No matter what you have, you could always give back a little and gain so much more.
-Beverley Mitchell
***
I am too blessed to be stressed!
-Anonymous
***
To me art in order to be truly great must, like the beauty of Nature, be universal in its appeal. It must be simple in its presentation and direct in its expression, like the language of Nature.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1931
****
Day and night he danced in ecstasy,
revolving on the earth like the heavens.
His ecstatic cries reached the zenith of the skies
and were heard by all and sundry.
-Rumi, "The Life and Thoughts of Rumi"
***
It is in everybody's interest to seek those [actions] that lead to happiness and avoid those which lead to suffering. And because our interests are inextricably linked, we are compelled to accept ethics as the indispensable interface between my desire to be happy and yours.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Quote
I don't follow Jesus because I think Christianity is the best religion. I follow Jesus because he leads me into ultimate reality.
-Rob Bell
****
Days are scrolls: write on them only what you want remembered.
-Bchya Ibn Pakuda
****
Since you are in love with yourself, you are inclined to overestimate your own strengths, and underestimate your own weaknesses; equally you are inclined to underestimate the strengths of others, and overestimate their weaknesses. If you allow this attitude to grow freely, without any restraint, it becomes conceit.
-Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"
***
It is better to see God in everything than to try and figure it out.
-Neem Karoli Baba
***
Whatever happiness is in the world has arisen from a wish for the welfare of others; whatever misery there is has arisen from indulging selfishness.
-Buddhist proverb
From Agape Love: A
-Rob Bell
****
Days are scrolls: write on them only what you want remembered.
-Bchya Ibn Pakuda
****
Since you are in love with yourself, you are inclined to overestimate your own strengths, and underestimate your own weaknesses; equally you are inclined to underestimate the strengths of others, and overestimate their weaknesses. If you allow this attitude to grow freely, without any restraint, it becomes conceit.
-Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"
***
It is better to see God in everything than to try and figure it out.
-Neem Karoli Baba
***
Whatever happiness is in the world has arisen from a wish for the welfare of others; whatever misery there is has arisen from indulging selfishness.
-Buddhist proverb
From Agape Love: A
Values are like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do.
-Elvis Presley
***
The best charity is to satisfy a hungry person.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Anas bin Malik
***
My mind fell like a hailstone
into the vast expanse of Brahman's ocean.
Touching one drop of it.
I melted away and became one with Brahman.
This is wonderful indeed!
Here is the ocean of Brahman,
full of endless joy.
-Sankara
***
There's but little breath left
on the boundary of this life and next.
Not knowing if I'll be here next morning,
why try to trick death
with life-schemes for a permanent future?
-Milarepa, "Drinking The Mountain Stream"
-Elvis Presley
***
The best charity is to satisfy a hungry person.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Anas bin Malik
***
My mind fell like a hailstone
into the vast expanse of Brahman's ocean.
Touching one drop of it.
I melted away and became one with Brahman.
This is wonderful indeed!
Here is the ocean of Brahman,
full of endless joy.
-Sankara
***
There's but little breath left
on the boundary of this life and next.
Not knowing if I'll be here next morning,
why try to trick death
with life-schemes for a permanent future?
-Milarepa, "Drinking The Mountain Stream"
If you get busy serving God, you're too busy to sin.
-Chuck Baker
***
The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduced yourself to had life not done it for you.
-Kendall Hailey
***
I am boundless space.
The world is a clay pot.
This is the truth.
There is nothing to accept,
Nothing to reject,
Nothing to dissolve.
-Ashtavakra Gita 6:1
***
Believers, do not raise your voices above my voice, the voice of the prophet. Do not shout at me, as you often shout at one another. If you raise your voices and shout, you will not hear the truth, and so your labours will come to nothing. Those who speak softly in the presence of God's apostle, and those whom God has made pious, will be forgiven their sins, and they will receive a rich reward.
-Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:2-3
***
Drink deeply.
Live in serenity and joy.
The wise person delights in the truth
And follows the law of the awakened.
The farmer channels water to his land.
The fletcher whittles his arrows.
And the carpenter turns his wood.
So the wise direct their mind.
-Dhammapada, translated by Thomas Byrom
-Chuck Baker
***
The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduced yourself to had life not done it for you.
-Kendall Hailey
***
I am boundless space.
The world is a clay pot.
This is the truth.
There is nothing to accept,
Nothing to reject,
Nothing to dissolve.
-Ashtavakra Gita 6:1
***
Believers, do not raise your voices above my voice, the voice of the prophet. Do not shout at me, as you often shout at one another. If you raise your voices and shout, you will not hear the truth, and so your labours will come to nothing. Those who speak softly in the presence of God's apostle, and those whom God has made pious, will be forgiven their sins, and they will receive a rich reward.
-Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:2-3
***
Drink deeply.
Live in serenity and joy.
The wise person delights in the truth
And follows the law of the awakened.
The farmer channels water to his land.
The fletcher whittles his arrows.
And the carpenter turns his wood.
So the wise direct their mind.
-Dhammapada, translated by Thomas Byrom
It is through giving that we receive, and it is through dying that we are born to eternal life.
-St. Francis of Assisi
***
Come out of the circle of time, and into the circle of love.
-Rumi
***
Impart to us those vitalizing forces
that come, O Earth, from deep within your body,
your central point, your navel; purify us wholly.
The Earth is mother; I am son of Earth.
The Rain-giver is my father; may he shower on us
blessings!
-Rig Veda
***
The Lord illumined the hearts of the pious with the light of certainty that gave them the vision to comprehend the light of all the faiths of the world.
-Abu'I-Hasan, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Meditate on that which is beyond words and symbols. Forsake the demands of the self. By such forsaking you will live serenely.
-Sutta Nipata
***
Life is so generous a giver, but we judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the Angel's hand that beings it to you.
-Fra Giovanni
-St. Francis of Assisi
***
Come out of the circle of time, and into the circle of love.
-Rumi
***
Impart to us those vitalizing forces
that come, O Earth, from deep within your body,
your central point, your navel; purify us wholly.
The Earth is mother; I am son of Earth.
The Rain-giver is my father; may he shower on us
blessings!
-Rig Veda
***
The Lord illumined the hearts of the pious with the light of certainty that gave them the vision to comprehend the light of all the faiths of the world.
-Abu'I-Hasan, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Meditate on that which is beyond words and symbols. Forsake the demands of the self. By such forsaking you will live serenely.
-Sutta Nipata
***
Life is so generous a giver, but we judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the Angel's hand that beings it to you.
-Fra Giovanni
Many people believe that other humans have acted as angels in their lives. This is different than an angel appearing as a human and then disappearing. The human angels are humans that sometimes help the angels by relaying a message or a thought to someone when it is needed the most.
-Terry Lynn Taylor and Mary Beth Crain,
"Angel Wisdom"
****
Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of a hole.
-C.S. Lewis
****
It’s the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it’s the little differences that make them interesting.
-Todd Ruthman
***
For aspirants who want to climb the mountain of spiritual awareness, the path is selfless work; for those who have ascended to yoga the path is stillness and peace. When a person has freed himself from attachment to the results of work, and from desires for the enjoyment of sense objects, he ascends to the unitive state.
-Bhagavad Gita 6:3-4
***
We honored man by the gift of free will.
Half of him is honeybee, the other half snake.
True believers are stores of honey.
Stores of poison are those who do not believe.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
-Terry Lynn Taylor and Mary Beth Crain,
"Angel Wisdom"
****
Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of a hole.
-C.S. Lewis
****
It’s the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it’s the little differences that make them interesting.
-Todd Ruthman
***
For aspirants who want to climb the mountain of spiritual awareness, the path is selfless work; for those who have ascended to yoga the path is stillness and peace. When a person has freed himself from attachment to the results of work, and from desires for the enjoyment of sense objects, he ascends to the unitive state.
-Bhagavad Gita 6:3-4
***
We honored man by the gift of free will.
Half of him is honeybee, the other half snake.
True believers are stores of honey.
Stores of poison are those who do not believe.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Angels help us link our lives to Divine energy; they are messengers of light, who use the light to guide us.
-Terry Lynn Taylor,
"Angel Days"
***
Love is not consolation, it is light.
-Simone Weil
***
I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work the more of it I seem to have.
-Coleman Cox
***
Each person will be given a book. Those who are given their books in their right hands will be judged leniently; and they will return to their people joyfully. But those who are given their books in their left hands will call down destruction on themselves, and burn in the fire of hell. They are the people who have never cared for their neighbors; they thought they would never return to God. Their Lord watches all that people do.
-Qur'an, Al-Inshiqaq, Surah 84:7-15
****
Non-violence means dialogue, using our language, the human language. Dialogue means compromise; respecting each other’s rights; in the spirit of reconciliation there is a real solution to conflict and disagreement. There is no hundred percent winner, no hundred percent loser—not that way but half-and-half. That is the practical way, the only way.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
-Terry Lynn Taylor,
"Angel Days"
***
Love is not consolation, it is light.
-Simone Weil
***
I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work the more of it I seem to have.
-Coleman Cox
***
Each person will be given a book. Those who are given their books in their right hands will be judged leniently; and they will return to their people joyfully. But those who are given their books in their left hands will call down destruction on themselves, and burn in the fire of hell. They are the people who have never cared for their neighbors; they thought they would never return to God. Their Lord watches all that people do.
-Qur'an, Al-Inshiqaq, Surah 84:7-15
****
Non-violence means dialogue, using our language, the human language. Dialogue means compromise; respecting each other’s rights; in the spirit of reconciliation there is a real solution to conflict and disagreement. There is no hundred percent winner, no hundred percent loser—not that way but half-and-half. That is the practical way, the only way.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Pain is never permanent.
-St. Teresa of Avila
***
Your children need your presence more than your presents.
-Jesse Jackson
***
May the light of wisdom illumine us.
May we become united with the Lord.
Let us contemplate five categories:
The world and luminous worlds in the sky,
Education, progeny, and speech.
-Taittiriya Upanishad
***
If you wish to shine like the daylight, burn up the night of self-importance. Dissolve the self like copper in the elixir; dissolve in Him who fosters all existence. But you are bound by the discord of "I" and "We." The cause of your ruin is this sad dualism.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"
-St. Teresa of Avila
***
Your children need your presence more than your presents.
-Jesse Jackson
***
May the light of wisdom illumine us.
May we become united with the Lord.
Let us contemplate five categories:
The world and luminous worlds in the sky,
Education, progeny, and speech.
-Taittiriya Upanishad
***
If you wish to shine like the daylight, burn up the night of self-importance. Dissolve the self like copper in the elixir; dissolve in Him who fosters all existence. But you are bound by the discord of "I" and "We." The cause of your ruin is this sad dualism.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"
The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved - loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
-Victor Hugo
***
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
-Chinese Proverb
***
Where love is, there God is also.
-Mahatma Gandhi
***
He who for himself or others craves not for sons or power or wealth, who puts not his own success before the success of righteousness, he is virtuous, and righteous and wise.
-Buddha
From "Sayings
-Victor Hugo
***
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
-Chinese Proverb
***
Where love is, there God is also.
-Mahatma Gandhi
***
He who for himself or others craves not for sons or power or wealth, who puts not his own success before the success of righteousness, he is virtuous, and righteous and wise.
-Buddha
From "Sayings
I believe we are free, within limits, and yet there is an unseen hand, a guiding angel, that somehow, like a submerged propeller, drives us on.
-Rabindranath Tagore
***
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
-Auguste Rodin
***
Allah exalted two kinds of people above others: those who spend in the cause of the Truth, and the judicious who impart their wisdom to others.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Nayeem bin Mas'ud
***
The student inquires:
"Who makes my mind think?
Who fills my body with vitality?
Who causes my tongue to speak? Who is that
Invisible one who sees through my eyes
And hears through my ears?"
The teacher replies:
"The Self is the ear of the ear,
The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,
The word of words, and the life of life.
Rising above the senses and the mind
And renouncing separate existence,
The wise realize the deathless Self."
-Kena Upanishad
***
Having drunk the sweetness of solitude and also the sweetness of tranquility, one becomes free from fear and wrongdoing while drinking the sweetness of the joy of truth.
-Sutta Nipata
-Rabindranath Tagore
***
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
-Auguste Rodin
***
Allah exalted two kinds of people above others: those who spend in the cause of the Truth, and the judicious who impart their wisdom to others.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Nayeem bin Mas'ud
***
The student inquires:
"Who makes my mind think?
Who fills my body with vitality?
Who causes my tongue to speak? Who is that
Invisible one who sees through my eyes
And hears through my ears?"
The teacher replies:
"The Self is the ear of the ear,
The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,
The word of words, and the life of life.
Rising above the senses and the mind
And renouncing separate existence,
The wise realize the deathless Self."
-Kena Upanishad
***
Having drunk the sweetness of solitude and also the sweetness of tranquility, one becomes free from fear and wrongdoing while drinking the sweetness of the joy of truth.
-Sutta Nipata
Every parent is at some time the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope.
-John Ciardi
***
A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered.
-C.S. Lewis (submitted by cjcoxcpal)
***
The ancients thought it shameful to seek advancement or to want to be the head of something, or the chief or senior.
-Dogen
***
It is related by 'Abdullah bin Amr that the Prophet, peace be upon him, "The best of you are those who possess the best of manners."
- Bukhari and Muslim
-John Ciardi
***
A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered.
-C.S. Lewis (submitted by cjcoxcpal)
***
The ancients thought it shameful to seek advancement or to want to be the head of something, or the chief or senior.
-Dogen
***
It is related by 'Abdullah bin Amr that the Prophet, peace be upon him, "The best of you are those who possess the best of manners."
- Bukhari and Muslim
Preach always. When necessary, use words.
-St. Francis of Assisi
***
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
-Emily Dickinson
***
Friendship that insists upon agreement on all matters is not worth the name. Friendship to be real must ever sustain the weight of honest differences, however sharp they be.
-Mahatma Gandhi
****
Fear is a state of darkness in which the soul wanders, bewildered, seeking help, and then comes hope as a ray of light, and grace prevails.
-Al-Sarraj, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
The mind is the nucleus of samsara and nirvana.
-Lama Thubten Yeshe, The Bliss of Inner Fire
***
-St. Francis of Assisi
***
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
-Emily Dickinson
***
Friendship that insists upon agreement on all matters is not worth the name. Friendship to be real must ever sustain the weight of honest differences, however sharp they be.
-Mahatma Gandhi
****
Fear is a state of darkness in which the soul wanders, bewildered, seeking help, and then comes hope as a ray of light, and grace prevails.
-Al-Sarraj, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
The mind is the nucleus of samsara and nirvana.
-Lama Thubten Yeshe, The Bliss of Inner Fire
***
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
-Mother Teresa
***
Your nature is pure awareness.
You are flowing in all things,
And all things are flowing in you.
But beware
The narrowness of the mind!
-Ashtavakra Gita 1:16
***
The living eye of Zen sees clearly through the heavens: the livelihood of the six senses takes place everywhere, without borrowing the form or appearance of another.
-Tzu-te
***
When you are with everyone but me, you're with no one. When you are with no one but me, you're with everyone. Instead of being so bound up with everyone be everyone. When you become that many, you're nothing. Empty. - Rumi
-Mother Teresa
***
Your nature is pure awareness.
You are flowing in all things,
And all things are flowing in you.
But beware
The narrowness of the mind!
-Ashtavakra Gita 1:16
***
The living eye of Zen sees clearly through the heavens: the livelihood of the six senses takes place everywhere, without borrowing the form or appearance of another.
-Tzu-te
***
When you are with everyone but me, you're with no one. When you are with no one but me, you're with everyone. Instead of being so bound up with everyone be everyone. When you become that many, you're nothing. Empty. - Rumi
Love more persons more--love them more impersonally, more unselfishly, without thought of return. The return, never fear, will take care of itself.
-Henry Drummond
***
If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.
-Thomas Merton
***
Dread hatred from within and defend yourself against it.
In calamitous times it will cut deeper than a potter's knife.
-Tirukkural 89: 883
***
-Henry Drummond
***
If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.
-Thomas Merton
***
Dread hatred from within and defend yourself against it.
In calamitous times it will cut deeper than a potter's knife.
-Tirukkural 89: 883
***
I'm living proof that if you fight hard enough, and you're determined, you can make anything happen as long as you keep your integrity and you stay true to yourself....You just need to have faith and to stay honest real.
-Beverley Mitchell
****
The beginning is the most important part of any work.
-Plato
***
"The body does this, not I."
"My nature is purity."
With these thoughts,
Whatever he does,
He does nothing.
But he pretends not to know.
He finds freedom in this life,
But he acts like an ordinary man.
Yet he is not a fool.
Happy and bright,
He thrives in the world.
-Ashtavakra Gita 18:25-26
***
If you can cultivate wholesome mental states prior to sleep and allow them to continue right into sleep without getting distracted, then sleep itself becomes wholesome.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying"
***
2] Abu Hurayrah related to us that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Muslims who possess better morals are the most perfect in Faith."
- Abu Da'ud and Darimi
-Beverley Mitchell
****
The beginning is the most important part of any work.
-Plato
***
"The body does this, not I."
"My nature is purity."
With these thoughts,
Whatever he does,
He does nothing.
But he pretends not to know.
He finds freedom in this life,
But he acts like an ordinary man.
Yet he is not a fool.
Happy and bright,
He thrives in the world.
-Ashtavakra Gita 18:25-26
***
If you can cultivate wholesome mental states prior to sleep and allow them to continue right into sleep without getting distracted, then sleep itself becomes wholesome.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying"
***
2] Abu Hurayrah related to us that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Muslims who possess better morals are the most perfect in Faith."
- Abu Da'ud and Darimi
Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies within us while we live.
-Norman Cousins
****
Wherever the delusion of your selfhood appears — there's hell. Wherever "you" aren't – that's heaven.
-Abu Sa'id in Ibn Munawwar, "Asrar at-tawhid"
****
In Buddhism, the source of moral authority is the causal law. Be kind, be just, be humane, be honest if you desire to crown your future. Dishonesty, cruelty, inhumanity will condemn you to a miserable fall.
-Soyen Shaku
***
Vision looks inwards and becomes duty.
Vision looks outwards and becomes aspiration.
Vision looks upwards and becomes faith.
Stephen Samuel Wise
-Norman Cousins
****
Wherever the delusion of your selfhood appears — there's hell. Wherever "you" aren't – that's heaven.
-Abu Sa'id in Ibn Munawwar, "Asrar at-tawhid"
****
In Buddhism, the source of moral authority is the causal law. Be kind, be just, be humane, be honest if you desire to crown your future. Dishonesty, cruelty, inhumanity will condemn you to a miserable fall.
-Soyen Shaku
***
Vision looks inwards and becomes duty.
Vision looks outwards and becomes aspiration.
Vision looks upwards and becomes faith.
Stephen Samuel Wise
I feel very blessed in my life to have a very healthy relationship with a very loving, earthly father.
-Blair Underwood
****
You shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
-Isaiah 55:12
***
The laws of life are five:
Nonviolence,
Truthfulness,
Integrity,
Chastity,
Nonattachment.
These laws are universal. Unaffected by time, place, birth, or circumstance, together they constitute the "Great Law of Life."
-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2:30-31
***
Read the Qur'an as long as you are attentive, but when you feel your attention slip, put the Book away.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Jundub bin Adb'Allah
***
It is essential in Zen study that you do not cling to a sitting cushion for practice. If you sink into oblivion or distraction, or plunge into ease and tranquility, totally unawares, not only will you waste time, you will not be able to digest the offerings of donors. When the light of your eyes falls to the ground one day, in the end what will you rely on?
-Kao-feng
-Blair Underwood
****
You shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
-Isaiah 55:12
***
The laws of life are five:
Nonviolence,
Truthfulness,
Integrity,
Chastity,
Nonattachment.
These laws are universal. Unaffected by time, place, birth, or circumstance, together they constitute the "Great Law of Life."
-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2:30-31
***
Read the Qur'an as long as you are attentive, but when you feel your attention slip, put the Book away.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Jundub bin Adb'Allah
***
It is essential in Zen study that you do not cling to a sitting cushion for practice. If you sink into oblivion or distraction, or plunge into ease and tranquility, totally unawares, not only will you waste time, you will not be able to digest the offerings of donors. When the light of your eyes falls to the ground one day, in the end what will you rely on?
-Kao-feng
The Christian is not one who has gone all the way with Christ. None of us has. The Christian is one who has found the right road.
-Charles L. Allen
***
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver
***
Bear with what they say, and remember Our servant David who was endowed with incredible might and always turned to Us in repentance. Behold, We compelled the mountains to join him in praise of their Lord in the morning and evening, and the birds in all their assemblies were also obedient to him. We made his kingdom strong and endowed him with wisdom and astute judgment.
-Qur'an, Suad, Surah 38:17-21
***
No village law, no law of market town,
No law of a single house is this—
Of all the world and the worlds of gods
This only is the Law, that all things are impermanent.
-"Buddhist Parables," translated by E.W. Burlingame
***
-Charles L. Allen
***
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver
***
Bear with what they say, and remember Our servant David who was endowed with incredible might and always turned to Us in repentance. Behold, We compelled the mountains to join him in praise of their Lord in the morning and evening, and the birds in all their assemblies were also obedient to him. We made his kingdom strong and endowed him with wisdom and astute judgment.
-Qur'an, Suad, Surah 38:17-21
***
No village law, no law of market town,
No law of a single house is this—
Of all the world and the worlds of gods
This only is the Law, that all things are impermanent.
-"Buddhist Parables," translated by E.W. Burlingame
***
One of the key things for people as far as joy is concerned is not living a selfish, self-centered lifestyle where we live our lives expecting everybody else to do something for us.
-Joyce Meyer
****
Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you get neither.
-C.S. Lewis
***
Those who truly know God worship Him with all their resolve; they concede to His ubiquitous bounty and obey all His commandments with the utmost fervor. As their adoration grows so does their obedience, since they are aware that this world is a madhouse and its inhabitants madmen wearing shackles of lust and chains of sin.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
That people are unknowing does not mean that they are unknowing like cows or goats. Even ignorant people look for a pathway to reality. But, searching for it, they often misunderstand what they encounter. They pursue names and categories instead of going beyond that name to that which is real.
-Digha Nikaya
****
"When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere."
La Rochefoucauld
-Joyce Meyer
****
Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you get neither.
-C.S. Lewis
***
Those who truly know God worship Him with all their resolve; they concede to His ubiquitous bounty and obey all His commandments with the utmost fervor. As their adoration grows so does their obedience, since they are aware that this world is a madhouse and its inhabitants madmen wearing shackles of lust and chains of sin.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
That people are unknowing does not mean that they are unknowing like cows or goats. Even ignorant people look for a pathway to reality. But, searching for it, they often misunderstand what they encounter. They pursue names and categories instead of going beyond that name to that which is real.
-Digha Nikaya
****
"When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere."
La Rochefoucauld
I think that that anything you can do that helps to alleviate this huge gaping gap between the rich and the poor will eventually make the world a more peaceful place.
-Susan Sarandon
***
Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.
-Jean Cocteau
***
People differ greatly in the amount of anxiety and worry they can stand: some can endure a great deal without being adversely affected, while others soon show signs of strain. You should observe yourself closely, so that you understand your own powers of endurance. By this means you will learn to divest yourself before any harm is done.
-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki
***
Two from one!
This is the root of suffering.
Only perceive
That I am one without two,
Pure awareness, pure joy,
And all the world is false.
There is no other remedy!
-Ashtavakra Gita 2:16
***
The dharma is such that it cannot be attained by groping or searching about. In the realm of seeing, knowledge perishes. At the moment of attaining, mind is surpassed.
-Dogen, "Moon in a Dewdrop"
-Susan Sarandon
***
Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.
-Jean Cocteau
***
People differ greatly in the amount of anxiety and worry they can stand: some can endure a great deal without being adversely affected, while others soon show signs of strain. You should observe yourself closely, so that you understand your own powers of endurance. By this means you will learn to divest yourself before any harm is done.
-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki
***
Two from one!
This is the root of suffering.
Only perceive
That I am one without two,
Pure awareness, pure joy,
And all the world is false.
There is no other remedy!
-Ashtavakra Gita 2:16
***
The dharma is such that it cannot be attained by groping or searching about. In the realm of seeing, knowledge perishes. At the moment of attaining, mind is surpassed.
-Dogen, "Moon in a Dewdrop"
The gospel is like a lion. It doesn't need to be protected, it needs to be turned loose.
-Unknown
***
When you dig another out of their troubles, you find a place to bury your own.
-Anonymous
***
Better than a gift given with a joyous heart
Are sweet words spoken with a cheerful smile.
-Tirukkural 92
***
If they charge thee with falsehood, say: "My work to me, and yours to you! Ye are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what ye do!"
-Qur'an, Jonah, Surah 10:41
***
The only foundation stone of practice is renunciation.
The only gateway of practice is faith.
The only approach to practice is compassion.
-Jamgon Kontrul, Creation and Completion
***
-Unknown
***
When you dig another out of their troubles, you find a place to bury your own.
-Anonymous
***
Better than a gift given with a joyous heart
Are sweet words spoken with a cheerful smile.
-Tirukkural 92
***
If they charge thee with falsehood, say: "My work to me, and yours to you! Ye are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what ye do!"
-Qur'an, Jonah, Surah 10:41
***
The only foundation stone of practice is renunciation.
The only gateway of practice is faith.
The only approach to practice is compassion.
-Jamgon Kontrul, Creation and Completion
***
The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.
-Corrie Ten Boom
***
Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.
-Buddha
***
God created suffering and heartache, so that joy might be known as their opposite. Hidden things become manifest through their opposites. But God has no opposite; so he remains hidden. Light is known as the opposite of darkness. But God's light has no opposite. Thus we cannot know him through our eyes.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
It is my belief that whereas the twentieth century has been a century of war and untold suffering, the twenty-first century should be one of peace and dialogue. As the continued advances in information technology make our world a truly global village, I believe there will come a time when war and armed conflict will be considered an outdated and obsolete method of settling differences among nations and communities.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
-Corrie Ten Boom
***
Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.
-Buddha
***
God created suffering and heartache, so that joy might be known as their opposite. Hidden things become manifest through their opposites. But God has no opposite; so he remains hidden. Light is known as the opposite of darkness. But God's light has no opposite. Thus we cannot know him through our eyes.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
It is my belief that whereas the twentieth century has been a century of war and untold suffering, the twenty-first century should be one of peace and dialogue. As the continued advances in information technology make our world a truly global village, I believe there will come a time when war and armed conflict will be considered an outdated and obsolete method of settling differences among nations and communities.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Help yourself and heaven will help you.
-Jean de la Fontaine
***
The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him.
-William McGill
***
Indeed the whole world is imagination.
Only He is the real in Reality.
Whoever understands this
knows the secrets of the spiritual path.
-Ibn 'Arabi, "Masters of the Path"
***
Destiny's last days may surge with oceanic change,
Yet men deemed perfectly good remain, like the shore, unchanged.
-Tirukkural 99:988
***
"Don't judge each day by the harvest
you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson
-Jean de la Fontaine
***
The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him.
-William McGill
***
Indeed the whole world is imagination.
Only He is the real in Reality.
Whoever understands this
knows the secrets of the spiritual path.
-Ibn 'Arabi, "Masters of the Path"
***
Destiny's last days may surge with oceanic change,
Yet men deemed perfectly good remain, like the shore, unchanged.
-Tirukkural 99:988
***
"Don't judge each day by the harvest
you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson
True humility doesn't consist of thinking ill of yourself but of not thinking of yourself much differently from the way you'd be apt to think of anybody else.
-Frederick Buechner
***
A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs --jolted by every pebble in the road.
-Henry Ward Beecher
****
As a great fish swims between the banks of a river as it likes, so does the shining Self move between the states of dreaming and waking.
-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
***
Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware, and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this each day, your meditation will have been successful.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
***
5] It is related by Jarir bin 'Abdullah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "They will not obtain the mercy of God in whose hearts there is no mercy for others."
- Bukhari and Muslim
-Frederick Buechner
***
A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs --jolted by every pebble in the road.
-Henry Ward Beecher
****
As a great fish swims between the banks of a river as it likes, so does the shining Self move between the states of dreaming and waking.
-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
***
Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware, and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this each day, your meditation will have been successful.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
***
5] It is related by Jarir bin 'Abdullah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "They will not obtain the mercy of God in whose hearts there is no mercy for others."
- Bukhari and Muslim
Wishing will never be a substitute for prayer.
-Ed Cole
***
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
-Yiddish proverb
***
Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose. Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
-Bhagavad Gita 16:13–18
***
Among them are those who adjure, "Our Lord! Bestow upon us in this world that which is worthy and also in the hereafter that which is superlative, and save us from the doom of the Fire."
-Qur'an, Al-Baqara, Surah 2:201
***
Explaining many profound dharmas is easy; living them yourself is hard.
-Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"
-Ed Cole
***
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
-Yiddish proverb
***
Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose. Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
-Bhagavad Gita 16:13–18
***
Among them are those who adjure, "Our Lord! Bestow upon us in this world that which is worthy and also in the hereafter that which is superlative, and save us from the doom of the Fire."
-Qur'an, Al-Baqara, Surah 2:201
***
Explaining many profound dharmas is easy; living them yourself is hard.
-Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Sufi Master-Sheikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's Quotation from his books
"Within your heart in a space no bigger than an atom, God has placed the 18,000 universes, good and evil, and the wisdom to differentiate between them. That is your farmland. If you plow that land deep with your wisdom and sow God's qualities and actions with the knowledge of the difference between good and evil, you will receive the wealth of your soul, the bountiful harvest of undiminishing grace."
Book: The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh
"What we are slaves to will prevent us from praying to God. If we are slaves to all the thoughts we think, if we are slaves to everything our eyes see, if we are slaves to all the music our ears hear, if we are slaves to everything the nose smells and the tongue tastes, if we are slaves to everything the body wants, then how can we ever reach a state of peace? We can never know peace or tranquility this way. We have to escape from this slavery and become a slave only to God."
Book: Questions of Life-Answers of Wisdom Vol.1
"Always use positive words, and never use negative or evil words. Cultivate good thoughts, not bad thoughts. Make sure your intentions are constructive intentions. Never be jealous; be grateful. Be tolerant, peaceful, and honest instead of vengeful. Always be compassionate, never proud and arrogant. Praise God, because God is the Deserving One. You need these in your life. If you can teach yourself to follow these suggestions, you will have a very good life."
Book: God's Psychology
"You must place your faith in the one indestructible, imperishable God. To do this, you must stop depending on the kings, forces, and armies within you. When you give up all this and stand defenseless and alone, saying, O God, it is all Your will! The sheikh will stand by your side. It is only when you surrender to Allah that the sheikh, who is the explaining wisdom of the Qutbiyyat which guides you on the path of God, will come to stand by your side. 'Son' he will say, 'Now you are ready. Come, let us go'."
Book: The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh
"This is the only path on which we can proceed with ease. It is the path to the freedom of our soul. Therefore, may we protect ourselves and give love to others. May we protect others as we would protect ourselves, love our neighbors as ourselves, and make all mankind our relatives, our brothers and sisters. May we make everyone our loved ones and help them become those who trust in God. May we all go together on this path as the followers of God, as the representatives of God, as the children of the one Father."
Book: To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life
"To all those who say they believe in God, please realize with faith that God hears every word you say. God hears your every thought. Realizing this, speak only what is truth and act only with God's qualities of love, compassion, justice, patience, and the realization that each life is as important as your own."
Book: To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's website is http://www.bmf.org
"Within your heart in a space no bigger than an atom, God has placed the 18,000 universes, good and evil, and the wisdom to differentiate between them. That is your farmland. If you plow that land deep with your wisdom and sow God's qualities and actions with the knowledge of the difference between good and evil, you will receive the wealth of your soul, the bountiful harvest of undiminishing grace."
Book: The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh
"What we are slaves to will prevent us from praying to God. If we are slaves to all the thoughts we think, if we are slaves to everything our eyes see, if we are slaves to all the music our ears hear, if we are slaves to everything the nose smells and the tongue tastes, if we are slaves to everything the body wants, then how can we ever reach a state of peace? We can never know peace or tranquility this way. We have to escape from this slavery and become a slave only to God."
Book: Questions of Life-Answers of Wisdom Vol.1
"Always use positive words, and never use negative or evil words. Cultivate good thoughts, not bad thoughts. Make sure your intentions are constructive intentions. Never be jealous; be grateful. Be tolerant, peaceful, and honest instead of vengeful. Always be compassionate, never proud and arrogant. Praise God, because God is the Deserving One. You need these in your life. If you can teach yourself to follow these suggestions, you will have a very good life."
Book: God's Psychology
"You must place your faith in the one indestructible, imperishable God. To do this, you must stop depending on the kings, forces, and armies within you. When you give up all this and stand defenseless and alone, saying, O God, it is all Your will! The sheikh will stand by your side. It is only when you surrender to Allah that the sheikh, who is the explaining wisdom of the Qutbiyyat which guides you on the path of God, will come to stand by your side. 'Son' he will say, 'Now you are ready. Come, let us go'."
Book: The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh
"This is the only path on which we can proceed with ease. It is the path to the freedom of our soul. Therefore, may we protect ourselves and give love to others. May we protect others as we would protect ourselves, love our neighbors as ourselves, and make all mankind our relatives, our brothers and sisters. May we make everyone our loved ones and help them become those who trust in God. May we all go together on this path as the followers of God, as the representatives of God, as the children of the one Father."
Book: To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life
"To all those who say they believe in God, please realize with faith that God hears every word you say. God hears your every thought. Realizing this, speak only what is truth and act only with God's qualities of love, compassion, justice, patience, and the realization that each life is as important as your own."
Book: To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's website is http://www.bmf.org
When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy.
-Corrie Ten Boom
***
Love has the innate ability to look past the human and see the godly.
-Colette Burnham (submitted by L8DeBugg)
***
From him come all the seas and the mountains,
The rivers and the plants that support life.
As the innermost Self of all, he dwells
Within the cavern of the heart.
-Mundaka Upanishad
***
God does not require his servants to be perfectly clean; indeed, he never requires his servants to do anything that is impossible.
-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki
***
If you can only rid yourselves of conceptual thought, you will have accomplished everything.
-Huang Po, "Zen Teaching of Huang Po"
-Corrie Ten Boom
***
Love has the innate ability to look past the human and see the godly.
-Colette Burnham (submitted by L8DeBugg)
***
From him come all the seas and the mountains,
The rivers and the plants that support life.
As the innermost Self of all, he dwells
Within the cavern of the heart.
-Mundaka Upanishad
***
God does not require his servants to be perfectly clean; indeed, he never requires his servants to do anything that is impossible.
-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki
***
If you can only rid yourselves of conceptual thought, you will have accomplished everything.
-Huang Po, "Zen Teaching of Huang Po"
We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way and pray another.
-William Law
***
Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.
-Ovid
***
If given with love, a handful is sufficient.
-Telugu proverb
***
If you persevere in adversity and depend on God, then know that He will remove your afflictions and bestow vast blessings upon you. For in His Book God promises, "Those who depend upon Allah, Allah bestows His bounty upon them and provides for them from means unknown." Therefore follow the road of patience and rejoice in His infinite bounty.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani
***
-William Law
***
Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.
-Ovid
***
If given with love, a handful is sufficient.
-Telugu proverb
***
If you persevere in adversity and depend on God, then know that He will remove your afflictions and bestow vast blessings upon you. For in His Book God promises, "Those who depend upon Allah, Allah bestows His bounty upon them and provides for them from means unknown." Therefore follow the road of patience and rejoice in His infinite bounty.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani
***
If Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it, however helpful it might be: if it is true, every honest man will want to believe it, even if it gives him no help at all.
-C.S. Lewis
***
In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
-Deepak Chopra
***
Religions are different roads converging on the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal? I believe that all religions of the world are true more or less. I say "more or less" because I believe that everything the human hand touches, by reason of the very fact that human beings are imperfect, becomes imperfect.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Reprinted with permission
***
The threshold between right and wrong is pain.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Imagine All the People
***
6] It is related by 'Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "God will have mercy upon them that are merciful. Treat kindly the dwellers of the earth; He who dwells in the heaven will treat you kindly."
- Abu Da'ud and Tirmidhi
-C.S. Lewis
***
In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
-Deepak Chopra
***
Religions are different roads converging on the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal? I believe that all religions of the world are true more or less. I say "more or less" because I believe that everything the human hand touches, by reason of the very fact that human beings are imperfect, becomes imperfect.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Reprinted with permission
***
The threshold between right and wrong is pain.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Imagine All the People
***
6] It is related by 'Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "God will have mercy upon them that are merciful. Treat kindly the dwellers of the earth; He who dwells in the heaven will treat you kindly."
- Abu Da'ud and Tirmidhi
Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.
-Mother Teresa
***
Persevere, have faith in His benevolence.
Through afflictions God only tests your faith;
He is completely aware of your condition.
Have patience and wait for the divine decree.
Do not become like the foolish laborer
who is removed from the king's palace
for demanding his wages ahead of time.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"
***
Perennial joy or passing pleasure?
This is the choice one is to make always.
The wise recognize these two, but not
The ignorant. The first welcome what leads
To abiding joy, though painful at the time.
The latter run, goaded by their senses,
After what seems immediate pleasure.
-Katha Upanishad
***
Look around your neighborhood today. Who needs help and how can you help? Once you’re open to helping out, you can be sure your angel will know where to send you.
-Margaret Neylon
-Mother Teresa
***
Persevere, have faith in His benevolence.
Through afflictions God only tests your faith;
He is completely aware of your condition.
Have patience and wait for the divine decree.
Do not become like the foolish laborer
who is removed from the king's palace
for demanding his wages ahead of time.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"
***
Perennial joy or passing pleasure?
This is the choice one is to make always.
The wise recognize these two, but not
The ignorant. The first welcome what leads
To abiding joy, though painful at the time.
The latter run, goaded by their senses,
After what seems immediate pleasure.
-Katha Upanishad
***
Look around your neighborhood today. Who needs help and how can you help? Once you’re open to helping out, you can be sure your angel will know where to send you.
-Margaret Neylon