The experience of the tantric yogi is like this: The outer world is seen as a sacred mandala circle, and all living beings seen as divine beings. All experiences become transformed Into blissful primordial awareness; and all of one’s actions become spiritual, regardless of how they conventionally appear. Every sound that one makes becomes part of a great cosmic song. — The 2nd Dalai Lama. 22 June 2017.

By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another. — The Buddha. 21 June 2017.

Death—it is good, wonderful! It can smash the most powerful ego, making us realize the emptiness of all things. It teaches us not to cling to our secular world. . . . Contemplating death, there is nobody and nothing we cannot accommodate. It offers us a new life, the chance to start over. — Master Jingzong. 20 June 2017.

The doctrines of emptiness and selflessness do not imply the non-existence of things. Things do exist. When we say that all phenomena are void of self-existence, it does not mean that we are advocating non-existence, that we are repudiating that things exist. Then what is it we are negating? We are negating, or denying, that anything exists from its own side without depending on other things. Hence, it is because things depend for their existence upon other causes and conditions that they are said to lack independent self-existence. — The Dalai Lama. 19 June 2017.

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world—above, below, and across—unhindered, without ill will, without enmity. — The Buddha. 16 June 2017.

What we understand to be phenomena are but the magical projections of the mind. — Yeshe Tsogyal. 15 June 2017.

If your mind is happy, then you are happy anywhere you go. When wisdom awakens within you, you will see truth wherever you look. Truth is all there is. —Ajahn Chah. 14 June 2017.

As we exclusively and single-mindedly recite Amitabha’s name, we gain unsurpassed merits and virtues regardless of the number of recitations. — Master Huijing. 13 June 2017.

Having gone on his alms round, the sage should then go to the forest, standing or taking a seat at the foot of a tree. The enlightened one, intent on jhana, should find delight in the forest, should practice jhana at the foot of a tree, attaining his own satisfaction. — The Buddha. 12 June 2017.

When everything is compound there is nothing which can be regarded as a real thing. Such is the nature of all things. — Nagarjuna. 9 June 2017.

If we’re really engaged in mindfulness while walking along the path to the village, then we will consider the act of each step we take as an infinite wonder, and a joy will open our hearts like a flower, enabling us to enter the world of the real. — Thich Nhat Hanh. 8 June 2017.

Suffering, in fact, can be helpful in many ways. It spurs your motivation and as many teachings point out, without suffering there would be no determination to be free from samsara. Sadness is an effective antidote to arrogance. — Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. 7 June 2017.

It doesn’t matter whether we still have greed, hatred, illusion, false thoughts and miscellaneous thinking, or whether our virtuous conduct is sufficient or not. Don’t worry about that unnecessarily; just practice Amitabha-recitation exclusively and continuously. — Master Huijing. 6 June 2017.

The Way is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things. — Sengcan. 5 June 2017.

Try to serve the common interest. Whatever happens, think about what is best for the group rather than acting for yourself alone. The benefit of many is more important than that of each individual. If you cannot tell the difference, there is no way you can serve the public. — His Holiness the Karmapa. 2 June 2017.

All is empty, clear, self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind’s power. — Sengcan. 1 June 2017.

Make every effort on the path, uniting absolute and relative bodhichitta. This distils the essence of all the sutras and the tantras. The subduing of one's own mind is the root of Dharma. When the mind is controlled, defilements naturally subside. — Dudjom Rinpoche. 31 May 2017.

Present awareness is empty, open, and luminous; not a concrete substance, yet not nothing. Empty, yet it is perfectly cognizant, lucid, aware. As if magically, not by causing it to be aware, but innately aware, awareness continuously functions. — Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. 29 May 2017.

The values of Buddhism are not weighted by the scale based on the external five desires, but by the scale based on the internal awareness of the great matters in regard of birth and death, and the deliverance of Amitabha Buddha. — Master Huijing. 26 May 2017.

What brings understanding is love. When your heart is full, then you will listen to the teacher, to the beggar, to the laughter of children, to the rainbow, and to the sorrow of man. Under every stone and leaf, that which is eternal exists. — Jiddu Krishnamurti. 25 May 2017.

Meditation could be said to be the Art of Simplicity: simply sitting, simply breathing and simply being. — Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. 24 May 2017.

The Buddha's call is sent through the six-character name. Whenever we exclusively recite Amitabha's name and aspire to be reborn in Amitabha’s Pure Land, we can hear the call of Amitabha. In other words, Amitabha calls us by means of the six-character name. So, whenever we recite this six-character name, we are answering the call of Amitabha Buddha. — Master Huijing. 23 May 2017.

Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. What you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. — Ajahn Chah. 22 May 2017.

By training with everyday irritations, we develop the knack of refraining when the going gets rough. It takes patience and an understanding of how we’re hurting ourselves not to continue taking the same old escape route of speaking or acting out. — Pema Chödron. 19 May 2017.

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is simply putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. — Rabindranath Tagore​. 18 May 2017.

There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus. — Thich Nhat Hanh. 17 May 2017.

Reincarnation of birth and death is the greatest fear in life and also the source of all kinds of fear. Given this situation, Amitabha Buddha says, “Let me be responsible for your reincarnation of birth and death; I will let your mind feel absolutely relieved with great satisfaction.” — Master Huijing. 16 May 2017.

The meditative journey is not about always feeling good. Many times we may feel terrible. That’s fine. What we want is to open to the entire range of what this mind and body are about. — Joseph Goldstein. 15 May 2017.

Since enlightenment is based on dissolving the ego and its expectations, it has been said that you cannot watch your own burial, and you cannot congratulate yourself on becoming the first buddha of the age or the first buddha of New York. — Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. 12 May 2017.

When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings. — Sogyal Rinpoche. 11 May 2017.

Some disciples treat their gurus like movie stars. They go around wearing necklaces with the guru’s photo, or they hang the guru’s picture on their wall. Some kind of fall in love with the guru, but it’s more like an infatuation, the way others fall for their therapists. It becomes very personal and can easily be mishandled. — Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. 10 May 2017.

When we recite Amitabha's name, we are embraced by the Buddha’s light. Our sufferings really don’t matter any more. When we recite, our vexations transform into serenity. Nothing else changes; everything remains determined by cause and consequence. Yet when our minds are at peace, isn’t everything already different? — Master Jingzong. 9 May 2017.

The wonderful paradox about the truth of suffering is that the more we open to it and understand it, the lighter and freer our mind becomes. Our mind becomes more spacious, more open, and happier as we move past our avoidance and denial to see what is true. — Joseph Goldstein. 8 May 2017.

The majestic light of the Buddha Amitayus is the most exalted. No other Buddha's light can match his. The light of some Buddhas illuminates a hundred Buddha-lands, and that of others, a thousand Buddha-lands. — The Buddha. 5 May 2017.

The wind has settled, the blossoms have fallen;
Birds sing, the mountains grow dark—
This is the wondrous power of Buddhism.
— Ryokan. 4 May 2017.

Whoever, man or woman, aged or young, healthy or sick, near death or being alive, even animal, beings with transitional body, or even ghosts and hell beings, can be reborn if they recite Amitabha’s name. — Master Huijing. 2 May 2017.

mirror facing mirror
nowhere else
— Ikkyu. 1 May 2017.

People don’t study that which is beyond good and evil. This is what they should study. “I’m going to be like this; I’m going to be like that,” they say. But they never say, “I’m not going to be anything because there really isn’t any ‘I’.” — Ajahn Chah. 28 April 2017.

It helps to remember that our spiritual practice is not about accomplishing anything—not about winning or losing—but about ceasing to struggle and relaxing as it is. — Pema Chödron. 27 April 2017.

You are not alone because all the time there are numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas surrounding you, everywhere loving you, guiding you, that is what they do. — Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 26 April 2017

If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? — Dogen Zenji. 25 April 2017

Each step may seem to take forever, but no matter how uninspired you feel, continue to follow your practice schedule precisely and consistently. This is how we can use our greatest enemy, habit, against itself. — Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. 24 April 2017

Someone who has acted carelessly, But later becomes careful and attentive, Is as beautiful as the bright moon emerging from the clouds. — Nagarjuna. 21 April 2017

Beings evolve through karma, take birth because of karma, enjoy and function through karma. — The Buddha. 20 April 2017

A great deal of our suffering arises because we are conflicted about reputation. Instead of being concerned about the reality of what we are, we’re concerned about what other people think of us. We’re too outward looking. That’s incredible. As far as Buddhism is concerned, that’s a sick mind; totally, clinically sick. — Lama Thubten Yeshe. 19 April 2017

Of course, good deeds can dignify one’s character and beautify the world. But Amitabha-recitation represents the natural beauty of life. Virtuous deeds resemble the artificial enhancements of cosmetics. — Master Jingzong. 18 April 2017

Meditation is offering your genuine presence to yourself in every moment. — Thich Nhat Hanh. 13 April 2017

No matter where you stay, be it a busy place or a solitary retreat, the only things that you need to conquer are your mind's five poisons, and your own true enemies, the eight worldly concerns—nothing else. — Chatral Rinpoche. 12 April 2017

Tolerance makes change possible. Whether others transform or not, we ourselves will have changed - for the better. This inevitable turn applies to converting foes into friends as much as to educating the young. — Master Jingzong. 11 April 2017

I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied. — Michael Collins, Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 astronaut. 10 April 2017

Every day, priests minutely examine the Law
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
How to read the love letters sent by the wind and rain, the snow and moon.
 — Ikkyu. 7 April 2017

To meet someone who really hurts you is to meet a rare and precious treasure. Hold that person in high esteem, and make full use of the opportunity to eradicate your defects and make progress on the path. If you cannot yet feel love and compassion for those who treat you badly, it is a sign that your mind has not been fully transformed and that you need to keep working on it with increased application. — Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. 6 April 2017.