Monk Mode Quotes

I opened the door as quickly as I could—speedy as a snail in glue. My fine-motor coordination was set on suck mode.

The wise treat horniness like a hiccup; the foolish, like an asthma attack.

Sex is often an attempt to entertain oneself through one’s own genitals, through the use of someone else’s genitals.

It is seldom that we know anything accurately on any subject that we have not made matter of careful study," said Mr. Monk, "and very often do not do so even then. We are very apt to think that we men and women understand one another; but most probably you know nothing even of the modes of thought of the man who lives next door to you.

Horniness pretty much always oversells an orgasm.

Even as it applies to the individual, art is a heightened mode of existence. It gives deeper pleasures, it consumes more quickly. It carves upon the faces of its votaries the marks of imaginary and spiritual adventures; and though their external existence may be as quiet as a monk’s,

Dad hit lecture mode from word one.

Sexual energy is all too often wasted on masturbation … or sex.

Revenge is the mode of ignorance—it’s often said that you can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else. Monks don’t hinge their choices and feelings on others’ behaviors. You believe revenge will make you feel better because of how the other person will react.

You know, it might surprise you,” she said, “but sometimes I go for days not caring what you think.

Revenge is the mode of ignorance—it’s often said that you can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else.

Sex is a need … to the continuation of the life of the species; not that of the animal, or the person.

Thus, in eastern Tibet, they say that before he died one monk asked that no one touch his corpse for a week and that the door to his room remain closed. After seven days, when they went into the room, his body had completely dissolved. They found only his monastic robes; even his nails and hair had disappeared. This monk was a hermit who lived very simply, without externalizing any signs of realization during his life devoted to contemplation. He had managed, through his practice, to actualize the primordial purity of the mind. We are not all called to such an accomplishment. It is better, for our daily practice, to stay at home, keeping our professional and family life while still learning to become better from day to day and adhering to a positive mode of life that will contribute to the good of society, according to the principles of the Dharma. We should choose professions in the areas of education, health, or social services. We should avoid renouncing everything for a solitary retreat. The aim is not to devote ourselves solely to spiritual practice, to lead a life lost in the glaciers. We should progress by degrees, steadily, taking care not to have extreme views, in a spirit of steadfastness and perseverance.

Studies on Buddhist monks suggest that their intense meditation practices alter their brain in lasting ways, decreasing activation in brain areas related to fear and negative emotionality. That's a sign that they have come to live in the openness of discover mode, rather than in the guardedness of defend mode.

We are addicted to distractions. This addiction is similar to refine sugar addiction. Refined sugar has no nutritional value, and it does not add anything substantive to our lives. It is actually taking away and eroding our overall health.

You can't do things with purpose and care if you have to speed through them. When you start the morning with high pressure and high stress, your programming your body to operate in that mode for the rest of the day, through conversations, meetings, appointments.

Inspired by Newton, I took a similar, if perhaps less extreme, approach to writing this book. I blocked off eight hours a day to write: from 5:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M., five days a week. The basic rule was no e-mail, no calls, no appointments, and no interruptions until after 1:00 P.M. I didn’t always achieve it, but the discipline made a big difference. I set my e-mail bounceback to explain that I was in “monk mode” until after the book was complete. It is difficult to overstate how much freedom I found in this approach. By creating space to explore, think, and write, I not only got my book done faster but gained control over how I spent the rest of my time.

Knowing the workings of the discursive mind, seeing how it maneuvers to dupe us, is no small deal. When I’m paralyzed by anxiety, I’m sometimes surprised that I find the joys and the quiet times of everyday life insipid. It’s as though I missed the adrenaline that rushes through me when I am in crisis mode, which is quite dramatic. The blows of fate are crushing, exhausting, but at least in the moment of struggling with them I know why I get up in the morning.

the appearance of a tunnel leading down into the mud, which had opened like a relaxed sphincter.

ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?!?!? ARE YOU THAT INSANE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? (SANE / INSANE)