As the Japanese Zen masters say, “Don’t seek the truth; just drop your opinions. - Anthony de Mello

Before enlightenment, I used to be depressed: after enlightenment, I continue to be depressed." But there's a difference: I don't identify with it anymore.

The first reaction is one of fear. It's not that we fear the unknown. You cannot fear something that you do not know. Nobody is afraid of the unknown. What you really fear is the loss of the known. That's what you fear.

We were brought up to need people. For what? For acceptance, approval, appreciation, applause - for what they call success. Those are words that do not correspond to reality. They are conventions, things that are invented, but we don't realize that they don't correspond to reality. What is success? It is what one group decided is a good thing. Another group will decide the same thing is bad.