Chapter One: You Are Not Your Mind
- Just become intensely conscious of the present moment : this is the essence of meditation.
- For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present. Or when you wash your hands, pay attention to all the sense perceptions associated with the activity: the sound and feel of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, and so on.
- Make it a habit to ask yourself: What's going on inside me at this moment?
- The Buddha says that pain or suffering arises through desire or craving and that to be free of pain we need to cut the bonds of desire. All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in external things and in the future as a substitute for the joy of Being.
- Be the Buddha, "the awakened one", which is what the word buddha means.
Chapter Two:Consciousness: The Way Out Of Pain
- The mind always seeks to deny the Now and to escape from it.
