the past is past

"You see, the past is past, and the future is yet to come. That means the future is in your hands—the future entirely depends on the present. That realization gives you a great responsibility."

- H.H. the Dalai Lama, "The Experience of Change", tricycle.com

cultivating skillful attitudes of mind

"Skillful attitudes of mind are the key to facing potentially explosive situations and the ongoing highs and lows of life and practice. In fact, recognizing these attitudes and cultivating their antidotes is the foundation for all spiritual growth. By cultivating skillful attitudes of mind, we will respond to more and more of life with awareness and wisdom."

- Steve Armstrong, “Got Attitude?”, tricycle.com

what the world needs

“What the world needs is not more oil or food, but more love and generosity, less greed and more kindness and understanding.”

- Jack Kornfield. “Bringing Home the Dharma.” Shambhala Publications.

here and now is it

“Now isn’t preparation for later. Here and now is it. There is a spaciousness, an acceptance of what is in the moment, that says, “Yes, ah so!” to everything, whether it’s ugly, beautiful, boring, confused, dead, angry, the dark night of the soul, or the brilliant light of the spirit. This is just the way it is.”

- Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das. “Polishing the Mirror.” Sounds True.

we can always try a little more

"It’s definitely the case that we can practice at any given moment. We can always try a little more to be kind, to be compassionate and be careful about what we do and say and so forth."

- Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, "Keeping a Good Heart.", tricycle.com

pay attention

"Life is profound if you’re awake to see it. It’s one thing to draw from culture, it’s another thing to be drawn so deeply into the culture that your true nature disappears. Wisdom is not merely something to be gained with old age. One can be wise in every stage of one’s life. To manifest wisdom means simply to step back and see—to reflect, inquire, be aware, be disciplined, and be focused not once in a while, but all of the time, moment to moment. This life is precious and fleeting. Pay attention."

- Seido Ray Ronci, "The Examined Life", tricycle.com

it is better to give unasked

“It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;”

- Kahlil Gibran. “The Prophet.” Vigo Books, 2010-11-01.

you and I are paying the price

“You and I are paying the price for having grown up in a materially oriented society that values people in terms of their products, their achievements, and their ability to consume, instead of cultivating the quality of their being.”

- Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das. “Polishing the Mirror.” Sounds True.

love is our true nature

“Love is our true nature, but it is often covered over by a protective layer of fear.”

- Jack Kornfield. “Bringing Home the Dharma.” Shambhala Publications.

emotional suffering

“a lot of your emotional suffering is created by your models of how you think the universe should be and your inability to allow it to be as it is.”

- Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das. “Polishing the Mirror.” Sounds True.

how you think it ought to be

“As long as you have some desire about how you think it ought to be, you can’t hear how it is.”

- Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das. “Polishing the Mirror.” Sounds True.

how the child turns out

“Your job is to love and nurture, feed and clothe, take care and guard the safety of the child, and guide him or her with your moral compass. But how the child turns out is how the child turns out. Ultimately he or she is not your child; who they turn out to be is up to God and their own karma.”

- Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das. “Polishing the Mirror.” Sounds True.

one breath at a time

“If you have to let go of distractions and begin again thousands of times, fine. That’s not a roadblock to the practice—that is the practice. That’s life: starting over, one breath at a time.”

- Sharon Salzberg. “Real Happiness - Enhanced Ebook Edition.” Workman Publishing, 2010.

relaxed perseverance

"The desire to know something is wisdom at work. Being mindful is not difficult. But it’s difficult to be continuously aware. For that you need right effort. But it does not require a great deal of energy. It’s relaxed perseverance in reminding yourself to be aware. When you are aware, wisdom unfolds naturally, and there is still more interest."

- Sayadaw U Tejaniya, "The Wise Investigator", tricycle.com

those that lead to insight and balance

“I like the Buddhist tradition of replacing the modifiers “good” and “bad” to describe human behavior with “skillful” and “unskillful.” Unskillful actions are those that lead to pain and suffering; skillful actions are those that lead to insight and balance.”

- Sharon Salzberg. “Real Happiness - Enhanced Ebook Edition.” Workman Publishing, 2010.