Thich Nhat HanhSmiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.
Interdependent reality ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaInterdependence is our reality, whether we accept it or not. In order to live productively within such a reality, it is better to acknowledge and work with interdependence, wholeheartedly and without resistance. This is where love and compassion come in. It is love that leads us to embrace our connectedness to others, and to participate willingly in the relations created by our interdependence. Love can melt away our defenses and our painful sense of separation. The warmth of friendship and love makes it easy for us to accept that our happiness is intimately linked to that of others. The more widely we are able to love others, the happier and more content we can feel within the relations of interdependence that are a natural part of our life.
Love is possible in all our relationships because all people want happiness. No one wants to suffer. This is true of the people we love. It is also true of those we dislike. We are all absolutely identical in this respect. I think this universal wish for happiness is something we can easily grasp intellectually. When we learn to also feel and respect this in our heart, love naturally flourishes within us.
Perceiving everything in its natural purity ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheSomeone who has been captured with a hook has no option but to go wherever he is led. In the same way, if we catch hold of our mind – which risks being distracted by the objects of the six senses – with the hook of mindfulness, and with vigilance and carefulness, this will be of enormous benefit. We should use this watchman to constantly check how many positive or negative thoughts and actions we produce during the day. When we are able to control our minds through mindfulness, everything that appears in samsara and nirvana becomes an aid in our practice and serves to confirm the meaning of the teachings. All appearances are understood as being dharmakaya. We perceive everything in its natural purity, and there is nothing we can call impure.
The fantastically sharp-edged quality of life ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaMagic is the power within oneself. You have enough strength, exertion and energy to view things as they are, personally, properly, and directly. You have the chance to experience the brightness of life and the haziness of life, which is also a source of power. The fantastically sharp-edged quality of life can be experienced personally and directly. There is a powerful sense of perception available to you.
True Wealth ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaAre we willing to accept that having more wealth – no matter how someone acquires it – is a sign of being more advanced? Surely there are other measures we could use to determine if we have enough, besides comparing ourselves to those who happen to have amassed more money and things than we have. If the measure of success is having more than the people around us, then that is a recipe for failure.
Comparing with others simply cannot bring happiness. Even if happiness did come from being the best or having the most, ultimately only one person in the world – the one with the most – could ever be truly happy or “successful.” Everyone else would be condemned to failure.
I think we have to be very careful not to confuse economic success with personal happiness. Just because we have a market economy does not mean we have to have a market society. We can find ways to relate to each other on different principles than business ones. We could define development in terms of how much we are able to increase bonds of friendship and closeness, and by how central we make community and mutual affection.
When i think of a society that creates happiness, i think of a society where compassion and love replace competition and greed as the emotional forces that bind us together.
Where will they scatter my ashes ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheDeath has become a consumer product. Most of us do not contemplate the nature of death on a deep level. We don’t acknowledge that our bodies and environment are made up of unstable elements that can fall apart with even the slightest provocation. Of course we know that one day we will die. But most of us, unless we have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, think that we are in the clear for the time being. On the rare occasion that we think about death, we wonder, How much will I inherit? or Where will they scatter my ashes?
Corrosion begins as soon as creation begins ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheWishing for “happily ever after” is nothing more than a desire for permanence in disguise. Fabricating concepts such as “eternal love,” “everlasting happiness,” and “salvation” generates more evidence of impermanence. Our intention and the result are at odds. We intend to establish ourselves and our world, but we forget that the corrosion begins as soon as creation begins. What we aim for is not decay, but what we do leads directly to decay.
Benefits of an altruistic attitude ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaHappiness arises as a result of different causes and conditions. If you harm someone out of anger, you may feel some superficial satisfaction, but deep down you know it was wrong. Your confidence will be undermined. However, if you have an altruistic attitude, you’ll feel comfortable and confident in the presence of others.
getting even with people who make you angry ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaDeveloping compassion is the most fruitful way of “getting even” with people who make you angry.
Becoming a good human being ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaIt’s crucial for us to become good people. If we are not, then how could we say we’re Buddhist? We need to reflect: What kind of person am I? If you’re making a golden vase, first you have to see if the material is real gold. If it’s brass, then you’re not making a gold vase. To become a good Buddhist, you have to become a good human being. It doesn’t mean that you have no anger or jealousy, for example, but that you have decreased the negative emotions. Otherwise, it’s a sham: you have the name of a Buddhist, but have not transformed yourself. Nobody can change us. We have to talk to and instruct ourselves about the right way, then change will happen.
As in dreams ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheThoughts are just thoughts. Feelings are just feelings. Sensations are just sensations. They come and go in waking life as quickly and easily as they do in dreams.
The Four Seals of Dharma ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheWhat is the particular view that Buddhists try to get used to? Buddhism is distinguished by four characteristics, or “seals.” Actually, if all these four seals are found in a path or a philosophy, it doesn’t matter whether you call it Buddhist or not. You can call it what you like; the words “Buddhist” or “Buddhism” are not important. The point is that if this path contains these four seals, it can be considered the path of the Buddha.
Therefore, these four characteristics are called “the Four Seals of Dharma.” They are:
All compounded things are impermanent.
All emotions are painful. This is something that only Buddhists would talk about. Many religions worship things like love with celebration and songs. Buddhists think, “This is all suffering.”
All phenomena are empty; they are without inherent existence. This is actually the ultimate view of Buddhism; the other three are grounded on this third seal.
The fourth seal is that nirvana is beyond extremes.
Change is possible if you want ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaEach of you should feel that you have great potential and that, with self-confidence and a little more effort, change really is possible if you want it. If you feel that your present way of life is unpleasant or has some difficulties, then don’t look at these negative things. See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.
The reason you are wandering in samsara ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheEven when you find yourself in the best of situations, you never feel it is enough. You always want more. You give little thought to others wishes and desires, and only want favorable circumstances for yourself. If you do the slightest favor for someone, you feel you have done something quite extraordinary. That you are so preoccupied with your own happiness and welfare, and neglect the welfare and happiness of others, is the reason you are wandering in samsara.
Buddha’s Travels ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaBodhisattvas, not being deceived by their own possessions and so forth, take others, all sentient beings, as their highest priority. They strive to benefit others in any way they can.
“As an extension of that striving,” the Buddha said, “I along with my retinue are continually traveling to many different lands and begging alms from many different types of people. The reason we do this is to make positive connections with as many beings as possible. By making positive, virtuous, and friendly connections with all sentient beings, we can continually bring pleasure and happiness to beings’ minds. These connections are like a bridge of positivity between ourselves and sentient beings. This is why we are always traveling and begging alms.”
Resting the mind in its natural clarity ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheWhen we meditate in this objectless state, we’re actually resting the mind in its natural clarity, entirely indifferent to the passage of thoughts and emotions. This natural clarity – which is beyond any dualistic grasping of subject and object – is always present for us in the same way that space is always present.
You are a wonderful manifestation ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhYou are what you want to become. Why search anymore? You are a wonderful manifestation. The whole universe has come together to make your existence possible. There is nothing that is not you. The kingdom of God, the Pure Land, nirvana, happiness and liberation are all you.
Shielding ourselves and others from the truth ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheIn our everyday lives we have this impulse to shield ourselves and others from the truth. We’ve become impervious to obvious signs of decay. We encourage ourselves by “not dwelling on it” and by employing positive affirmations.
We celebrate our birthdays by blowing out candles, ignoring the fact that the extinguished candles could equally be seen as a reminder that we are a year closer to death. We celebrate the New Year with firecrackers and champagne, distracting ourselves from the fact that the old year will never come back and the new year is filled with uncertainty—anything can happen.
When that “anything” is displeasing, we deliberately divert our attention, like a mother distracting a child with rattles and toys.
No self, no other ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheSince there is no self, there is also no other.
Using our intellect to understand life ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIntellectualization has a bad connotation, associated with distancing ourselves from our feelings, refusing to look at ourselves or examine ourselves in a fundamental way. However, using our intellect to understand life is actually quite good. Intellect represents the sharpest point in our experience. Sharpening our intellect brings precision. Intellect brings a direct way of seeing things as they are, so that we don’t neglect the potential in our experience. It teaches us to be aware and precise on the spot.