Your own interests and your own life will be balanced only when they include both the well-being of yourself and others. Any wholesome undertaking necessarily includes a desire to benefit others. If an undertaking is egocentric and full of self-cherishing, then that balance will be extremely difficult to find and maintain.
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:
- Our life is vast
- Making healthy relationships possible
- Authentic love
- Interdependent reality
- Boxing Love with Our Expectations
- We truly have everything we need already
- Look what he did
- Who are you
- Let the moon be the keeper of my love
- Distinguishing between wants and needs
- Breaking barriers
- Expanding our sense of ourselves
- Take joy in your sincere intentions
- We need space to grow and learn from our own mistakes
- Facing Impermanence Wisely
- Greed is a recipe for dissatisfaction
- The Wealth of Contentment
- True Wealth
- Social action