Only the present

In meditation there must only be the present. No past and no future.

The golden rule of cultural adaptation

The more you know and understand about a culture you're living in, the more you can be yourself in that culture. The more you understand the other, the more you can be yourself.

Gossip

Gossip may very well be the greatest, or at least, the most subtle form of lying. After all, those lies that are half-truths are often more deceptive than full lies, but unlike white lies, which often cover up the dark side to look only at the bright side, gossip covers up the bright side  -- leaving the listener only to believe that the person gossipped about is merely dark,  with no chance of the bright side shining through.

Life

The biggest choices in life we often do not chose.

Me

I still truly feel myself  when i still can change that self.

errors

People are just like computer programs -- they seem well-designed at first, but once there is an error they either don't tell about it, or they give the wrong reason for the error.

Praise and criticism

It is often better to be criticized than to be praised by people who are not sincere in their praise. Whereas the criticism is often not related to who we are and what we do, praise is, just because of the very fact it is not sincere.