Carlos Castaneda Quotes

Enlightenment is not something you achieve. It is the absence of something. All your life you have been going forward after something, pursuing some goal. Enlightenment is dropping all that.

Enlightenment is the mind that is open to anything, but attached to nothing. That is freedom. No values, no resentment, no grudges. Not carrying the past along with you. Not carrying memories from the past that are hurtful and shameful and embarrassing. Just let all that go and you are living in enlightenment, and you are free for everything.

We are awakened to the profound realization that the true path to liberation is to let go of everything.

Our journey is about being more deeply involved in life, and yet less attached to it.

Real change isn't found in some new way to think about yourself, but in freedom from the need to think about yourself at all.

What pride to discover that nothing belongs to you - what a revelation.

Man must do his part and detach himself from created things.

The essence of the Way is detachment.

You need not aspire for or get any new state. Get rid of your present thoughts, that is all.

And the Buddha is the person who's free: free of plans, free of cares.

When I look at my life, I see that I wanted to be free of the physical plane, the psychological plane, and when I got free of those I didn't want to go anywhere near them.

I'm in a space of surrendering and being open and seeing. It's a good place to be - the only place to be.

Control is not real, and I'm really understanding that every day. It's about the acceptance of relinquishing control that makes it powerful for you.

Become alert about desire and non-attachment begins to appear. This is not to be made to happen, it follows naturally from awareness of attachment. Each one of us has to become aware of his attachments, and keep being so! Nothing should be done unconsciously.

If you want to travel the Way of Buddhas and Zen masters, then expect nothing, seek nothing, and grasp nothing.

Every practice at some point will become a hindrance. No practice can ever take you there, to freedom, to liberation. That's important to realize.

Seeker, empty the boat, lighten the load, be free of craving and judgment and hatred, and feel the joy of the way.

To become truly free, you must surrender.

If you were wise enough to know that this life would consist mostly of letting go of things you wanted, then why not get good at the letting go, rather than the trying to have?

To live your life without expectation-without the need for specific results-that is freedom. That is Godliness.

Give up, renounce the world. Now we are like dogs strayed into a kitchen and eating a piece of meat, looking round in fear lest at any moment some one may come and drive them out. Instead of that, be a king and know you own the world. This never comes until you give it up and it ceases to bind. Give up mentally, if you do not physically. Give up from the heart of your hearts

Do you want to be right more than you want to know the truth? It's the truth that set me free. Acceptance, peace, and less attachment to a world of suffering are all effects of doing The Work. They're not the goals. Do The Work for the love of freedom, for the love of truth.

Meditation means ultimate freedom within you.

Become detached from your ego, become detached from your possessions. Become simply detached from every possible source of attachment.