Benefiting other sentient beings ~ Sakya Trizin

From beginningless time up until this moment, we have cared solely for ourselves and worked solely for our own benefit. Every exertion we performed was for our own benefit alone. But by acting in this way, all we have actually accomplished is more and more suffering. So this time, instead of caring for ourselves, we must care for others.
As Shantideva said, “All the sufferings that beings experience in this universe arise from caring for oneself, and all the happiness that beings experience in this world arise from caring for others.” If we had already practiced caring for others in our previous lives, we would not still be in samsara — we would have already attained liberation and enlightenment. The cause of our not having cared for others is the natural tendency to care for ourselves. This is a very gross mistake. The way to correct it is to ignore oneself and to totally devote one’s energy and efforts to benefiting other sentient beings.

Sakya Trizin

Living the way you want to live your life ~ 14th Dalai Lama

There is only one important point you must keep in your mind and let it be your guide. No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die, this is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us, not even the Buddha. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life.

14th Dalai Lama

Loving Responsibility ~ 17th Karmapa

If we connect to others and to the planet with love and affection, our responsibility to bring about change does not have to weigh heavily on us at all. We will carry it gladly.

17th Karmapa

Verses on the Heart of Dependent Origination ~ Nagarjuna

Homage to Mañjuśrī, the Youthful!
These different links, twelve in number,
Which Buddha taught as dependent origination,
Can be summarized in three categories:
Mental afflictions, karma and suffering.
The first, eighth and ninth are afflictions,
The second and tenth are karma,
The remaining seven are suffering.
Thus the twelve links are grouped in three.
From the three the two originate,
And from the two the seven come,
From seven the three come once again—
Thus the wheel of existence turns and turns.
All beings consist of causes and effects,
In which there is no ‘sentient being’ at all.
From phenomena which are exclusively empty,
There arise only empty phenomena.
All things are devoid of any ‘I’ or ‘mine’.
Like a recitation, a candle, a mirror, a seal,
A magnifying glass, a seed, sourness, or a sound,
So also with the continuation of the aggregates—
The wise should know they are not transferred.
Then, as for extremely subtle entities,
Those who regard them with nihilism,
Lacking precise and thorough knowledge,
Will not see the actuality of conditioned arising.
In this, there is not a thing to be removed,
Nor the slightest thing to be added.
It is looking perfectly into reality itself,
And when reality is seen, complete liberation.

Nagarjuna

See it as a dream ~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Always recognize the dreamlike qualities of life and reduce attachment and aversion. Practice good-heartedness toward all beings. Be loving and compassionate, no matter what others do to you. What they will do will not matter so much when you see it as a dream. The trick is to have positive intention during the dream. This is the essential point. This is true spirituality.

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Forgetfulness ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Most people are forgetful; they are not really there a lot of the time. Their mind is caught in their worries, their fears, their anger, and their regrets, and they are not mindful of being there. That state of being is called forgetfulness — you are there but you are not there. You are caught in the past or in the future. You are not there in the present moment, living your life deeply.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Open Hands ~ Deshimaru

To receive everything, one must open one’s hands and give.

Taisen Deshimaru

Complete acceptance ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Preventing conflicts ~ Mingyur Rinpoche

The more we allow ourselves to be guided by compassion – to pause for a moment and try to see where another person is coming from – the less likely we are to engage in conflict.

Mingyur Rinpoche

Training in supreme bodhicitta ~ Lama Tsongkhapa

Just as I have fallen into the sea of samsara,
So have all mother migratory beings.
Bless me to see this, train in supreme bodhicitta,
And bear the responsibility of freeing migratory beings.

Lama Tsongkhapa

Dealing with Emotions ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

For aeons, almost everything we think and feel, all our interpretations have been rooted in hope and fear, which in turn, have bound our minds up in turbulent emotions, constraining them to such a degree that we no longer have any control over them. That is why, according to the shravakayana teachings, we need to tame the mind, or from the bodhisattvayana point of view train it to become useful, or from the vajrayana perspective recognize mind.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Gentleness ~ Chögyam Trungpa

When you are fully gentle, without arrogance and without agression,
you see the brilliance of the universe.
You develop a true perception of the universe.

Chögyam Trungpa

Getting unstuck ~ Pema Chödron

We can contact our inner strength, our natural openness, for short periods before getting swept away. And this is excellent, heroic, a huge step in interrupting and weakening our ancient habits. If we keep a sense of humor and stay with it for the long haul, the ability to be present just naturally evolves. Gradually we lose our appetite for biting the hook. We lose our appetite for aggression.

Pema Chödron

No regret ~ Milarepa

My religion is to live and die without regret.

Milarepa

Pure perception and devotion ~ Longchenpa

Respect and develop pure perception and devotion toward those who are practicing Dharma as the noble sangha. If you see faults in others, think that they’re the reflections of your own delusions. If you see good qualities in others, meditate on rejoicing over them. Disclose and expel your own faults. Generate virtuous qualities and act with astonishing perseverance. Be with holy people and abandon evil friends. Stay in solitary places and promise to pursue meditation. Make sure that whatever you do is consonant with Dharma practice.

Longchenpa

Source of joy and suffering ~ Shantideva

Whatever joy there is in this world
All comes from desiring others to be happy,
And whatever suffering there is in this world
All comes from desiring myself to be happy.

Shantideva

Hope and fear ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche

Hope and fear only exist because of each other, they only exist interdependently. Personally I find this very, very comforting. When I remember this, again and again, it is like being tired, going to bed, resting and recovering. Having this practice, knowing this, means we can relax, rejuvenate and then hopefully be able to follow the footsteps of our guru. Before we become a lion maybe we can become a nice puppy.

Tai Situ Rinpoche

You are the business of your meditation ~ Lama Yeshe

Meditation is not on the level of the object but on that of the subject – you are the business of your meditation.

Lama Yeshe

Starting to try seeing the nature of our mind ~ 14th Dalai Lama

If the first true fact is that life in general is not easy, we should certainly not expect that seeing the nature of our mind will be simple. The actual nature of mind, on any level, is not very obvious. Even to identify and recognize correctly what is mind is extremely difficult. Just to start to try to see it, we need strong motivation. We need to be clear about why we would like to see the nature of our mind.