The love of God is like the Amazon river flowing down to water one daisy.
-Unknown
***
When solving problem, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves.
-Anthony J. D'Angelo
***
He is not asleep.
He is not awake.
He never closes his eyes
Or opens them.
Wherever he is,
He is beyond everything.
He is free.
And the man who is free
Always lives in his heart.
His heart is always pure.
Whatever happens,
He is free of all desires.
-Ashtavakra Gita 17:10-11
***
Consider those who deny the last judgment. They are people who turn away orphans, and are indifferent as to whether the poor are fed. They pray, but they never think about the meaning of their prayers. They make a grand display of their piety, but they give nothing to the destitute. They are doomed.
-Qur'an, Al-Ma'un, Surah 107:1-7
***
Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.
- Viktor Frankl
***
In whom there's no craving
--the sticky ensnarer--
to lead him anywherever at all;
awakened, his pasture endless,
pathless:
by what path will you lead him astray?
-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Quote
Self-control will place a man among the Gods,
While lack of it will lead him into deepest darkness.
-Tirukkural 13:121
***
Love is the flame which, when it blazes,
consumes everything other than the Beloved.
The lover wields the sword of Nothingness
in order to dispatch all but God:
consider what remains after Nothing.
There remains but God: all the rest is gone.
Praise to you, O mighty Love, destroyer of all other "gods."
-Mathnawi [V, 588-590]
From "Jewels of Remembrance
***
Jews are compassionate children of compassionate parents, and one who shows no pity for fellow creatures is assuredly not of the seed of Abraham, our father.
- Babylonian Talmud, Betzah 32a
***
The source of all good, evil, weal and harm lies with actions, speech and thoughts. Did you bring your actions, speech and thoughts with you today? Or have you left them at home? This is where you must look, right here. You don't have to look very far away. Look at your actions, speech and thoughts.
-Ajahn Chah, "Living Dharma"
***
While lack of it will lead him into deepest darkness.
-Tirukkural 13:121
***
Love is the flame which, when it blazes,
consumes everything other than the Beloved.
The lover wields the sword of Nothingness
in order to dispatch all but God:
consider what remains after Nothing.
There remains but God: all the rest is gone.
Praise to you, O mighty Love, destroyer of all other "gods."
-Mathnawi [V, 588-590]
From "Jewels of Remembrance
***
Jews are compassionate children of compassionate parents, and one who shows no pity for fellow creatures is assuredly not of the seed of Abraham, our father.
- Babylonian Talmud, Betzah 32a
***
The source of all good, evil, weal and harm lies with actions, speech and thoughts. Did you bring your actions, speech and thoughts with you today? Or have you left them at home? This is where you must look, right here. You don't have to look very far away. Look at your actions, speech and thoughts.
-Ajahn Chah, "Living Dharma"
***
Values are like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do.
-Elvis Presley
***
Make every effort to increase your longing for God. Of course, this alone is not enough; it must be realized in action. But even if you are not worthy of achieving your spiritual goals, the yearning is still very precious and deserves reward.
- Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
***
Strike at the root of a tree; it would bleed
But still live. Strike at the trunk; it would bleed
But still live. Strike again at the top;
It would bleed but still live. The Self as life
Supports the tree, which stands firm and enjoys
The nourishment it receives.
If the Self leaves one branch, that branch withers.
If it leaves a second, that too withers.
If it leaves a third, that again withers.
Let it leave the whole tree, the whole tree dies.
Just so, dear one, when death comes and the Self
Departs from the body, the body dies.
But the Self dies not.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
If you gain a mature companion--
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened--
overcoming all dangers
go with him, gratified,
mindful.
If you don't gain a mature companion--
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened--
go alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.
-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
Angels were created without lust and evil, the worst obstacles of humankind. Those who, despite their evil nature, remain pious excel angels in rank. Enthused by their purity angels denounced the human race, so God chose three angels to go to the earth and reform its inhabitants. One angel, espying the corruption, begged God to let him return. The other two, in their earthly form, gave in to lust and fell from grace. Thus God revealed to the other angels the superiority of the devout.
-Al-Hujwiri, “The Kashf al-Mahjub”
***
-Elvis Presley
***
Make every effort to increase your longing for God. Of course, this alone is not enough; it must be realized in action. But even if you are not worthy of achieving your spiritual goals, the yearning is still very precious and deserves reward.
- Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
***
Strike at the root of a tree; it would bleed
But still live. Strike at the trunk; it would bleed
But still live. Strike again at the top;
It would bleed but still live. The Self as life
Supports the tree, which stands firm and enjoys
The nourishment it receives.
If the Self leaves one branch, that branch withers.
If it leaves a second, that too withers.
If it leaves a third, that again withers.
Let it leave the whole tree, the whole tree dies.
Just so, dear one, when death comes and the Self
Departs from the body, the body dies.
But the Self dies not.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
If you gain a mature companion--
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened--
overcoming all dangers
go with him, gratified,
mindful.
If you don't gain a mature companion--
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened--
go alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.
-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
Angels were created without lust and evil, the worst obstacles of humankind. Those who, despite their evil nature, remain pious excel angels in rank. Enthused by their purity angels denounced the human race, so God chose three angels to go to the earth and reform its inhabitants. One angel, espying the corruption, begged God to let him return. The other two, in their earthly form, gave in to lust and fell from grace. Thus God revealed to the other angels the superiority of the devout.
-Al-Hujwiri, “The Kashf al-Mahjub”
***
The more you have, the more you're occupied; the less you have, the more free you are.
-Mother Teresa
***
A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.
-Charlotte Bronte
***
Judge not your neighbor till you've been in his place.
- Hillel, Mishna: Abot
***
Spontaneous, true action happens naturally when there is no "you" checking whether the action conforms to your idea of what is best for you.
-Ramesh Balsekar
***
The realization that another person wishes to harm and hurt you cannot undermine genuine compassion—a compassion based on the clear recognition of that person as someone who has the natural and instinctual desire to seek happiness and overcome suffering, just like oneself.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
***
Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God.
-Andrew Murray
***
Take to compassion and abstain from oppression and obscenity. Compassion is grace and the lack of it a disgrace.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Aisha bint Abu Bakr
-Mother Teresa
***
A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.
-Charlotte Bronte
***
Judge not your neighbor till you've been in his place.
- Hillel, Mishna: Abot
***
Spontaneous, true action happens naturally when there is no "you" checking whether the action conforms to your idea of what is best for you.
-Ramesh Balsekar
***
The realization that another person wishes to harm and hurt you cannot undermine genuine compassion—a compassion based on the clear recognition of that person as someone who has the natural and instinctual desire to seek happiness and overcome suffering, just like oneself.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
***
Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God.
-Andrew Murray
***
Take to compassion and abstain from oppression and obscenity. Compassion is grace and the lack of it a disgrace.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Aisha bint Abu Bakr
We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.
-Jimmy Carter
***
We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.
-Bern Williams
***
The wisdom they have acquired in previous lives will be reawakened, Arjuna, and they will strive even harder for Self-realization. Indeed, they will be driven on by the strength of their past disciplines. Even one who inquires after the practice of meditation rises above those who simply perform rituals.
-Bhagavad Gita 6:43-44
***
Make sure to be in with your equals if you're going to fall out with your superiors.
- Jewish proverb
***
Has it ever occurred to these people that I, Muhammad, who am their compatriot, am no lunatic? Do they not realize that I am giving a plain warning to them? Will they not ponder on the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, on all that God has created, to discern whether their doom is drawing near? And if they deny these revelations, what revelations will they believe? No one can guide those whom God leads astray. He abandons them, and they blunder about in their wickedness.
-Qur'an, Al-A'raf, Surah 7:184-186
***
They project this self-created world onto their ideas of past and future and the present moment. They try to crystallize reality into permanent shapes and categories. In this way they veil the path of insight, the spiritual path which reveals the innate clarity, freedom, and radiant transparency of What Is.
-Prajnaparamita
-Jimmy Carter
***
We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.
-Bern Williams
***
The wisdom they have acquired in previous lives will be reawakened, Arjuna, and they will strive even harder for Self-realization. Indeed, they will be driven on by the strength of their past disciplines. Even one who inquires after the practice of meditation rises above those who simply perform rituals.
-Bhagavad Gita 6:43-44
***
Make sure to be in with your equals if you're going to fall out with your superiors.
- Jewish proverb
***
Has it ever occurred to these people that I, Muhammad, who am their compatriot, am no lunatic? Do they not realize that I am giving a plain warning to them? Will they not ponder on the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, on all that God has created, to discern whether their doom is drawing near? And if they deny these revelations, what revelations will they believe? No one can guide those whom God leads astray. He abandons them, and they blunder about in their wickedness.
-Qur'an, Al-A'raf, Surah 7:184-186
***
They project this self-created world onto their ideas of past and future and the present moment. They try to crystallize reality into permanent shapes and categories. In this way they veil the path of insight, the spiritual path which reveals the innate clarity, freedom, and radiant transparency of What Is.
-Prajnaparamita
If I try to be like him, who will be like me?
-Yiddish proverb
***
The impressions of past action, stored deep in the mind, are the seeds of desire.
They ripen into action in seen and unseen ways--if not in this life, then in a future one.
-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2:12
***
I realized what was hidden within me
and conversed with You in secret.
Though we were united, we still were apart.
Though awe hid You from my searching eyes,
ecstasy brought You close
to my innermost being.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Make your God's name beloved of all, by righteous conduct toward Gentiles and Jews.
- Seder Eliyahu Rabbah
***
The mind is not just 'oneness' or a singular entity because it manifests in manifold ways. It is not a plurality or many things, either, because these numerous manifestations all have one essence. No one can describe its nature saying, "It is exactly like this!" It is indescribable, unutterable, inconceivable, nonarising, unceasing, and nondwelling, like the essence of space. Mind nature is discovered within the experience of awareness and is cognized individually.
-Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, "Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen"
-Yiddish proverb
***
The impressions of past action, stored deep in the mind, are the seeds of desire.
They ripen into action in seen and unseen ways--if not in this life, then in a future one.
-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2:12
***
I realized what was hidden within me
and conversed with You in secret.
Though we were united, we still were apart.
Though awe hid You from my searching eyes,
ecstasy brought You close
to my innermost being.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Make your God's name beloved of all, by righteous conduct toward Gentiles and Jews.
- Seder Eliyahu Rabbah
***
The mind is not just 'oneness' or a singular entity because it manifests in manifold ways. It is not a plurality or many things, either, because these numerous manifestations all have one essence. No one can describe its nature saying, "It is exactly like this!" It is indescribable, unutterable, inconceivable, nonarising, unceasing, and nondwelling, like the essence of space. Mind nature is discovered within the experience of awareness and is cognized individually.
-Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, "Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen"
I pray for knowledge and experience of divine love everywhere around me and within me...I try to see the divine love from which each person springs.
-Anne Lamott
***
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
-Herm Albright
***
That which is the source of the sun
And of every power in the cosmos, beyond which
There is neither going nor coming,
Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!
-Katha Upanishad
Excerpted from
***
Prostrating himself he (the infidel) cried, "You (Prophet Muhammad) indeed are the noble one; I, the ignoble, feel abashed on your account. You are perfect and still remain obedient to His command; and I, barely a fraction, remain unjust, wicked, and unguided. You are perfect, yet are humble and fear the Lord; and I, the tainted, am averse and hostile."
-Rumi, "Mathnawi," 5:128-30
***
Man enters and departs this life crying and weeping. He comes and he leaves in love (of the world) and ignorance.
- Ecclesiastes Rabbah
***
If you hold yourself dear
then guard, guard yourself well.
The wise person would stay awake
nursing himself
in any of the three watches of the night,
the three stages of life.
First
he'd settle himself
in what is correct,
only then
teach others.
He wouldn't stain his name:
he is wise.
-Dhammapada, 12, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-Anne Lamott
***
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
-Herm Albright
***
That which is the source of the sun
And of every power in the cosmos, beyond which
There is neither going nor coming,
Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!
-Katha Upanishad
Excerpted from
***
Prostrating himself he (the infidel) cried, "You (Prophet Muhammad) indeed are the noble one; I, the ignoble, feel abashed on your account. You are perfect and still remain obedient to His command; and I, barely a fraction, remain unjust, wicked, and unguided. You are perfect, yet are humble and fear the Lord; and I, the tainted, am averse and hostile."
-Rumi, "Mathnawi," 5:128-30
***
Man enters and departs this life crying and weeping. He comes and he leaves in love (of the world) and ignorance.
- Ecclesiastes Rabbah
***
If you hold yourself dear
then guard, guard yourself well.
The wise person would stay awake
nursing himself
in any of the three watches of the night,
the three stages of life.
First
he'd settle himself
in what is correct,
only then
teach others.
He wouldn't stain his name:
he is wise.
-Dhammapada, 12, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
One of the key things for people as far as joy is concerned is not living a selfish, self-centered lifestyle where we live our lives expecting everybody else to do something for us.
-Joyce Meyer
***
Happiness is a thing to be practiced, like the violin.
-John Lubbock
***
Our peace of mind increases in spite of suffering; we become braver and more enterprising; we understand more clearly the difference between what is everlasting and what is not; we learn how to distinguish between what is our duty and what is not. Our pride melts away and we become humble. Our worldly attachments diminish and, likewise, the evil within us diminishes from day to day.
-Mahatma Gandhi
***
Man was created last for the following reason: If he is deserving, he shall find all of nature at his service; if he is undeserving, he shall find all of nature arrayed against him.
- Pinhas Shapiro, the Zaddik of Koretz
***
I say that you may call on God by whatever name you please. You may call him God, or you may call him the Merciful. He has the best of names.
-Qu'ran, Al-Isra, Surah 17:110
***
There are three ways of seeing life. In one people stick fast. In another they go to excess. In the third they see correctly.
In the first way, people take pleasure in all the things of life--in possessions and happenings, in families and continuation. When a teaching is proclaimed that advises nonattachment and going beyond the dictates of the self, their heart does not leap up and they are not drawn to it. In the second way, people are afflicted by hatred of life. Just as attached to life, they nonetheless revile it and make a bad thing of it to excess.
In the third way, people see life as it is--forever being and ceasing to be. They accept it willingly but are not attached and do not despair. It is they who begin to know the unconditioned.
-Itivuttaka Sutta
-Joyce Meyer
***
Happiness is a thing to be practiced, like the violin.
-John Lubbock
***
Our peace of mind increases in spite of suffering; we become braver and more enterprising; we understand more clearly the difference between what is everlasting and what is not; we learn how to distinguish between what is our duty and what is not. Our pride melts away and we become humble. Our worldly attachments diminish and, likewise, the evil within us diminishes from day to day.
-Mahatma Gandhi
***
Man was created last for the following reason: If he is deserving, he shall find all of nature at his service; if he is undeserving, he shall find all of nature arrayed against him.
- Pinhas Shapiro, the Zaddik of Koretz
***
I say that you may call on God by whatever name you please. You may call him God, or you may call him the Merciful. He has the best of names.
-Qu'ran, Al-Isra, Surah 17:110
***
There are three ways of seeing life. In one people stick fast. In another they go to excess. In the third they see correctly.
In the first way, people take pleasure in all the things of life--in possessions and happenings, in families and continuation. When a teaching is proclaimed that advises nonattachment and going beyond the dictates of the self, their heart does not leap up and they are not drawn to it. In the second way, people are afflicted by hatred of life. Just as attached to life, they nonetheless revile it and make a bad thing of it to excess.
In the third way, people see life as it is--forever being and ceasing to be. They accept it willingly but are not attached and do not despair. It is they who begin to know the unconditioned.
-Itivuttaka Sutta
Help me today
to be a help and example to all;
to bring strength and encouragement wherever I am:
Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
-William Barclay
***
Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.
-Lady Bird Johnson
***
On this ever-revolving wheel of being
The individual self goes round and round
Through life after life, believing itself
To be a separate creature, until
It sees its identity with the Lord of Love
And attains immortality in the indivisible whole.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
***
If in the darkness of ignorance,
you don’t recognize a person’s true nature,
look to see whom he has chosen for his leader.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi" [IV, 1640]
***
The six days of war must receive their ultimate meaning from the seventh day, which is peace and celebration.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
***
to be a help and example to all;
to bring strength and encouragement wherever I am:
Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
-William Barclay
***
Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.
-Lady Bird Johnson
***
On this ever-revolving wheel of being
The individual self goes round and round
Through life after life, believing itself
To be a separate creature, until
It sees its identity with the Lord of Love
And attains immortality in the indivisible whole.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
***
If in the darkness of ignorance,
you don’t recognize a person’s true nature,
look to see whom he has chosen for his leader.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi" [IV, 1640]
***
The six days of war must receive their ultimate meaning from the seventh day, which is peace and celebration.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
***
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
-Ovid
***
From the Divine Dark to the manifest
To the Divine Dark I pass again.
As a horse shakes free its mane, I have
Shaken off all evil. Freeing myself
From the bonds of birth and death as the moon
Escapes from Rahu's mouth, I have attained
The pure realm of Brahman; I have attained
The pure realm of Brahman.
Brahman is my home. I shall not lose it.
Truly I shall not be lost again.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
God has the power to touch the heart of the sinner, to turn him away from his wicked ways.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
Happy is he who controls his inclination.
- Joshua b. Levi, Talmud: Aboda Zara
***
Don't be heedless of merit
('It won't come to me').
A water jar fills,
even with water
falling in drops.
With merit—even if
bit
by
bit,
habitually—
the enlightened one fills himself full.
-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-Ovid
***
From the Divine Dark to the manifest
To the Divine Dark I pass again.
As a horse shakes free its mane, I have
Shaken off all evil. Freeing myself
From the bonds of birth and death as the moon
Escapes from Rahu's mouth, I have attained
The pure realm of Brahman; I have attained
The pure realm of Brahman.
Brahman is my home. I shall not lose it.
Truly I shall not be lost again.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
God has the power to touch the heart of the sinner, to turn him away from his wicked ways.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
Happy is he who controls his inclination.
- Joshua b. Levi, Talmud: Aboda Zara
***
Don't be heedless of merit
('It won't come to me').
A water jar fills,
even with water
falling in drops.
With merit—even if
bit
by
bit,
habitually—
the enlightened one fills himself full.
-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Faith is a pipeline. It can flow in health, in terms of water or oxygen, or it can be filled with poison. What values do you pour through there?
-Robert Schuller
***
To be able to look back upon one's past life with satisfaction is to live twice.
-Marcus Valerius Martial
***
Troubles will be troubled before the man who faces them
Like the determined bullock that wades through every difficulty.
Though massed upon him like a mountain,
A man's afflictions will be afflicted by his undaunted will.
-Tirukkural 63: 624-625
***
We do not rejoice at the punishment meted out to an enemy; we have been taught by the holy laws to have human sympathy.
- Philo, "Flaccus"
***
Once a person asked the Prophet, "What is true faith?"
The Prophet replied, "When your good endeavors bring you pleasure and your transgressions cause you anguish, you know that you are a person of faith."
-Reported by Abu Umamah
***
I come from the East, most of you [here] are Westerners. If I look at you superficially, we are different, and if I put my emphasis on that level, we grow more distant. If I look on you as my own kind, as human beings like myself, with one nose, two eyes, and so forth, then automatically that distance is gone. We are the same human flesh. I want happiness; you also want happiness. From that mutual recognition, we can build respect and real trust of each other. From that can come cooperation and harmony.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
***
-Robert Schuller
***
To be able to look back upon one's past life with satisfaction is to live twice.
-Marcus Valerius Martial
***
Troubles will be troubled before the man who faces them
Like the determined bullock that wades through every difficulty.
Though massed upon him like a mountain,
A man's afflictions will be afflicted by his undaunted will.
-Tirukkural 63: 624-625
***
We do not rejoice at the punishment meted out to an enemy; we have been taught by the holy laws to have human sympathy.
- Philo, "Flaccus"
***
Once a person asked the Prophet, "What is true faith?"
The Prophet replied, "When your good endeavors bring you pleasure and your transgressions cause you anguish, you know that you are a person of faith."
-Reported by Abu Umamah
***
I come from the East, most of you [here] are Westerners. If I look at you superficially, we are different, and if I put my emphasis on that level, we grow more distant. If I look on you as my own kind, as human beings like myself, with one nose, two eyes, and so forth, then automatically that distance is gone. We are the same human flesh. I want happiness; you also want happiness. From that mutual recognition, we can build respect and real trust of each other. From that can come cooperation and harmony.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
***
If we don’t forgive ourselves for mistakes we’ve made--and everybody’s made their choices, some worse than others--we’ll never experience the good life God has in store.
-Joel Osteen
***
Two little words that can make the difference: START NOW.
-Mary C. Crowley
***
I am a Jew because for Israel man is not yet created; men are creating him.
- Edmond Fleg, "Why I Am a Jew"
***
Self-knowledge cannot be gained until everything is renounced. When all points of view are abandoned, what remains is the Self. Even in the world you do not get what you desire until all obstacles are removed. This is even more true of self-knowledge.
-Maharamayana
***
If misfortune befalls you, it is the consequence of your own actions. Yet God forgives much. On this earth you can not escape God; and there is no one apart from God who can protect or help you.
-Qur'an, Ash-Shura, Surah 42:30-31
***
No matter how hard you pursue pleasure and success, there are times when you fail. No matter how fast you flee, there are times when pain catches up with you.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness In Plain English"
-Joel Osteen
***
Two little words that can make the difference: START NOW.
-Mary C. Crowley
***
I am a Jew because for Israel man is not yet created; men are creating him.
- Edmond Fleg, "Why I Am a Jew"
***
Self-knowledge cannot be gained until everything is renounced. When all points of view are abandoned, what remains is the Self. Even in the world you do not get what you desire until all obstacles are removed. This is even more true of self-knowledge.
-Maharamayana
***
If misfortune befalls you, it is the consequence of your own actions. Yet God forgives much. On this earth you can not escape God; and there is no one apart from God who can protect or help you.
-Qur'an, Ash-Shura, Surah 42:30-31
***
No matter how hard you pursue pleasure and success, there are times when you fail. No matter how fast you flee, there are times when pain catches up with you.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness In Plain English"
Pleasures conceived in the world of the senses have a beginning and an end and give birth to misery, Arjuna. The wise do not look for happiness in them. But those who overcome the impulses of lust and anger which arise in the body are made whole and live in joy. They find their joy, their rest, and their light completely within themselves. United with the Lord, they attain nirvana in Brahman.
-Bhagavad Gita 5:22-24
***
If you see a person distributing his money to charity, know that his assets will increase, as it is said in Proverbs: "here are people who scatter and yet increase".
- Rabbi Avahu
***
Renunciation of the world is followed by peace; its desire brings sorrow. Restrain your desires, discipline your self, and do not allow anyone to oppress your soul.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
Having striven, brahmin,
cut the stream
Expel sensual passions.
Knowing the ending of fabrications,
brahmin,
you know the Unmade.
When the brahmin has gone
to the beyond of two things,
then all his fetters
go to their end--
he who knows.
-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
***
-Bhagavad Gita 5:22-24
***
If you see a person distributing his money to charity, know that his assets will increase, as it is said in Proverbs: "here are people who scatter and yet increase".
- Rabbi Avahu
***
Renunciation of the world is followed by peace; its desire brings sorrow. Restrain your desires, discipline your self, and do not allow anyone to oppress your soul.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
Having striven, brahmin,
cut the stream
Expel sensual passions.
Knowing the ending of fabrications,
brahmin,
you know the Unmade.
When the brahmin has gone
to the beyond of two things,
then all his fetters
go to their end--
he who knows.
-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
***
Your power comes from the power of God,
not from the veins or the beating heart.
The power of the saints comes from God,
not from feasts and trays of provisions.
They were created from the light
that transcends the angel and the Spirit alike.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
-Nelson Mandela
***
The guru is the formless Self within each one of us. He may appear as a body to guide us, but that is only his disguise.
-Ramana Maharshi
***
It is the same whether a man offers much or little, provided his heart is directed to Heaven.
- Mishna: Menahot
***
Sakka asked the Buddha: "Do different religious teachers head for the same goal or practice the same disciplines or aspire to the same thing?"
"No, Sakka, they do not. And why? This world is made up of myriad different states of being, and people adhere to one or another of these states and become tenaciously possessive of them, saying, 'This alone is true, everything else is false.' It is like a territory that they believe is theirs. So all religious teachers do not teach the same goal or the same discipline, nor do they aspire to the same thing.
"But if you find truth in any religion or philosophy, then accept that truth without prejudice."
-Digha Nikaya
***
He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
-John 12:25 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Faith and doubt both are needed, not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.
-Lillian Smith
not from the veins or the beating heart.
The power of the saints comes from God,
not from feasts and trays of provisions.
They were created from the light
that transcends the angel and the Spirit alike.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
-Nelson Mandela
***
The guru is the formless Self within each one of us. He may appear as a body to guide us, but that is only his disguise.
-Ramana Maharshi
***
It is the same whether a man offers much or little, provided his heart is directed to Heaven.
- Mishna: Menahot
***
Sakka asked the Buddha: "Do different religious teachers head for the same goal or practice the same disciplines or aspire to the same thing?"
"No, Sakka, they do not. And why? This world is made up of myriad different states of being, and people adhere to one or another of these states and become tenaciously possessive of them, saying, 'This alone is true, everything else is false.' It is like a territory that they believe is theirs. So all religious teachers do not teach the same goal or the same discipline, nor do they aspire to the same thing.
"But if you find truth in any religion or philosophy, then accept that truth without prejudice."
-Digha Nikaya
***
He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
-John 12:25 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Faith and doubt both are needed, not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.
-Lillian Smith
Prayer is a scanning of the heavens for the chink through which angels travel and divinity looks on.
-Thomas Moore, "Meditations"
***
Love unaccompanied by criticism is not love....Peace unaccompanied by reproof is not peace.
- Genesis Rabbah 54:3
***
The Self is indeed Brahman, but through
ignorance people identify it with intellect,
mind, senses, passions, and the elements of
earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why
the Self is said to consist of this and that, and
appears to be everything.
-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
***
“We shall unite the true believers with those of their descendants who follow them in their faith. We shall give to all of them the proper reward for their good works; all are accountable for what they have done. We shall give them fruits to eat, and such meats as they desire. They will pass from one to another a cup whose liquid will suppress all malicious talk and sinful desires."
-Qur'an, At-Tur, Surah 52:21-23
***
The nobility of the ancients was no more than purity and serenity; what need for bushels of emblems?
-Zen proverb
***
-Thomas Moore, "Meditations"
***
Love unaccompanied by criticism is not love....Peace unaccompanied by reproof is not peace.
- Genesis Rabbah 54:3
***
The Self is indeed Brahman, but through
ignorance people identify it with intellect,
mind, senses, passions, and the elements of
earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why
the Self is said to consist of this and that, and
appears to be everything.
-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
***
“We shall unite the true believers with those of their descendants who follow them in their faith. We shall give to all of them the proper reward for their good works; all are accountable for what they have done. We shall give them fruits to eat, and such meats as they desire. They will pass from one to another a cup whose liquid will suppress all malicious talk and sinful desires."
-Qur'an, At-Tur, Surah 52:21-23
***
The nobility of the ancients was no more than purity and serenity; what need for bushels of emblems?
-Zen proverb
***
[Jesus] can do for the soul what water can do for the body; he can go where it’s cracked and flaky and dusty and he can bring nourishment; he can soften that which is hard.
-Max Lucado
***
Hope is like a road in the country; there wasn't ever a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.
-Lin Yutang
***
The inner self perceives the outside world,
Made up of earth, water, fire, air, and space.
It is the victim of likes and dislikes,
Pleasure and pain, and delusion and doubt.
It knows all the subtleties of language,
Enjoys dance, music, and all the fine arts;
Delights in the senses, recalls the past,
Reads the scriptures, and is able to act.
This is the mind, the inner person.
-Atma Upanishad
From The Upanishads
***
If a commandment comes your way, don't delay.
- Mekhilta, Bo
***
Although this reed pen is in fact insensible,
of a different substance than the writer,
yet it is an intimate friend.
Likewise, every tool of a craftsman, though lifeless,
is the familiar friend of the Human spirit.
-Mathnawi [IV, 875-876]
***
This is what I say: Your mind is spiritual and so too is the sense-perceived world. The spirit is timeless and it dominates all existence as the great law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes crude nature into mind, and there is no being that can't be transformed into a vessel of truth.
-Brahmajala Sutra
***
-Max Lucado
***
Hope is like a road in the country; there wasn't ever a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.
-Lin Yutang
***
The inner self perceives the outside world,
Made up of earth, water, fire, air, and space.
It is the victim of likes and dislikes,
Pleasure and pain, and delusion and doubt.
It knows all the subtleties of language,
Enjoys dance, music, and all the fine arts;
Delights in the senses, recalls the past,
Reads the scriptures, and is able to act.
This is the mind, the inner person.
-Atma Upanishad
From The Upanishads
***
If a commandment comes your way, don't delay.
- Mekhilta, Bo
***
Although this reed pen is in fact insensible,
of a different substance than the writer,
yet it is an intimate friend.
Likewise, every tool of a craftsman, though lifeless,
is the familiar friend of the Human spirit.
-Mathnawi [IV, 875-876]
***
This is what I say: Your mind is spiritual and so too is the sense-perceived world. The spirit is timeless and it dominates all existence as the great law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes crude nature into mind, and there is no being that can't be transformed into a vessel of truth.
-Brahmajala Sutra
***
Prayer begins where human capacity ends.
-Marian Anderson
***
Risk! Risk anything! ...Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.
-Katherine Mansfield
***
There is nothing too difficult for a man who, before he acts,
Deliberates with chosen friends and reflects privately.
-Tirukkural 47:462
***
A group of religious leaders came to Rabi'a. She asked one of them: 'Why do you worship the Lord?' He replied: 'There are seven levels of hell, which I regard with great fear and dread; I wish to avoid passing through them.' She asked another man the same question. He replied: 'There are many levels of paradise, where there is much joy; I wish to dwell in one of the levels.' Rabi'a said: 'It is wrong to worship God from fear of punishment, or from hope of reward.'
-Attar, "Rabi'a"
***
To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.
-Dogen, "Actualizing the Fundamental Point"
-Marian Anderson
***
Risk! Risk anything! ...Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.
-Katherine Mansfield
***
There is nothing too difficult for a man who, before he acts,
Deliberates with chosen friends and reflects privately.
-Tirukkural 47:462
***
A group of religious leaders came to Rabi'a. She asked one of them: 'Why do you worship the Lord?' He replied: 'There are seven levels of hell, which I regard with great fear and dread; I wish to avoid passing through them.' She asked another man the same question. He replied: 'There are many levels of paradise, where there is much joy; I wish to dwell in one of the levels.' Rabi'a said: 'It is wrong to worship God from fear of punishment, or from hope of reward.'
-Attar, "Rabi'a"
***
To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.
-Dogen, "Actualizing the Fundamental Point"
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system though which God speaks to us every hour; if we still only tune in.
-George Washington Carver
***
Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
-Kahlil Gibran
***
No "I,"
No "mine."
He knows there is nothing.
All his inner desires have melted away.
Whatever he does,
He does nothing.
His mind has stopped working!
It has simply melted away...
And with it,
Dreams and delusions and dullness.
And for what he has become,
There is no name.
-Ashtavakra Gita 17:19-20
***
Ingratitude to man is ingratitude to God.
- Samuel HaNagid, "Ben Mishle"
***
The most upright among you are those who carry themselves with the finest conduct.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abd'Allah bin Amr
***
One whose beyond or
not-beyond or
beyond-&-not-beyond
can't be found;
unshackled, carefree:
he's what I call
a brahmin.
Sitting silent, dustless,
absorbed in jhana,
his task done, effluents gone,
ultimate goal attained:
he's what I call
a brahmin.
-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-George Washington Carver
***
Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
-Kahlil Gibran
***
No "I,"
No "mine."
He knows there is nothing.
All his inner desires have melted away.
Whatever he does,
He does nothing.
His mind has stopped working!
It has simply melted away...
And with it,
Dreams and delusions and dullness.
And for what he has become,
There is no name.
-Ashtavakra Gita 17:19-20
***
Ingratitude to man is ingratitude to God.
- Samuel HaNagid, "Ben Mishle"
***
The most upright among you are those who carry themselves with the finest conduct.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abd'Allah bin Amr
***
One whose beyond or
not-beyond or
beyond-&-not-beyond
can't be found;
unshackled, carefree:
he's what I call
a brahmin.
Sitting silent, dustless,
absorbed in jhana,
his task done, effluents gone,
ultimate goal attained:
he's what I call
a brahmin.
-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.
-Chinese Proverb
***
Let your fellow man's property be as dear to you as your own.
- Ethics of the Fathers - 2:17
***
The Primordial Vastness is the sky. The Primordial Vastness is the sphere of space. The Primordial Vastness is the mother, the father, the son. The Primordial Vastness is all the Gods, the five sorts of men, all that was born and shall be born.
-Rig Veda
***
Believers, uphold justice. Always bear true witness, even if it be against yourself, your parents, or your relatives—and regardless of whether the person against whom you are speaking is rich or poor. God is close to people regardless of their material circumstances. Do not be led by emotion, as this may cause you to swerve from the truth. If you distort your testimony, or refuse to testify, remember that God is aware of all your actions.
-Qur'an, An-Nisa, Surah 4:135
***
We have a saying in Tibet. "If you lose your temper and get angry, bite your knuckles." This means that if you lose your temper, do not show it to others. Rather, say to yourself, "Leave it."
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
-Chinese Proverb
***
Let your fellow man's property be as dear to you as your own.
- Ethics of the Fathers - 2:17
***
The Primordial Vastness is the sky. The Primordial Vastness is the sphere of space. The Primordial Vastness is the mother, the father, the son. The Primordial Vastness is all the Gods, the five sorts of men, all that was born and shall be born.
-Rig Veda
***
Believers, uphold justice. Always bear true witness, even if it be against yourself, your parents, or your relatives—and regardless of whether the person against whom you are speaking is rich or poor. God is close to people regardless of their material circumstances. Do not be led by emotion, as this may cause you to swerve from the truth. If you distort your testimony, or refuse to testify, remember that God is aware of all your actions.
-Qur'an, An-Nisa, Surah 4:135
***
We have a saying in Tibet. "If you lose your temper and get angry, bite your knuckles." This means that if you lose your temper, do not show it to others. Rather, say to yourself, "Leave it."
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The angels... regard our safety, undertake our defense, direct our ways and exercise a constant solicitude that no evil befalls us.
-John Calvin
***
To admit you were wrong is to declare you are wiser now than before.
-Unknown
***
What is old friendship? It is when neither friend objects
To the liberties taken by the other.
-Tirukkural 801
***
O Merciful, transform my fears into hope. In the name of Your glorious Qur'an relent toward me. Allow its light to illumine my way; endow me with the resolve to follow its dictates. Help me recite it night and day that its wisdom might blossom within my soul.
-Prayer upon finishing the Qu'ran
***
Whether we sit with our arms folded this way and our legs crossed that way is of little consequence. But it is extremely important to check and see if whatever meditation we do is an actual remedy for our suffering.
-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"
***
-John Calvin
***
To admit you were wrong is to declare you are wiser now than before.
-Unknown
***
What is old friendship? It is when neither friend objects
To the liberties taken by the other.
-Tirukkural 801
***
O Merciful, transform my fears into hope. In the name of Your glorious Qur'an relent toward me. Allow its light to illumine my way; endow me with the resolve to follow its dictates. Help me recite it night and day that its wisdom might blossom within my soul.
-Prayer upon finishing the Qu'ran
***
Whether we sit with our arms folded this way and our legs crossed that way is of little consequence. But it is extremely important to check and see if whatever meditation we do is an actual remedy for our suffering.
-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"
***
Miracles... seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always.
-Willa Cather
***
Nothing lowers the level on conversation more than raising the voice.
-Stanley Horowitz
***
Neither gods nor sages know my origin, for I am the source from which all the gods and sages come. Whoever knows me as the Lord of all creation, without birth or beginning, knows the truth and frees himself from all evil.
-Bhagavad Gita 10:2-3
***
Children tell stories,
but in their tales are enfolded
many a mystery and moral lesson.
Though they may relate many ridiculous things,
keep looking in those ruined places for a treasure.
-Mathnawi [III, 2601-2603]
***
People give
in line with their faith,
in line with conviction.
Whoever gets flustered
at food & drink given to others,
attains no concentration
by day or by night.
But one in whom this is
cut through
up-rooted
wiped out
attains concentration
by day or by night.
-Dhammapada, 18, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
-Willa Cather
***
Nothing lowers the level on conversation more than raising the voice.
-Stanley Horowitz
***
Neither gods nor sages know my origin, for I am the source from which all the gods and sages come. Whoever knows me as the Lord of all creation, without birth or beginning, knows the truth and frees himself from all evil.
-Bhagavad Gita 10:2-3
***
Children tell stories,
but in their tales are enfolded
many a mystery and moral lesson.
Though they may relate many ridiculous things,
keep looking in those ruined places for a treasure.
-Mathnawi [III, 2601-2603]
***
People give
in line with their faith,
in line with conviction.
Whoever gets flustered
at food & drink given to others,
attains no concentration
by day or by night.
But one in whom this is
cut through
up-rooted
wiped out
attains concentration
by day or by night.
-Dhammapada, 18, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for power equal to your tasks.
-Phillips Brooks
***
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
-Yiddish proverb
***
The Self is a bulwark against the confounding of these worlds and a bridge between them. Day and night cannot cross that bridge, nor old age, nor death, nor grief, nor evil nor good deeds. All evils turn back there, unable to cross; evil comes not into this world of Brahman.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
‘Whenever God has sent an apostle to a city or nation, the wealthy people of that place, living in comfort, have rejected the apostle’s message. They have said to themselves: ‘We have more wealth and more children than those who believe the apostle’s message. That shows that we shall not punished.’ But I say that God gives abundantly to some, and sparingly to others, as he pleases; but most people do not understand this.
-Qur'an, Saba', Surah 34:34-36
***
While practicing generosity, we should always remember how very fortunate we are to have this opportunity.
-Gomo Tulku, "Becoming a Child of the Buddhas"
***
Pray for power equal to your tasks.
-Phillips Brooks
***
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
-Yiddish proverb
***
The Self is a bulwark against the confounding of these worlds and a bridge between them. Day and night cannot cross that bridge, nor old age, nor death, nor grief, nor evil nor good deeds. All evils turn back there, unable to cross; evil comes not into this world of Brahman.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
‘Whenever God has sent an apostle to a city or nation, the wealthy people of that place, living in comfort, have rejected the apostle’s message. They have said to themselves: ‘We have more wealth and more children than those who believe the apostle’s message. That shows that we shall not punished.’ But I say that God gives abundantly to some, and sparingly to others, as he pleases; but most people do not understand this.
-Qur'an, Saba', Surah 34:34-36
***
While practicing generosity, we should always remember how very fortunate we are to have this opportunity.
-Gomo Tulku, "Becoming a Child of the Buddhas"
***
The Christian message reaches out to everyone and anyone—it doesn’t exclude anyone from an opportunity to reshape their lives.
-T.D. Jakes
***
Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.
-Jennie Jerome Churchill
***
The Self, who can be realized by the pure
in heart, who is life, light, truth, space, who
gives rise to all works, all desires, all odors,
all tastes, who is beyond words, who is joy
abiding—this is the Self dwelling in my
heart.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
Let a man always strive to be one of the persecuted rather than one of the persecutors.
- Babylonian Talmud, Baba Kamma 93a
***
Liberated from suffering and search
I have tied myself to the skirt of God.
If I fly, I look at the summits I ascend.
If I go around in circle
I observe the axis on which I revolve.
If I am dragged by a burden,
I know where I go.
For I am the moon, and the sun is my guide.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
If you can cultivate wholesome mental states prior to sleep and allow them to continue right into sleep without getting distracted, then sleep itself becomes wholesome.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying"
***
-T.D. Jakes
***
Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.
-Jennie Jerome Churchill
***
The Self, who can be realized by the pure
in heart, who is life, light, truth, space, who
gives rise to all works, all desires, all odors,
all tastes, who is beyond words, who is joy
abiding—this is the Self dwelling in my
heart.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
Let a man always strive to be one of the persecuted rather than one of the persecutors.
- Babylonian Talmud, Baba Kamma 93a
***
Liberated from suffering and search
I have tied myself to the skirt of God.
If I fly, I look at the summits I ascend.
If I go around in circle
I observe the axis on which I revolve.
If I am dragged by a burden,
I know where I go.
For I am the moon, and the sun is my guide.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
If you can cultivate wholesome mental states prior to sleep and allow them to continue right into sleep without getting distracted, then sleep itself becomes wholesome.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying"
***
Preach always. When necessary, use words.
-St. Francis of Assisi
***
I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.
-John Stuart Mill
***
There exists something that cannot be described.
-Maharamayana
***
Since reason is our most precious gift from God, we should do nothing to reduce its status or degrade it. Since reason should govern our conduct, we should allow nothing to govern it. Since reason is the sovereign over all human facilities, it should not be made subject to any other faculty.
-Razi, “Kitab al-Muluki”
***
In the gloom and darkness of the night, when there is a sudden flash of light, a person will recognize objects; in the same way, the one with a flash of insight sees according to reality--"This is how sorrow works; this is how it arises; this is how it can come to an end; this is the path leading to that end."
-Anguttara Nikaya
***
-St. Francis of Assisi
***
I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.
-John Stuart Mill
***
There exists something that cannot be described.
-Maharamayana
***
Since reason is our most precious gift from God, we should do nothing to reduce its status or degrade it. Since reason should govern our conduct, we should allow nothing to govern it. Since reason is the sovereign over all human facilities, it should not be made subject to any other faculty.
-Razi, “Kitab al-Muluki”
***
In the gloom and darkness of the night, when there is a sudden flash of light, a person will recognize objects; in the same way, the one with a flash of insight sees according to reality--"This is how sorrow works; this is how it arises; this is how it can come to an end; this is the path leading to that end."
-Anguttara Nikaya
***
I’m thankful, Lord, that all the darkness in the world has never put out Thy light.
-Unknown
***
Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.
-Cher
***
Why should those who rejoice when Destiny brings good
Moan when that same Destiny decrees misfortune?
What is there that is mightier than Destiny?
For it is there ahead of us even in the plans we devise to overcome it.
-Tirukkural 38: 379-380
***
The words, "Praise be to Allah," are the easiest to recite, yet heaviest in balance and dearest to the Merciful.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abu Hurairah
***
Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity.
- Maimonides
***
It's good to see Noble Ones.
Happy their company--always.
Though not seeing fools
constantly, constantly
one would be happy.
-Dhammapada 206, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
***
-Unknown
***
Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.
-Cher
***
Why should those who rejoice when Destiny brings good
Moan when that same Destiny decrees misfortune?
What is there that is mightier than Destiny?
For it is there ahead of us even in the plans we devise to overcome it.
-Tirukkural 38: 379-380
***
The words, "Praise be to Allah," are the easiest to recite, yet heaviest in balance and dearest to the Merciful.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abu Hurairah
***
Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity.
- Maimonides
***
It's good to see Noble Ones.
Happy their company--always.
Though not seeing fools
constantly, constantly
one would be happy.
-Dhammapada 206, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
***
Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.
-Lou Holtz
***
[S]he who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.
-William Law
***
Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded Consciousness. Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.
-Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1: 2-4
***
Do not take an oath, with the intention of deceiving the other party. You have been guided onto the path of righteousness; and this would cause your foot to stumble. Moreover, you would commit the evil of blocking God's path to others--and for that you would incur a grievous punishment.
-Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:94
***
Like an architect, the Holy One modeled the world, and it would not stand, until He created repentance.
- Eliezer b. Hyrcanus
***
In the eating hall, a stuffed parrot hung from the ceiling, and from its golden beak dangled a card that read, "We are in training to be nobody special." I had often repeated this to myself, working against my need for achievement and recognition, and the discontent that could engender. "I am in training to be nobody special." Saying the words in my mind, I felt how they redirected me from a certain seductive struggle and excitement and disease, into a more stable focus: forget what others think of you, forget the future goal of achievement; arrive instead in this body/mind, attending to this present moment. This is is the whole of practice.
-Sandy Boucher, "Hidden Spring"
***
-Lou Holtz
***
[S]he who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.
-William Law
***
Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded Consciousness. Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.
-Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1: 2-4
***
Do not take an oath, with the intention of deceiving the other party. You have been guided onto the path of righteousness; and this would cause your foot to stumble. Moreover, you would commit the evil of blocking God's path to others--and for that you would incur a grievous punishment.
-Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:94
***
Like an architect, the Holy One modeled the world, and it would not stand, until He created repentance.
- Eliezer b. Hyrcanus
***
In the eating hall, a stuffed parrot hung from the ceiling, and from its golden beak dangled a card that read, "We are in training to be nobody special." I had often repeated this to myself, working against my need for achievement and recognition, and the discontent that could engender. "I am in training to be nobody special." Saying the words in my mind, I felt how they redirected me from a certain seductive struggle and excitement and disease, into a more stable focus: forget what others think of you, forget the future goal of achievement; arrive instead in this body/mind, attending to this present moment. This is is the whole of practice.
-Sandy Boucher, "Hidden Spring"
***
So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
-Matthew 7:12 (Revised Standard Version)
***
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
***
Those who remember me at the time of death will come to me. Do not doubt this. Whatever occupies the mind at the time of death determines the destination of the dying; always they will tend toward the state of being. Therefore, remember me at all times and fight on. With your heart and mind intent on me, you will surely come to me. When you make your mind one-pointed through regular practice of meditation, you will find the supreme glory of the Lord.
-Bhagavad Gita 8:5-8
***
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.
- Song of Songs 8:7
As cited in "Jewish Wisdom" by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
***
Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.
-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Listen to the sound of water. Listen to the water running through chasms and rocks. It is the minor streams that make a loud noise; the great waters flow silently.
The hollow resounds and the full is still. Foolishness is like a half-filled pot; the wise man is a lake full of water.
-Sutta Nipata
-Matthew 7:12 (Revised Standard Version)
***
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
***
Those who remember me at the time of death will come to me. Do not doubt this. Whatever occupies the mind at the time of death determines the destination of the dying; always they will tend toward the state of being. Therefore, remember me at all times and fight on. With your heart and mind intent on me, you will surely come to me. When you make your mind one-pointed through regular practice of meditation, you will find the supreme glory of the Lord.
-Bhagavad Gita 8:5-8
***
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.
- Song of Songs 8:7
As cited in "Jewish Wisdom" by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
***
Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.
-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Listen to the sound of water. Listen to the water running through chasms and rocks. It is the minor streams that make a loud noise; the great waters flow silently.
The hollow resounds and the full is still. Foolishness is like a half-filled pot; the wise man is a lake full of water.
-Sutta Nipata
f we could save ourselves, we wouldn’t need a savior.
-Max Lucado
***
Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens.
-Douglas Jerrould
***
They have attained the goal who realize
Brahman as the supreme reality,
The source of truth, wisdom, and boundless joy.
They see the Lord in the cave of the heart
And are granted all the blessings of life.
-Taittiriya Upanishad
***
Behold the containers before the pharmacist. Kind assorted beside kind. The containers shattered; all the souls scattered. Good and evil intermingled. Then God sent Apostles with His revelations to arrange the grains inside the containers.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Man's creed is that he believes in God, and therefore in mankind, but not that he believes in a creed.
- Leo Baeck, "Essence of Judaism"
***
Long for the wakeful is the night.
Long for the weary, a league.
For fools
unaware of True Dhamma,
samsara
is long.
-Dhammapada 60, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
-Max Lucado
***
Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens.
-Douglas Jerrould
***
They have attained the goal who realize
Brahman as the supreme reality,
The source of truth, wisdom, and boundless joy.
They see the Lord in the cave of the heart
And are granted all the blessings of life.
-Taittiriya Upanishad
***
Behold the containers before the pharmacist. Kind assorted beside kind. The containers shattered; all the souls scattered. Good and evil intermingled. Then God sent Apostles with His revelations to arrange the grains inside the containers.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Man's creed is that he believes in God, and therefore in mankind, but not that he believes in a creed.
- Leo Baeck, "Essence of Judaism"
***
Long for the wakeful is the night.
Long for the weary, a league.
For fools
unaware of True Dhamma,
samsara
is long.
-Dhammapada 60, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
My God, how wonderful Thou art,
Thy majesty, how bright;
How beautiful Thy mercy seat
In depths of burning light!
-Hymn, “The Eternal Father”
***
Worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.
-Unknown
***
When the learned see that the learning that delights them
Delights the world as well, they love learning even more.
A man's learning is an imperishable and precious wealth.
All other possessions are less golden.
-Tirukkural 40:399-400
***
I say that the guidance of God is the only guidance. We are commanded to submit to the Lord of creation, to pray, and to avoid evil. You will all be assembled before him. It is God who created both the heavens and the earth; that is the truth. On the day when he says "Be," it is. His word is the truth. On the day when the trumpet is sounded, he will reign. He knows all that is seen and hidden. He alone is wise and knows all.
-Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:71b-73
***
Since the destruction there has been no joy above or below.
- Zohar, Gen. 61b
***
Internal peace is an essential first step to achieving peace in the world. How do you cultivate it? It's very simple. In the first place by realizing clearly that all mankind is one, that human beings in every country are members of one and the same family.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Thy majesty, how bright;
How beautiful Thy mercy seat
In depths of burning light!
-Hymn, “The Eternal Father”
***
Worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.
-Unknown
***
When the learned see that the learning that delights them
Delights the world as well, they love learning even more.
A man's learning is an imperishable and precious wealth.
All other possessions are less golden.
-Tirukkural 40:399-400
***
I say that the guidance of God is the only guidance. We are commanded to submit to the Lord of creation, to pray, and to avoid evil. You will all be assembled before him. It is God who created both the heavens and the earth; that is the truth. On the day when he says "Be," it is. His word is the truth. On the day when the trumpet is sounded, he will reign. He knows all that is seen and hidden. He alone is wise and knows all.
-Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:71b-73
***
Since the destruction there has been no joy above or below.
- Zohar, Gen. 61b
***
Internal peace is an essential first step to achieving peace in the world. How do you cultivate it? It's very simple. In the first place by realizing clearly that all mankind is one, that human beings in every country are members of one and the same family.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama