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