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“What need is there to say more?
The childish work for their own benefit,
The Buddhas work for the benefit of others.
Just look at the difference between them.

If I do not exchange my happiness, for the suffering of others, I shall not attain the state of Buddhahood.
And even in Samsara I shall have no real joy.

The source of all misery in the world lies in thinking of oneself;
The source of all happiness lies in thinking of others.”
― Shantideva

“So if you ask the question “What kinds of perceptions and thoughts and feelings guide us through life each day?�� the answer, at the most basic level, isn’t “The kinds of thoughts and feelings and perceptions that give us an accurate picture of reality.�� No, at the most basic level the answer is “The kinds of thoughts and feelings and perceptions that helped our ancestors get genes into the next generation.�� Whether those thoughts and feelings and perceptions give us a true view of reality is, strictly speaking, beside the point. As a result, they sometimes don’t. Our brains are designed to, among other things, delude us.”
― Robert Wright , Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

“Stillness is the foundation of understanding and insight.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Fight

“All phenomena of samsara and nirvana are your own mind.”
― Padmasambhava, Advice from the Lotus-Born: A Collection of Padmasambhava's Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal and Other Close Disciples

“When realization occurs you should definitely be free from samsara, so that your disturbing emotions naturally subside and become original wakefulness. What is the use of a realization that fails to reduce your disturbing emotions?”
― Padmasambhava, Advice from the Lotus-Born: A Collection of Padmasambhava's Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal and Other Close Disciples

“One could certainly think of a man not in terms of a body but as a single vital current. And this would allow one to grasp the concept of existence as dynamic and on-going, rather than as static. Just as he had said, there was no difference between a single consciousness possessing various vital currents in succession, and a single vital current animating various consciousnesses in succession. For life and self-awareness would fuse into a whole. And if one were to then extrapolate this theory of the unity of life and self-awareness, the whole sea of life with its infinity of currents �� the whole vast process of transmigration called Samsara in Sanskrit �� would be possessed by a single consciousness.”
― Yukio Mishima, Spring Snow

“One can readily imagine in what terms a man of today would speak if called upon to make a pronouncement on the only religion ever to have introduced a radical formula of salvation: "The quest for deliverance can be justified only if one believes in the transmigration, in the endless vagrancy of the self, and if one aspires to halt it. But for us who do not believe in it, what are we to halt? This unique and negligible duration? It is obviously not long enough to deserve the effort an escape would require. For the Buddhist, the prospect of other existences is a nightmare; for us, the nightmare consists in the termination of this one, this nightmare. Give us another one, we would be tempted to clamor, so that our disgraces will not conclude too soon, so that they may, at their leisure, hound us through several lives.

Deliverance answers a necessity only for the person who feels threatened by a surfeit of existence, who fears the burden of dying and redying. For us, condemned not to reincarnate ourselves, what's the use of struggling to set ourselves free from a nonentity? to liberate ourselves from a terror whose end lies in view? Further more, what's the use of pursuing a supreme unreality when everything here-below is already unreal? One simply does not exert oneself to get rid of something so flimsily justified, so precariously grounded.

Each of us, each man unlucky enough not to believe in the eternal cycle of births and deaths, aspires to a superabundance of illusion and torment. We pine for the malediction of being reborn. Buddha took exorbitant pains to achieve what? definitive death - what we, on the contrary, are sure of obtaining without meditations and mortifications, without raising a finger." ...

That's just about how this fallen man would express himself if he consented to lay bare the depths of his thought. Who will dare throw the first stone? Who has not spoken to himself in this way? We are so addicted to our own history that we would like to see it drone on and on, relentlessly. But whether one lives one or a thousand lives, whether one has at one's disposal a single hour or all of time, the problem remains the same: an insect and a god should not differ in their manner of viewing the fact of existence as such, which is so terrifying (as only miracles can be) that, reflecting on it, one understands the will to disappear forever so as not to have to consider it again in other existences. This is what Buddha emphasized, and it seems doubtful he would have altered his conclusion had he ceased to believe in the mechanism of transmigration.”
― Cioran

“In order to escape from this prison, one must learn not to come to an arrangement with its indisputable comforts.”
― Nicolás Gómez Dávila

“Samsara is the universal flux wherein beings are doomed to wander for as long as the ego-born delusion of independent existence persists, our world being but an infinitesimal fraction of the whole. Nirvana is the ultimate being-non-being beyond human conception and not to be attained until the last shred of ego-delusion has been discarded. Yet samsara and Nirvana are not two! There is no going from one to the other, nor are there any individual beings to make the journey; there is only a falling away of illusion, a sudden recognition of things as they really are, a revelation of the true nature of the self and of all selves that ever could be. To employ a simple analogy—a child born and reared in a pitch-dark room must conceive of his surroundings as devoid of colour and visual form; then light appears and everything seems gloriously different; yet the room is the same, nothing has changed but the child's conception of his surroundings.”
― John Blofeld, Mantras: Sacred Words of Power

“Even when you find yourself in the best of situations, you never feel it is enough. You always want more. You give little thought to others' wishes and desires, and only want favorable circumstances for yourself. If you do the slightest favor for someone, you feel you have done something quite extraordinary. That you are so preoccupied with your own happiness and welfare, and neglect the welfare and happiness of others, is the reason you are wandering in samsara.”
― Dilgo Khyentse, The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva

“He did sense very well that this love, this blind love for his son, was a passion, something very human, that it was Sansara, a murky source, dark waters. Nevertheless, he felt at the same time, it was not worthless, it was necessary, came from the essence of his own being. This pleasure also had to be atoned for, this pain also had to be endured, these foolish acts also had to be committed.”
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

“Once you see things as they really are, you become disenchanted with the world of suffering and with suffering itself.”
― Henepola Gunaratana, Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory guide to Deeper States of Meditation

“V meditaci nám jde o to, vymanit se ze samsáry. V psychoterapii nám jde o to, naučit se v samsáře spokojeněji žít.”
― Jan Benda, Všímavost a Já: Od sebeléčení k sebepřesahování

“The Buddha promised redemption after thousands of deaths and rebirths, after millennia of suffering. Epicurus promised the end of all striving with a momentary, single death. Apostle Paul could not promise anything beyond a Russian roulette between eternal bliss and eternal damnation...”
― Giannis Delimitsos

“Wandering in deserted places there are found many traces and tracks from which we deduce the movements of heroes and gods and so we w
eave history. Yet were our vision to become a little clearer we might discover that all these tracks are merely made by ourselves during our own earlier wanderings.”
― Nanamoli Thera

“That Nirvana and Samsara are one is a fact about the nature of the universe; but it is a fact which cannot be fully realized or directly experienced, except by souls far advanced in spirituality. For ordinary, nice, unregenerate people to accept this truth by hearsay, and to act upon it in practice, is merely to court disaster. All the dismal story of antinomianism is there to warn us of what happens when men and women make practical applications of a merely intellectual and unrealized theory that all is God and God is all.”
― Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy

“You may discover that when there is no resistance to totally being in hell, heaven opens up and samsara reveals its true nature as nirvana.”
― Joan Tollifson, Nothing to Grasp

“He did sense very well that this love, this blind love for his son, was a
passion, something very human, that it was Sansara, a murky source, dark
waters. Nevertheless, he felt at the same time, it was not worthless, it was
necessary, came from the essence of his own being. This pleasure also had to be
atoned for, this pain also had to be endured, these foolish acts also had to be
committed.”
― Hermann Hesse

“Samsara and nirvana are perhaps best understood as points of view. Samsara is a point of view based primarily on defining and identifying with experiences as either painful or unpleasant. Nirvana is a fundamentally objective state of mind: an acceptance of experience without judgements, which opens us to the potential for seeing solutions that may not be directly connected to our survival as individuals, but rather to the survival of all sentient beings.”
― Yongey Mingyur Rimpoche

“The bodhicitta (spirit of enlightenment) starts arising when one sees what a mess we are all in. One can’t begin to see that until one is a little way out of the mess oneself.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The fact that we’re still left hanging on in saṁsāra after this long, long time is all because of our character habits we keep falling off the path all the time. It’s because of our habit of finding excuses for ourselves that we aren’t willing to follow the path set out by the Buddha. What sort of path has he set out for our actions? What sort has he set out for our words? For our mind? He set out standards for us to respect, to obey, to put into practice. Sages have said that the Buddha’s path is an easy one to follow correctly, for it creates no dangers. It doesn’t require that we do anything hurtful or hard.
We have to examine the Buddha’s teachings to see if they’re worthy of obedience or not, to see if they’re worthy to be followed or not. Do they have any defects that we should try to avoid, that we shouldn’t accept? Can we find any inconsistencies in the Buddha that would justify our giving more credence to our own opinions, that would justify our disobeying his teachings? And what do we have that’s so special? When you look carefully, you can’t find anything to fault him with.”
― Phra Ajaan Suwat Suvaco, Fistful of Sand

“Ništa od toga nije posebno i novo, pak nijedna ideja, nikakva vizija ni grijeh. Živio si ranije, lovio si ranije, čak si prije svega i umro, a tok se nastavljao neometano, i nedirano raskajanošću, ni bijesom, uopće uskrata neodnosna tobom, ti si mislio da si zarobljen, a stubokom, sve vrijeme, nisi tu ni bio, kao sjena bivanja, sjeti se, gdje li se izbavljenju stremi, ne mora li biti opisana jednako i sjena, želiš li što pustiti, objasni što ispuštaš, čega li se odričeš - ocrtaj, opiši - je li memorija, laž, samo nada u laž, od čega to još
zajednički, svaki ovaj dan mi bježimo...”
― Ivan Baran, Veliki pad

“Jer sam č�DZ����č���Բ��ٱ��� - i mrtve ću otkopavati, zakopavati, prevrtati; zatravljeno, u bezvjetrici sam se, ni ne brojim na samrti nalazio, a strahovao jesam, jer evo ga, eto zadaha od kojeg sam čitava ž�����dz�a zadržavao dah...! Tu su porječja tragedija i oceana osmijesi, strah, to je strah nepomični, terevenka živovanja, a bud njega, bud toga da bih budan bio - za to sam se i otimao.”
― Ivan Baran, Veliki pad

“No to nije tako. Odnosno je do krajnosti jasno kako se dijalog mora nastaviti, vi ste ti koji su postavili pitanje, a nespojivo je, čak sa bontonom, nekoga zaustaviti, zapitati ga što pa onda otići, od osobe idejno, još idealno podjarene - interpolacija podsvijesti fantastično neumjerena, mi mijenjamo tu misao i skrećemo joj smjer, sve silno te smrtno apstrahiranje i zanos u kaosu i zaziv za obnazom, nasumce, smrvljeno ustrapana shvaćanja rasuta razborom sasvim do nadira i tako neslutivo istinski odraženo krajnostima naših pasivno tinjajućih pojava te misli, u padanju, pri uniženju dokol nas ono zapetljava sekundama ž�����dz�ne fantasterije, mi osjećamo, i podsjećamo se ovdje na težinu samih sebe, oko našega vrata peče nas uže i takvi smo još
obješeni o ništa... beznačajno.��
“N���dz���č�Դ�?��
“Vezano usve umirućim trunjem neke racionalnosti osjetno živomorne u nesnu te omrazi što straje opirući se punoći pa imenima, pak udesima u bezmjernom slijedu potisnutih ishoda, istom bezgraničnom nizu ograničenih okolnosti što se razlijevaju zapažajima oštrim i snažnim i sve nas tu zaziđuje, zadržava nas orodeći protuornim protusmislom, a dugi slatki ushit spram spuštanja u traumu tako svejednako i često guši... prema tome smo bili djeca, u doticaju sa nehtijenjem primarno čisti kao izgubljeno, iskreno, otkraja smo pokušavali živjeti veoma stvarno i predao sam se amneznoj zamršenosti strastveno rasipljućih a smrtnih dana spokojno, i ja sam bio izričito živ, uopće znatiželjno, poćudno srodan odmornoj slutnji nestajuće slobode nepromjenjivo mirne do same biti, odalečen uzvijorenim zaboravom sebe i poliprisutan, ali potrošen, ipak skoro uvijek zatravljen uzorima svetosno pustim, u krivu, lažan, lomljiv, kukavan - i spominjem se orunjen oceanom samoće da sam u mržnji spram sebe širio strah, samozatrovano, tako manje svet, po strukturi starijoj od onoga što sam ja.��
“Kojiput agresivna vatra kreacije makar zatrpana mokrom zemljom i udavljena i ostavljena ipak ostaje tinjati održavajući se blijedo a bijesno i ne poznajući odsustvo narednih kovitlaja čak ni kao pojam, ali podrovano, još pospano pušteni svrsjem teškim i stranim koje uznemirava, nas ono boli, bitkom, značenjski rastrže tako da i sada zapravo tu vrednujemo zator. Pitam se kao putnik već domoren sobom na korak ispred ponora kada li će kraj, sumjerljivo, u sljepariji, maglenosivim svitanjem kroza mrak osluškujem spore korake illustrissimusa, interlokutora, taj mi prilazi rastapan sjećanjem
isto sasvim umorno, od traganja, od osjećajnog, marno podatnog propitivanja sada i metalogikom, a takav mi je neprepoznatljiv, samo nekom smetnutom prašinom dugo mrtve prelesti prisutan sada zastarjelo - jedna uredna ideja. Po tomu onda pozadinski, poizdalje, podsjećam se da sam ga poznavao, svime prividnim i doloznim opstrijet neumoljivo, zaustavljen, kad ono me uočio jurist, različjem pokorno očaran, do iscrpljenosti, moj tužitelj, humilni sluga, rival intimus, moj saveznik i neprijatelj, a zvao se Atrahasis.”
― Ivan Baran, Veliki pad

“Nježni ponent hujeći poja zibljući polugole grmove pri tajanstvenu, istrajno živu, živopisno čarovitu odsječku ovozemnog postojanja, isto nekako vrckavo, nemirno u višebojnom, brzajućem, titravom razmetanju kojim eto i govori, izjašnjava se neodstupajuće da i on je tu. Oko nas srebro stijenja, vrtača, vododerinama se raspada smeđezelena mrtva mahovina, gdješto je prljavohrđava, prlja bjeljavinu kamenja kano je drobljiva kaluga.
U taktu takvoga postojanja, ja slušam glas Atre:
“Naveo si me na nešto čemu sam se protivio, čemu sam od početka zapravo bio i neprijatelj. Zatražio si me da posegnem i ocrtam ti svrhu. Da kažem dostojanstveno što je krv postojanja. Jer i ono je uvjetovano time, ja osjećam da se ti osjećaš uvrijeđeno, poniženo u neograđenosti samoga sebe, tebi je zbilja i mučna ova sloboda. Ja bih zaista volio, bio bih i počašćen, kad bi ti prihvatio, a zašto ne i sada u ovom ž�����dz�u, evo sada dok hodamo prema niskom suncu, da je postojanje garantirano nepostojanjem, jedno je odraz drugoga i taj garant je jedini okov koji ti se može ponuditi.
“Atra... ali mene izluđuje neprestajuća nepredviđenost, beskrajno snalaženje, već mi je bljutava moja vlastitost i oslon na nju, zašto misliš kad bih pristao, ako bih već i mogao, a znam da ne mogu, da bi to bilo išta manje od mrcvarenja. Jedno jastvo rastegnuto između potpunih ispraznosti, pak na njima izgrađeno, dograđeno, uzdignuto prema jalovim visinama, a tako niskim visinama... U jednom ž�����dz�u sam ti o moći pripovijedao, o njezinoj ukupnosti, sadržini koja negira nepovredivost postojanja, čovjeka negira i oskvrnjuje ga, dokle istodobno njegova pojava, sam taj proces da je on tu, finalni jamac je bezvlasnog sljepila; moje već prisuće poriče ultimativni identitet i ono nije neopasno, unatoč tomu što sam sve vrijeme doista samo ja tu.��
Prepoznat ću da izgovaranje riječi ako i rovito, razdrta glasa u razgaru misli me prikučuje ipak snažnije svemu onomu izvanjskom, kroz rastinje vukući tijelo čak i tako uz himbu smjelosti ustuk sam oćutio marazma duše i ja opažam pod progalinom kao polazište, plamsaj svega posvemašnjeg ne više no nemir neprilježni, tako posve opušteno, stuporozno, stupidno prolazim zarudjelim trnjakom makije, zuljećim u ćuhu vjetra, svrstavajući nepomirljivost, ratoljublje, krvoločje drzovito kao čak posljednjeg zastupnika svega onostranog. Ali u tom razumijevanju, krvlju crljeno izmrljanom lovcu ja svejedno sada govoriti prepuštam:
“Ako se neka pojava trgne i odluči razglasiti da počinje naglašavati počelo stvari, recimo to, makar se time obraćala grotlu, mraku, samom koncu svega vlastitog - zbilja ona zbori eliminaciji sebe -, takva pojava zapravo prelako prilazi stupici kojoj upravo uz mene dolaziš i ti, pored toga što sam ti suputnik, pristojno se osvrćem na bogomračje, zaozbiljno i zatečen kako te zaobišla misao. Neprikladna je, teško prihvatljiva, veliki je pad čovjeka potreban kako bi se vidjelo i sa dna; u veličini vidjeti voljnost da sve nestane u bilo kojem trenutku, ali ne takvu ogorčenu težnju kakva je tvoja, već voljeti proces, biti proces, ja vrijedim onoliko koliko mi je malo stalo do toga, neogorčeno, ponavljam, ali dolično. Želiš izaći iz procesa, iz ritma, biti mrak, od čega sam ja recimo... a što dalje? Razumiješ li da fantazija - a mi znamo da je sve cilik perlica i šuštaj vea šarenih u svjetlu smrvljena zrcala, sve je i naivna sanja - razumiješ li da ona nije negacija niti opravdanje zazora stvarnosti, ono opipljivo i dalje je ozbiljno, i dalje šteti, ondje pak njeguje, uzdiže, sokoli, tu se nasiljem otimlje u borbi za ž�����dz�, ja ne moram biti stvaran da bih bio sirov, i mogu zaista naškoditi i
onda kad me nema.”
― Ivan Baran, Veliki pad

“Iako ne vidim da je po istini... niti je drugo no labirint i zavarak, ijedno prepoznavanje poznavanja sebe kao podumente izbavljenja i nestanka; radije ponovna opsjena, i doimlju se jedva novi uglovi jednakih bezgraničja u stalnom padavanju točno tako, dokle ustavljeni još nesvjesno sežemo za onime čega najposlije nema, naime za trajnim, neizmjenjivim, za vječnim, a kada skladno kraju možemo spoznati cijelog i bez laži onoga koji gleda. Jednako zlim i dobrim ja sam pravdao težinu, a praznoća se ponavljala netaknuta, uvijek jednaka, rastegnuta smrt bez smrti, više nehladna i netopla opetovanja do ne-mučnine, ali nešto što je uporno tu. Kao rubom sna se umoran prevrćući, pokušavao sam biti pobijeđen, od niza mnogo momenata prenavljen sam smišljao sanje te se i njima spuštao na milost; to sam nazivao vjerom, i ž�����dz�om, i za to sam ž�����dz�e otimao svaljujući kamenje, gradeći, dižući sve teže hramove generacijama u težnji za pojavom koja makar nedugo ima smisla i kazuje kako rijeka dana zaista može i stati. Iza mene, nebrojena brda kostiju starih i novih i lažna brojnost jednoga lica, kao mrtvi momenti, lažna glasnost pokopana vremenom, tako mirija riječi te povika te osmijeha, sve šuti sveudilj zakopano, a to sam ja... Više od svega, Atra, to sam stvarno ja.”
― Ivan Baran, Veliki pad

“The Hindu tradition speaks of four “goods�� of life, each of which constitutes a valuable, worthwhile aim in life. First is the good of dharma, or duty. The second is the good of artha, or wealth and material acquisition. The third is the good of kāma, or pleasure and enjoyment of the sense. Mokśa is the fourth and highest good. To achieve mokśa, one must be willing to give up the other three goods, because even though doing one’s duty and pursuing wealth and enjoyment are viewed positively, they also keep one bound to the wheel of rebirth. For those who are not yet prepared to abandon a life of duty, material acquisition, and enjoyments, the religious life means doing one’s best to improve this life and future lives.”
― Mark W. Muesse, Great World Religions: Hinduism

“Udajac, że jestem zajęty czymś innym niż nia i że muszę ja zostawić dla innych przyjemności, myślałem wyłacznie o niej. Często nie docierałem dalej, niż równina ciagnaca się nad Gourville, a ponieważ przypomina ona nieco tę, która zaczyna się powyżej Combray, w kierunku Meseglise, nawet tak oddalony od Albertyny cieszyłem się myśla, że choć mój wzrok nie może jej objać, to sięgajaca dalej niż on, owiewajaca mnie silna i ciepła morska bryza musi, niezatrzymywana przez nic aż do Quetteeholme, zakołysać w końcu gałęziami drzew spowijajacych Saint-Jean-de-la-Haise swoim listowiem, pieszczac twarz mojej przyjaciółki, i przerzucić podwójny węzeł między nami w tym niezwykle rozległym, lecz bezpiecznym ustroniu, jak podczas owych zabaw, kiedy to dwoje dzieci znajduja sie na chwilami poza zasięgiem swojego głosu i wzroku, lecz pomimo tego oddalenia, wciaż jest ze soba. Wracałem drogami, z których widać morze i gdzie kiedyś, jeszcze zanim woda pojawiła się w prześwicie wśród gałęzi, zamykałem oczy z myśla, że tym co zobaczę, będzie jękliwa prababka ziemi, trwajaca, jak w czasach, gdy nie było jeszcze żywych istot, w swojej obłakańczej i niepamiętnej krzataninie. Teraz te drogi były dla mnie tylko trasa wiodaca ku Albertynie; kiedy odnajdowałem je w niezmienionej postaci, wiedzac, dokad suna prosto, a gdzie zakreca, przypominałem sobie, że jechałem nimi, myślac o pannie de Stermaria, jak również to, że w podobnym pośpiechu jak do Albertyny mknałem po paryskich ulicach śladami pani de Guermantes; nabierały dla mnie głębokiej monotonii, moralnego znaczenia wykresu, którymi podażała moja natura. Było to czymś naturalnym, ale przecież nie obojętnym; drogi te przypominały mi, że moim losem jest gonitwa za widmami, za istotami, które w dużej części istnieja tylko w mojej wyobraźni; sa bowiem ludzie - tak było od dziedziństwa ze mna - dla których wszystko, co ma ustalona wartość, jak majatek, kariera czy pozycja społeczna, zupełnie się nie liczy; tym, czego ludzie ci potrzebuja, sa cienie. Poświęcaja dla nich cała resztę, zrobia wszystko, porusza niebo i ziemię, aby tylko spotkać się z danym cieniem. Ten jednak szybko znika; biegnie się wówczas za kolejnym, by potem wrócić, być może, do poprzedniego. Nie był to pierwszy raz, gdy poszukiwałem Albertyny, dziewczyny ujrzanej pierwszego roku na tle morza. To prawda, inne kobiety znalazły miejsce między pokochana pierwszym razem Albertyna a ta, której obecnie nie opuszczałem; inne kobiety, chociażby diuszesa de Guermantes. Po co jednak, mógłby ktoś zapytać, tak troszczyłem się o Gilbertę, zadawałem sobie tyle trudu dla pani de Guermantes, skoro stałem się jej przyjacielem po to tylko, aby nie myśleć już o niej, lecz wyłacznie o Albertynie? Mógłby na to odpowiedzieć, zanim umarł, Swann, wielki miłośnik cieni. Drogi wokół Balbec pełne były tych poszukiwanych cieni, zapominanych i znowu tropionych, niekiedy tylko dla jednego spotkania, aby otrzeć się o urojone życie, które natychmiast znikało. Na myśl o tym, że tamtejsze drzewa, grusze, jabłonie i tamaryszki mnie przeżyja, słyszałem od nich jak gdyby radę, bym zasiadł wreszcie do pracy, skoro nie wybiła jeszcze godzina wiecznego odpoczynku.”
― Marcel Proust, Sodom and Gomorrah

“Waking someone up from a nightmare in kindness.”
― Bert McCoy, A Lil' Bert Can't Hurt: Words and Wisdom for Daily Life

“In meditation, the goal is to break free from samsara. In psychotherapy, the goal is to learn to live more contentedly within samsara.”
― Jan Benda, Všímavost a Já: Od sebeléčení k sebepřesahování