Favourite Quotations

[federica]

I have been collecting quotations for as long as I can remember. I have also been hassling the ever-patient and long-suffering Creator of this Site (Brian, to most of you!) for a quotes patch on the main menu page so that when we come on site, we are greeted by one of the countless pearls of wisdom available today. Well, needless to say, the guy's a busy man, so he's given me the all-clear, bless him, to post a quotations thread.... one way of getting me off his back! Jus' kidding Brian!

So from here on in, guys, use this thread to post any little gems you feel might inspire, amuse or instruct. And for my part, feel free to use anything I post..... It's all re-cycled knowlege, anyway....

So here goes:

"Weigh, within your heart, the true advantages of the energies of Love, Compassion and Forgiveness, against those of Anger, Fear and Resentment.
Then Choose."

[Jason]

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
~A. Einstein

And of course my favourite is on my signature which was supposedly uttered by Siddhattha Gotama.

[federica]

"It little matters whether Heaven actually exists or not; the important thing is to live life as if it did."



Hello Elohim, nice to see you again!

[Jason]

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and the sun and animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labour to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence towards people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mother of families, read those leaves in the open air of every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and motion and joint of your body.

~Walt Whitman

[federica]

That's a good one Elohim....

"If it looks like Wisdom, but it is not loving, then it is not Wisdom.
If it feels like Love, but is not wise, then it is not Love.
Like the two wings that enable a bird to fly, Love and Wisdom are Interdependent."

I have always tried to utilise this creed when particularly peeved by my kids.....

[Jason]

"Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: You won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you."

~Ajahn Chah

[federica]

"We make a Living by what we get, but we make a Life by what we give."
W.S. Churchill.


"Work should be something made greater by ourselves, and in turn, that makes us greater."

maya Angelou

[Jason]

When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'

~Don Marquis

Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.

~Sam Ewing

Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition.

~Sir William Osler

[ZenLunatic]

Here are some highly inspirational posters. I want two or three for my office!!

http://www.despair.com/demotivators/indem.html

[federica]

You see? You lack ambition, they're obviously working.... I want them ALL!! hahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!!!

[Brian]

I am a huge fan of despair.com.. I can't wait until I can afford some for my office

[Jason]

"Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist;
use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."

~Dalai Lama

[*BeautifulSpringtimeFist*]

"If you can't find the truth where you are - where else do you expect to find it?"

- (I can't remember who said this)

[Jason]

People used to explore the dimensions of reality by taking LSD to make the world look weird.
Now the world is weird and they take Prozac to make it look normal.

~Bangstrom

[federica]

"when the heart grieves for what is lost, the Spirit rejoices for what it has left."

SUFI SAYING

[federica]

"Everything that happens BEHIND our eyes, is far greater and more powerful than anything that goes on IN FRONT of them."

Gary Zukav, 'Seat of the Soul.'

[federica]

"The Past is OVER. Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a Better past".

[DharmaKitten]

Originally Posted by federica

"The Past is OVER. Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a Better past".

Ya' know, that makes a lot of sense. Hmmm.

[federica]

looked it up.... finally discovered it was first spoken by Carl Jung....
here's where I finally found it.....

http://www.rochesterunitarian.org/2004-05/20040926.html

if anyone is interested...

[federica]

Learn to Respond, not to reACT.

Stop: Think -
And if your next action were to be your last?

Even the darkest hour has only sixty minutes

Do not keep searching for the Truth - just let go of your opinions

'Karma' means you don't get away with anything.

Learn to 'let go.' It is the Key to happiness.

No matter how difficult the past, you can always begin again today.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

It is not our preferences that cause us problems; it is our attachment to them.

Not getting what you most want, and getting it, can both be disappointing.


Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

"Illumination" does not mean 'Lighting the lamp'. It means 'Seeing in the Dark.'

You might be able to stop Love going from you, but you can't stop Love coming to you.....

The only real thing that can hurt, is your resistance to Change.

Destiny may give you your Journey, but how you travel, is your choice.

Denial keeps us in Pain.

Security does not consist in having things, it consists in not wanting them...

"Things are not what they seem.... Nor are they otherwise...."
(Lankavatara Sutta)

Just because you don't believe something, it doesn't mean it isn't true.

Of all the Liars in the world, at times, the worst are our own Fears.

Every minute you spend angry is sixty seconds during which you could have been enjoying yourself.

A little faith, a little Reverence, for the things we cannot see.

Nothing is so Strong as Gentleness, nothing is as Gentle as True Strength.

He is not a fool who makes mistakes; he is a fool who does not learn from them.

No-one but you can free you from the Slavery of your own Mind.

He who does not think much of himself is greater than he believes himself to be.

If you have a problem and you CAN resolve it, then there's no point in worrying - is there?
if you have a problem, and you CANNOT resolve it, then there's no use in worrying - is there?

"God has no religion". (Gandhi)

I am because we are.
(saying of the Xhosa tribe, Africa.)

Wisdom tells me I am nothing;
Love tells me I am everything;
between the two, my Life flows.

Learn from all. Judge no-one. be kind to all. And say 'thank you'.

Speak your Truth. Tell it like It Is. There is no reason to do otherwise.

As we walk the Path to Enlightenment, nothing is meaningless, and it all counts.

Truth-telling begins by becoming aware of what you tell yourself.

The secret awaits for eyes unclouded by longing.

Self-forgiveness, Self-Love and Self-acceptance are all essential companions as you walk the Path.

THose with faith die once in their life-time. Those without Faith die a little each day.

Of the two witnesses, listen to your Conscience.

Work should be something made great by ourselves, and in turn, that makes US greater.

Time doesn't go to waste.... it doesn't go anywhere; if Time is wasting, you're wasting it.

Meditation is how Buddhas pray.

If we want to simplify and deepen our Lives, we must simplify and deepen our Minds.

Renunciation means 'letting go of Holding back.'

"It is better to simply see God in everything than to try and figure it all out" (Neem Karoli Baba.)

There is no way to Happiness and Peace. Happiness and Peace IS the way.

'Forever' is composed of 'Now's.

"The purpose of Life is simply, to be happy, and to make others happy." HH the Dalai Lama.

"Trying" isn't "Doing."

"It should be no more surprising to be born twice than it is to be born once!" Voltaire.

Just to BE is a blessing,
Just to LIVE, is holy.

Change takes TIME.

[federica]

It all starts in your head, with what you tell yourself.

Accept and live only according to what will enable you to see the Truth face to face.

Whatever the Present Moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.

Emotion arises at the place where Mind and Body meet.

We find Meaning in the Seeking itself. every step along the Way IS the Way.....

[federica]

Spiritual Intelligence is existential Awareness.

[federica]

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." Buddha

Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass. ~ Paul J Meyer

"As soon as you trust yourself you will know how to live." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"The life we want is not merely the one we have chosen and made. It is the one we must be choosing and making." Wendell Berry

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." ~ Henry Miller

"The purpose of life is to increase the warm heart." ~ Dalai Lama

"Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them." ~ John Updike

"The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose." ~ Richard Leider

"You are only wealthy if you have something that money cannot buy." Garth Brooks

"Apparent failure may hold in its rough shell the germs of a success that will blossom in time, and bear fruit throughout eternity." ~ Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

"Shallow men believe in luck...... Strong men believe in cause and effect." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." Lucille Ball

"The world around you is deeply and madly in love with you." Dan (delphizealot)

"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." ~ Arthur Rubinstein

"It is never too late to become what you might have been." ~ George Eliot

""When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." ~ Edward Teller

"When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." ~ Lao Tzu

"Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it. We must learn to see the world anew." ~ Albert Einstein

"Anything you strive to hold captive will hold you captive and if you desire freedom you must give freedom." Peace Pilgrim

"The reality of time exists only within us." ~ Chin-Ning Chu

"Only you can discover your gifts because only you know what you love." ~ Barbara Sher

"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." ~ Arthur C. Clarke

"Until you get dissatisfied, you won't do anything to really move your life to another level. Dissatisfaction is a gem. If you're totally satisfied, you're going to get comfortable. And then your life begins to deteriorate." ~ Anthony Robbins

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." ~ Harvey Fierstein

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." ~ Mark Twain

"An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind." ~ Buddha

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." ~ Joshua J. Marine

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." ~ Albert Einstein

"There is only one journey. Going inside yourself." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." ~ William Shakespeare

"By accepting one's own shadow one gives unconditional love to all beings. " ~ Vilayat Inayat Khan

"Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music. The world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people." ~ Henry Miller

"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it." ~ Marcus Aurelius

"If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting but I would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything." ~ Allyson Jones

"The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself." ~ Mark Caine

"Today I forgive all those who have ever offended me. I give my love to all thirsty hearts, both to those who love me and to those who do not love me." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

"The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can't be organized or regulated. It isn't true that everybody should follow one path. Listen to your own truth." ~ Ram Dass

"We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic." ~ E. Merrill Root

"Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest to all of us." ~ Meister Eckhart

"We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them." ~ Kahlil Gibran

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." ~ Anais Nin

"Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life." ~ Leo Buscaglia

"It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all." ~ Emmet Fox

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different." ~ Coco Chanel

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." ~ Epictetus

"Transformation is not about making ourselves better but about allowing ourselves to become who we truly are." ~ Amrit Desai

"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." ~ Wayne Dyer

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." ~ Oscar Wilde

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes time. Vision with action can change the world. A true leader must first see an idea as opportunity, then choose to act upon it." ~ Joel Barker

"Every challenge we face can be solved by a dream."
~ David Schwartz

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." ~ William James

"Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace." ~ Bhagavad Gita

"Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself, and asks nothing beyond itself. Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise." ~ Marcus Aurelius

"If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world." ~ Chinese Proverb

"If you expect nothing, you're apt to be surprised. You'll get it." ~ Malcolm S. Forbes

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." ~ Albert Einstein

"Love is a force that connects us to every strand of the universe, an unconditional state that characterizes human nature, a form of knowledge that is always there for us if only we can open ourselves to it." ~ Emily H. Sell

""Success is 99 percent failure." ~ Soichiro Honda

"The superior man... does not set his mind either for or against anything, he will pursue whatever is right. The superior man thinks of virtue, the common man of comfort." ~ Confucius

"When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous." ~ Dr Wayne Dyer

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only dream but also believe." ~ Anatole France

"Worry is holding in your mind that which you don't want to happen. Remember: If you think it is and it isn't, it will become an is even though it isn't." ~ Author Unknown

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." ~ Napoleon Hill

"As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your life wakes up and everything has meaning." ~ Barbara Sher

"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are." ~ E. E. Cummings

"Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy." ~ Anthony Robbins

"The greatest failure is the failure to try." ~ William Arthur Ward

"No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings." ~ William Blake

"The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions." ~ Claude Levi-Strauss

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." ~ Arthur C. Clarke

"The greatest problem you have is your greatest opportunity." ~ Michael Wickett

"Be bold with your dreams. Nurture the dreams that inspire you to go beyond your limits." ~ Author Unknown

"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." ~ Buddha

"Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can't - you're right." Henry Ford.

[federica]

I have a deep gratitude to Satori, from e-sangha who gave me these from a collection she began. she has given me characteristically generous permission to use as we see fit....
Thanks satori, and bless you!!

[federica]

"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened." ~ Lao Tzu

"Creation is only the projection into form of that which already exists." ~ Shrimad Bhagavatam

"Be really whole and all things will come to you." ~ Lao Tzu

"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." ~ C.G. Jung

"Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often far more accurate than you are willing to believe." ~ Claudia Black

"Do not fear mistakes. There are none." ~ Miles Davis

"Money will come when you are doing the right thing." ~ Mike Phillips

"Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor." ~ Paul Hawken

"Look and you will find it--what is unsought will go undetected." ~ Sophocles

"All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life." ~ M.C. Richards

"Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it." ~ Goethe

"Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness." ~ Shakti Gawain

"Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage." ~ Claude M. Bristol

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Life the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed." ~ C.G. Jung

"We have been taught to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic." ~ Susan Jeffers

"It always comes back to the same necessity: go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard." ~ May Sarton

"You need to claim the events of your life to make yourself yours." ~ Anne-Wilson Schaef

"Passion in your heart, integrity in your soul." ~ Robert Mondavi

"Deal with the faults of others as gently as your own." ~ Chinese proverb

"All you need is enough money to say no." ~ Katherine Hepburn

"Stress is resistance to what is." ~ Buddha

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." ~ Author unknown

"How ironic that we pay other people to dance, when we should be dancing; to sing, when we should be singing." ~ Edward Weston

"Desire is adopted as a pain killer. Every desire is an attempt to evade the unknown." ~ Author unknown

"The healing mind cannot hold two opposing thoughts at the same time. If you hold a positive thought, you cannot hold a negative one." ~ Author unknown

"I am not a teacher, but an awakener." ~ Robert Frost

"Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself." ~ Richard Bach

"Live never to be ashamed if anything you do or say is published around the world--even if what is published is not true." ~ Author unknown

"This world and everything in it are illusions! It's all illusions!" ~ Author unknown

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."

"I have evolved past anything that threatens me." ~ Ray Luca

"A ship is safe in harbor--but that's not what ships are for."

"Confusion is the result of attempting to cling to illusion in the face of what you are seeing to be true for you. If you will continue to look, the confusion will give way to clarity. And the clarity is compassion."

[Brian]

wow.. you weren't kidding! that's a LOT

[federica]

Brian, use whatever you want, discard what you feel wouldn't fit - in any sense of the word.... "Jus' doin' my best...."

[Adiana]

Hey Fed!

That is a lot of good advice that you posted. Thanks for sharing.

Adiana

[federica]

"Whatever we have done with our lives, makes us what we are when we die. And everything, absolutely everything, counts."

Sogyal Rinpoche "The Tibetan book of Living & Dying."

[Satori]

Originally Posted by federica

I have a deep gratitude to Satori, from e-sangha who gave me these from a collection she began. she has given me characteristically generous permission to use as we see fit....
Thanks satori, and bless you!!

You're welcome! I'm glad you posted them!! They were in my personal "collection" for years.

[Simonthepilgrim]

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?

[emmak]

i think he is naked. his home is where he lies.

[Brian]

Welcome to the site, Satori

[Knight of Buddha]

"Nonviolent resistance is superior to the strength of arms"

-Gandhi

"How is it that the man who eats so much is always hungry and yet the man who eats so little is rarely hungry?"

-Some Greek Guy

"If the opposite of pro is con, logically, the opposite of progress is congress"

"Don't forget about Poland"

-George Bush

[federica]

"Do not make the mistake of imagining that the nature of mind is exclusive only to our minds. It is in fact the nature of everything. It can never be said too often that to realize the nature of mind is to realize the nature of all things." SOGYAL RINPOCHE

[federica]

"What is mind? Doesn't matter. What is matter? Never mind."

[fee]

I like these two:

"Any person capable of angering you becomes your master, he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him" - Epictetus

"The important thing is this: to be able to sacrifice what we are for what we could become" - Charles Du Bos

[ajani_mgo]

"Laugh at your own mistakes. If not in this life, when are you gonna have a chance to laugh again? Good things are too few... Even in abundance they are taken for granted and neglected... This can be laughed at, too."

"There is only one thing in a rabbit's mind. SEX. There is only one thing in a dolphin's mind. FUN. There is only one thing in a panda's life. BAMBOO.

There are two things in a cat's life. MICE and SLEEP. There are two things in a dog's life. CATS and BONES.

There are an infinite number of things in a human's life. We want sex, fun, food, sleep and pets and what else... This shows that we are all interrelated, and we bear the responsibilities of all of it. And thus to satisfy ourselves we need all conditions to be satisfied.

What the hell? In a perfect life there's nothing you want. You are satisfied with nothing. Only nothing can satisfy you.

In my life? I want all that has nothing. By realizing that everything is inherent of independent meaning, you can want everything without anything."

By Ajani Mgo, the Most Fascinating Handsome Fantastic Wonderful Beautiful Impressive Gung-Ho Excellent Great Powerful Professional of All Time

[KBuck]

Ever since I first read the first three Dune books by Frank Herbert, I've been facinated by the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Only after I became a buddhist and re-read them did I realize their origins. The two that serve as my signature are among my favorites.

[MoonLgt]

My Favorite saying is : "The answer is always there before we ask the question. THe key is to know how to ask the question to get the real answer." J.T Garrett

[buddhafoot]

"Next time I think about getting married - I'll just give a house to a woman that I don't like."

-bf

[Treebeard]

"The rich may think that happiness is in million dollar bills
so how come half of them OD on sleeping pills?"

- Motorhead song lyric


"only the effort matters, the sucess of the result is irrelivant"

- something I'd tell myself which helped me meditate more sucessfully

"everybody is your teacher. those who wish to educate and help you are your teacher. those who wish to harm and attack you are your teacher. the only difference is the enemy doesn't know his actions teach you, and the ignorant mind may not know how to make that person your teacher."

- just something I realized.

[Argon.Aid]

"An enemy is a necessary condition for patience.See him as your Guru."
-Just something that I saw from the Net

"A tree with strong roots can withstand the strongest of storms.But the tree cannot grow this roots just as the storm appears on the horizon."
-From The Art of Happiness

"Life is wasted on the living. "
- Douglas Adam

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't. "
-Richard Bach

All these Given by Argon.Aid,The guy who is more handsome than Ajani.(joking).

"May your faith in your religion and yourself remain unwavering."
-Ar.Aid

[ajani_mgo]

Ah! Who got the girl with the most beautiful smile here? LOL

[federica]

When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.
William James

I sit at my window this morning
where the world like a passer-by stops for a moment,
nods to me and goes.
Rabindranath Tagore

People learn something every day, and a lot of times it's that what they learned the day before was wrong.
Bill Vaughan

[Magwang]

This is my home page. Each hit gives you a new quote (although its randomness is suspect - I get many repeats)

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Random

[Frizzer]

"Suffering is caused by not wanting the pain"

Taken from the podcast "Basic Buddhism - Part 1" by Kusala Bhikshu on www.urbandharma.org

[Jason]

"People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what they are. If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant. If you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous. We should not think that holiness is based on what we do but rather on what we are, for it is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works."

~ Meister Eckhart

[Dharma Bum]

Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent
Dionysius the Elder

[federica]

Lovely one, Dharma Bum. Here, on roughly the same tack, is another....

"Keep the words that come out of your Mouth, short and sweet - some day, you may have to eat them...."

(Donated, by proxy, by Buddhafoot. )