“Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise one, gathering it little by little,
fills oneself with good.”
~ The Buddha (The Dhammapada 9.122)
Drop by Drop
Tag Archives: Quotes
The Bonds of Sympathy
Generosity, kind words,
doing a good turn for others,
and treating all people alike:
these bonds of sympathy are to the world
what the linchpin is to the
chariot wheel.
Train Yourself in this Way
“You must bring yourself back to mindfulness wherever you are, all the time. Along with your regular meditation practice, add practices such as this one-minute meditation into your daily life. Train yourself in this way—as soon as some psychic irritant arises, stop and take care of it before you proceed with other activities in your day.”
~Bhante Gunaratana
(from “WHAT WHY HOW: Answers to Your Questions About Buddhism, Meditation, Mindfulness and Living Mindfully,” Wisdom Publications 2020. NOTE: See free article series based on this new book at this link)
IMAGE: Photo by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash
Wise Reflection on the Body
“We don’t meditate to hate our bodies. Unsatisfactoriness depends on clinging to impermanent objects. A mindful meditator should remind himself or herself an attractive object has triggered sense desire. One should then develop wise reflection or mindful reflection.”
~Bhante Gunaratana
(from “WHAT WHY HOW: Answers to Your Questions About Buddhism, Meditation, Mindfulness and Living Mindfully,” Wisdom Publications 2020. NOTE: See free article series based on this new book at this link)
Any Time, Any Place
“Meditation in the strictest sense is a very special way of training our mind. For that you don’t need any particular posture, time, or place. At any time, any place, and in any posture, you can practice mindfulness.”
~ Bhante G (“WHAT WHY HOW,” p176, Wisdom Publications, 2020)
All Tangled Up
“It’s not the external complications that really make things difficult, it’s the way we pick things up, create complications, and tangle things within ourselves”
Not Too Serious, Now
We Can Compare Notes
A bird in a secluded grove sings like a flute.
Willows sway gracefully with their golden threads.
The mountain valley grows the quieter
As the clouds return.
A breeze brings along the fragrance
Of apricot flowers.
For a whole day I have sat here
Encompassed by peace,
Till my mind is cleansed in and out
Of all cares and idle thoughts.
I wish to tell you how I feel,
But words fail me.
If you come to this grove,
We can compare notes.
~ Fa-yen
The Ill-directed Mind
Whatever an enemy might do to
an enemy,
or a foe to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you even worse.
~ The BUDDHA, from the Udana 4.33
(Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
Patience, Patience, Patience
“Don’t rush. There is no hurry, so take your time. Settle yourself on a cushion and sit as though you have the whole day. Anything really valuable takes time to develop. Patience, patience, patience.”
~ Bhante Gunaratana, from “Mindfulness in Plain English”
NOTE: For more Bhante G quotes, see the @BhavanaVisitor Twitter feed or follow the Bhavana Society page on Facebook
The Highest of tastes
“Conviction is a person’s highest wealth.
Dhamma, when well-practiced, brings bliss.
Truth is the highest of tastes.
Living with discernment,
one’s life is called best.”
~The Buddha
Sutta Nipata, 1.184
How Revealing
“When we are able to be with complexity, the layers reveal themselves. This is how we can be present with things as they arise”
~Ajahn Thanasanti
(from https://twitter.com/ForestSangha)
Learning from mistakes
As the Buddha taught: “I do not see any quality by which the skillful arises and the unskillful subsides than friendship with admirable people… [From our teachers] I learn what is beautiful in the beginning, the middle and the end, surpassingly pure. The spiritual life is one of mutual dependence, for together we can cross over the flood of ignorance.”
In our spiritual transformation we will make mistakes; after such errors there’s no role for self-judgment or self-punishment; the process is simply one of learning from mistakes and returning to practice with renewed conviction. We’re on a journey that requires perseverance and forgiveness, of myself and others.
~ Josh Korda
from “Unsubscribe: Opt Out of Delusion, Tune Into Truth”
The Practice of Now
Photo by Erik Witsoe on Unsplash
The only time we ever have to live is now. The only time that spiritual practice is done is now. If we’re going to cultivate love and compassion, it has to be in the present moment, because we don’t live in any other moment. So, even though the present is constantly changing, it’s all we have. Life happens now. Our past glories are simply that. Our past hurts are not happening now. Our future dreams are simply future dreams. The future tragedies we concoct do not exist at this time.
A spiritual practitioner may remember previous illuminating moments and dream of future exotic situations, replete with fully enlightened teachers and blissful insights, but in fact, practice occurs now. The person in front of our nose at this moment represents all sentient beings to us. If we’re going to work for the benefit of all sentient beings, we have to start with this one, this ordinary person in our everyday life. Opening our hearts to whomever is before us requires discipline and effort. Connecting with the person in front of us necessitates being fully present, not off in the past or the future.
Dharma practice means dealing with what is happening in our mind at this moment. Instead of dreaming of conquering future attachment, let’s deal with the craving we have right now. Rather than drown in fears of the future, let’s be aware of the fear occurring right now and investigate it.
~Thubten Chodron
(except from thubtenchodron.org/2011/06/spinning-stories)
With your own eyes
Photo by Ryan Holloway on Unsplash
To see the Way with your own eyes
quit agreeing and disagreeing.
The battling of likes and dislikes
that’s the disease of the mind.
– Seng-ts’an (606)
Quote courtesy of dailyzen.com