Via Daily Dharma: The Internal Resource

To be one’s own mainstay is to be one’s own self help. Teaching us to do that is the Buddha’s ultimate gift.

—Mary Talbot, “Saving Vacchagotta”

Via PURPLE BUDDHA PROJECT

Life Quotes of the Day

In modern society most of us don’t want to be in touch with ourselves; we want to be in touch with other things like religion, sports, politics, a book - we want to forget ourselves. Anytime we have leisure, we want to invite something else to enter us, opening ourselves to the television and telling the television to come and colonize us.

- Thích Nhất Hạnh

Each mental act opens up a new dimension of actuality. In a manner of speaking, your slightest thought gives birth to worlds. This is not a dry metaphysical statement. It should arouse within you the strongest feelings of creativity and speculation. It is impossible for any being to be sterile, for any idea to die, or any ability to go unfulfilled.

- Seth

When you do not know what to do, relax and tell yourself that other portions of yourself do know; they will take over. Give yourself some rest. Remind yourself that in many ways you are a very successful person as you are. Success does not necessarily involve great intellect or great position or great wealth; it has to do with inner integrity. Remember that.

- Seth

If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: Search after truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth… Hinduism is the religion of truth. Truth is God. Denial of God we have known. Denial of truth we have not known.

- Mahatma Gandhi

I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God’s will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.

- Maya Angelou

What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,’…. And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.

- Maya Angelou

When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught to fly.

- Patrick Overton

I want you to remember who you are, despite the bad things that are happening to you. Because those bad things aren’t you. They are just things that happen to you. You need to accept that who you are and the things that happen you, are not one and the same.

- Colleen Hoover

The most unfathomable schools and sages have never attained to the gravity which dwells in the eyes of a baby of three months old. It is the gravity of astonishment at the universe, and astonishment at the universe is not mysticism, but a transcendent common-sense. The fascination of children lies in this: that with each of them all things are remade, and the universe is put again upon its trial.

- G. K. Chesterton

If you want to forget something or someone, never hate it, or never hate him/her. Everything and everyone that you hate is engraved upon your heart; if you want to let go of something, if you want to forget, you cannot hate.

- C. JoyBell C.

You’re afraid of imagination and even more afraid of dreams. Afraid of the responsibility that begins in dreams. But you have to sleep and dreams are a part of sleep. When you’re awake you can suppress imagination but you can’t suppress dreams.

- Haruki Murakami

Via Daily Dharma: Step into the Present

Walking meditation is really to enjoy the walking—walking not in order to arrive, just for walking, to be in the present moment, and to enjoy each step.

—Thich Nhat Hanh, “Walk Like A Buddha”

Via Daily Dharma: Identify the Distracted Mind

Developing the skill to recognize that we are distracted and to return the mind to awareness of the present moment enables us to appreciate our self in all activities.

—Les Kaye, “The Time is Now”

Via Daily Dharma: Find Relief through Honesty

By ignoring, rationalizing, denying, and justifying our nasty motivations and unkind behavior we feel worse in the long run, not better. A tremendous sense of relief comes when we can be honest about what we’re thinking, feeling, saying, and doing.

—Thubten Chodron, “The Truth About Gossip”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - June 10, 2018

 

The first being one must have compassion for is oneself. You can't be a witness to your thoughts with a chip on your shoulder or an axe to grind.

Ramani Maharshi said, "If people would stop wailing alas I am a sinner and use all that energy to get on with it they would all be enlightened."

He also said, "When you're cleaning up the outer temple before going to the inner temple, don't stop to read everything you're going to throw away..."

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Unexpected Teachers

When things come up that we don’t like, we try to remember that these thoughts and feelings are our teacher—we can learn from them.

—Ezra Bayda, “Reflect, Without Thinking”

Via Daily Dharma: Transform Anger into Wisdom

We must become intimate with anger to clear the way to our connectiveness, to our vulnerability and an aliveness to everything. In the end, our anger is transmuted to wisdom, which in turn gives rise to compassion.

—Jules Shuzen Harris, “Holding Anger”

Via Daily Dharma: Awaken in Every Moment

Discovering the sacred within all moments is the hallmark of awakening.

—Rodney Smith, “Undivided Mind”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - June 6, 2018

Faith is in the soul. Belief is thought. Faith is so rich. Faith gives me my spiritual self... 

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: One Step at a Time

With dedication, we can slowly build healthy mental tendencies, for awareness and wisdom, for kindness and compassion. That’s why we practice.

—Wendy Hasenkamp, “Brain Karma”

Via Daily Dharma: There’s Always Room for More

Because mind is infinite, it can embrace the universe and still have room left over.

—Daehaeng Kun Sunim, “Thinking Big”

Via Daily Dharma: Retrain the Way You Desire

People aren’t simply passive recipients of their experience. Starting from their desires, they play an active role in shaping it. The strategy implied by the four noble truths is that desire should be retrained so that, instead of causing suffering, it helps act toward suffering’s end.

—Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “The Far Shore”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - June 3, 2018

A lot of people look back with horror on all their past experiences and say, “Well, finally it’s getting good.” That’s because they haven’t yet stood back far enough to see how exquisitely it all unfolds, how every confusing backtracking doubt, fear, horrible experience, unfortunate event, pitiful circumstance, seemingly frivolous act, sinful breakdown of discipline; all of it were just steps along the path.

But in order to see the path you have to be very quiet and stop thinking, because every time you think about how the path is, you just created something according to that thought. Even the concept of the path. You’re at the moment now, you’re on a path. You’re not there, you’re not there; you’re on the path.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Practice Is in Every Moment

The Buddha taught us to bring patience, generosity, and kindness into everything that we do. Observing such virtues during your work period will strengthen good habits and character, whether you are on or off the cushion, in or out of retreat.

—Glenna Olmsted, “Your Life Is Your Practice”

Via Daily Dharma: Gratitude for Our Enemies

If we can transform an enemy into someone toward whom we feel respect and gratitude, then our practice will naturally progress, like water following a downhill course.

—H.H. the Dalai Lama, “Enduring the Fires”

Via Daily Dharma: Intention Shapes the Future

From a practice perspective, there is great power in intention and how it can shape the present moment and even the future—because if you approach this present moment with wisdom, kindness, and a sense of responsibility, you won’t have to worry about the future. It will take care of itself.

—Dawa Tarchin Phillips, “What to Do When You Don’t Know What’s Next”

Via Daily Dharma: Navigating Your Thoughts

We have to be careful not to think that meditation is about getting rid of thoughts. On the contrary, I would say that meditation helps us to creatively engage with our thoughts and not fixate on them.

—Martine Batchelor, “Meditation, Mental Habits, and Creative Imagination”

Via Daily Dharma: Buddha Meets Buddha

If on our journey we do not value one face over another—white or black or brown, wrinkled or smooth—we may come in time to see that the face of the whole world is our own face.

—Lin Jensen, “Meeting Heartmind”