Dharma Quotes
Quotes tagged as "dharma"
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“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don鈥檛 really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It鈥檚 just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”
― When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
― When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

“When the mind is exhausted of images, it invents its own.”
― Earth House Hold: Technical Notes & Queries to Fellow Dharma Revolutionaries
― Earth House Hold: Technical Notes & Queries to Fellow Dharma Revolutionaries

“The Buddha's original teaching is essentially a matter of four points -- the Four Noble Truths:
1. Anguish is everywhere.
2. We desire permanent existence of ourselves and for our loved ones, and we desire to prove ourselves independent of others and superior to them. These desires conflict with the way things are: nothing abides, and everything and everyone depends upon everything and everyone else. This conflict causes our anguish, and we project this anguish on those we meet.
3. Release from anguish comes with the personal acknowledgment and resolve: we are here together very briefly, so let us accept reality fully and take care of one another while we can.
4. This acknowledgement and resolve are realized by following the Eightfold Path: Right Views, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Recollection, and Right Meditation. Here "Right" means "correct" or "accurate" -- in keeping with the reality of impermanence and interdependence.”
― The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice
1. Anguish is everywhere.
2. We desire permanent existence of ourselves and for our loved ones, and we desire to prove ourselves independent of others and superior to them. These desires conflict with the way things are: nothing abides, and everything and everyone depends upon everything and everyone else. This conflict causes our anguish, and we project this anguish on those we meet.
3. Release from anguish comes with the personal acknowledgment and resolve: we are here together very briefly, so let us accept reality fully and take care of one another while we can.
4. This acknowledgement and resolve are realized by following the Eightfold Path: Right Views, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Recollection, and Right Meditation. Here "Right" means "correct" or "accurate" -- in keeping with the reality of impermanence and interdependence.”
― The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice

“Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.”
― The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind
― The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind

“Of course, even when you see the world as a trap and posit a fundamental separation between liberation of self and transformation of society, you can still feel a compassionate impulse to help its suffering beings. In that case you tend to view the personal and the political in a sequential fashion. "I'll get enlightened first, and then I'll engage in social action." Those who are not engaged in spiritual pursuits put it differently: "I'll get my head straight first, I'll get psychoanalyzed, I'll overcome my inhibitions or neuroses or my hang-ups (whatever description you give to samsara) and then I'll wade into the fray." Presupposing that world and self are essentially separate, they imagine they can heal one before healing the other. This stance conveys the impression that human consciousness inhabits some haven, or locker-room, independent of the collective situation -- and then trots onto the playing field when it is geared up and ready.
It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up -- release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast, true nature. For some of us, our love of the world is so passionate that we cannot ask it to wait until we are enlightened.”
― World as Lover, World as Self
It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up -- release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast, true nature. For some of us, our love of the world is so passionate that we cannot ask it to wait until we are enlightened.”
― World as Lover, World as Self

“The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the lion, the horse, how he shall take his prey.”
― The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
― The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded us with a living presence as intimate and pulsing as our own bodies. In that primal intimacy, which anthropologists call "participation mystique," we were as one with our world as a child in the mother's womb.
Then self-consciousness arose and gave us distance on our world. We needed that distance in order to make decisions and strategies, in order to measure, judge and to monitor our judgments. With the emergence of free-will, the fall out of the Garden of Eden, the second movement began -- the lonely and heroic journey of the ego. Nowadays, yearning to reclaim a sense of wholeness, some of us tend to disparage that movement of separation from nature, but it brought us great gains for which we can be grateful. The distanced and observing eye brought us tools of science, and a priceless view of the vast, orderly intricacy of our world. The recognition of our individuality brought us trial by jury and the Bill of Rights.
Now, harvesting these gains, we are ready to return. The third movement begins. Having gained distance and sophistication of perception, we can turn and recognize who we have been all along. Now it can dawn on us: we are our world knowing itself. We can relinquish our separateness. We can come home again -- and participate in our world in a richer, more responsible and poignantly beautiful way than before, in our infancy.”
― World as Lover, World as Self
Then self-consciousness arose and gave us distance on our world. We needed that distance in order to make decisions and strategies, in order to measure, judge and to monitor our judgments. With the emergence of free-will, the fall out of the Garden of Eden, the second movement began -- the lonely and heroic journey of the ego. Nowadays, yearning to reclaim a sense of wholeness, some of us tend to disparage that movement of separation from nature, but it brought us great gains for which we can be grateful. The distanced and observing eye brought us tools of science, and a priceless view of the vast, orderly intricacy of our world. The recognition of our individuality brought us trial by jury and the Bill of Rights.
Now, harvesting these gains, we are ready to return. The third movement begins. Having gained distance and sophistication of perception, we can turn and recognize who we have been all along. Now it can dawn on us: we are our world knowing itself. We can relinquish our separateness. We can come home again -- and participate in our world in a richer, more responsible and poignantly beautiful way than before, in our infancy.”
― World as Lover, World as Self
“This is what the path of Dharma is like. It's not that you have to do all the practices. It is sufficient to take just one of them, whichever one you really have an affinity with, and through practicing that one alone, for the rest of your life, you will achieve enlightenment. Whichever practice you choose doesn't matter; they are all valid methods for achieving enlightenment鈥攊f you practice. The key is to practice with diligence for the rest of your life.”
― The Union of Dzogchen and Mahamudra
― The Union of Dzogchen and Mahamudra

“This stuff of a past not worthily lived is also medicine.”
― The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom
― The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom
“Although I too am within Amida's grasp,
Passions obstruct my eyes and I cannot see him;
Nevertheless, great compassion is untiring and illumines me always.”
―
Passions obstruct my eyes and I cannot see him;
Nevertheless, great compassion is untiring and illumines me always.”
―
“Naturally occurring timeless awareness鈥攗tterly lucid awakened mind鈥�
is something marvelous and superb, primordially and spontaneously present.
It is the treasury from which comes the universe of appearances and possibilities, whether of samsara or nirvana.
Homage to the unwavering state, free of elaborations.”
―
is something marvelous and superb, primordially and spontaneously present.
It is the treasury from which comes the universe of appearances and possibilities, whether of samsara or nirvana.
Homage to the unwavering state, free of elaborations.”
―

“Buddhism is a religion of the heart. Only this. One who practices to develop the heart is one who practices Buddhism [...] Use your heart to listen to the Teachings, not your ears.”
― Reflections
― Reflections
“All phenomena are embraced within a single self-knowing awareness.
Even though they arise as the totality of samsara and nirvana,
the phenomena of the world of appearances and possibilities鈥�
limitless, boundless鈥攁rise from basic space.
Therefore, they are subsumed within basic space from which the first arise.”
―
Even though they arise as the totality of samsara and nirvana,
the phenomena of the world of appearances and possibilities鈥�
limitless, boundless鈥攁rise from basic space.
Therefore, they are subsumed within basic space from which the first arise.”
―

“The Buddhist teachings move along a graduated path: first the stages of calm abiding and then the stages of deep insight. Through such gradual practices, lamas of the past gave birth to realization in their mental continuum and discovered primordial wisdom. All the qualities that the great masters found, we can attain as well. It all depends on our own efforts, our diligence, our deeper knowing, and our correct motivation. 鈥� 17th Karmapa”
― Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
― Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje

“Yudhishthira,鈥� said Krishna with a smile,
鈥渢ime flows on, day by day, and waits for no one.
We do not know when we will meet our death.
To hesitate, to turn away from dharma,
Never prolongs life. But it costs a man
His honor 鈥� and that loss is worse than death.
Do not divide your mind against itself
Through doubt and paralyzing cogitation.
The great man acts, as time demands of him.”
― Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling
鈥渢ime flows on, day by day, and waits for no one.
We do not know when we will meet our death.
To hesitate, to turn away from dharma,
Never prolongs life. But it costs a man
His honor 鈥� and that loss is worse than death.
Do not divide your mind against itself
Through doubt and paralyzing cogitation.
The great man acts, as time demands of him.”
― Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling

“Please explain to me," Yudhishthira asked him, "why the wicked prosper, while such as I, who strive to follow virtue, have to suffer?"
Lomasha said, "If you take the long view the wicked do not flourish. They are like plants with showy flowers but weak and shallow roots. The virtuous are well grounded in dharma and, through devoted discipline, they weather bad times and good, seeing them as the same. Like the demons before them, wicked people lose direction, and fall prey to discord. Given to restless searching after pleasure, true and lasting happiness eludes them.”
― Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling
Lomasha said, "If you take the long view the wicked do not flourish. They are like plants with showy flowers but weak and shallow roots. The virtuous are well grounded in dharma and, through devoted discipline, they weather bad times and good, seeing them as the same. Like the demons before them, wicked people lose direction, and fall prey to discord. Given to restless searching after pleasure, true and lasting happiness eludes them.”
― Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling
“With upraised arms I cry, but no one listens. From Dharma comes wealth, power, and the sensuous pleasure of life. Why don't people practice virtue?”
― Mahabharata
― Mahabharata

“People with four kids will eventually inherit the wealth of those with one鈥攏o preparation can save you if you're not having children; it's just a matter of time.
Along with the wealth you're trying so hard to accumulate, you'll lose your history, civilization, culture, philosophies, identity, faith, and everything that defines you.
You will exist as if you never existed.”
―
Along with the wealth you're trying so hard to accumulate, you'll lose your history, civilization, culture, philosophies, identity, faith, and everything that defines you.
You will exist as if you never existed.”
―
“There is no way to attain enlightenment on one's own. Such a thing has never happened in infinite aeons. Shravakas and pratyekabuddhas who appear when a buddha is not manifest in this world can realize the twelve branches of interdependent origination and attain arhatship. They aren't, however, able to attain complete enlightenment and cannot benefit beings in a vast way; they can only liberate themselves from the sufferings of cyclic existence, and their realization is far from complete enlightenment.
In the Sutrayana, one studies and analyzes the teachings and texts, but no matter how extensive the teachings are, they are all based on the essential nature. The Buddha provided many different levels of teaching, which can be categorized into provisional and definitive meaning. These teachings can be studied, analyzed, and examined, but they're not so easy to understand. For instance, when great scholars, such as khenpos, give detailed Sutrayana teachings, the students listen, reflect on, and analyze the teachings and debate on them. They rely on the texts that they have been taught.”
― An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang Penor Rinpoche
In the Sutrayana, one studies and analyzes the teachings and texts, but no matter how extensive the teachings are, they are all based on the essential nature. The Buddha provided many different levels of teaching, which can be categorized into provisional and definitive meaning. These teachings can be studied, analyzed, and examined, but they're not so easy to understand. For instance, when great scholars, such as khenpos, give detailed Sutrayana teachings, the students listen, reflect on, and analyze the teachings and debate on them. They rely on the texts that they have been taught.”
― An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang Penor Rinpoche
“In Tibet, there were innumerable great scholars and bodhisattvas, but unless a scholar was told by his root guru to compose a commentary on a specific text or received a prediction from his yidam deity, he would not write one. Even when great scholars or bodhisattvas did write something, they would first check themselves to make sure that their intention was not merely to win respect, prove themselves to be a great scholar, gain material wealth, or acquire a good reputation. As every Dharma text is meant to benefit being and guide them on the spiritual path, they would only write if they had a pure, unselfish motivation.
Even in the context of the Sutrayana path, though the past great scholars and realized beings wrote many commentaries on the Buddha's teachings, these writings would first be examined by other great scholars to determine whether the text was in exact accord with the Buddha's teachings. If the text did agree with the Buddha's teachings, it would be presented to the Dharma king and discussed with him. If they all agreed that the text was qualified, the writer would be invited to discuss the text and answer questions from the Dharma king and the scholars. If it was perfect and qualified as a text that could benefit beings, the author would be recognized as a good scholar and the text would be respected. If the author claimed to be a scholar but wrote a commentary that the others found not to be in accordance with the Buddha's teachings and therefore not beneficial, they would proclaim that the text had no value. It would be tied to a dog's tail, and after the dog had run around with it for a while, the text would be thrown into a fire. This was because a commentary would be read by many people, and if it was not in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha, readers could develop wrong views, create negative karma, and fall into the lower realms in their next life.”
― An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang Penor Rinpoche
Even in the context of the Sutrayana path, though the past great scholars and realized beings wrote many commentaries on the Buddha's teachings, these writings would first be examined by other great scholars to determine whether the text was in exact accord with the Buddha's teachings. If the text did agree with the Buddha's teachings, it would be presented to the Dharma king and discussed with him. If they all agreed that the text was qualified, the writer would be invited to discuss the text and answer questions from the Dharma king and the scholars. If it was perfect and qualified as a text that could benefit beings, the author would be recognized as a good scholar and the text would be respected. If the author claimed to be a scholar but wrote a commentary that the others found not to be in accordance with the Buddha's teachings and therefore not beneficial, they would proclaim that the text had no value. It would be tied to a dog's tail, and after the dog had run around with it for a while, the text would be thrown into a fire. This was because a commentary would be read by many people, and if it was not in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha, readers could develop wrong views, create negative karma, and fall into the lower realms in their next life.”
― An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang Penor Rinpoche

“Live the remaining years of your life while moving from karma to dharma each day.”
― Higher Science of Longevity
― Higher Science of Longevity
“From the Nyingma perspective, without emphasis on realization in this life, Buddhism will produce good people but not awakened saints. Thus their critique of a life consisting primarily of study and ethical behavior: when a religion is composed only of 鈥済ood鈥� and learned people without the freedom, wildness, and accuracy of awakened ones, it can become stuck.”
― Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism
― Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism

“All we know is that everything is alive otherwise it wouldn't be here鈥擳he rest is speculation, mental judgments of the reality of the feeling of a good or bad, this or that, nobody knows the holy white truth because it is invisible鈥�
All the saints have gone to the grave with the same pout as the murderer and the hater, the dirt doesn't discriminate, it鈥檒l eat all lips no matter what they did and that鈥檚 because nothing matters and we all know it鈥�
But what we gonna do?”
― Desolation Angels
All the saints have gone to the grave with the same pout as the murderer and the hater, the dirt doesn't discriminate, it鈥檒l eat all lips no matter what they did and that鈥檚 because nothing matters and we all know it鈥�
But what we gonna do?”
― Desolation Angels

“Why else should we live but to discuss (at least) the horror and the terror of all this life, God how old we get and some of us go mad and everything changes viciously鈥攊t鈥檚 that vicious change that hurts, as soon as something is cool and complete it fall apart and burns鈥�”
― Desolation Angels
― Desolation Angels
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