Meaningful Quotes

[KhedrubGyatso]

' The world is an unsafe place not because of bad people, but because good people do nothing to stop them.'
I now understand why my Guru dislike those who do not respond when he ask for suggestions or opinions etc. I think most of us are guilty of being inert at one time or another. Such inertness can be attributed to a not caring attitude. We have to be always mindful that we can still cause harm if we do not respond or do something to alleviate/contain or prevent a harmful situation when we are able to do so. In modern society we say we need to have civic mindedness.

[KhedrubGyatso]

 I got this in my notebook. ' Success is getting what u want. Happiness wants what u get.'

For most of us, all our actions are tainted by worldly concerns for gain, name, pleasure , praise and hence their opposites of loss, shame, displeasure, and blame. This is the self cherishing attitude which accompanies whatever success we achieve in life . We may call it  success but getting what we want does not necessarily equate with true happiness.
If we are wise and define success by the measure of how much happiness we receive, how lasting that happiness is and how much others benefit from our actions, then the latter part of the quote  makes sense. True happiness for oneself and others come from giving, not taking.

[Klein]

I'd like to share some of the quotes I love from Mother Theresa. I believe she is a Boddhisattva:

“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
? Mother Teresa

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
? Mother Teresa

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
? Mother Teresa

“Prayer in action is love, love in action is service.”
? Mother Teresa

[Klein]

I'd like to share more quotes from HH The Dalai Lama:

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."

"We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves."

"If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not able of developing compassion for others."

"There is a saying in Tibetan, “Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.”
No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster."

[Klein]

More quotes to share:

"Many of life's failures are people who do not realise how close they were to success when they gave up."
- Thomas A. Edison

"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal."
- Martin Luther King, Jr

"Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.  And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them."
- The Dalai Lama

"If you don't like something, change it.  If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."
- Maya Angelou

[Klein]

Some quotes from HH The Dalai Lama:

Human potential is the same for all. Your feeling, “I am of no value”, is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought – so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything. It is usually said that you are your own master.

To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.

There is a saying in Tibetan, “Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.”
No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.

[Klein]

Powerful quotes from Mahatma Gandhi:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” (I love this! Gandhi can be bitchy too!)

“Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

[Galen]

This has always been one of my favorites.

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T. S. Eliot

I know that these quotes are not really Dharma in origin, but they seem to embody a touch of Dharma nonetheless

The moment we stay stagnant, we die slowly. This is because we are not looking forward to what is new and what other possibilities we have in our life either to create something for yourself or for others. Things change and we have to change to move on with times, therefore we have to explore.

And why we we arrive back to where we started and know the place like the first time? To me, it is like samsara where we are stuck in the cycle of birth and death. It goes on and on for one life to another where we are born, live life, die then be reborn again. Whether in any of the 6 realms, it doesn't matter cos we start anew with the cycle. And it has no meaning until we managed to get out of the cycle. This is what I perceive as the Buddhist nature of the quote.

[Klein]

Powerful quotes from from Martin Luther King, Jr.

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

[Klein]

Inspiring quotes from Nelson Mandela.

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

[Klein]

This is a wonderful quote from Steve Jobs:

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me."

[hope rainbow]

This is a quote I must have seen on facebook, and I don't know whom it is from, but I have remembered it immediately:

"Eventually, people do not remember what you have said or done, but they remember how you made them feel"

[Klein]

Another wise quote from Steve Jobs.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

[Klein]

An insightful quote from Albert Einstein:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

[KhedrubGyatso]

'Life is a party on death row. '
This is poignant reminder of our real situation without wools covering our eyes.


'Happiness keeps You Sweet,

Trials keep You Strong,

Sorrows keep You Human,

Failures keep You Humble,

Success keeps You Glowing,

Only Friends  keep You Going  '


To the above , I would like to add:
A Guru does them all
and keeps you going lifetimes after lifetimes!