"While the Ground of being may be completely beyond both meaning and purpose, the individual expression of that Ground is given direction and oriented to the world through the prism of meaning. By bringing to light how the Ground of being functions through the individual, we discover a degree of spiritual autonomy that allows and challenges us to what in Zen is called 'taking the one seat.'"
"The absolute Ground of our being is unconditioned. Meaning and purpose are not relevant from this perspective. Yet simultaneously in the relative, human experience, meaning has importance; it gives us an orientation in life and a pathway through which our absolute nature can manifest itself."
"By translating our deepest experience of being into time and space, we develop spiritual autonomy—an independence of spirit capable of manifesting the enlightened condition in daily living for the highest possible good."
"We usually think of purpose in a narrow way. We think that if we find the one right thing, our life will have meaning. Actually, the opposite is true. What if you orient your values in everything that you do?"
"Spiritual autonomy requires you to orient around the depth of your being, not by imposing nice ideals, but by recognizing that your soul values are innate. Recognize them from the inside and let them occupy the space of your being."
"In enlightened relativity, one sees the truth of both the absolute and the relative. There is meaning and there is no meaning simultaneously."
"The focus of this course is primarily on the ever-evolving capacity to embody the enlightened condition both in yourself and in your daily life. It is the practice of Buddhas embodying and expressing their Buddhahood, not to achieve some imaginary goal, but because it is an instinct within the heart of being."
"Our values determine our mode of being in the world, always."
"We are on a voyage of discovery with no endpoint. Rather, it is an endless exploration of how to be in the world for the benefit of ourselves and all beings."
"Unless we have the capacity to experience our own being and aliveness, we’re really missing the chance to take a full seat in our lives. We then become just our name, gender, and occupation, which are mere ideas."