If you speak or act with a corrupted heart, suffering follows you, as the wheel of the cart the track of the ox that pulls it.
Phenomena are preceded by the heart, ruled by the heart, made of the heart.
If you speak or act with a calm, bright heart, then happiness follows you, like a shadow that never leaves.
"It is necessary to have a combination of hearing, thinking, and meditation. When you start practicing, you should not expect too much. We live in a time of computers and automation, so you may feel that inner development is also an automatic thing for which you press a button and everything changes. It is not so. Inner development is not easy and will take time." The Dalai Lama
WHILE the Blessed One was residing in the Jetavana, there was a householder living in Savatthi known to all his neighbors as patient and kind, but his relatives were wicked and contrived a plot to rob him. One day they came to the householder and by worrying him with all kinds of threats took away a goodly portion of his property. He did not go to court, nor did he complain, but tolerated with great forbearance the wrongs he suffered. The neighbors wondered and began to talk about it, and rumors of the affair reached the ears of the brethren in Jetavana. While the brethren discussed the occurrence in the assembly hall, the Blessed One entered and asked "What was the topic of your conversation?" And they told him. Said the Blessed One: "The time will come when the wicked relatives will find their punishment. O brethren, this is not the first time that this occurrence took place; it has happened before," and he told them a world-old tale: "Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisattva was born in the Himalaya region as an elephant. He grew up strong and big, and ranged the hills and mountains, the peaks and caves of the torturous woods in the valleys.Once as he went he saw a pleasant tree, and took his food, standing under it. Then some impertinent monkeys came down out of the tree, and jumping on the elephant's back, insulted and
tormented him greatly; they took hold of his tusks, pulled his tail and disported themselves, thereby causing him much annoyance.The Bodhisattva, being full of patience, kindliness and mercy, took no notice at all of their misconduct which the monkeys repeated again and again. One day the spirit that lived in the tree, standing upon the tree-trunk, addressed the elephant saying, 'My lord elephant, why dost thou put up with the impudence of these bad monkeys?' And he asked the question in a couplet as follows:
'Why do you patiently endure each freak
These mischievous and selfish monkeys wreak?'
The Bodhisattva, on hearing this, replied, 'If, Tree sprit, I cannot endure these monkeys' ill treatment without abusing their birth, lineage and persons, how can I walk in the eightfold noble path? But these monkeys will do the same to others thinking them to be like me. If they do it to any rogue elephant, he will punish them indeed, and I shall be delivered both from their annoyance and the guilt of having done harm to others.' Saying this he repeated another stanza:
'If they will treat another one like me,
He will destroy them; and I shall be free.'
A few days after, the Bodhisattva went elsewhere, and another elephant, a savage beast, came and stood in his place. The wicked monkeys thinking him to be like the old one, climbed upon his back and did as before. The rogue elephant seized the monkeys with his trunk, threw them upon the ground, gored them with his tusk and trampled them to mincemeat under his feet" When the Master had ended this teaching, he declared the truths, and identified the births, saying: "At that time the mischievous monkeys were the wicked relatives of the good man, the rogue elephant was the one who will punish them, but the virtuous noble elephant was the Tathagata himself in a former incarnation." After this discourse one of the brethren rose and asked leave to propose a question and when the permission was granted he said: "I have heard the doctrine that wrong should be met with wrong and the evil doer should be checked by being made to suffer, for if this were not done evil would increase and good would disappear. What shall we do?" Said the Blessed One: "Nay, I will tell you You who have left the world and have adopted this glorious faith of putting aside selfishness, you shall not do evil for evil nor return hate for hate. Neither think that you can destroy wrong by retaliating evil for evil and thus increasing wrong. Leave the wicked to their fate and their evil deeds will sooner or later in one way or another bring on their own punishment." And the Tathagata repeated these stanzas:
"Who harms the man who does no harm,
Or strikes at him who strikes him not,
Shall soon some punishment incur
Which his own wickedness begot,
"One of the gravest ills in life,
Either a loathsome dread disease,
Or sad old age, or loss of mind,
Or wretched pain without surcease,
"Or conflagration, loss of wealth;
Or of his nearest kin he shall
See some one die that's dear to him,
And then he'll be reborn in hell."
There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.
Some say knowledge is power, but that is not true. Character is power.
All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.
Healthy families remind each other of their goodness; unhealthy families remind each other of their failings.
The good man does not grieve that other people do not recognize his merits. His only anxiety is lest he should fail to recognize theirs.
The only thing we leave behind that's of worth is that which we generate in moments of peace and personal security. Free from the demon fear, we manifest the divine.
I think it would be great some time, if a whole company (and schools!) stopped for 15 minutes each day and meditated.
The worst prison would be a closed heart.
"If an individual has a sufficient spiritual base, he won't let himself be overwhelmed by the lure of technology and by the madness of possession. He or she will know how to find the right balance, without asking for too much, and know how to say: 'I have a camera, that's enough, I don't want another.' The constant danger is to open the door to greed, one of our most relentless enemies. It is here that the real work of the mind is put into practice.
"What is the Bodhisattva's Way of life? It is the way of life that follows naturally from having cultivated the awakening mind of Bodhicitta. Omniscience is achieved only through the process of purifying the disturbing emotions within your mind. It cannot be achieved merely through wishes and prayers. We have to train in eliminating all the specific disturbing emotions within your mind. We have to train in eliminating all the specific disturbing emotions by relying on specific antidotes. All the activities of a Bodhisattva can be included in two major categories: the practice of skillful means and the practice of wisdom. If the practices of giving, ethics, and so forth are to be perfected, they should be supported and influenced by the practice of wisdom. Without the practice of wisdom, the first of five of the six perfections cannot actually become practices of perfection.
"If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation.
"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." The Dalai Lama
"Benefactors, Rinpoches and all friends that are interested in the Tibetan cause, I would like to offer my greetings, facilitation. I thank you for your efforts to come here (India) and greet me and that you have an interest in the study of the Buddhist Dharma. There is a fundamental Buddha nature in all of us. As far as I know about Sunyata and emptiness, I don't recognize them but I hope they recognize me! Sunyata is the basis of Buddha Nature, luminous clarity and uncreated. The Noble truth of all phenomena both existing and non-existing at the same time, is that ultimate truth that an ordinary mind cannot fathom. Tong-pa-nyi (Tib. for Emptiness) bars any support of the existence or non-existence of Samsara and Nirvana and is beyond the conceptual mind. It is something within the domain of the wisdom mind of the Buddha. Compassion and wisdom are limitless and fathomless. One should strive to always develop compassion for all sentient beings. We may have a powerful compassion that may arise but we might also have a moment of anger that also arises that can destroy it all. All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas practice compassion and Bodhicitta. We also
"To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance." Buddha
"Fair peace becomes men; ferocious anger belongs to beasts." Ovid
"But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings." John F. Kennedy
"Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin." Dwight Eisenhower
"It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace." Andre Gide
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." - Mother Teresa
"Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue
it." Thomas Jefferson
"Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy." Robert Anthony
"...happiness is the highest good, being a realization and perfect practice of virtue, which some can attain, while others have little or none of it..." Aristotle
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." Helen Keller
"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." Allan Chalmers
"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." Johann von Goethe
"Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life." Burton Hills
"I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive." Henry Miller
"All war is deception." Sun-tzu
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