#buddhism

"Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace."

"According to the Buddha's teaching the beginning of the life-stream of living beings is unthinkable. THe believer in the creation of life by God may be astonished at this reply. But if you were to ask him 'What is the beginning of God?' he would answer without hesitation 'God has no beginning', and he is not astonished at his own reply."

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free."

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."

"Culture is an elevated expression of the inner voice which the different peoples of the Earth have heard in the depths of their being, a voice which conveys the vibrant compassion and wisdom of the cosmic life. For different cultures to engage in interaction is to catalyze each other's souls and foster mutual understanding."

"There is no unmoving mover behind the movement. It is only movement. It is not correct to say that life is moving, but life is movement itself. Life and movement are not two different things. In other words, there is no thinker behind the thought. Thought itself is the thinker. If you remove the thought, there is no thinker to be found."

"You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself."

"Sitting still is a pain in the ass."

"Directing the mind to stay in the present can be a formidable task."

"We train the mind so that we can enjoy greater peace, happiness, wisdom & equanimity."

"The five points of yama, together with the five points of niyama, remind us of the Ten Commandments of the Christtian and Jewish faiths, as well as of the ten virtues of Buddhism. In fact, there is no religion without these moral or ethical codes. All spiritual life should be based on these things. They are the foundation stones without which we can never build anything lasting. (127)"

"This body is fragile. It is just flesh. Listen to the heartbeat. Life depends on the pumping of a muscle."

"It turned out this man worked for the Dalai Lama. And she said gently-that they believe when a lot of things start going wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born-and that this something needs for you to be distracted so that it can be born as perfectly as possible."

"Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it."

"People turn to meditation because they want to make good decisions, break bad habits & bounce back better from disappointments."

"Observe & accept what ever arises & know that everything is as it needs to be."

"Searching outside of you is Samsara (the world). Searching within you leads to Nirvana."

"A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?"Suzuki Roshi replied, "No reason."

"That's why it's called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value."

"Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun."