Jendhamuni - Buddhism and inspiring quotes

Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top

Comment November 29, 2020

Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was. — Dag Hammarskjöld

You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you. – John Muir

The mountains are the last place where man can feel truly wild. – We Dream of Travel

So this was what a mountain was like, the same as a person: the more you know, the less you fear. – Wu Ming-Yi

Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb. — Greg Child

The way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don’t fool yourself, the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far. — Paulo Coelho

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing. — Barry Finlay Continue reading →
The sacred place of silent minds and deep souls is the depths of the forest

Comment November 28, 2020

Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. — John Muir

What an irony it is that these living beings whose shade we sit in, whose fruit we eat, whose limbs we climb, whose roots we water, to whom most of us rarely give a second thought, are so poorly understood. We need to come, as soon as possible, to a profound understanding and appreciation for trees and forests and the vital role they play, for they are among our best allies in the uncertain future that is unfolding. ― Jim Robbins, The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet

The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe-man who destroys it. — Gautama Buddha

The sacred place of silent minds and deep souls is the depths of the forest! ― Mehmet Murat ildan

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard

Comment November 26, 2020

The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart. — Helen Keller

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. — Maya Angelou

Some love stories aren’t epic novels. Some are short stories. But that doesn’t make them any less filled with love. — Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City

To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. — There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life. — Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

I just want you to know that you’re very special. . . and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has. — Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower Continue reading →
To live gratitude is to touch Heaven

3 November 26, 2020
Jendhamuni at Greylock Mountain on November 22, 2020. Mt. Greylock is the tallest mountain in Massachusetts.

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. — Johannes A. Gaertner

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. — Henry Van Dyke

Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other. — Randy Pausch

Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have. — Catherine Pulsifer

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. — Charles Dickens
Every day should be a day of Thanks

Comment November 26, 2020

Although Thanksgiving comes but once a year, every day should be a day of Thanks. Among all the challenges that we face as people with hearing loss there are certainly brighter moments in every day — moments that deserve to be recorded in our Gratitude Journal. — Monique Hammond
When we realize how blessed and lucky we are

2 November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are. — Joyce Giraud
The Story of Mahadhana

Comment November 26, 2020

Verse 123: Just as a wealthy merchant with few attendants avoids a dangerous road, just as one who desires to go on living avoids poison, so also, one should avoid evil.

The Story of Mahadhana

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (123) of this book, with reference to Mahadhana the merchant.

Mahadhana was a rich merchant from Savatthi. On one occasion, five hundred robbers were planning to rob him, but thy did not get the chance to rob him. In the meantime, they heard that the merchant would soon be going out with five hundred carts loaded with valuable merchandise. The merchant Mahadhana also invited the bhikkhus who would like to go on the same journey to accompany him, and he promised to look to their needs on the way. So five hundred bhikkhus accompanied him. The robbers got news of the trip and went ahead to lie in wait for the caravan of the merchant. But the merchant stopped at the outskirts of the forest where the robbers were waiting. The caravan was to move on after camping there for a few days. The robbers got the news of the impending departure and made ready to loot the caravan; the merchant, in his turn, also got news of the movements of the bandits and he decided to return home. The bandits now heard that the merchant would go home; so they waited on the homeward way. Some villagers sent word to the merchant about the movements of the bandits, and the merchant finally decided to remain in the village for some time. When he told the bhikkhus about his decision, the bhikkhus returned to Savatthi by themselves. Continue reading →
Water the flowers in your garden

Comment November 26, 2020

Water the flowers in your garden, don’t water the weeds. ~Ajahn Brahm
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life

Comment November 25, 2020

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. — Melody Beattie

Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding. — Alice Walker

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. — Maya Angelou

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are. — Joyce Giraud

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. — Epictetus

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. — Theodore

Roosevelt

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When you have lost hope, you have lost everything

Comment November 23, 2020

When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope. — Pittacus Lore

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. — Thomas Merton

Everything that is done in this world is done by hope. — Martin Luther

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. — Barbara Kingsolver

Hope itself is like a star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. — C.H. Spurgeon

If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment. — Henry David Thoreau

To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. — G.K. Chesterton

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. — Nelson Mandela

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. — Aristotle

If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality. — Dr Roopleen

Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower. — Shigenori Kameoka

Don’t worry if people think you’re crazy. You are crazy. You have that kind of intoxicating insanity that lets other people dream outside of the lines and become who they’re destined to be. — Jennifer Elisabeth

It is because of hope that you suffer. It is through hope that you’ll change things. — Maxime Lagacé

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. — Desmond Tutu

I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. — Anne Frank

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. — Dale Carnegie

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Shantidevas’ Bodhisattva vows

Should anyone wish to ridicule me and make me an object of jest and scorn why should I possibly care if I have dedicated myself to others?

Let them do as they wish with me so long as it does not harm them. May no one who encounters me ever have an insignificant contact.

Regardless whether those whom I meet respond towards me with anger or faith, may the mere fact of our meeting contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.

May the slander, harm and all forms of abuse that anyone should direct towards me act as a cause of their enlightenment.