It is important not to have the unrealistic expectation that we will find a magic key to help get rid of all suffering. It takes determination, patience, and more than one week.
By Tenzin Gyatso
A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden.
By Buddha
Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
By Buddha
A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us.
By Pema Chodron
At the Day of Judgment, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done
By Thomas Kempis
It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others
By Dalai Lama XIV
There is only one important point you must keep in your mind and let it be your guide. No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die, this is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us, not even the Buddha. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life?
By Dalai Lama XIV
Love is a fleeting emotion, to reach true nirvana one must know themselves and forsake love, for it breeds contempt
By Buddha
Everyone wants happiness; nobody wants to suffer. Many problems around us are a mental projection of certain negative or unpleasant things. If we analyze our own mental attitude, we may find it quite unbearable. Therefore, a well-balanced mind is very useful and we should try and have a stable mental state.
By Dalai Lama
Pay no attention to the faults of others,
things done or left undone by others.
Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone.
By Buddha
Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.
By Dalai Lama
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
By Buddha
'Is this what you have in mind,' I asked the Dalai Lama, 'when you say in teachings that the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the world are the most selfish beings of all, that by cultivating altruism they actually achieve ultimate happiness for themselves?'
Yes. That's wise selfish,' he replied. 'Helping others not means we do this at our own expense. Not like this. Buddhas and bodhisattvas, these people very wise. All their lives they only want one thing: to achieve ultimate happiness. How to do this? By cultivating compassion, by cultivating altruism.
By Dalai Lama XIV
Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will touch thee.
By Buddha
Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.
By Dalai Lama XIV
One of the secrets of inner peace is the practice of compassion
By Tenzin Gyatso
I teach one thing and one only:
that is, suffering and the end of suffering.
By Buddha
One problem with our current society is that we have an attitude towards education as if it is there to simply make you more clever, make you more ingenious... Even though our society does not emphasize this, the most important use of knowledge and education is to help us understand the importance of engaging in more wholesome actions and bringing about discipline within our minds. The proper utilization of our intelligence and knowledge is to effect changes from within to develop a good heart.
By Dalai Lama XIV
One great question underlies our experience, whether we think about it or not: what is the purpose of life? From the moment of birth every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affects this. From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness
By Dalai Lama
NEVER GIVE UP
No matter what is going on
Never give up
Develop the heart
Too much energy in your country
Is spent developing the mind
Instead of the heart
Be compassionate
Not just to your friends
But to everyone
Be compassionate
Work for peace
In your heart and in the world
Work for peace
And I say again
Never give up
No matter what is going on around you
Never give up
By Dalai Lama XIV
Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.
By Buddha
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
By Buddha
Whether one is rich or poor, educated or illiterate, religious or nonbelieving, man or woman, black, white, or brown, we are all the same. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, we are all equal. We all share basic needs for food, shelter, safety, and love. We all aspire to happiness and we all shun suffering. Each of us has hopes, worries, fears, and dreams. Each of us wants the best for our family and loved ones. We all experience pain when we suffer loss and joy when we achieve what we seek. On this fundamental level, religion, ethnicity, culture, and language make no difference.
By Dalai Lama XIV
Self satisfaction alone cannot determine if a desire or action is positive or negative. The demarcation between a positive and a negative desire or action is not whether it gives you a immediate feeling of satisfaction, but whether it ultimately results in positive or negative consequences.
By Dalai Lama XIV
The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression
by saying something,
and sometimes one creates
as significant an impression
by remaining silent.
By Dalai Lama XIV
The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes.
By Pema Chodron
If you have only education and knowledge and a lack of the other side, then you may not be a happy person, but a person of mental unrest, of frustration. Not only that, but if you combine these two, your whole life will be a constructive and happy life. And certainly you can make immense benefit for society and the betterment of humanity. That is one of my fundamental beliefs: that a good heart, a warm heart, a compassionate heart, is still teachable.
By Dalai Lama XIV
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
By Buddha
Life without a purpose is a languid, drifting thing; every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves, 'This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught
By Thomas Kempis
So if we love someone, we should train in being able to listen. By listening with calm and understanding, we can ease the suffering of another person. [True Love. A Practice for Awakening the Heart.]
By Thich Nhat Hanh
FIRST keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a peacemaker towards others. A peaceable man doth more good than a well-learned. A passionate man turneth even good into evil and easily believeth evil; a good, peaceable man converteth all things into good. He who dwelleth in peace is suspicious of none, but he who is discontented and restless is tossed with many suspicions, and is neither quiet himself nor suffereth others to be quiet. He often saith what he ought not to say, and omitteth what it were more expedient for him to do. He considereth to what duties others are bound, and neglecteth those to which he is bound himself. Therefore be zealous first over thyself, and then mayest thou righteously be zealous concerning thy neighbour.
By Thomas Kempis
I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…
By Dalai Lama
All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence
By Buddha
Whether our action is wholesome or unwholesome depends on whether that action or deed arises from a disciplined or undisciplined state of mind. It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering, and in fact it is said that bringing about discipline within one's mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.
By Dalai Lama XIV
One of the basic points is kindness. With kindness, with love and compassion, with his feeling that is the essence of brotherhood, sisterhood, one will have inner peace. This compassionate feeling is the basis of inner peace.
By Dalai Lama XIV
A lot of the powerful religious leaders, from Jesus to Buddha to Tibetan monks, they're really talking about the same things: love and acceptable, and the value of friendship, and respecting yourself so you can respect others.
By Jena Malone
He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.
By Buddha
Give up salt, give up sugar, give up spices, give up vegetables, give up chutnies, give up tamarind. Serve Bhangis, serve rogues, serve inferiors, remove faecal matter. Do not revenge, resist not evil, return good for evil, bear insult and injury. Forget like a child any injury done by somebody immediately. Never keep it in the heart. It kindles hatred.
By Swami Sivananda
Forget like a child any injury done by somebody immediately. Never keep it in the heart. It kindles hatred.
By Swami Sivananda
So, to praise others for their virtues - Can but encourage one's own efforts
By Nagarjuna
I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.
By Dalai Lama
I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives. I’m not talking about the short-term gratification of pleasures like sex, drugs or gambling (though I’m not knocking them), but something that will bring true and lasting happiness. The kind that sticks.
By Dalai Lama XIV
Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighbouring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. True peace with oneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace. The other phenomena mentioned above are similarly interrelated. Thus, for example, we see that a clean environment, wealth or democracy mean little in the face of war, especially nuclear war, and that material development is not sufficient to ensure human happiness.
By Tenzin Gyatso
A book has but one vioce, but it does not instruct everyone alike.
By Thomas Kempis
In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.
By Dalai Lama
Understanding unity helps to solve humanity's biggest challenges. There is no such thing as an isolated problem. By injuring any part of the world's system, you injure yourself. There is no such thing as a win/lose situation.
Think of life on this planet in terms of systems and not detached elements. Broaden your field of vision and assimilate the knowledge you have. See that the environment does not belong to any single country to exploit and then disregard.
You cannot afford to think of your relationship with the earth as a one-night stand. There's no such thing as a free glass of milk. It's time to buy the cow.
By Za Rinpoche
Good men and bad men differ radically. Bad men never appreciate kindness shown them, but wise men appreciate and are grateful. Wise men try to express their appreciation and gratitude by some return of kindness, not only to their benefactor, but to everyone else.
By Buddha
Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generatng that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice. [Shambhala Sun March 2006 ]
By Thich Nhat Hanh
There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment.
By Swami Sivananda
A bodhisattva is someone who has compassion within himself or herself and who is able to make another person smile or help someone suffer less. Every one of us is capable of this.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
There are twenty difficult things to attain in this world:
1. It is hard for the poor to practice charity.
2. It is hard for the strong and rich to observe the Way.
3. It is hard to disregard life and go to certain death.
4. It is only a favoured few that get acquainted with a Buddhist sutra.
5. It is hard to be born in the age of the Buddha.
6. It is hard to conquer the passions, to suppress selfish desires.
7. It is hard not to hanker after that which is agreeable.
8. It is hard not to get into a passion when slighted.
9. It is hard not to abuse one's authority.
10. It is hard to be even-minded and simple hearted in all one's dealings with others.
11. It is hard to be thorough in learning and exhaustive in investigation.
12. It is hard to subdue selfish pride.
13. It is hard not to feel contempt toward the unlearned.
14. It is hard to be one in knowledge and practice.
15. It is hard not to express an opinion about others.
16. It is by rare opportunity that one is introduced to a true spiritual teacher.
17. It is hard to gain an insight into the nature of being and to practice the Way.
18. It is hard to follow the way of a saviour.
19. It is hard to be always the master of oneself.
20. It is hard to understand thoroughly the Ways of Buddha.
By Buddha
Grant your blessing so that my mind may become one with the Dharma.
By Dagpo Lha-je Gampopa
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
By Buddha
Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.
By Buddha
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
By Buddha
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
By Buddha
It is better to feed a good man than one hundred bad men.
By Buddha
If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work
By Thich Nhat Hanh
Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself. When you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger, and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself. The practice is always to go back to oneself.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.
By Buddha
One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the messiah?"
"No", answered Buddha.
"Then are you a healer?"
"No", Buddha replied.
"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.
"No, I am not a teacher."
"Then what are you?" asked the student, exasperated.
"I am awake", Buddha replied.
By Buddha
The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.
By Buddha
Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
By Buddha
Irrespective of whether we are believers or agnostics, whether we believe in God or karma, moral ethics is a code which everyone is able to pursue.
By Dalai Lama XIV
If we were able to maintain a calm and peaceful mind all day long, we would never experience any problems or mental suffering. If our mind remains peaceful all the time, then even if we are insulted, criticised or blamed or if we lose our job or our friends, we shall not become unhappy.
No matter how difficult the situation may become, for as long as we maintain a calm and peaceful mind the situation will not be a problem for us, there if we wish to be free from problems there is only one thing to do - learn to maintain a peaceful state of mind by practicing dharma sincerely and purely
By Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.
By Buddha
Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.
By Dalai Lama
In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel "burnout" setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.
By Dalai Lama
If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.
By Pema Chodron
The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.
By Buddha
Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.
By Dalai Lama XIV
The motivation of all religious practice is similar:
love, sincerity, honesty.
The way of life
of practically all religious persons
is consistent.
The teachings
of tolerance, love, and compassion
are the same.
By Dalai Lama XIV
When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.
By Buddha
A good motivation is what is needed: compassion without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their human rights and dignities. That we humans can help each other is one of our unique human capacities.
By Dalai Lama XIV
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
By Buddha
Discipline means protection from one's own wanton interest.
By Tenzin Gyatso
I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.
By Buddha
When someone asks you a question, answer him or her sincerely, and when you are not asked, do not force your teaching upon others.
By Jae Woong Kim
Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.
By Buddha
With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world.
By Dalai Lama
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
By Dalai Lama XIV
The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves "inside the skin" of the other. We "go inside" their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with another's suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."
By Thich Nhat Hanh
Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.
By Dalai Lama XIV
In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
To be kind, honest and have positive thoughts; to forgive those who harm us and treat everyone as a friend; to help those who are suffering and never to consider ourselves superior to anyone else: even if this advice seems rather simplistic, make the effort of seeing whether by following it you can find greater happiness.
By Dalai Lama XIV
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
By Buddha
Afflictive emotions - our jealousy, anger, hatred, fear - can be put to an end. When you realize that these emotions are only temporary, that they always pass on like clouds in the sky, you also realize they can ultimately be abandoned.
By Tenzin Gyatso
The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.
By Buddha
The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.
By Buddha
When something
needs to be done in the world
to rectify the wrongs,
if one is really concerned
with benefiting others,
one needs to be
engaged, involved.
This is action out of compassion.
By Dalai Lama XIV
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Follow the three R's:
- Respect for self.
- Respect for others.
- Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone everyday.
Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
By Dalai Lama XIV
The foundation of the Buddha's teachings lies in compassion, and the reason for practicing the teachings is to wipe out the persistence of ego, the number-one enemy of compassion.
By Tenzin Gyatso
A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.
By Chanakya
Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us.
By Pema Chodron
