The buddhist tradition and training is not about adding anything; it’s about removing, or taking away  •  removing confusion, selfishness, conflicting emotions, ego fixation, ego absorption  •  when we remove obstacles what we find is that a quality of goodness or awakening already exists, like the sun behind the clouds  •  it’s like a sculptor approaching a solid rock: the sculptor simply removes whatever is not the point  •  the view is that what we are seeking is in us already; it just needs to be discovered  •  there is no turning away from suffering; at the same time, underneath it all is the possibility of freedom, ease, liberation, and sanity  •  the buddhist approach is that you just have to stop doing harmful things  •  each time you sit and meditate or do a little bit of study, you’re carving away what is not the point  •  like a sculptor, you are getting to the you that is hidden behind seemingly invincible challenges