Best 3315 quotes in «buddhism quotes» category

No lifetime is a loss if you've leaned something, because that learning stays with you. There is no such thing as a wasted life, if you have learned.

No matter how many times you have failed you must keep going forward. Only when you have become humble will you begin to grasp the meaning of life.

None of this matters a bit. Yet, of course, it matters at that moment. So we try to be mindful of the moment; but it's fleeting.

Not all teachers utilize both forms of light.In certain circles, those teachers who can manifest the light of samadhi but not the mystical light have put down the mystical light.

note the similarities with buddhism a buddhist who has achieved nirvana is not sad primarily because it does not know the concept of sad [...]

Nothing is distinct and separate. The waves of the ocean arise and have a separate birth, crashing on the shore, but then back into the ocean they go. They never left it. There is no movement in Nirvana.

Nothing lasts forever - except forever. That's the good news. It's a good thing that nothing lasts forever because things would get terribly boring.

Not to follow the dharma leads to disaster. Life will be unhappy.

Now however, we have contraception and it's mostly reliable so you can have sex without that happening. So then you start vilifying the act of sex itself. I don't think Buddhism has ever done that necessarily, or at least I'm not aware of Buddhism taking the stance that Christianity often has which says that sex itself is a kind of evil act, which is a really weird idea.

Now, tantra is a little bit different than other forms of Buddhism because in tantra what we do is we use the sensorial worlds as access points or pathways to ineffability.

Obstructions on the way to enlightenment, are you kidding? Hey, they crucify people here. You think this is an easy place?

Obviously there is a lot more ecstasy in the spirit than in the flesh but the flesh has its moments!

Occupy yourself with what's in your life now. Address those situations and subjects as fully as possible with your best efforts. That is what produces happiness and clarity and knowledge and power.

Obviously, following my convictions has come at a personal price, but they are important enough that I have been willing to endure the abuse.

Occasionally at a Center Meeting, not that often, every couple of months, I'll break down and demonstrate a little mystical kundalini; but not that often, simply because it wouldn't be that effective.

Occasionally in my travels I meet people who have pushed too far into the nagual. These individuals are not too balanced but they have made great journeys in the unknown.

Of course, there are the old hardcore teacher types like me who sit around and tell jokes, realizing, what's the difference anyway - it's all timeless.

Often, everywhere we look, we seem to find obstacles and facades and smokescreens, so it was really nice to find things in the world that actually spoke to me. And I felt like Eastern thought really spoke to me. Because it isn't trying to cover up the pain in life; it's trying to deal with it and overcome it in an intelligent way. I think the reason I love Eastern thought so much, and mysticism in general - but especially Buddhism - is because it seems to me an attempt to look life squarely in the face, as it is.

OK, you're alive. How aware are you, of anything? Can you see eternity? Do you live in the land of the perpetually happy?

On days when the sky is grey, the sun has not disappeared forever.

Once in a while, you will see someone really drippy. The person has to stare at the teacher all the time with that devoted and disgusting and sick look. It's boring, misplaced devotionalism.

Once we have conceived of time and space, once we have accepted their existence, then that implies that there is a structural order to bonding realities.

Once you are enlightened, you can do whatever you want without fear or sorrow. You can go snowboarding, get married, stay single, be rich and famous, or live unknown in a high Himalayan cave. It is up to you.

Once again, we are reminded that awakening, or enlightenment is not the property of Buddhism, any more than Truth is the property of Christianity. Neither the Buddha nor the Christ belongs exclusively to the communities that were founded in their names. They belong to all people of goodwill, all who are attentive to the secret which lives in the depths of their breath and their consciousness.

One evening you may learn about enlightenment, koans, meditation and personal power.

One day you wake up and you decide you want to be different. You want a different life. You are tired of your old life. This is the truth. You will a change.

One function of the intellect is to catalog. But cataloging doesn't change anything. If we call it a rose, or by any other name, it still smells as sweet. The name doesn't really matter. It is convenient for us.

One day you will arrive at a station on the train of existence that you've always known has been there. You'll find there will be no train in sight, with no sense of arrival. There is only a perpetual arrival, a timeless condition of infinite awareness.

One day liberation will come, and it won't be a day; it won't be a year; it won't be a time, a place or a condition. It will be immortality reflecting through you. What will you do then?

One doesn't actually meditate on the navel. The chakra is located about two or three inches below the navel, at that point there is an energy access sphere in the middle of the body.

One interesting thing about greed is that although the underlying motive is to seek satisfaction, the irony is that even after obtaining the object of your desire you are still not satisfied. The true antidote of greed is contentment.

One of the cardinal principles of Buddhism, the principle of neglect.

One nationality supresses another. One religion claimsto be the exclusive way to truth or god.

One of the greatest mistakes that people make who pursue self-discovery is they neglect to develop their careers. There is a popular notion that those who seek enlightenment should abandon the things of this world.

One of Buddhism’s main practices is understanding and experiencing compassion, and how that ultimately is a road to happiness.

One of the effects of religions getting together is that they borrow from one another. An example is the growing number of Catholics who are practicing Yoga and meditation techniques borrowed from Buddhism and Hinduism. So there are these borrowings which I think fertilize the religions.

One or two of my friends set longevity records for people who had AIDS. What they did, incredibly hard though it was, was to practice meditation, positive thinking and they worked out physically quite a bit.

One should never become devoted to a teacher, any more than one should become devoted to a statue of a god. There is only one thing to be devoted to, and that is your mind.

One person's cult is another person's spiritual organization.

One should rest with a peaceful and loving mind. Even wrathful emanating Buddhas manifest solely out of the wish to liberate beings.

One should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world.

Only the fool wants to go into battle to beat someone for the satisfaction of beating someone.

Only the ego can fear, experience hate, lust and jealousy. Humility experiences none of these things - it merges into the transcendental awareness of perfection.

One thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the support for this larger vision of values.

One, who studies the ways of power, seeks to end the imprinting process because in imprinting we loser power, we lose attention; we are formatted to do certain things.

Only a pure heart, a completely pure heart can house eternity.

Only the enlightened are consistently happy. Their happiness is not predicated upon the events and experiences that take place in this world. Instead it is based on the boundless inner energy they gain from their connection with the world of enlightenment.

Only when you are by yourself can you realize how wonderful you are.

On the day that you were born, you began to die. Do not waste a single moment more!

On your journey, remember there is no end. That is true knowledge. There is no final knowledge. There is no final enlightenment, that is a very finite, human way of seeing things.