From striving comes wisdom;
from not, wisdomβs end.
Knowing these two courses
β development and decline β
conduct yourself
so that wisdom will grow.
– Verse from the Dhammapada.
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“By [getting angry] you are like a man who wants to hit another and picks up a burning ember or excrement in his hand and so first burns himself or makes himself stink”
– Venerable Buddhaghosa, Visuddhimagga IX-23 (written in 5th Century AD).
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Is a mountain heavy?
It may be heavy in and of itself, but as long as we don’t try to lift it up, it won’t be heavy for us.
– Ajaan Suwat, Thai Forest Tradition.
“When you get hurt, say, by an arrow, that is pain. The arrow hitting your arm, it hurts. Pain. However, there is a second arrow, which is your reaction to the arrow, the getting angry, the planning revenge, that is beyond pain, that is suffering.”
– Old Buddhist saying, based on teachings in the Sallatha Sutta.
There are people who are born and die and never once are aware of their breath going in and out of their body. Thatβs how far away they live from themselves.
– Ajahn Chah, Thai Forest Tradition.
My own motto is, “Make yourself as good as possible, and everything else will have to follow along in being good.” If you don’t neglect yourself for the sake of external things, you’ll have to be good. So you shouldn’t neglect yourself. Develop your inner worth to your own satisfaction.
The world says, “Don’t worry about whether you’re good or bad, as long as you have money.” This is just the opposite of the Dhamma, which says, “Don’t worry about whether you’re rich or poor, as long as you’re a good person.”
– Ajahn Lee, Thai Forest Tradition.
If there’s a gap between the actual and the ideal; focus on the actual. That’s where the practice is.
– Vipassana saying.
The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
– AtiΕa, founder of the Kadam School.
Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared.
– Old Buddhist saying.
Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.
– From the Dhammapada.
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