“Be a smile, one part of wondrous existence. If I could not find peace in the midst of difficulty, I would never know real peace.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“We are all alike, on the inside. There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.”
~ Mark Twain
“The reality perceived by a fly, with its differently structured eyes and antennae, is totally different from the reality we perceive, but it is equally valid from the fly’s point of view. The same applies to ant, elephant, or dolphin – each of their perceptions is valid. No one’s vision is better than anyone else’s.”
~ Tenzin Palmo
“If someone gives you a hard time, it is because they are suffering a hard time within themselves, and the suffering is spilling over. They do not need punishment; they need help. That’s the message they are sending.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is your power to choose your response. In your response lies your growth and your freedom.”
~ Viktor E. Frankl
“Expressing yourself in a way direct and simple, without any fancy adjustment, is true communication. Although the best way to communicate may be to sit together without saying anything.”
~ Shunryu Suzuki
“My intention is purely to follow the dharma that is guiding me. That is all. My duty is to give pure sounds to the universe – pure and simple – with pure heart. The rest is not in my control or domain.”
~ Gaiea Sanskrit
“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
~ Leonard Cohen
“If you are completely confident in yourself, you don’t have to think about the audience at all. You just say what you have to say as it is, take it or leave it. If you present your own style this way, without reference to the audience, the mentality of the audience will gradually evolve.”
~ Chögyam Trungpa
“Be still, and wait without hope. For hope would be hope for the wrong thing.”
~ T. S. Eliot
“When pleasant things arise, understand that they are empty. When unpleasant things arise, understand that they shall pass.”
~ Ajahn Chah
“Say yes to your karma and whatever unfolds. It takes courage to accept your life fully. Courage is the fundamental openness, which makes room for all the pain, irony, mystery, and joy that life provides.”
~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
“The things that contribute to life’s comfort, take them when they’re there, but not to require them when they’re absent. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all in your way of thinking.”
~ Marcus Aurelius
“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. Simplify your life. Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
“As I see it, there isn’t so much to do. Just be ordinary – put on your robes, eat your food, and pass the time doing nothing.”
~ Linji Yixuan (臨濟義玄)
“Never forget how swiftly this life will be over, like a flash of summer lightning or the wave of a hand. Now that you have the opportunity to practice dharma, do not waste a single moment on anything else.”
~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
“Mind is the creator of samsara and nirvana. To realize the nature of mind is to realize the nature of all things. To master the mind is the only way of life, the ultimate art of living and dying.”
~ Learned, from The Buddha
