A beautiful gift ~ Mother Teresa

Every time you smile at someone,
it is an action of love,
a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

Mother Teresa

The sublime path ~ Saraha

Without compassion [merit], the view of emptiness
Will not lead you through the sublime path.

Saraha

Emptiness and non-existence ~ 14th Dalai Lama

The doctrines of emptiness and selflessness do not imply the non-existence of things. Things do exist. When we say that all phenomena are void of self-existence, it does not mean that we are advocating non-existence, that we are repudiating that things exist. Then what is it we are negating? We are negating, or denying, that anything exists from its own side without depending on other things. Hence, it is because things depend for their existence upon other causes and conditions that they are said to lack independent self-existence.

14th Dalai Lama

Everything and everyone is in process ~ Pema Chödron

Our attempts to find lasting pleasure, lasting security, are at odds with the fact that we’re part of a dynamic system in which everything and everyone is in process.

Pema Chödron

A disciplined mind ~ Chatral Rinpoche

Whichever method is best suited to your own capacity.
There’s no better sign of accomplishment than a disciplined mind,
This is true victory for the real warrior who carries no weapons.

Chatral Rinpoche

The very root of Dharma ~ Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

To work on the mind is a very vast subject; in fact it is the subject of the entire Buddha Dharma. In essence the main reason the mind generates it’s confusing passions and intense emotions is the strong clinging to I, me, and mine. Because of that clinging, we suffer when do not obtain all that the I wants, and we suffer by experiencing with the I does not want.
It is through meditating over and again on the illusory and insubstantial nature of mind, ego, of self, that we slowly can dissolve ego clinging. Among all the methods to achieve this result, the deepest one is the meditation on bodhichitta – unselfish love and compassion. To be full of love for all sentient beings, and to consider others more important than ourselves is the very root of Dharma, combining wisdom and compassion.

Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

The Greatness of Small Acts ~ 17th Karmapa

When you truly root yourself in a sense of responsibility and caring, then you will naturally act to ease the pain you see. Instead of being idealistic or waiting for the chance to have a big impact, you will be moved to act in small ways. And in the long run, this sense of deep concern will sustain your movements far beyond one single act.
Even in the short term, making a practical difference in just one person’s life is highly worthwhile. Ending the pain of an individual who is suffering is deeply meaningful. If you can make a difference in a few people’s lives, that is something major. The most important thing is to be sincere, and to remain sincerely conscientious about the responsibility that comes with the food we eat.
Then, you just have to start somewhere. You can stop eating meat. You can donate a certain percentage of what you earn to worthy causes. Educate yourself. Set an example for your peers. Open your heart. Share and give. Inspire others to do the same. This is how big things start.

17th Karmapa

Homesick ~ Mingyur Rinpoche

In a sense, we’re homesick for our true nature.

Mingyur Rinpoche

The mind simply knows ~ Ajahn Chah

Meditation means to make the mind peaceful in order to let wisdom arise. This requires that we practise with body and mind in order to see and know the sense impressions of form, sound, taste, smell, touch and mental formations. To put it shortly, it’s just a matter of happiness and unhappiness. Happiness is pleasant feeling in the mind, unhappiness is just unpleasant feeling. The Buddha taught to separate this happiness and unhappiness from the mind. The mind is that which knows. Feeling2 is the characteristic of happiness or unhappiness, like or dislike. When the mind indulges in these things we say that it clings to or takes that happiness and unhappiness to be worthy of holding. That clinging is an action of mind, that happiness or unhappiness is feeling.
When we say the Buddha told us to separate the mind from the feeling, he didn’t literally mean to throw them to different places. He meant that the mind must know happiness and know unhappiness. When sitting in samādhi, for example, and peace fills the mind, then happiness comes but it doesn’t reach us, unhappiness comes but doesn’t reach us. This is to separate the feeling from the mind. We can compare it to oil and water in a bottle. They don’t combine. Even if you try to mix them, the oil remains oil and the water remains water, because they are of different density.
The natural state of the mind is neither happiness nor unhappiness. When feeling enters the mind then happiness or unhappiness is born. If we have mindfulness then we know pleasant feeling as pleasant feeling. The mind which knows will not pick it up. Happiness is there but it’s ‘outside’ the mind, not buried within the mind. The mind simply knows it clearly.
If we separate unhappiness from the mind, does that mean there is no suffering, that we don’t experience it? Yes, we experience it, but we know mind as mind, feeling as feeling. We don’t cling to that feeling or carry it around. The Buddha separated these things through knowledge. Did he have suffering? He knew the state of suffering but he didn’t cling to it, so we say that he cut suffering off. And there was happiness too, but he knew that happiness, if it’s not known, is like a poison. He didn’t hold it to be himself. Happiness was there through knowledge, but it didn’t exist in his mind. Thus we say that he separated happiness and unhappiness from his mind.

Ajahn Chah

Sanity on the spot ~ Chögyam Trungpa

A story is told about Ananda, the Buddha’s personal attendant, who had the desire to engage in a long period of fasting. He began to grow feeble and weak; he couldn’t sit and meditate, so finally the Buddha told him, “Ananda, if there is no food, there is no body. If there is no body, there is no dharma. If there is no dharma, there is no enlightenment. Therefore go back and eat.” That is the basic logic of the Buddhist teachings and of Buddhist psychology. We can actually be decent and sane on the spot, not through extreme measures but by managing our life properly, and thereby cultivating maitri, gentleness and friendliness to yourself.

Chögyam Trungpa

Looking at the essence of thoughts ~ 9th Karmapa

Whatever thoughts arise, do not do anything contrived, such as deliberately abandoning or adopting them — look at their very essence.

9th Karmapa

Suffering for sure ~ Dudjom Rinpoche

Now, one time out of hundreds you have obtained a human form. If you do not do what you can now to avoid rebirth in the lower realms, your place of rebirth might be unknown, but wherever it might be among the six classes of beings, suffering will be its only sure feature.

Dudjom Rinpoche

Study your mind ~ Milarepa

I study my mind and therefore all appearances are my texts.

Milarepa

Identification with our thoughts and feelings ~ Tenzin Palmo

When we are angry, when we are excited, when we are depressed, when we are elated, we are completely submerged in and identified with those thoughts and feelings. This is why we suffer. We suffer because we are completely identified with our thoughts and feelings and we think this is me. This is who I am.

Tenzin Palmo

Superficial dharma practice ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Do not be superficial and inconstant, thinking that following the teacher and receiving his teachings will make you famous or that receiving only a few words of instruction and making a Dharma connection will suffice.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

A jewel treasure ~ Geshe Langri Thangpa

When I see beings of unpleasant character
Oppressed by strong negativity and suffering,
May I hold them dear – for they are rare to find –
As if I have discovered a jewel treasure!

Geshe Langri Thangpa

Making peace with ourselves ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves.

Thich Nhat Hanh

The path of knowledge ~ Lama Yeshe

Buddhism isn’t some fanatical religious trip. It’s a philosophical way of living life. And also, to study Buddhism you don’t need to believe in something extreme. It’s a matter of investigating, examining and experimenting on yourself. It’s not just belief. Without understanding, belief can be very dangerous. So what Lord Buddha emphasized was that understanding is the path to liberation, knowledge is the path to liberation.

Lama Yeshe

The very purpose of religion ~ 14th Dalai Lama

If you really take an interest in Buddhism, then the most important thing is implementation-practice. To study Buddhism and then use it as a weapon in order to criticize others’ theories or ideologies is wrong. The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. Rather, we must criticize ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life.