Calm as a pool unstirred by wind ~ Buddha Shakyamuni

Thoroughly understanding the Dhamma
and freed from longing through insight,
the wise one rid of all desire
is calm as a pool unstirred by wind.

Buddha Shakyamuni

Get hold of your minds! ~ Princess Mandarava

Each of you should examine your own mind, to see how you have squandered your lives on your needs and desires. Thoughtless maidens, get hold of your minds!

Princess Mandarava

Meditator ~ Padmasambhava

To be a meditator doesn’t simply mean to live in a cave; it means to train oneself in the true meaning [of the natural state].

Padmasambhava

Daily miracle ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child – our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Enlightenment is not far off ~ 14th Dalai Lama

We humans are actually not that far from enlightenment. Our five senses are like the Emanation Body of a Buddha; our dream body, which is similar to the after-death form, is like a Buddha’s Beatific Form; and the basis of both of these is the subtle mind of clear light which shares the nature of a Buddha’s Wisdom Body. All we have to do is learn to transform these ordinary elements into their pure natures. Then buddhahood naturally comes into our hands.

14th Dalai Lama

This daring heart ~ Ponlop Rinpoche

Compassion or altruism is not about being perfect or just doing good; It’s about this daring heart that cherishes others and life itself.

Ponlop Rinpoche

Hope and fear ~ Dudjom Rinpoche

Mixing the eight worldly concerns with your spiritual practice is extremely dangerous, like eating food mixed with poison. The eight worldly concerns in concise form can be reduced to two things, hope and fear, which are, in fact, desire and anger.

Dudjom Rinpoche

Harmonious life ~ Bokar Rinpoche

Like birds landing on a tree top together, and then dispersing,
We are together for a very short time,
So it makes sense to live in harmony, in unconditional friendship.

Bokar Rinpoche

Ultimately we must abandon the path ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

My practice is devotion to the buddhist path; others may choose doubting the buddhist path. But as Dharmakirti said, ultimately we must abandon the path. So I hope in the end we will meet where we have nothing to fight over.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Limited expressions of the world of emptiness ~ Shunryu Suzuki

All descriptions of reality are limited expressions of the world of emptiness. Yet we attach to the descriptions and think they are reality. That is a mistake.

Shunryu Suzuki

The only way to obtain lasting happiness ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The only sure way to obtain the real and lasting happiness we seek is simply to pray from the bottom of our hearts to our teacher and practice the Dharma in the proper way. Through the natural law of cause and effect and through the blessings of the Three Jewels, in all our future lives we will be home where the Dharma flourishes, we will always meet spiritual teachers, and we will continually make progress toward enlightenment – a huge result from such a small amount of effort.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

No Life Guarantee ~ Patrul Rinpoche

Breathing gently, people enjoy their slumber. But between one breath and the next there is no guarantee that death will not slip in. To wake up in good health is an event which truly deserves to be considered miraculous, yet we take it completely for granted.

Patrul Rinpoche

You are limitless ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche

This sacred substance [the nature of everything] we have to, and should, respect, appreciate, uphold and cherish it as it is. I will give a simple example, when you feel shaky, kind of not certain and become confused, then face a mountain and look at the mountain. Mountains do not move. And when you feel so small and so incapable, so inferior, then look at the sky. Your mind is as limitless as sky. You are limitless. You have no limitation. You are not inferior or incapable, that has no space. Space is limitless. Mind is like space, in fact mind is space. That is why some of you could be born here and have come from billions of light years away, because for mind, it covers everything, it is all-pervading. Therefore, you can die billions of light years away and be born here in a split second. It does not take millions of light years to get here.

Tai Situ Rinpoche

The birth of great wisdom ~ Gampopa

Great wisdom will not take birth in you
If you have earned little merit.

Gampopa

Learning to accept the present moment ~ Pema Chödron

We might also ask, Given my present situation, how long should I stay with uncomfortable feelings? This is a good question, yet there is no right answer. We simply get accustomed to coming back to the present just as it is for a second, for a minute, for an hour — whatever is currently natural — without its becoming an endurance trial. Just pausing for two to three breaths is a perfect way to stay present. This is a good use of our life. Indeed, it is an excellent, joyful use of our life. Instead of getting better and better at avoiding, we can learn to accept the present moment as if we had invited it, and work with it instead of against it, making it our ally rather than our enemy.

Pema Chödron

Seeing hardships as opportunities ~ 17th Karmapa

Hardships are inevitable for everyone, but the key is how we meet them. If we can maintain hope and optimism we will see hardships as opportunities to meet new situations and a new way to think about things rather than being weighted down by the burden of hardships.

17th Karmapa

Faith and Compassion ~ Kalu Rinpoche

Having faith and compassion, even if one has no great knowledge of the Dharma and no opportunity to practice much, the day will come when one ceases to wander in the cycle of existence.

Kalu Rinpoche

A law eternal ~ Buddha Shakyamuni

Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.