In the way that a gardener knows how to transform compost into flowers, we can learn the art of transforming anger, depression, and racial discrimination into love and understanding. This is the work of meditation. — Thich Nhat Hanh
Excessive self-centeredness of me, my, and mine, is fraught with unhappiness. We become anxious and fearful. Distrust and suspicion ooze into our life. We don’t sleep well. We don’t digest our food well. We often feel miserable and don’t know why. Other-centeredness brings happiness, not only when practicing enlightenment, but also in normal everyday life. Practicing Bodhicitta to become enlightened for others — other-centeredness — is called “exchanging self for others.” It means exchanging the attitude of self-centeredness for the attitude of other-centeredness, thinking and acting for the complete welfare of others, all the way to enlightenment. In normal life, the more self-centered we are, the more people walk away from us. We are never satisfied, always wanting more. Other-centeredness, on the other hand, builds trusting relationships filled with meaning, love, and happiness. Emaho! ~ Barry Kerzin
You know quite well.
deep within you,
that there is only
a single magic,
a single power,
a single salvation……….
and that is called loving.
Well then,
love your suffering.
Do not resist it, do not flee from it
It is only your aversion that hurts.
nothing else.
~ Herman Hesse
Dalai Lama (Photo credit: Fizzr)
I have great hopes that the world may become a better, more peaceful, more equitable place in the twenty-first century. From my own experience, at 16 I lost my freedom, at 24 I lost my country and for the last, more than 50 years have faced all sorts of problems, but I have never given up hope. We have a Tibetan saying, ‘Nine times fall down, Nine times pick yourself up.’ ~ His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama
English: Sogyal Rinpoche teaching in Lerab Ling,
A string of beads has a thread running through all the beads, keeping them together. What we need is a thread too—of sanity and stability. Because when you have a thread, even though each bead is separate, they hang together. When we have the teachings in us, stabilizing us, there’s a thread to keep our life together that prevents us from falling apart. ~ Sogyal Rinpoche, “The Stability of Ease”
A Buddhist's Journey 