Some Worthy Quotes From Great People -Vol 1

―The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.‖ ~ Albert Einstein. (1879–1955)

―I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room‖ -Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)

―O Seeker! These thoughts have such Power over you,
From nothing you become sad, From nothing you become happy
You are burning in the flames, But I will not let you out
Until you are fully baked, fully wise, and fully yourself. -RUMI

―Three things cannot long be hidden the sun, the moon, and the truth.‖- Confucius (551 BC — 479 BC)

―The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn. — Alvin Toffler (1928~)

“Become empty of yourself and realize inner silence.‖Lao Tzu–Tao(~450 BCE)

―There is no place to seek the mind; It is like the footprints of the birds in the sky.‖ (“Zenrinkushu” compiled by Eicho (1429–1504) The Gospel According to Zen)

―The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.‖ William James (1842–1910)

―Borrowed brains have no value.‖ Yiddish Proverb

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

―A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical illusion of his consciousness. This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature.‖ Albert Einstein (1879–1955)

―Look nakedly at whatever appears at the moment it appears. By relaxing in that state, awareness — in which there is no grasping at appearances as something — arises nondualistically, intrinsically freed — Longchenpa (1308–1363) translated by Lipman & Peterson

―A shortcut into the path is to be inwardly empty and outwardly quiet, like water that is clear and still, myriad images reflecting in it, neither sinking nor floating, all things spontaneously so. -Fu-Jung {Teachings of Zen: Thomas Cleary p80}

―When all choices are taken away, a perfect path remains
(The 21 Lessons of Merlyn by Douglas Monroe)

A monk once asked Zen Master Yun-men (864–949 CE), “What is the essence of the Supreme teaching?” Yun-men said, “When spring comes, the grass grows by itself.”

―Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act nonvirtuously, suffering results. — Sakyong Mipham (born 1962)

―Belief in karma ought to make the life pure, strong, serene, and glad. Only our own deeds can hinder us; only our own will can fetter us. Once let men recognize this truth, and the hour of their liberation has struck. Nature cannot enslave the soul that by wisdom has gained power and uses both in love.~Annie Besant (1847–1933)

―In tonglen, we are trying to adopt a radically new way of looking at things. Tonglen is called ―exchanging oneself for others‖ because it involves giving away everything that is good in our lives and taking on everything that is bad in the lives of others. It is a training in courage, because the whole point of doing it is to train ourselves to be less fearful and anxious. Our capacity to feel love and compassion for others, and our courage to take on their suffering, will increase if our tonglen practice is working. This practice is so extremely beneficial because we‘re training ourselves to stop thinking about everything from a defensive posture. The more selfish and egocentric we are, the more defensive we become. If we think about sharing our happiness, we will become less self-obsessed, and our conflicting emotions will naturally subside -The Practice of Lojong

―Whoever Brought Me Here, Will Have To Take Me Home. All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place, I’ll be completely sober. Meanwhile, I’m like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary. The day is coming when I fly off, but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice? Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul? I cannot stop asking. If I could taste one sip of an answer, I could break out of this prison for drunks. I didn’t come here of my own accord and I can’t leave that way. Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I’m going to say. I don’t plan it. When I’m outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all. -RUMI Translated by Coleman Barks

―You do not realize your own situation. You are in prison. All you can wish for, if you are a sensible man, is to escape. But how to escape? … If a man is at any time to have a chance of escape, than he must first of all realize that he is in prison. So long as he fails to realize this, so long as he thinks he is free, he has no chance whatsoever — George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (1866–1949)

―If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. -Buddha (563 BCE to 483 BCE)

―Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -Albert Einstein (1879–1955)

―Truth is completely spontaneous. Lies have to be taught.–R. Buckminister Fuller (1895 –1983)

―The Hidden Power of the Heart: If you are dealing with fears and insecurities from old head programs, have compassion for yourself. Just love your insecurities, fears and resentments. Release and forgive them as they come up. Judging, beating or repressing insecurities just gives them power. Then you have a pattern that never gets resolved. Recognize that your real security is built from your relationship with your own heart. — Sara Paddison (1953~)

―Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. — Helen Keller (1880–1968)

―When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much. — Fen-Yang (947–1024)

―The process of encouraging spiritual growth does not lend itself to being organized. To the contrary, when a spiritually focused organization becomes successful (recruits a sustaining broad membership), it inevitably becomes part of the problem — it begins inhibiting spiritual growth instead of encouraging it. Although the raising of consciousness quality requires an individual process, the raising of good feelings within a secure ego requires a group process. Because the two processes are generally incompatible and destructive of each other, it is a good idea to be clear about which process best represents your personal investment in conscious quality. -Thomas Campbell (My Big Toe book two, Discovery Page 140)

―Let every crisis in your human relations serve as a signal for your alertness, for example: An alert pause, instead of an impulsive move
An alert observation, in place of a judgment
An alert understanding, rather than a criticism
An alert inquiry, in place of a conclusion
An alert reflection, instead of an opinion
An alert listening, in place of a remark
An alert learning, rather than an advising
An alert quietness, instead of an aggressiveness. -Vernon Howard (1918–1992)

Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.‘ -Sylvia Boorstein

―Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart … Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. -Carl Jung (1875–1961)