I want to be clear that seeking your own understanding does not mean rejecting all established spiritual paths. Many people feel that organized religions are problematic – or even hopelessly flawed. They might even think that they could assemble a better religion for themselves by picking and choosing bits they like from different religions. I do not think this is realistic. It simply does not work as we think it might. Instead of something holistic that transforms us, it just yields a patchwork that pleases us. This can become a kind of spiritual consumerism.

Worse, it can be dangerous. Bits that you thought would be beneficial for you can turn out to be ineffective or even harmful if you apply them out of context. When you extract practices from a gradual path of transformation, they might not have the same effect outside of their intended sequence. Our spiritual path has to unfold organically – and we have to be receptive to going where it leads us, step-by-step.

17th Karmapa

from the book The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

translated by Ngodup Tsering Burkhar & Damchö Diana Finnegan


Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.

Further quotes from the book The Heart Is Noble:

• The intention to work for others
• Look what he did
• Loving Responsibility
• Making healthy relationships possible
• Authentic love
• Facing Impermanence Wisely
• The kindness we receive from others
• Our relationship to the material world
• We truly have everything we need already
• Capacity for Change
• Who are you
• Let the moon be the keeper of my love
• True Wealth
• Taking delight in your inner nature
• Reality is your teacher
• We need space to grow and learn from our own mistakes
• Interdependent reality
• Protective Inner Wisdom
• The Wealth of Contentment
• Social action