Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
After a few years of meditation practice we can even learn how to occasionally ignore ourselves. And what relief that can be!
If a man going down into a river, swollen and swiftly flowing, is carried away by the current - how can he help others across?
We have made a great effort to maintain all levels of Buddhist education; it has helped us have a kind of renaissance, really.
A fool thinks it like honey so long as the bad deed does not bear fruit, but when it does bear fruit he experiences suffering.
Buddhism is in your heart. Even if you don't have any temple or any monks, you can still be a Buddhist in your heart and life.
As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its color or fragrance, so let the sage dwell on earth.
Foolish, ignorant people indulge in careless lives, whereas a clever man guards his attention as his most precious possession.
I am a Buddhist, therefore I should not be collecting anything - however, I have a collection of Buddhas. I have a lot of them.
As an irrigator guides water to his fields, as an archer aims an arrow, as a carpenter carves wood, the wise shape their lives.
Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.
Not by mere eloquence, nor by handsome appearance, does a man become good-natured, should he be jealous, selfish and deceitful.
What may look like a small act of courage is courage nevertheless. The important thing is to be willing to take a step forward.
A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.
Let us live in joy, never falling sick like those who hate us. Let us live in freedom, without hatred even among those who hate.
The essence of all practice is to be cool. Life is not worth getting excited about because whatever you perceive is an illusion.
Samsara is the mind turned outwardly, lost in its projections. Nirvana is the mind turned inwardly, recognizing its true nature.
All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.
To be a good Zen Buddhist it is not enough to follow the teaching of its founder; we have to experience the Buddha's experience.
Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.
He who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after his death.
The purpose of enlightenment is certainly not the teacher, nor is it you. It doesn't have a purpose. Enlightenment simply exists.
An evil deed, like fresh milk, does not go bad suddenly. Smouldering, like fire covered by ashes, the evil deed follows the fool.
In 1993, I retired from the Art Ensemble of Chicago to devote myself full time to Buddhist studies and to the practice of Aikido.
The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.
Don't indulge in careless behaviour. Don't be the friend of sensual pleasures. He who meditates attentively attains abundant joy.
The true meaning of the precepts is that one should refrain not only from drinking alcohol but also from getting drunk on nirvana.
I was always searching. I became a Buddhist in my twenties when I came to Los Angeles. I met a group of people who I really loved.
The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.
As you become more aware of your own imperfections, you simultaneously become more aware of the overall perfection of the universe.
Do not be thoughtless, always be mindful, watch your thoughts! Draw yourself out of the path of evil, like an elephant sunk in mud.
it is impossible to build one's own happiness on the unhappiness of others. This perspective is at the heart of Buddhist teachings.
This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into what is unknown, uncharted and shaky - that's called liberation.
As a monk you have a responsibility to meditate many hours a day. Not just to sit there but to think of the ten thousand radiances.
You see, Buddhists are optimists. We never saw sunsets in Atlantis like we do now. We didn't have those great chemicals in the air.
In the beginning we define what is spiritual. But as you go on, you see that everybody and everything is an instrument of infinity.
Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.
With his mind free from the inflow of thoughts and from restlessness, by abandoning both good and evil, an alert man knows no fear.
Though through all his life a fool associates with a wise man, he yet understands not the Dharma, as the spoon, the flavor of soup.
Whoever has done harmful actions but later covers them up with good is like the moon which, freed from clouds, lights up the world.
In the same way that rain breaks into a house with a bad roof, desire breaks into the mind that has not been practising meditation.
Just as the bee takes the nectar and leaves without damaging the color or scent of the flowers, so should the sage act in a village.
Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.
For those who are ready the door to the deathless state is open. If you have ears give up the conditions that bind you and enter in.
Doom hits the same frequencies that polytonic Buddhist chanting does, which is very hypnotic and makes time relative when listening.
Nature will not be Buddhist: she resents generalizing, and insults the philosopher in every moment with a million fresh particulars.
The secret of Buddhism is to remove all ideas, all concepts, in order for the truth to have a chance to penetrate, to reveal itself.
We must be open to our mistakes and grow. Growth isn't based on being perfect, but moving toward the best we can be by being honest.
Inflowing thoughts come to an end in those who are ever alert of mind, training themselves night and day, and ever intent on nirvana
My dad was a Buddhist when I was young, so when I was begging to become a Catholic, he was saying no and imparting Buddhist precepts.
All philosophies are mental fabrications. There has never been a single doctrine by which one could enter the true essence of things.