The deepest reasons to love yourself have nothing to do with anything outside you — not with your body or with others’ expectations of you. If you ground yourself in your own goodness, nothing will be able to damage your self-esteem. Take delight in your inner nature, in your virtues, and in all your beautiful […]
We assume that happiness has to come through great effort. And since we don’t value what we do have, we think we need to get something new. Actually, we already have true happiness, but we don’t see what’s worthwhile. I’m completely certain that we don’t have to acquire something new. Happiness is to recognize what […]
In our relationships with others, there is both benefit and harm. We could concentrate on the harm that has been done to us by other sentient beings, but there really is not much profit we can gain from that if we focus exclusively on the harmful relationships that we have… But conversely, if we focus […]
The practices of loving kindness and compassion are incredibly relevant for everyone. Moreover, training in these qualities provides a common bridge between all different religions and areas of our world society. No matter whether we are people who teach a spiritual path or someone else, everybody can practice love and compassion, but it is important […]
Many problems are created in our world today because people do not engage in what will actually lead them onto a path that benefits them and brings happiness. From the time we open our eyes in the morning until we sleep at night, if we can pass the whole day with a kind-hearted mind and […]
It is time we truly recognize that the era of the hunter is past. This should be a more “feminine” era – an era when women make greater contributions to society. If we continue to devalue what women have to offer, we will continue harming women and continue overlooking and devaluing these virtues that are […]
The way to accomplish happiness in the world is to do meaningful work in one’s own life with a positive motivation that sees all people and all traditions as equal. 17th Karmapa
Once I was going around the monastery and the weather was nice. I relaxed my mind and noticed that I was just breathing. I thought that’s not special, we always breathe, yet spontaneously, I thought how satisfactory this experience was—there was a natural joy in it. Taking one breath is a rather complex process; it […]
Even though buddha nature is not the least affected by our delusions or incidental stains, our ignorance arises like clouds and temporarily blocks the light of the sun, our buddha nature. The light of the sun will shine when the clouds are swept away. This happens when we begin with developing a positive motivation and, […]
We all want to be happy, but generally we lack a clear idea of where real happiness comes from. The commercials communicate certain ideas about what we need in order to feel happy. When we are repeatedly exposed to these images and ideas, they begin to form a kind of mental habit. We start feeling […]
Compassion for the “other,” whether people, animal species, trees, or other plants, and for Earth itself, is the only thing that will ultimately save us human beings. Most people are primarily concerned about their work, wealth, health, or family. On a daily basis, they probably feel they have more urgent things to worry about than […]
When we talk about this life’s concerns (summarized by the eight worldly dharmas), we should understand why we need to work on giving them up. The reason is that they represent our attachments, the various ways we cling to all the things of this world. It does not matter whether these things seem to be […]
The essence of Buddhism is being able to distinguish what it is that we need to do from what it is that we need to give up. It is taking up virtue and giving up non-virtue. We need to identify what it is that will bring benefit to ourselves and others, and then we need […]
You need to care for yourself, of course, but not to the total disregard of others. Your accomplishments cannot come at the expense of others. 17th Karmapa
One powerful way to improve our relationships is to learn to recognize and drop our own unhelpful projections. We need to do this so we can see the other person more clearly, and accept them more fully as they are. In other words, healthy relationships involve an element of acceptance, or what we can call […]
Assess a religion on the basis of its teachings. The deeds of its followers are a different matter; whether good or bad, they belong to individuals and not to the teachings. Don’t mix up the two. 17th Karmapa
We seem to have lost the sense that we can freely and happily extend ourselves for others. In modeling our social institutions on business principles, we have become very disconnected from our own noble heart. 17th Karmapa
Look carefully at your experiences to recognize all the love you have received. Look carefully at your own actions and gestures to find ways to show love. Make room for that in your heart, and painful conflicts will lose their sting. 17th Karmapa
The essential nature of the mind is like space. There is no such thing as a mind that truly exists or a mind that is inherently established even though we might find reasonings, scriptures, or experience to the contrary. Mind is empty. Our ordinary mind, however, becomes confused in thinking that things really exist. The […]
Our anger is our actual enemy. It is an obstacle that cuts us off from the cause of higher states of rebirth and the definitive excellence that is liberation. If we do not tame it, then outer enemies will simply multiply. They will increase to the same extent that we try to overpower them. And […]
