Turning the Mind Into an Ally
by Sakyong Mipham, Pema Chodron
"In peaceful abiding, we ground our mind in the present moment. We place our mind on the breath and practice keeping it there. We notice when our thoughts and emotions distract us, and train in continually returning our mind to the breath. This is how we shift our allegiance from the bewildered mind that causes its own suffering to the mind that is stable, clear and strong."
"When we sit down to meditate, there's so much going on in our mind that it's easy to get lost. We wander around in this dense jungle, not knowing where we are going. The present moment and the breath are like a hilltop in the distance. We keep our eyes on it as we walk toward it ... It's like giving a child a pet: caring for a living creature teaches us responsibility and loving-kindness ... In the same way, we are using the breath as a vehicle to bring us into the present moment."