Living in a society should be our daily reminder of how much we receive from and owe to one another. A clear awareness of this debt for the kindness we receive from others can provide a stable foundation for engagement in social service or activism. Our actions can be grounded in the simple wish to care for others as we ourselves have been cared for by the world.

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:

• 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
• Life in Balance
• Boxing Love with Our Expectations
• Just Love
• There are no fixed starting points
• Nothing is intrinsically bad
• Difference without Division
• Breaking barriers
• Healthy relationships
• Take joy in your sincere intentions