"THE LITTLE BOOK OF
BUDDHISM"
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
"If there is love, there is hope that one may have
real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within
your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much
knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and
confusion will ensue"
"Human beings will continue to deceive and
overpower one another. Basically, everyone exists in a state of suffering, so to
abuse or mistreat each other is futile. The foundation of all spiritual practice
is love. That you practice this well is my only request"
" 'To do our
best' means that at all times in our everyday life we should probe our minds so
that we don't feel guilty about our mistakes, even though others don't know
about them. If we do that, we are truly doing our best"
"One can be
deceived by three types of laziness of indolence, which is the wish to
procrastinate; the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your capabilities;
and the laziness that is attachment to negative actions, or putting great effort
into non-virtue"
"Every noble work is bound to encounter problems and
obstacles. It is important to check your goal and motivation thoroughly. One
should be very truthful, honest and reasonable. One's action should be good for
others, and for oneself as well"
"To help others in vast and extensive
ways we need to have attained one of the levels of a Bodhisattva, that is, to
have experienced the direct non-conceptual reality of voidness and to have
achieved the power of extra-sensory perception"
"It is under the greatest
adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for
oneself and others"
"The common enemy of all religious disciplines is
selfishness of mind. For it is just this which causes ignorance, anger and
passion, which are at the root of all the troubles of the world"
"Buddha
is the teacher, Dharma is the actual refuge and the sangha is the one which
assists in understanding or establishing the objects of refuge"
"When we
take the Buddha as an authority, as a reliable teacher, we do so on the basis of
having investigated and examined his principal teaching-The Four Noble
Truths."
"When ever Buddhism has taken root in a new land, there has been
a certain variation in the style in which it is observed. The Buddha himself
taught differently according to the place, the occasion and the situation of
those who were listening to him"
"All of us have a great responsibility
to take the essence of Buddhism and put it into practice in our own
lives"
"Buddhahood is a state free of all obstructions to knowledge and
disturbing emotions. It is the state in which the mind is fully
evolved"
"From the earliest stages of our growth, we are completely
dependent upon our mother's care and it is very important for us that she
express her love. if children do not receive proper affection, in later life
they will often find it hard to love others"
"Samsara-our conditioned
existence in the perpetual cycle of habitual tendencies and nirvana - genuine
freedom from such an existence- are nothing but different manifestations of a
basic continuum. So this continuity of consciousness us always present. This is
the meaning of tantra"
"Through actual practice in his daily life, man
well fulfils the aim of all religion, whatever his denomination"
"We can
speak of an effect and a cause on the disturbing side as well as on the
liberating side"
"According to Buddhist practice, there are three stages
or steps. The initial stage is to reduce attachment towards life.
The second
stage is the elimination of desire and attachment to this samsara. Then in the
third stage, self-cherishing is
eliminated"
"The three stages-birth,
death and the intermediate state-are also established in terms of the subtlety
of their levels of consciousness. Upon the basis of the continuity of the stream
of consciousness is established the existence of rebirth and
reincarnation"
"Encountering sufferings will definitely contribute to the
elevation of your spiritual practice, provided you are able to transform the
calamity and misfortune into the path"
"Faith dispels doubt and
hesitation, it liberates you from suffering and delivers you to the city of
peace and happiness"
"If subconscious anger had a parallel in Buddhist
writings, it would have to do with what is called mental unhappiness or
dissatisfaction. This is regarded as the source of anger and hostility. We can
see subconscious anger in terms of a lack of awarness, as well as an active
misconstruing of reality"
"In the beginning of Buddhist practice, our
ability to serve others is limited. The emphasis is on healing ourselves,
transforming our minds and hearts. But as we continue, we become stronger and
increasingly able to serve others"
"Firstly, we should re-examine our own
attitude towards others and constantly check ourselves to see whether we are
practicing properly. Before pointing our finger at others we should point it
towards ourselves. Secondly, we must be prepared to admit our faults and stand
corrected"
"Suffering increases your inner strength. Also, wishing for
suffering makes the suffering disappear"
"Even when we are helping others
and are engaged in charity work, we should not regard ourselves in a very
haughty way as great protectors benefiting the weak"
"An area in Tibetan
Buddhism which may be of interest to scientists is the relationship between the
physical elements and the nerves, in particular the relationship between the
elements in the brain and consciousness. This involves changes in consciousness,
happy or unhappy states of mind, the effect they have on the elements within the
brain, and the consequent effect that this has on the body"
"According to
its level of subtlety, consciousness is classified into three levels: the waking
state or gross level of consciousness; the consciousness of the dream state
which is more subtle; and the consciousness during sleep, dreamless sleep, which
is subtler still'
"The metaphor of light is a common image in all the
major religious traditions. In the Buddhist context, light is particularly
associated with wisdom and knowledge; darkness is associated with ignorance and
a state of mis-knowledge'
"In yoga tantra, highest dimension of Buddhist
practice, there is no distinction between gender. In this final life in which
you attain Buddhahood, there is no difference whether you are male or
female"
"The creatures that inhabit this earth-be they human beings or
animals-are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty
and prosperity of the world"
"The Buddhist notion of attachment is not
what people in the West assume. We say that the love of a mother for her only
child is free of attachment"
"We are born and reborn countless number of
times, and it is possible that each being has been our parent at one time or
another. Therefore, it is likely that all beings in this universe have familial
connections"
"The process of dying begins with the dissolution of the
elements within the body. It has eight stages, beginning with the dissolution of
the earth element, then the water, fire and windelements. The color: appearance
of a white vision, increase of the red element, black near-attainment, and
finally the clear light of death"
"Do your best and do it according to
your own inner standard-call it conscience not just according to society's
knowledge and judgment of your deeds"
"For discovering one's true inner
nature, I think one should try to take some time, with quiet and relaxation, to
think more inwardly and to investigate the inner world"
"When one is very
involved in hatred or attachment, if there is time or possibility during that
very moment, just try to look inward and ask: 'What is attachment? What is the
nature of anger?"
"To devlop genuine devotion, you must know the meaning
of teachings. The main emphasis in Buddhism is to transform the mind, and this
transformation depends upon meditation. in order to meditate correctly, you must
have knowledge"
"Three qualities enable people to understand the
teachings: objectivity, which means an open mind; intelligence, which is the
critical faculty to discern the real meaning by checking the teachings of
Buddha; and interest and commitment, which means enthusiasm"
"Anything
that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
"It is through
listening that you mind will turn with faith and devotion, and you will be able
to cultivate joy within your mind and make your mind stable"
"Mahayana
has four reliances. First: reliance on the teaching, not on the teacher. Second:
reliance on the meaning, not on the words that express it. Third: reliance on
the definitive meaning, not on the provisional meaning. Forth: reliance on the
transcendent wisdom of deep experience, not on the mere knowledge"
"If we
see pride among people who have no idea about Dharma, it is understandable.
However, if afflictive emotions and haughtiness are present among Dharma
practitioners, it is great disgrace to practice"
"Individuals who are
best suited for practice of Dharma are those who are not only intellectually
gifted, but also have single-minded faith and dedication and are
wise"
"Although individuals may be highly intelligent, they are sometimes
dogged by skepticism and doubts. They are clever, but they tend to be hesitant
and skeptical and are never really able to settle down. These people are the
least receptive"
"When contemplating suffering, do not fall into the
feeling of self-importance or conceit. Cultivating wisdom helps us to avoid
these pitfalls. But it is hard to generalize because each person's courage and
forbearance are unique"
"The more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater is our own sense of well being"
"A single word or expression
in tantra can have four different meanings. Corresponding to the four levels of
interpretation. These levels are known as the four modes of understanding. They
are: 1 the literal meaning; 2 the general meaning; 3 the hidden
meaning; and
4 the ultimate meaning"
"There is no way to escape death, it is just like
trying to escape by four great mountains touching sky. There is no escape from
these four mountains of birth, old age, sickness and death"
"Ageing
destroys youth, sickness destroys health, degeneration of life destroys all
excellent qualities and death destroys life. Even if you are a great runner, you
cannot run away from death. you cannot stop death with your wealth, through your
magic performances or recitation of mantras or even medicines. Therefore, it is
wise to prepare for your death"
"Due to karmic influences, the world
appears in different ways to different people. When a human being, a god, and a
preta (hungry gosh) - three sentient beings - look at a bowl of water, the
karmic factors make the human being see it as a water,
while the god sees
nectar and the preta sees blood"
"Natural environment sustains the life
of all beings universally. Trees are referred to in accounts of the principal
events of Buddha's life. His mother leaned against a tree for support as she
gave birth to him. He attained enlightenment seated beneath a tree, and finally
passed away as trees stood witness overhead"
"The truth of suffering is
that we experience many different types of suffering: suffering of
suffering-things such as headaches; suffering of change -felling of restlessness
after being comfortable; and all-pervasive suffering that acts as the basis of
the first two categories and is under the control of karma and the disturbing
mind"
"From one point of view we can say that we have human bodies and
are practicing the Buddha's teachings and are thus much better than insects. But
we can also say that insects are innocent and free from guile, where as we often
lie and misrepresent ourselves in devious ways in order to achieve our ends or
better ourselves. From this perspective, we are much worse than
insects"
"We find that between the past and the future there is an
extremely thin line-something that cannot really withstand analysis. Past and
future exist in relation to the present. But if the present cannot be posited,
how can past and future be posited? This is a demonstration of dependent
origination"
"We learn from the principle of dependent origination that
things and events do not come into being without causes. Suffering and
unsatisfactory conditions are caused by our own delusions and the contaminated
actions induced by them"
"Suffering originates from various causes and
conditions. But the root cause of our pain and suffering lies in our own
ignorant and undisciplined state of mind. The happiness we seek can be attained
only through the purification of our minds"
"The essence of all spiritual
life is your attitude toward others. Once you have pure and sincere motives all
the rest follows"
"Irrespective of whether we are believers or agnostics,
whether we believe in God or Karma, everyone can pursue moral
ethics"
"Real compassion comes from seeing the suffering of others. You
feel a sense of responsibility, and you want to do something for
them"
"Sometimes your dear friend, though still the same person, feels
more like an enemy. Instead of love, you feel hostility. But with genuine love
and compassion, another person's appearance or behavior has no effect on your
attitude"
"Cultivating closeness and warmth for others automatically puts
the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life"
"Through
universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others and the
wish to help them actively overcome their problems"