Best Quotes from The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim with Page Numbers

The world isn’t inherently joyful or sad; it just is.

Reality exists because our minds exist.

Our mind’s awareness can be said to bring the world into being.

When your mind is joyful and compassionate, the world is, too.

When your mind rests, the world also rests.

Knowing our minds is just as important as trying to change the world.

If we know how to be content, we can relax our endless striving and welcome serenity.

Negative emotions come and go like clouds, but the wide-open sky remains.

Love yourself despite your imperfections.

The more grateful we feel, the happier we become.

Befriend your negative emotions. Do not fight them. Observe and befriend them.

Pure attention without judgment is not only the highest form of human intelligence, but also the expression of love.

You are the vast silence that knows of their emergence and their disappearance.

Once you awaken to this truth, you will not be swayed by negative emotions and can regard them as a passing cloud instead of identifying with them as a defining part of your self.

The entire world becomes your teacher.

Everything in this universe is evanescent. Because it is evanescent, it is also precious.

Rather than blindly following your thoughts and feelings, stay awake and recognize the state of your mind before it is too late.

Spirituality must be practiced not just in solitude but also among people.

Do not lament that the world has changed. Embrace and welcome it.

When a deep, honest conversation makes us feel connected to someone, we become very happy.

No matter how effective the medicine may be, if you demand that someone take it, it can taste like poison.

When we’re first given a job, especially one we’ve been working toward for a long time, it’s easy to become overly enthusiastic, as we are eager to prove ourselves.

It takes wisdom to discern that these two are not always related.

Only when we know how to control this overflowing passion can we work harmoniously and effectively with others.

Your influence won’t spread far without the sacrifice of hard work.

It is important that you work hard, but don’t be enamored of the feeling of working hard.

The most dangerous people are those who have passion but lack wisdom.

Be the kind of person who can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand something not just from your own perspective but from theirs as well.

Instead of maintaining the sanctity of our values, shouldn’t we care more about the person sitting in front of us?

Being right isn’t nearly as important as being happy together.

If happiness is what we hope to achieve in our lives, shouldn’t we put more effort into cultivating good relationships with the people around us?

Striking a balance is key.

When we hate someone, we think about him a lot.

Do not expect others to follow your way. When things always go your way, it is easy to become arrogant.

The best revenge is love.

When you grant people freedom, you will find yours, too.

What makes us truly happy is meeting someone who accepts us for who we are.

Even if you are successful, you can still feel inadequate and insecure if you are made to believe that something is wrong with you.

Life is good when these relationships are good.

The whole universe is in us.

Demonstrations of love are small, compared with the great thing that is hidden behind them.

When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep.

If you look for love, in pursuit of what it can give you, it will hide itself.

Love is like an uninvited guest. Love will come when it wants to.

If you attempt to find a love that meets certain criteria, your new love may also make certain demands of you.

When we love someone, we feel like a little kid in our heart.

Love has the power to stop the world for a moment. Love makes the world look beautiful.

You are beautiful not because you are better than others but because there is only you who can smile like that.

If something is meant to blossom into a relationship, it usually works out without much difficulty.

Love each other like two pillars supporting the same roof.

Life is like a slice of pizza. It looks delicious in an advertisement, but when we actually have it, it is not as good as we imagined.

Happiness means finding a moment of joy in those ordinary hours.

Where you live shapes you.

Stop worrying about what others think and just do what your heart wishes.

Dream big but start small.

Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.

Your mind cannot hold two thoughts at once.

A wise person thinks, 'I don’t know the whole story.' She opens herself up to even greater wisdom.

Even if he got what he wanted with a momentary lie, the fact that he lied will stay with him until the day he dies.

When there is no envy or expectation, even the wealthiest and most powerful person is just another human being.

One word of encouragement, said with kindness and hope, can change a person’s future.

Live your life not to satisfy others, but to fulfill what your heart desires.

Life isn’t a hundred-meter race against your friends, but a lifelong marathon against yourself.

Don’t flit here and there like a school of fish just because that is what your friends do or because others say it is what you should do.

Measure your self-worth not with the balance of your bank account but with the frequency of your generosity.

There is no such thing as being completely prepared. Life is an adventure, through which we learn and mature.

Don’t look back. Continue on your path courageously, like a one-horned rhinoceros.

Even if you have just a modest dream, don’t keep it to yourself. Talk to others about it.

Never cede the power to make decisions about your life.

You are the owner of your life. Value yourself first.

Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

It has a universal quality that allows people of different religious traditions to recognize and respect it.

A monastic life is characterized by simple beauty and unexpected joy.

May faith never become an ideological weapon to justify violence.

The purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others.

Blind faith in the leader can easily reduce you to acting like a child.

You don’t turn into a buddha by striving for it.

We don’t turn into a buddha by striving for it. Rather, we awaken to the truth that we have been buddhas all along.

If you have been praying like this—'Please grant me this. I really need this to happen'—then try to pray this way as well—'Enlarge my heart to hold and accept the things I cannot.'

Letting go of self-centeredness and opening one’s heart to others are just as miraculous.