The whole journey of renunciation, or starting to say yes to life, is first of all realizing that you’ve come up against your edge, that everything in you is saying no, and then at that point, softening.

In inviting Mara to tea, the Buddha was saying yes to the present moment and yes to all of life. In contrast, our habitual ways of saying no—of resisting or avoiding our experience—create more suffering. Consider what happens when Mara appears in the shape of fear, hatred, anger, or hurt. Our mind says no by immediately assuming that something is w

let’s simply note that in every experience of suffering, when you take the focus off the details of the situation, off the story of what’s happening, off the external circumstances, and really come back to your present experience—to present thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the body—you will always find seeking, even if that seeking is playing