The Dalai Lama - Tenzin Gyatso
This site is dedicated to His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet
Pages 1-50
There is a Tibetan story of a fellow who, while circumambulating a temple, saw someone sitting in meditative posture. He asked the meditator what he was doing, and the meditator answered, "I am cultivating patience." Then that person said something very harsh to the meditator and the meditator at once answered back angrily. This response came because although he had been cultivating patience, he had not encountered anyone who was harming him or speaking badly to him; he had no chance to practice patience. Thus, the best of all situations for the practice of patience is an enemy, and for this reason someone engaged in the Bodhisattva practices should treat an enemy with tremendous respect.
By ourselves is evil done, by ourselves we pain endure, by ourselves we cease from wrong, by ourselves become we pure. No one saves us but ourselves, no one can and no one may; we ourselves must tread the Path: Buddhas only show the way."
Fair peace becomes men; ferocious anger belongs to beasts." Ovid
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All war is deception." Sun-tzu
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May those who are afraid be fearless. May those in bondage be free. May those who are powerless be empowered. May all our hearts be joined in friendship." The Dalai Lama
THE MIND... The flickering, fickle mind, difficult to guard, difficult to control, the wise man straightens, as a fletcher, an arrow.  Like a fish drawn from its watery abode and thrown upon land, even so does the mind flutter. Hence should the realm of Mâra be shunned. Good is it to control the mind which is hard to check and swift and flits wherever it desires. A subdued mind is conducive to happiness. Hard to perceive and extremely subtle is the mind, it roams wherever it desires. Let the wise man guard it; a guarded mind is conducive to happiness. Faring afar, solitary, bodiless, lying in a cave, is the mind. Those who subdue it are freed from the bond of Mara. He whose mind is inconstant, he who knows not the true doctrine, he whose confidence wavers - The wisdom of such a one is never fulfilled. He who is vigilant, he whose mind is not overcome by lust and hatred, he who has discarded both good and evil for such a one there is no fear. Realizing that this body is fragile as a pot and establishing his mind as firm as a fortified city, he should attack Mara with the weapon of wisdom. He should guard his conquest and afford no rest to Mara. Soon, alas, will this body lie upon the ground, unheeded, devoid of consciousness, even as a useless log. Whatever harm a foe may do to a foe, or a hater to a hater, an ill-directed mind can harm one even more. What neither mother, nor father, nor any other relative can do, a well-directed mind does and thereby elevates one.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage. All that that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
To control the eye is good; to control the ear is good; to control the nose is good; to control the tongue is good; to control the body is good; to control speech is good; to control the mind is good; good is control on every side. A bhikkhu (monk) who is thus controlled on every side is freed from all suffering.
COMPASSION... The quivering of the pure heart - when we have allowed ourselves to be touched by the pain of life. Jack Kornfield
Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. Frederick Buechner
Compassion for me is just what the word says: it is 'suffering with.' It is an immediate participation in the suffering of another to such a degree that you forget yourself and your own safety and spontaneously do what is necessary.
Joseph Campbell
Compassion is a foundation for sharing our aliveness and building a more human world.
M. Lowenthal
"Oh, that my monk's robes were wide enough to gather up all the people in this floating world."
Ryokan
The Buddha of Compassion is represented as having a thousand eyes that see the pain in all corners of the universe and a thousand arms to reach out to all corners of the universe to extend his help.
"When one is in an intense state of hatred, even a very close friend appears somehow ?frosty,? cold and distant, or quite annoying. If one harbors hateful thoughts, it ruins one?s health. Even if one has wonderful possessions, in the moment of anger one feels like throwing them or breaking them. So there is no guarantee that wealth alone can give one the joy or fulfillment that one seeks.
"Only a spontaneous feeling of empathy with others can really inspire us to act on their behalf. Nevertheless, compassion does not arise mechanically. Such a sincere feeling must grow gradually, cultivated within each individual, based on their own conviction of its worth. Adopting a kind attitude thus becomes a personal matter. How each of us behaves in daily life is, after all, the real test of compassion.
"I feel there is a difference between the mental conflicts that one feels and the emotions they give rise to - anger, hostility, and so forth. If you are not able to express the mental conflicts that you have, then at a later point of your life when you able to express these mental conflicts, they are automatically accompanied by hostility and anger. Therefore, it is important to express one?s suffering, not so much the hostility, but rather the suffering.
"If any sensible person thinks deeply, he will respect justice. There is an inborn appreciation and respect for justice within our human body. In children, we find what is natural to the human character. But as they grow up, they develop a lot of conditioning and wrong attitudes. I often feel there is more truthfulness in a small child and I find many reasons to have confidence in human courage and human nature.
"A person who knows a lot but does not practice is like a shepherd who does not own any cattle but always looks after a flock of sheep or cattle. Therefore, studying, reflecting, and meditating on the nature of reality is of great significance for the progress of a spiritual practitioner."
The Dalai Lama
May I be a protector to those without protection, a leader for those who journey, and a boat, a bridge, a passage for those desiring the further shore. May the pain of every living creature be completely cleared away. May I be the doctor and the medicine and may I be the nurse for all sick beings in the world until everyone is healed. Just like space and the great elements such as earth, may I always support the life of all the boundless creatures. And until they pass away from pain may I also be the source of life for all the realms of varied beings that reach into the ends of space.
?Let me be a free man. Free to travel. Free to stop. Free to work. Free to choose my own teachers. Free to follow the religion of my fathers. Free to think and talk and act for myself
Chief Joseph Nez Perce Indian Tribe
Because I'm Here... An old monk was sweeping the yard in a monastery under the scorching sun. Another monk passed by and asked him, "How old are you?  The old monk replied, "I'm seventy-seven." "You are so old! Why are you still working so hard here?" "Well, because I'm here." "But why are you working under the scorching sun?" "Because the sun is there."; [Act without worrying about the results, and strive for excellence without dwelling on it. If we put all of our hearts into what we do without complaining, we can become one with the "Way."
Although Buddhism is a gentle and kindly doctrine, some feel that its teachings are unnecessarily severe, demanding a higher degree of integrity than is now possible; that it does not take into account the tensions and pressures of modern living and the countless temptations to which the individual is subjected.  Actually, Buddhism demands nothing of anyone.  It merely points out that if modern man does not cultivate a better way of life, war and crime will continue and misery increase throughout the world.  Buddhism does not address itself particularly to the heads of nations or to leaders in the fields of  religion, philosophy, science, education, or inDustry; but it includes them all. The Buddhist message is directed to all human beings of every race and social level. Discipline yourself; purify your thoughts and emotions; and labor for the salvation of all that lives. This is the only path that leads to the end of suffering. It has been suggested that the  meditative life of self-discipline is too negative for Western man, who thrives best on more aggressive attitudes. The truth is that the control of the mind and emotions is the most  difficult and challenging of human labors.  It takes a deep understanding and a wonderful courage to subdue the appetites, conquer the desires, and dedicate the life to constructive purposes. Even one step in the right direction reveals the lasting value of such endeavor.
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