Wisdom for Today
Teachings from the world of Buddhism and beyond, updated each weekday
If one walks looking far ahead and pays no attention to the ground beneath his eyes he will stumble. If one gazes critically upon others and forgets to look into himself he will bring tragedy upon himself. — Rennyo Shonin. 5 June 2023
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- Listen Sariputra, all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness; their true nature is the nature of no Birth no Death, no Being no Non-being, no Defilement no Purity, no Increasing no Decreasing. — Heart Sutra [Translated by Thich Nhat Hanh]. 2 June 2023
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- [Tibetans] look at a person who holds himself above others, believing he is better than others and knows more, and the Tibetans say that person is like someone sitting on a mountain top: it is cold there, it is hard, and nothing will grow. But if the person puts himself in a lower position, then that person is like a fertile field. — B. Alan Wallace. 1 June 2023
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- The deities protect one guarded by the Dhamma, who has managed his wealth for the welfare of many. Fame does not forsake one steadfast in the Dhamma, who is learned and of virtuous behavior and observances. Who is fit to blame him, standing in Dhamma, accomplished in virtuous behavior, a speaker of truth, possessing a sense of shame, pure like a coin of refined gold? Even the devas praise him; by Brahmā, too, he is praised. — The Buddha (Aṅguttaranikāya 5.42). 31 May 2023
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- We should study and practice the Buddha’s teachings often and contemplate their meaning. As our right view of the Dharma gains a stronghold, our faith grows. When Buddha says “Life is suffering”, we should observe life, apply ‘systematic attention’ to this saying and deeply reflect on its cause. As our life experiences grow, we will have a better understanding of the saying which is one of the Four Noble Truths. Our faith in these truths will be strengthened and we will also believe that the Land of Ultimate Bliss is real. — Master Jingzong. 30 May 2023
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- There is no other way to reach enlightenment than by recognizing buddha nature and attaining stability in it. Buddhas of the past did that, and the present-day practitioners who will be the buddhas of the future will do so by recognizing their own nature and attaining stability in it. There is no other way. Nobody else can accomplish enlightenment for us or pull us into liberation. It is completely up to ourselves. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. 29 May 2023
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- The wisdom and light that flashed and radiated under the historic Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya more than 2,500 years ago is of great significance to human destiny. It illuminated the way by which mankind could cross from a world of superstition, of hatred and fear, to a new world of light, of true love and happiness. — Bhikkhu Sanghasena. 25 May 2023
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- Contemplate the world as such: after the waves pass, the sea returns to a state of calmness; after the storm passes, the earth returns to a state of serenity; likewise, after one’s pains and pleasures pass, so too will the heart return to a state of peace. — Master Huiyuan. 24 May 2023
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- It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view. Therefore, it is useful when something happens to try to look at it from different angles and then you can see the positive or beneficial aspects. Moreover, if something happens, it is very useful immediately to make a comparison with some other event or with the events of other people or other nations. This is also very helpful in sustaining your peace of mind. — His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet. 23 May 2023
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- Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, But at the peak We all gaze at the Single bright moon. — Ikkyū Sōjun. 22 May 2023
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- Rejoicing is regarded as the lazy person’s way to create great positive potential. When we rejoice at others’ virtues — their kindness, generosity, ethical discipline, patience, joyous effort, concentration, wisdom, and so forth — we accumulate positive potential as if we had that admirable attitude or had done that beneficial action ourselves. Since we need to accumulate great positive potential to progress along the path, rejoicing at others’ goodness and happiness is definitely worthwhile. It spurs us along the path to enlightenment and also makes us happy right now. — Thubten Chodron. 19 May 2023
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- The more you know yourself, the more clarity there is. Self-knowledge has no end—you don’t achieve, you don’t come to a conclusion. It is an endless river. — Jiddu Krishnamurti. 18 May 2023
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- The fundamental cause of violence is when one is fixated on an extreme idea, such as justice or morality. This fixation usually stems from a habit of buying into dualistic views, such as bad and good, ugly and beautiful, moral and immoral. One’s inflexible self-righteousness takes up all the space that would allow empathy for others. Sanity is lost. Understanding that all these views or values are compounded and impermanent, as is the person who holds them, violence is averted. — Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. 17 May 2023
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- Unless you realize your own mind— no matter which spiritual practices you perform—you’re like a beggar who doesn’t know that a stone in his fireplace is made of gold and goes around begging! — Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol. 16 May 2023
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- When going on a journey, it is more effective to travel with a good guide than to travel with a map. When going to nibbana, it is more effective to go with a good guide (a good meditation teacher) than with the “map” from a book. — Sayadaw U Pandita. 15 May 2023
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- Those who think in terms of an intrinsic being and of otherness, Who hold the view that things exist or don’t exist, Have failed to understood the nature of reality That the Buddha has set forth. — Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche. 12 May 2023
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- You can go and meet a really skilled doctor, hold his hand, smile at him but you can’t get well from that, you have to take the medicine. It is the same with the dharma, we have to practice the dharma if we want it to transform us. — Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. 11 May 2023
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- The Great Way is easy, but people are forever being taken down sidetracks. They look after the palaces, but ignore the fields! The granaries are empty but they wear wonderful clothes! — The Dàodé Jīng. 10 May 2023
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- When we recite Amitabha’s name, he embraces us with his mind; if we think of Amitabha, he knows it. Those who exclusively remember the Buddha are also remembered and known by the Buddha. If they sincerely dedicate all of their merits towards rebirth in the Land of Peace and Joy, they can see Amitabha’s fully adorned golden body, which is also adorned with merits and virtues. — Master Shandao. 9 May 2023
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- According to Shakyamuni Buddha, it’s normal for human beings to be anxious, because it’s normal for human beings not to understand themselves. When you don’t understand yourself, you’re uncomfortable and scared. When you realize that you’re anxious, the Buddha’s teaching is to practice being patient with it. — Reb Anderson. 8 May 2023
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- If you do not implement the teachings, your destructive emotions and self-clinging will not diminish, and the Dharma instructions will be of no use to you, no matter how many you receive. — Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. 5 May 2023
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- Regardless of the emotion being experienced—be it desire, anger, pride, jealousy, envy, greed, or whatever—what is really going on is a shift in attention. The mind is expressing itself in a different way. Nothing implicitly requires one to presume that this emotion has any reality in and of itself. It is just that the mind is expressing itself in a different way than it was a moment ago. — Kalu Rinpoche. 4 May 2023
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- Peace can exist only in the present moment. It is ridiculous to say, “Wait until I finish this, then I will be free to live in peace.” What is “this”? A diploma, a job, a house, the payment of a debt? If you think that way, peace will never come. There is always another “this” that will follow the present one. If you are not living in peace at this moment, you will never be able to. — Thich Nhat Hanh. 3 May 2023
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- If enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing in nothing, believing in something which has no form or no color, which is ready to take form or color. This enlightenment is the immutable truth. — Shunryu Suzuki. 2 May 2023
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- Once we recognize that other sentients being – people, animals, and even insects – are just like us, that their basic motivation is to experience peace and to avoid suffering, then, when someone acts in some way or says something that is against our wishes, we’re able to have some basis for understanding: oh well, this person (or whatever) is coming from this position because, just like me, they want to be happy and they want to avoid suffering. That’s their basic purpose. They’re not out to get me; they’re only doing what they think they need to do. — Mingyur Rinpoche. 28 April 2023
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- When I just rest within empty lucidity, the false cavern of all things of samsara and nirvana implodes, and everything dawns as the ornamentation of ultimate reality. — Sera Khandro. 27 April 2023
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- Amitabha’s accomplishments are readily available, and the credentials necessary for rebirth in the Land of Bliss are also readily available. Where are they? They are within his Great Name of myriad virtues – Namo Amituofo. So, even a person who has committed the Five Gravest Transgressions and the Ten Unwholesome Deeds, can still be reborn; providing that he exclusively recites Amitabha’s Name, and aspires to be reborn. — Master Huijing. 26 April 2023
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- There Is No Problem: You are miserable because you are constrained by your own thoughts, like a silkworm making a cocoon around itself. If you let go of your thoughts, your problems will vanish like the silkworm moth that emerges from the cocoon and flies away. — Venerable Pomnyun Sunim. 25 April 2023
