# Quote — Sam Harris, Waking Up

> I never made more effort than I did when practicing under U Pandita. But most of this effort arose from the very illusion of bondage to the self that I was seeking to overcome. The model of this practice is that one must climb the mountain so that freedom can be found at the top. But the self is already an illusion, and that truth can be glimpsed directly, at the mountain's base or anywhere else along the path. One can then return to this insight, again and again, as one's sole method of meditation—thereby arriving at the goal in each moment of actual practice.

- Author: [Sam Harris](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sam-harris.md)
- Book: [Waking Up](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sam-harris/waking-up.md)
- Page: 126
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sam_Harris#Waking_Up_(2014)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/sam-harris/waking-up/i-never-made

## More from this book

> Happiness and suffering, however extreme, are mental events. The mind depends upon the body, and the body upon the world, but everything good or bad that happens in your life must appear in consciousness to matter. This fact offers ample opportunity to make the best of bad situations—changing your perception of the world is often as good as changing the world—but it also allows a person to be miserable even when all the material and social conditions for happiness have been met. During the normal course of events, your mind will determine the quality of your life.

p. 204 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sam-harris/waking-up/happiness-and-suffering.md)

> Consciousness is the one thing in this universe that cannot be an illusion.

p. 54 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sam-harris/waking-up/consciousness-is-the.md)

> The conventional sense of self is an illusion—and [] spirituality largely consists in realizing this, moment to moment. There are logical and scientific reasons to accept this claim, but recognizing it to be true is not a matter of understanding these reasons. Like many illusions, the sense of self disappears when closely examined, and this is done through the practice of meditation.

p. 82 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sam-harris/waking-up/the-conventional-sense.md)