Category: Quotes

People often become confused about selflessness because they sense a continuity in their experience. But selflessness does not imply a lack of continuity. When we think of a seed becoming a sapling and then becoming a tree which bears fruit, we find a continuity in that process even though there is no single element which… Continue reading

When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into its dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment, or awakening to our true nature, to our fundamental goodness. Another word for this is freedom—freedom from struggling against… Continue reading

There are many quotes from the Buddha on impermanence, but the one I’d like to share comes from the Dhammapada. It beautifully encapsulates the Buddhist path: “All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.” This quote resonates with me because it highlights the importance of both impermanence… Continue reading

Quote for the Week I saw that suffering doesn’t have to disappear in order for beauty to be there, that life is about all of these things at once. It was a moment of cultivating equanimity, this ability to hold everything. How Equanimity Powers Love ~ Kaira Jewel Lingo

Equanimity is one of the most sublime emotions of Buddhist practice. It is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love. While some may think of equanimity as dry neutrality or cool aloofness, mature equanimity produces a radiance and warmth of being. Equanimity ~ Gil Fronsdal

It is really important that there be a sense of joy in our practice. Joy doesn’t mean that we just have pleasant sensations, blissful experiences, or happy thoughts. It is some­thing much deeper than that. If we are going to be able to really sustain a vital and deepening spiritual practice in our lives, that… Continue reading

Sympathetic joy or being happy for another’s happiness (Pali: mudita) is one of the four brahmaviharas, the four highest qualities of the heart. In recent years, the other three—loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity—have received quite a lot of attention from practitioners, researchers, and the press alike. But sympathetic joy has gotten little attention. How can that… Continue reading

The moment of compassion any one of us feels is as pure, as deep, as direct [as a moment of compassion by the Dalai Lama]; but what happens is that we get lost more often. We get distracted, we forget, we get caught up in something else. But we don’t necessar­ily have to make our… Continue reading

Self-compassion is the most radically transformative practice that I’ve stumbled upon in more than 30 years of exploring Buddhism. It’s helped me to cope with many difficulties I’ve faced, ranging from the mundane challenge of a child’s tantrum, to financial problems and even serious illness. It’s helped me to become kinder and more compassionate not… Continue reading

In a very real way the domain of the people we initially feel indifferent toward is the most generous and selfless domain of the path of metta. Cultivating metta with those we feel indifferent toward is an act of profound generosity and care. Indifference disappears in any moment we see another person wholeheartedly. ~ Christina… Continue reading