I mean reckless and dangerous." "Thanks, Tommy, it's good to know who believes in me." "I believe in you, Nate," Tommy said with a faint smile. "I believe in your ability to find trouble like a bloodhound searching for an escaped prisoner." And with that he burst into laughter as the doors closed. ~ Steve McHugh

Spring is here and my old joy blooms in the world. ~ Steve Scafidi

The question to everyone's answer is usually asked from within. ~ Steve Miller

Not only because the product wasn't a great product, but remember it took us five or six years to ship it. Then we had to sort of fix it. That was what I might call Windows 7. ~ Steve Ballmer