In This Section

Books

- Cesar's Way, Cesar Millan

- Secret Language of Birthdays, Gary Goldschneider

- Life Colors: What the Colors in Your Aura Reveal, Pamala Oslie

- Night, Elie Wiesel

- Living Mediation Living Insight

- Living Buddha Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh

- Myths to Live By, Joseph Campbell

Quotes

Real is better than perfect. - Mort Satten

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. - Mark Twain

When you are lonely or in darkness I wish I could show you the astonishing light of your own being. - Hafiz

Like a lotus flower that grows out of the mud and blossoms above the muddy water surface, we can rise above our defilements and sufferings of life. - buddhanet.net

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"

The tripartite formula for success is: 1. Go with the causes and conditions, 2. Seize them as they come, 3. And create them when they don't. -Ven. ShengYen

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

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

Is this really worth getting so upset about? A lot of this pressure is self-induced. Your every move is not under the microscope. It may take some practice, but the sense of relaxation you'll feel is well worth it.

He goes to hell, the one who asserts what didn't take place, as does the one who, having done, says, "I didn't."  Both—low-acting people—there become equal: after death, in the world beyond. -Dhammapada 306, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Leave the mind in its natural, undisturbed state. Don't follow thoughts of "This is a problem, that is a problem!"  Without labeling difficulties as problems, leave your mind in its natural state. In this way, you will stop seeing miserable conditions as problems. -Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Transforming Problems Into Happiness

Intention is the core of all conscious life. It is our intentions that create karma, our intentions that help others, our intentions that lead us away from the delusions of individuality toward the immutable verities of enlightened awareness. Conscious intention colors and moves everything. -Master Hsing Yun, "Describing the Indescribable"

Thus, no creature ever comes short of its own completeness. Wherever it stands, it does not fail to cover the ground. - Zen Master Dogen

Just as vessels made of clay by a potter all have breaking as their end, so is the life of mortals. -Sutta Nipata

A person of wisdom should be truthful, without arrogance, without deceit, not slanderous and not hateful. The wise person should go beyond the evil of greed and miserliness.  Do not get excited by what is old, do not be contented with what is new. Do not grieve for what is lost or be controlled by desire. -Sutta-nipata, translated by H. Saddhatissa

Everything comes to pass, nothing comes to stay. - Matthew Flickstein, "Journey To The Center"

If you never try, you can never be successful; but if you try, you might surprise yourself. - Lama Yeshe

Seeking happiness outside ourselves is like waiting for sunshine in a cave facing north. - Tibetan Buddhist Sayings

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.  Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things.  The Buddha meditated for six years, Bodhidharma for nine.  The practice of meditation is not a method for the attainment of realization – it is enlightenment itself. - Zen Master Dogen, “The Practice of Meditation”

Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side. In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change. Thich Nhat Hanh

Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Be loving, be kind And follow the ways of goodness.  Committed, and longing for the goal, Always keep going with courage. To dally and delay will not help you. But to be ardent is sure and safe. When you see it, cultivate the path, So you will touch and make your own The Deathless Way. -Psalms of the Early Buddhists

You can only have bliss if you don't chase it. - Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (Chasing is unblissful)

Don’t be discriminatory, don’t keep a grasping and rejecting attitude. For this reason it is said, “Truth has no comparison, because it is not relative to anything.” -Hui-chung

Love yourself and be awake- Today, tomorrow, always.  First establish yourself in the way, Then teach others, And so defeat sorrow.  To straighten the crooked You must first do a harder thing- Straighten yourself.  You are your only master.  Who else?  Subdue yourself,  And discover your master.  -from the Dhammapada

Don't cling to your own understanding. Even if you do understand something, you should ask yourself if there might be something you have not fully resolved, or if there may be some higher meaning yet. -Dogen

Unless we practice loving feelings (metta) toward everyone we meet, day in, day out, we're missing out on the most joyous part of life.If we can actually open our hearts, there's no difficulty in being happy. - Ayya Khema

A buddha is one who does not seek. In seeking this, you turn away from it. The principle is the principle of nonseeking; when you seek it, you lose it. - Pai-chang

As rain penetrates an improperly shingled roof, so passion overwhelms a confused mind. - Buddha

Within your weakness lies your strength sleeping - Ada Coil

When we see clearly, we can change. - Ayya Khema

When everything is clean-clear in your own mind, nobody can create obstacles for you.  -Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire"

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Reducing others' vexations is compassion; Reducing your vexations is wisdom.  ~ One who does one's best to benefit others while improving oneself is someone successful.  - Master Sheng Yen

Attentiveness is the path to true life; Indifference is the path to death. The attentive do not die; The indifferent are as if they are dead already. -Dhammapada

Focus, not on the rudenesses of others,not on what they've done or left undone, but on what you have & haven't done yourself.  -Dhammapada, 4, translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Another shortcoming of desire is that it leads to so much that is undesirable. -Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "The Door to Satisfaction"

Compassion is the best healer.  -Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Ultimate Healing

"He insulted me, he hurt me, he defeated me, he robbed me." Those who think such things will not be free from hate.  -Buddha

If we do not try, we will not know.  -Ayya Khema, Be An Island

Wisdom is the precious gem of humans; Merit is hard for thieves to steal. - The Buddha