"As long as we fail to realize that we have to go beyond the sensual aspect of ourselves, we will look in vain for satisfaction, not only because all our sense contacts are bound to be both pleasant and unpleasant, but also because they are necessarily short-lived. They must not last under any circumstances." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"By practicing letting go of our reactions we can find the doorway out. Each time we fail to respond to something, we have taken a big step toward freedom. Until we have done that, we are constant victims of our feelings [...]" (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"Contemplation means that we stay with one subject, and although we have known the subject ever so long, a new realization may arise. We see the same thing in a different light. We experience an intuitive knowing, which comes from having discarded discursive thinking and from concentrating on one subject alone. This is how wisdom arises: not by thinking about a subject, but by contemplating its truth and realizing its application to our own life; seeing all its facets and connections to our reality, and gaining a brand new viewpoint." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"In meditation we drop all thoughts. When they recur, we drop them again." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"In meditation we try to focus and become one-pointed on the subject of meditation, so that the mind eventually becomes very calm and serene, and gains the power and strength to realize insights." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"Meditation is the means by which we can practice mindfulness to the point where insight becomes so strong that we can see absolute reality behind the relative. Mindfulness trained in meditation can then continue in every activity." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"Meditation is therefore a means, and not an end in itself. It is a means to change the mind’s capacity in such a way that it can perceive entirely different realities from the ones we are used to. The recognition that meditation is a tool is important, because it is often wrongly considered to be an end in itself." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"Most people sit down to meditate in order to make their minds peaceful. But a calm mind is only one of the two essential aspects of meditation. Insight (vipassanā) is the other. The goal of meditation is insight, and tranquility (samatha) is the means to that end." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"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)
"No one can really teach us to be mindful. We teach ourselves, using landmarks and signposts. [...] Being mindful means that mind and body are in the same place." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"So we need to remember that karma is always initiated in the mind and then followed up by speech and action. We only have these three doors: thought, speech, and action. Since all starts in the mind, that’s our first and foremost focus of attention. Meditation is the means by which the mind can be made sharp, clear, and insightful enough for us to change from the negative to the positive. We don’t have to carry on with thinking negative thoughts; it’s totally unnecessary." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"The acceptance of ourselves is the first step toward loving-kindness. It has to exist within us, for ourselves, because only then can we feel it, only then do we know what it is like." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"The Buddha said, 'The way to liberation is the way of letting go of clinging.' 'Letting go' is our spiritual growth process. There’s nothing to gain, nothing to get. In order to meditate we have to let go of all sensual desires, no matter how subtle. If we don’t let go of hopes, ideas, thoughts, worries, and problems during our meditation periods, we can’t concentrate. 'Letting go' is the key phrase for the spiritual path. Knowing that all is impermanent, cannot last, and is moving toward dissolution helps us to let go. Wanting always results in anxiety, because we don’t know whether we will get what we desire, and even if we do, we don’t know whether we can keep it."(Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"The whole of the spiritual path is one of purification, which means a constant letting go. It is a matter of seeing our inner difficulties and learning to drop them. Meditation is our vehicle for practicing the art of letting go." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
"There’s only one way of dealing with suffering when it arises, and that’s to drop the wanting; suffering will then disappear. Such insight is only possible when we stop going outward, through communication and through our many activities. We must have quiet times when we can really look inside ourselves." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)
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