The mind and the body is our household. If this inner household is not in order, no outer household can be in order.  The one we live and work in is dependent on the order that we have created in our own inner household…the one in charge has to be in the best possible condition.

Nothing in the whole universe is comparable to the mind or can take its place.  Everything is mind-made.

To meditate is to look after the mind. Our mind, that unique tool in all the universe, is the only one we have. If we owned a fine tool we would obviously look after it. We’d polish it and remove any rust. We’d sharpen it, we’d oil it, and we’d test it from time to time. Here we have this marvelous tool with which everything can be accomplished, including enlightenment, and it’s up to us to learn to look after it.  It won’t function properly otherwise.

—-Ayya Khema- From Being Nobody, Going Nowhere