If I say, "I am a monk." or "I am a Buddhist," these are, in comparison to my nature as a human being, temporary. To be human is basic.
~The Dalai Lama
November 08, 2009
November 07, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/7/2009
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To study Buddhism and then use it as a weapon in order to criticize others' theories or ideologies is wrong. The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others.To study Buddhism and then use it as a weapon in order to criticize others' theories or ideologies is wrong. 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 with the knowledge of the Buddhist teachings
~The Dalai Lama
November 06, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/6/2009
As Buddhists, while we practice our own teaching, we must respect other faiths, Christianity, Judaism and so forth. We must recognize and appreciate their contributions over many past centuries to human society, and at this time we must strive to make common effort to serve humankind.
~The Dalai Lama
November 05, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/5/2009
Today we face many problems. Some are created essentially by ourselves based on divisions due to ideology, religion, race, economic status, or other factors. Therefore, the time has come for us to think on a deeper level, on the human level, and from that level we should appreciate and respect the sameness of others as human beings.
~The Dalai Lama
November 04, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/4/2009
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
~The Dalai Lama
November 03, 2009
Can Meditation Transform the World?
Meditation is now the IN thing. Cross-legged yogis and Buddhist monks can be seen in advertisements for everything from computers and credit cards to herbal teas, major newspapers and magazines carry stories on the benefits of meditation with tips from famous film stars, and no self-respecting bookshop is without a how-to-meditate section.
It is only in the last few decades that the general population has begun to realize how valuable the practice of meditation really is, regardless of spiritual or religious interests. Yet meditation has been the main focus of spiritual practice for thousands of years. You do not have to be a hippie or on a spiritual quest to meditate: we have taught everyone from housewives to athletes and musicians, and therapists to CEOs, in town halls, high school gymnasiums, corporate boardrooms, and on our own TV series in London.
However, if meditation is so available and as well known as it seems to be, why is it not already an integral part of everyone's lives? If health reports are saying how good it is as a way to cope with stress, why do we ignore it or find excuses not to do it? And why do we think of something as a waste of time when all the research tells us it is of such immense value?
Mahatma Gandhi famously said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." In other words, change has to start within ourselves; we cannot expect the world to change if we do not. If we want to have more love in our lives, we must become more loving; if we genuinely want to end terrorism and to bring real and peaceful change to the world, then we must start by ending the war within ourselves.
This brings us to the importance of contemplation and meditation. Without such a practice of self-reflection, we are subject to our ego's every whim, and we have no way of putting a brake on its demands. Meditation, on the other hand, gives us the space to see ourselves clearly and objectively, a place from which we can witness our own behavior and reduce the ego's influence. We get to know the madness of our monkey mind and until it loses its hold. Only then do we have a genuine opportunity to change.
Through the practice of meditation we find that the more positive aspects of ourselves are enhanced while the more self-centered aspects begin to naturally fade away. As the need to be constantly engaged in the details of our own story loses its relevance, so the ego releases its grip and becomes less demanding. This does not mean that we become just like a doormat and let people walk all over us. Rather, we become more confident, are able to communicate more openly and honestly, and to love more unconditionally.
In this way meditation enables us to change. From being self-centered, we become other-centered, concerned about the welfare of all equally, rather than being focused on just ourselves. We become more acutely aware of how we affect the planet, how we treat each other and our world, and seek to become a positive presence rather than a passive or negative one. As we find our own peace, we want to actively help others to also be at peace. When we find our peace there is one less person suffering!
We were in India in 1986 when we first met the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of Tibet, and probably the world's most famous meditator. We were waiting for our meeting in a room that led off a balcony at his residence, beyond which rose the Himalayas resplendent in the morning sunshine. Ed wandered outside to enjoy the view. He saw a monk further along the balcony waving for us to come. We presumed this monk would bring us to our meeting. But as we came closer, we realized that this simple and unpretentious man was the Dalai Lama himself. We immediately began to prostrate, as this is the respected way of greeting such a revered teacher. But the Dalai Lama took our hands and made us stand, saying, "No, no. We are all equal here." It was easy to think, "Oh sure! You are the great Dalai Lama, spiritual leader to millions, and we are just mere mortals. How can we possibly be equal?" But over the following months, we both experienced the true equality he was referring to -- the equality of our shared humanness and, simultaneously, our shared heart.
A Compassionate Revolution
A revolution is a re-evolution, where we take a higher step in the evolution of consciousness; it is also a revolving, a turning around of ourselves in response to an inner calling. To be the change and make a real difference in the world means we need a revolution -- a compassionate revolution. This is the turning of our energy from being focused on self-centeredness, self-survival, and closed-heartedness to concern for others, generosity, and open-heartedness. If we genuinely want to end war, inequality, and abuse, then we have to practice ahimsa and kindness toward all equally, for there will never be peace in the world if we are not at peace within ourselves.
To activate a compassionate revolution is to enter into an exploration of all aspects of our humanness so that we can live sanely in a world that often looks insane, riddled with affliction and conflict. So much hurt and denial, abuse and disrespect, so many atrocities have taken place in the name of religion and politics, or through greed and selfishness, so many misunderstandings between families, races, and countries.
As the Tibetan teacher Mingyur Rinpoche says, "Who makes problems? We humans. And who is the controller of the human? The mind. And how to control the human mind? Through meditation. If you can control the pilot, then the pilot can control the plane."
Meditation can do this because it brings us to a place of clear and caring responsiveness. It is that rare activity that can ease suffering while also giving us the awareness and spiritual intelligence to move beyond the self-centeredness and self-destruction that cause suffering. It removes the obstacles in our mind that prevent us from seeing things as they really are, freeing us to become kinder and more compassionate. In other words, it awakens our full human potential. And, as we are transformed, so the world will also transform.
It is only in the last few decades that the general population has begun to realize how valuable the practice of meditation really is, regardless of spiritual or religious interests. Yet meditation has been the main focus of spiritual practice for thousands of years. You do not have to be a hippie or on a spiritual quest to meditate: we have taught everyone from housewives to athletes and musicians, and therapists to CEOs, in town halls, high school gymnasiums, corporate boardrooms, and on our own TV series in London.
However, if meditation is so available and as well known as it seems to be, why is it not already an integral part of everyone's lives? If health reports are saying how good it is as a way to cope with stress, why do we ignore it or find excuses not to do it? And why do we think of something as a waste of time when all the research tells us it is of such immense value?
Mahatma Gandhi famously said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." In other words, change has to start within ourselves; we cannot expect the world to change if we do not. If we want to have more love in our lives, we must become more loving; if we genuinely want to end terrorism and to bring real and peaceful change to the world, then we must start by ending the war within ourselves.
This brings us to the importance of contemplation and meditation. Without such a practice of self-reflection, we are subject to our ego's every whim, and we have no way of putting a brake on its demands. Meditation, on the other hand, gives us the space to see ourselves clearly and objectively, a place from which we can witness our own behavior and reduce the ego's influence. We get to know the madness of our monkey mind and until it loses its hold. Only then do we have a genuine opportunity to change.
Through the practice of meditation we find that the more positive aspects of ourselves are enhanced while the more self-centered aspects begin to naturally fade away. As the need to be constantly engaged in the details of our own story loses its relevance, so the ego releases its grip and becomes less demanding. This does not mean that we become just like a doormat and let people walk all over us. Rather, we become more confident, are able to communicate more openly and honestly, and to love more unconditionally.
In this way meditation enables us to change. From being self-centered, we become other-centered, concerned about the welfare of all equally, rather than being focused on just ourselves. We become more acutely aware of how we affect the planet, how we treat each other and our world, and seek to become a positive presence rather than a passive or negative one. As we find our own peace, we want to actively help others to also be at peace. When we find our peace there is one less person suffering!
We were in India in 1986 when we first met the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of Tibet, and probably the world's most famous meditator. We were waiting for our meeting in a room that led off a balcony at his residence, beyond which rose the Himalayas resplendent in the morning sunshine. Ed wandered outside to enjoy the view. He saw a monk further along the balcony waving for us to come. We presumed this monk would bring us to our meeting. But as we came closer, we realized that this simple and unpretentious man was the Dalai Lama himself. We immediately began to prostrate, as this is the respected way of greeting such a revered teacher. But the Dalai Lama took our hands and made us stand, saying, "No, no. We are all equal here." It was easy to think, "Oh sure! You are the great Dalai Lama, spiritual leader to millions, and we are just mere mortals. How can we possibly be equal?" But over the following months, we both experienced the true equality he was referring to -- the equality of our shared humanness and, simultaneously, our shared heart.
A Compassionate Revolution
A revolution is a re-evolution, where we take a higher step in the evolution of consciousness; it is also a revolving, a turning around of ourselves in response to an inner calling. To be the change and make a real difference in the world means we need a revolution -- a compassionate revolution. This is the turning of our energy from being focused on self-centeredness, self-survival, and closed-heartedness to concern for others, generosity, and open-heartedness. If we genuinely want to end war, inequality, and abuse, then we have to practice ahimsa and kindness toward all equally, for there will never be peace in the world if we are not at peace within ourselves.
To activate a compassionate revolution is to enter into an exploration of all aspects of our humanness so that we can live sanely in a world that often looks insane, riddled with affliction and conflict. So much hurt and denial, abuse and disrespect, so many atrocities have taken place in the name of religion and politics, or through greed and selfishness, so many misunderstandings between families, races, and countries.
As the Tibetan teacher Mingyur Rinpoche says, "Who makes problems? We humans. And who is the controller of the human? The mind. And how to control the human mind? Through meditation. If you can control the pilot, then the pilot can control the plane."
Meditation can do this because it brings us to a place of clear and caring responsiveness. It is that rare activity that can ease suffering while also giving us the awareness and spiritual intelligence to move beyond the self-centeredness and self-destruction that cause suffering. It removes the obstacles in our mind that prevent us from seeing things as they really are, freeing us to become kinder and more compassionate. In other words, it awakens our full human potential. And, as we are transformed, so the world will also transform.
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Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/3/2009
To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.
~The Buddha
November 02, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/2/2009
You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
~The Buddha
November 01, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/1/2009
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
~The Buddha
October 31, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/31/2009
Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
~The Buddha
October 30, 2009
October 29, 2009
October 28, 2009
October 27, 2009
October 26, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/26/2009
There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.
~The Buddha
October 25, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/25/2009
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
~The Buddha
October 24, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/24/2009
The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze.
~The Buddha
October 23, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/23/2009
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
~The Buddha
October 22, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/22/2009
Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
~The Buddha
October 21, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/21/2009
On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
~The Buddha
October 20, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/20/2009
Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
~The Buddha
October 19, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/19/2009
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men & women cannot live without a spiritual life.
~The Buddha
October 18, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/18/2009
It is better to travel well than to arrive.
~The Buddha
October 17, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/17/2009
It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
~The Buddha
October 16, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/16/2009
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.
~The Buddha
October 15, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/15/2009
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
~The Buddha
October 14, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/14/2009
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
~The Buddha
October 13, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/13/2009
He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
~The Buddha
October 12, 2009
October 11, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/11/2009
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
~The Buddha
October 10, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/10/2009
Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
~The Buddha
October 09, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/9/2009
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
~The Buddha
October 08, 2009
Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 10/8/2009
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
~The Buddha
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