#buddhism

How aware are we of our own inner life, our spirituality-something so intangible yet so priceless? How much effort do we make to perceive that which is not obvious, which can neither be seen nor heard? I believe the exploration and enrichment of the human spirit is what determines our very humanity. Such enrichment provides an inner compass that can lead civilizations to greatness. ↗

— Daisaku Ikeda

#destiny #happiness #humanism #inspirational #karma

While happiness is an end in itself, it is also the state of mind we can have right now. ↗

— Sharon Salzberg

#compassion #dharma #inspirational #wisdom #inspirational

Only those few who are able to surpass their fear of death completely can fully experience the highest forms of life; not the mundane life of the mortal, but the godly life of the resurrected. ↗

— Zeena Schreck

#buddhism #death #left-hand-path #magic #parenting

The present moment is the substance with which the future is made. Therefore, the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. What else can you do? ↗

— Thich Nhat Hanh

#inspiration #present-moment #art

The erruption of feelings & emotions that follows a near-death exerience, or any event that causes us to stop & look deeply at the reality of our lives, is ripe with the potential for insight & clarity. ↗

— Allan Lokos

#death-and-dying #insight #inspiration #death

Recollection of death also serves as a useful preparation for the time when one actually has to face death. As the concluding exercise among the body contemplations, a regular recollection of death can lead to the realization that death is fearful only to the extent to which one identifies with the body. With the aid of the body contemplations one can come to realize the true [impermanent] nature of the body and thereby overcome one's attachment to it. Being free from attachment to the body, one will be freed from any fear of physical death. ↗

— Anālayo

#death #detachment #meditation #sutra #death

Buddhism has become a socially recognized religious philosophy for Americans, whereas it used to be considered an exotic religion. ↗

— Thurston Moore

#buddhism #considered #exotic #philosophy #recognized

Buddhism has in it no idea of there being a moral law laid down by somekind of cosmic lawgiver. ↗

— Alan Watts

#buddhism #cosmic #down #idea #laid

Those who read books cannot understand the teachings and, what's more, may even go astray. But those who try to observe the things going on in the mind, and always take that which is true in their own minds as their standard, never get muddled. They are able to comprehend suffering, and ultimately will understand Dharma. Then, they will understand the books they read. ↗

— Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

#experience #self-knowledge #study #experience

A wide and vague impression exists that so-called Eastern religion is more contemplative, innocuous, and humane than the proselytizing monotheisms of the West. Don't believe a word of this: try asking the children of Indochina who were dumped by their parents for inherited deformities that were attributed to sins in a previous 'life. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#buddhism #eastern-religion #indochina #monotheism #rebirth-buddhism