This world needs tremendous help. Everybody's in trouble. Sometimes they pretend not to be, but still, there's a lot of pain and hardship. Everybody, every minute, is tortured, suffering a lot. We shouldn't just ignore them and save ourselves alone. That would be a tremendous crime. In fact, we can't just save ourselves, because our... Continue Reading →
Whenever you look at your mind, you can't help but recognize your similarity to those around you. When you see your own desire to be happy, you can't avoid seeing the same desire in others, and when you look clearly at your own fear, anger, or aversion, you can't help but see that everyone around... Continue Reading →
"An old man meets a young man who asks: “Do you remember me?” And the old man says no. Then the young man tells him he was his student, and the teacher asks: “What do you do, what do you do in life?” The young man answers:“Well, I became a teacher.”“Ah, how good, like me?”... Continue Reading →
“We have to forgive ourselves. We have all made mistakes and acted stupidly. So what? We're human beings. If we were perfect then we wouldn't need a path, since we would already have arrived! It is because we have problems, because we have faults, because we've made stupid mistakes that we need a path. So... Continue Reading →
What are the experiences that the teachings of the Buddha are founded on? They are sadness, love, and openness. Although they appear to be quite different, sadness and openness are in fact intimately connected. The profound sadness that overwhelms us when we understand the impermanent nature of all phenomena opens us up to the world... Continue Reading →
One's 'extraordinariness' lies in the ability to truly comprehend how ordinary we are with all our fears and dreams. Understanding that all desires, temptations & feelings that arise within us have been experienced by many others as well. May we use this understanding in relating to others better, may we use this to have more... Continue Reading →
We have to train our mind to see what’s good in everyone - not ignoring the faults, but not hardening our mind around them either. When we can see the good in others and see their potential, then our attitude towards them and our way of relating to them changes completely. This is a change... Continue Reading →
We have to train our mind to see what’s good in everyone - not ignoring the faults, but not hardening our mind around them either. When we can see the good in others and see their potential, then our attitude towards them and our way of relating to them changes completely. This is a change... Continue Reading →
"There’s a practice I like called “Just like me.” You go to a public place and sit there and look around. Traffic jams are very good for this. You zero in on one person and say to yourself things such as “Just like me, this person doesn’t want to feel uncomfortable. Just like me, this... Continue Reading →
Our first concern tends to be our own search for happiness and our attempts to escape suffering. But if you step back and see yourself as just one among the whole infinity of sentient beings, your individual wants and fears begin to look insignificant in comparison. Just as you want to be happy, so too... Continue Reading →
Bodhicitta is particularly available to us when we feel good heart; when we feel gratitude, appreciation or love in any form whatsoever. In any moment of tenderness or happiness, bodhicitta is always here. If we begin to acknowledge these moments and cherish them, if we begin to realize how precious they are, then no matter... Continue Reading →
When you practice compassion, don't "feel" the pain. When you feel the pain, you don't have any space left to practice compassion to anybody. Whenever you practice compassion keep very detached, with attachment...do you understand? This takes balance. "Compassion is something you hold, equanimity is how you detach." Without these two together, only holding, holding,... Continue Reading →
“To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is much more than... Continue Reading →
Deep down, people long for a genuine connection with others. We have the desire to interact with others from a tender human heart. This longing becomes quite palpable when we are dealing directly with others, such as during a visit to the doctor’s office. We often wish that the doctors or nurses would relate to... Continue Reading →
The discovery that our failings are shared by many others allows us to begin to forgive ourselves. If, rather than being uniquely flawed, we simply share common human failings, then these failings aren't our fault. They simply result from the difficulty of being a human. We all act unskillfully at times. We all hurt others.... Continue Reading →
Often we see other sentient beings as hassles: "This mosquito is disturbing me. Those politicians are corrupt. Why can't my colleagues do their work correctly?" and so on. But when we see sentient beings as being more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel, our perspective completely changes. For example, when we look at a fly buzzing... Continue Reading →
An aging master grew tired of his apprentice’s complaints. One morning, he sent him to get some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master told him to mix a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it.“How does it taste?” the master asked.“Bitter,” said the apprentice.The master chuckled and then asked... Continue Reading →
Every technique of Buddhist meditation ultimately generates compassion. Whenever you look at your mind, you can't help but recognize your similarity to those around you. When you see your own desire to be happy, you can't avoid seeing the same desire in others And when you look clearly at your own fear, anger, or aversion,... Continue Reading →
If we think only of ourselves, forget about other people, then our minds occupy very small area. Inside that small area, even tiny problem appears very big. But the moment you develop a sense of concern for others, you realize that, just like ourselves, they also want happiness; they also want satisfaction. When you have... Continue Reading →
The practice of loving-kindness and compassion toward others essentially involves cultivating the recognition that all living creatures want to feel whole, safe, and happy. All you have to do is remember that whatever’s going on inside someone else’s mind is the same thing that’s going on in yours. When you remember this, you realize that... Continue Reading →
