Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/31/2009

"On the contrary, Subhuti, those Bodhisattvas who, when these words of the sutra are being taught, will find even one single thought of serene faith, will be such as have honoured many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, such as have planted their roots."

~Buddha

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/30/2009

"You only lose what you cling to."

~Buddha

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/29/2009

"The main difference between us, Buddhism and other philosophies, is that we do not accept the notion of a living god, but rather that we are responsible for our future happiness."

~Tenzin Gyatso The 14th Dalai Lama

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/28/2009

"The essence of Buddhism is if you can, help others. If not, then at least refrain from hurting others."

~Tenzin Gyatso The 14th Dalai Lama

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/27/2009

"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and the spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity."

~Albert Einstein

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/26/2009

"If there is any religion that could respond to the needs of modern science, it would be Buddhism."

~Albert Einstein

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/25/2009

"One thing that Buddhism teaches you is that every moment is an opportunity to change."

~Ron Reagan

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/24/2009

"Beyond our own personal perception of the world existing or not existing - the world does exist."

~Domo Geshe Rinpoche

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/23/2009

"When I sit for meditation, I am standing for what I believe in."

~Domo Geshe Rinpoche

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/22/2009

"Everyone is looking for happiness and avoiding suffering. This is the purpose of philosophy, the basis of all religion and the drive to create indoor plumbing."

~Domo Geshe Rinpoche

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/21/2009

Many of us are not capable of releasing the past, of releasing the suffering of the past. We want to cling to our own suffering. But the Buddha said very clearly, do not cling to the past, the past is already gone. Do not wait for future, the future is not yet there. The wise people establish themselves in the present moment and they practice living deeply in the present moment. That is our practice. By living deeply in the present moment we can understand the past better and we can prepare for a better future.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/20/2009

Myself, I want to be informed about what is going on in the world. I want to be informed, but that does not mean that I have to listen to the news three times a day. I think there is some kind of vacuum in us we want to fill up; that is why we buy so many newspapers and magazines and why we view so much television. We do not need that much information. I think maybe five minutes daily is enough. Sometime we can survive several months without any news bulletins. And you have friends who can tell you what is important that has happened.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/19/2009

If you do not know how to be patient, how to care, how to use loving speech, you cannot help other people to change. But if we have the energy of compassion and loving kindness in us, the people around us will be influenced by our way of being and living. Reproaching them, shouting at them, blaming them, can never help them. Only our love, our patience and our loving speech can help. And if we are in a situation where our own skillfulness, our own compassion, is not strong enough, we could need the support of our Dharma brothers and sisters in order to do the job.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/18/2009

If you dwell only in your suffering, you will miss paradise. Don't ignore your suffering, but don't forget to enjoy the wonders of life, for your sake and for the benefit of many beings.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/17/2009

The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn around, you can see the land. 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.

When one tree in the garden is sick, you have to care for it. But don't overlook all the healthy trees. Even while you have pain in your heart, you can enjoy the many wonders of life - the beautiful sunset, the smile of a child, the many flowers and trees. To suffer is not enough. Please don't be imprisoned by your suffering. If you have experienced hunger, you know that having food is a miracle. If you have suffered from the cold, you know the preciousness of warmth.

When you have suffered, you know how to appreciate the elements of paradise that are present.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/16/2009

For forty-five years, the Buddha said, over and over again, "I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering." When we recognize and acknowledge our own suffering, the Buddha - which means the Buddha in us - will look at it, discover what has brought it about, and prescribe a course of action that can transform it into peace, joy, and liberation. Suffering is the means the Buddha used to liberate himself, and it is also the means by which we can become free.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/15/2009

The layman Vimalakirti said, "Because the world is sick, I am sick. Because people suffer, I have to suffer." This statement was also made by the Buddha. Please don't think that because you are unhappy, because there is pain in your heart, that you cannot go to the Buddha. It is exactly because there is pain in your heart that communication is possible. Your suffering and my suffering are the basic condition for us to enter the Buddha's heart, and for the Buddha to enter our hearts.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/14/2009

"We all have the tendency to struggle in our bodies and in our minds. We believe that happiness is possible only in the future. The realization that we have already arrived, that we don't have to travel any further, that we are already here, can give us peace and joy. The conditions for our happiness are already sufficient. We only need to allow ourselves to be in the present moment, and we will be able to touch them. What are we looking for to be happy? Everything is already here. We do not need to put an object in front of us to run after, believing that until we get it, we cannot be happy. That object is always in the future, and we can never catch up to it. We are already in the Pure Land, the Kingdom of God. We are already a Buddha. We only need to wake up and realize we are already here."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/13/2009

"We are often exposed,if not first hand, then through films, reading material, and conversations, to violence, fear, hatred, meaningless infatuations.Society is full of violence and hatred, which accumulates in the collective consciousness. If in our daily lives we do not know now to abstain from damaging materials and attitudes, the seeds of violence, hatred and suffering in us will continue to be watered. We need to be aware of what we hear,see, and read every day... Do our associations and consumptions poison us?"

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/12/2009

The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves "inside the skin" of the other. We "go inside" their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with another's suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/11/2009

Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/10/2009

So if we love someone, we should train in being able to listen. By listening with calm and understanding, we can ease the suffering of another person.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/9/2009

Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice DEEP LOOKING directed toward the other person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love. If you cannot understand, you cannot love. That is the message of the Buddha.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/8/2009

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/7/2009

People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/6/2009

We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/5/2009

When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/4/2009

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air,but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/3/2009

You who are journalists, writers, citizens, you have the right and duty to say to those you have elected that they must practice mindfulness, calm and deep listening, and loving speech. This is a universal thing, taught by all religions.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/2/2009

We must not be attached to a view or a doctrine, even a Buddhist one. .. . The Buddha said that if in a certain moment or place you adopt something as the absolute truth, and you attach to that, then you will no longer have any chance to reach the truth. Even when the truth comes and knocks on your door, and asks you to open the door, you won't recognize it. So you must not be too attached to dogma--to what you believe, and to what you perceive.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/1/2009

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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