"Not all spiritual paths lead to the harmonious Oneness. Indeed, most are detours and distractions, nothing more." (Lao Tzu [in Hua Hu Ching ["Converting the Barbarians"], cca. 6th century BC])
"The future painter must feel what is useful for his development – drawing or even sculpture everything that will let him become one with Nature, identify himself with her, by entering into the things – which is what I call Nature – that arouse his feelings. I believe study by means of drawing is most essential. If drawing is of the Spirit and color of the Senses, you must draw first, to cultivate the spirit and to be able to lead color into spiritual paths." (Henri Matisse, [letter to Mr. Clifford, 1948)
"The basis of the spiritual path is the development in ourselves of what is truly balanced, natural, and meaningful." (Tarthang Tulku, "Gesture of Balance: A Guide to Awareness, Self-healing, and Meditation", 1977)
"When we learn to deal directly with our complaints and difficulties, romanticized ideas about the spiritual path are no longer meaningful. We see that what is important is to take responsibility for ourselves, and to always be aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions." (Tarthang Tulku, "Gesture of Balance: A Guide to Awareness, Self-healing, and Meditation", 1977)
"Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path." (Nhat Hanh, "Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha", 1987)
"Nature proliferates, and as long as we go along with that, we are looking for something other than what we have. This alone is unsatisfactoriness. It means that there is an emptiness within that wants to be filled. Unless we see this quite clearly, we will always try to fill this void from outside, through our sense contacts. But it can’t be done that way; only when we realize we must fulfill ourselves from within can we begin to take the spiritual path." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"The spiritual path, then, is simply the journey of living our lives. Everyone is on a spiritual path; most people just don't know it." (Marianne Williamson, "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles", 1992)
"The spiritual path can only be traveled through the daily experience of love." (Paulo Coelho, "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept", 1994)
"Encountering sufferings will definitely contribute to the elevation of your spiritual practice, provided you are able to transform calamity and misfortune into the path." (Tenzin Gyatso [14th Dalai Lama, "Path To Tranquility", 1998)
"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter." (Paulo Coelho, "Veronika Decides to Die", 1998)
"What good is a theory of how the universe works if it's a series of tensor equations that, even when understood, come nowhere tangential to experience? The only intellectual or noetic or spiritual path worth following is one that builds on personal experience" (Terence McKenna, "True Hallucinations: And, the Archaic Revival", 1998)
"We should reflect on the idea that since the beginning of time sentient beings have been mentally unstable because they have been slaves of delusion, they lack the eye of wisdom to see the path leading to nirvana and enlightenment, and they lack the necessary guidance of a spiritual teacher. Moment by moment they are indulging in negative actions, which will eventually bring about their downfall." (Tenzin Gyatso [14th Dalai Lama], "The Way to Freedom", 1999)
"To stay with that shakiness-to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge-that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic-this is the spiritual path." (Pema Chödrön, "When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times", 2000)
"Constantly apply cheerfulness, if for no other reason than because you are on this spiritual path. Have a sense of gratitude to everything, even difficult emotions, because of their potential to wake you up." (Pema Chödrön, "Always Maintain a Joyful Mind: And Other Lojong Teachings on Awakening Compassion and Fearlessness", 2007)
"The biggest surprise on the soulful journey to authenticity, whether as a philosophy or a spiritual path, is that the path is a spiral. We go up, but we go in circles. Each time around, the view gets a little bit wider." (Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort of Joy", 2008)
"What is truly a part of our spiritual path is that which brings us alive. If gardening brings us alive, that is part of our path, if it is music, if it is conversation [...] we must follow what brings us alive." (Jack Kornfield, "The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology", 2008)
"The Buddha taught that all life is suffering. We might also say that life, being both attractive and constantly dangerous, is intoxicating and ultimately toxic. 'Toxic' comes from toxicon, Pendell tells us, with a root meaning of 'a poisoned arrow.' All organic life is struck by the arrows of real and psychic poisons. This is understood by any true, that is to say, not self-deluding, spiritual path." (Gary Snyder, "Back on the Fire: Essays", 2009)
"The spiritual path can only be traveled through the daily experience of love." (Paulo Coelho, "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness", 2009)
"Walking the spiritual path properly is a very subtle process; it is not something to jump into naively. There are numerous sidetracks which leads to a distorted, ego-centered version of spirituality; we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spiritually when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques. This fundamental distortion may be referred to as spiritual materialism." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism", 2010)
"Again and again we need to appreciate the subtle workings of the teachings and the practice, and even when there is no extraordinary, dramatic change, to persevere with calm and patience. How important it is to be skillful and gentle with ourselves, without becoming disheartened or giving up, but trusting the spiritual path and knowing that it has its own laws and its own dynamics." (Sogyal Rinpoche, "The Future of Buddhism , 2011)
"The purpose of a spiritual path or religion is to provide a precise and believable way into what seems unbelievable." (Geneen Roth, "Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything", 2011)
"Fear is very often a part of the spiritual path. When people sit down and meditate it's not at all uncommon for fear to arise at some point." (Adyashanti, "True Meditation: Discover the Freedom of Pure Awareness", 2012)
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