With the wish to help all beings,
May all my thoughts, words and actions
be void of attachment and ego.
May they arise
from compassion and wisdom.
May they be imbued
with patience and joy.
~ Venerable Wuling
Cultivation is not simply sitting
on a meditation cushion.
Cultivation is
correcting our faults,
acting from wisdom and compassion,
having a peaceful and tranquil nature.
~Venerable Wuling
Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots. ~Frank A. Clark
Want to change the world? First, change yourself. ~Venerable Wuling
Ego
Self-importance
keep us
from forgiving others
from forgiving ourselves;
Pride
Arrogance
keep us
from making peace with others
from making peace with ourselves.
~Venerable Wuling
Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
Solitude is
When you do not need anyone around
And even if you are sick,
You are still happy.
Solitude is
To be wrapped in silence
By a mind unattached,
Sinking deep into a foundation of stability.
Solitude is
A clear understanding that
All of us, everything
Are just mental creations, conditioned.
Solitude is
To have abandoned the “I am” conceit,
And is free.
~Venerable Sujiva
He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. ~ St. Basil
Loneliness can only be healed by understanding and love. Sometimes we think that if we have sexual relations with someone else, we’ll feel less lonely. But the truth is that such sex doesn’t relieve the feeling of loneliness; it makes it worse. Sexuality should be accompanied by understanding and love. Without understanding and love, sex is empty. With understanding and love, sex can be holy. Source: Always Well Within | Thich Nhat Hanh
Our consciousness is fed with other consciousnesses. The way we make decisions, our likes and dislikes, depend on the collective way of seeing things. That’s why selecting the people you are around is very important. ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
When you contemplate the big, full sunrise, the more mindful & concentrated you are, the more the beauty of the sunrise is revealed to you. ~Thich Nhat Hanh
