The priority we give to material goods in our life is up to each of us to determine. This is also part of deciding how we want to define ourselves. If we are looking to our jobs and to material things to tell us how we are, what we are worth, and where we fit in the world, this is a sign that we have become profoundly confused about the order of things. It shows we have missed the point about how we human beings stand in relation to the material world.

17th Karmapa

from the book The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

translated by Ngodup Tsering Burkhar & Damchö Diana Finnegan


Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.

Further quotes from the book The Heart Is Noble:

• Authentic love toward others
• There are no fixed starting points
• Expanding our sense of ourselves
• Open-minded
• Our life is vast
• Greed is a recipe for dissatisfaction
• Balanced Life
• Distinguishing between wants and needs
• Disconnected from our own noble heart
• My trust is a gift
• Boxed limitless potential
• A noble vision
• Look what he did
• The intention to work for others
• Loving Responsibility
• Authentic love
• Making healthy relationships possible
• Facing Impermanence Wisely
• The kindness we receive from others