"The tragedy in life is not that we aimed too high and did not reach our goal. The tragedy in life is that we aim too low and reach it." - Michelangelo
"We are the custodians of our own breath." - Gandhi
"Anxiety is the currency of the insecure." - Nido Qubein
Quote
-
Guest
Life is like a ten-speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use.
-Charles M. Schultz
***
Filled with wonder, we sing, "I see the Lord."
So his name is Idamdra, "He who sees."
The name Indra stands for Idamdra.
The gods do like to sit behind a veil;
Indeed they like to sit behind a veil.
-Aitareya Upanishad
***
There are two kinds of speeches and two kinds of silences. Speech is either truth or a falsification, and silence is either fruition or heedlessness. If one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
have only one life, and it is short enough. Why waste it on the things I don't want most?
- Justice Louis Brandeis
***
Accept my words only when you have examined them for yourselves; do not accept them simply because of the reverence you have for me. Those who only have faith in me and affection for me will not find the final freedom. But those who have faith in the truth and are determined on the path, they will find awakening.
-Majjhima Nikaya
***
-Charles M. Schultz
***
Filled with wonder, we sing, "I see the Lord."
So his name is Idamdra, "He who sees."
The name Indra stands for Idamdra.
The gods do like to sit behind a veil;
Indeed they like to sit behind a veil.
-Aitareya Upanishad
***
There are two kinds of speeches and two kinds of silences. Speech is either truth or a falsification, and silence is either fruition or heedlessness. If one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
have only one life, and it is short enough. Why waste it on the things I don't want most?
- Justice Louis Brandeis
***
Accept my words only when you have examined them for yourselves; do not accept them simply because of the reverence you have for me. Those who only have faith in me and affection for me will not find the final freedom. But those who have faith in the truth and are determined on the path, they will find awakening.
-Majjhima Nikaya
***
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Guest
Complete happiness is knowing God.
-John Calvin
***
Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot where dreams may grow.
-Louise Driscoll (submitted by MelodyGregory)
***
God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies.
-Hudson Taylor
***
Make every act an offering to me (God); regard me as your only protector. Relying on interior discipline, meditate on me always. Remembering me, you shall overcome all difficulties through my grace. But if you will not heed me in your self-will, nothing will avail you.
-Bhagavad Gita 18:57-58
***
Once Luqman was asked how he had attained such merit. He replied, "By adhering to virtue, by fulfilling all pledges, and by giving up futile apprehensions."
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Malek bin Hawari
***
Do not say, "When I have leisure, I will study." Perhaps you will have no leisure.
- Pirkei Avot 2:4
***
He whose senses are steadied
like stallions
well-trained by the charioteer,
his conceit abandoned,
free of effluent,
Such:
even devas adore him.
Like the earth, he doesn't react--
cultured,
Such,
like Indra's pillar,
like a lake free of mud.
For him
--Such--
there's no traveling on.
-Dhammapada, 7, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-John Calvin
***
Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot where dreams may grow.
-Louise Driscoll (submitted by MelodyGregory)
***
God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies.
-Hudson Taylor
***
Make every act an offering to me (God); regard me as your only protector. Relying on interior discipline, meditate on me always. Remembering me, you shall overcome all difficulties through my grace. But if you will not heed me in your self-will, nothing will avail you.
-Bhagavad Gita 18:57-58
***
Once Luqman was asked how he had attained such merit. He replied, "By adhering to virtue, by fulfilling all pledges, and by giving up futile apprehensions."
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Malek bin Hawari
***
Do not say, "When I have leisure, I will study." Perhaps you will have no leisure.
- Pirkei Avot 2:4
***
He whose senses are steadied
like stallions
well-trained by the charioteer,
his conceit abandoned,
free of effluent,
Such:
even devas adore him.
Like the earth, he doesn't react--
cultured,
Such,
like Indra's pillar,
like a lake free of mud.
For him
--Such--
there's no traveling on.
-Dhammapada, 7, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
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Guest
Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. God’s voice in response to mine is its most essential part.
-Andrew Murray
***
Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our own good deeds.
-Miguel de Cervantes
***
Allah Himself bears witness that there is no God but Him. The angels and those endowed with wisdom also bear witness that there is no God save Him. Only He executes true justice; indeed He is the Omnipotent, Judicious.
-Qur'an, Al-Imran, Surah 3:18
***
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat.
- Proverbs 25:21
***
Defiled by passion, the mind is not released. Defiled by ignorance, discernment does not develop. Thus from the fading of passion is there release of awareness. From the fading of ignorance is there release of discernment.
-Anguttara Nikaya
***
-Andrew Murray
***
Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our own good deeds.
-Miguel de Cervantes
***
Allah Himself bears witness that there is no God but Him. The angels and those endowed with wisdom also bear witness that there is no God save Him. Only He executes true justice; indeed He is the Omnipotent, Judicious.
-Qur'an, Al-Imran, Surah 3:18
***
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat.
- Proverbs 25:21
***
Defiled by passion, the mind is not released. Defiled by ignorance, discernment does not develop. Thus from the fading of passion is there release of awareness. From the fading of ignorance is there release of discernment.
-Anguttara Nikaya
***
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Guest
Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles. Whether we believe in God or karma, ethics is the foundation of every religion.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
***
Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
-Luke 12:15 (Revised Standard Version)
***
I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we're not wise enough to see it.
-Oprah Winfrey
***
The wise see the Lord of Love in the year,
Which has two paths, the northern and the southern.
Those who observe outward forms of worship
And are content with personal pleasures
Travel after death by the southern path,
The path of the ancestors and of rayi,
To the lunar world, and are born again.
But those who seek the Self through meditation,
Self-discipline, wisdom, and faith in God
Travel after death by the northern path,
The path of prana, to the solar world,
Supreme refuge, beyond the reach of fear
And free from the cycle of birth and death.
-Prashna Upanishad
***
Lord, if I worship You from the fear of Hell, then let me burn in Hell. If I worship You for the hope of Paradise, then deny me admittance to it. But if I worship You out of reverence for You alone, then do not deny me the joy of Your Eternal Beauty.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
From "The Bounty of Allah,"
***
People's good deeds are used by the Eternal as seeds for planting trees in the Garden of Eden: thus, each of us creates our own Paradise.
- Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezeritz
***
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
***
Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
-Luke 12:15 (Revised Standard Version)
***
I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we're not wise enough to see it.
-Oprah Winfrey
***
The wise see the Lord of Love in the year,
Which has two paths, the northern and the southern.
Those who observe outward forms of worship
And are content with personal pleasures
Travel after death by the southern path,
The path of the ancestors and of rayi,
To the lunar world, and are born again.
But those who seek the Self through meditation,
Self-discipline, wisdom, and faith in God
Travel after death by the northern path,
The path of prana, to the solar world,
Supreme refuge, beyond the reach of fear
And free from the cycle of birth and death.
-Prashna Upanishad
***
Lord, if I worship You from the fear of Hell, then let me burn in Hell. If I worship You for the hope of Paradise, then deny me admittance to it. But if I worship You out of reverence for You alone, then do not deny me the joy of Your Eternal Beauty.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
From "The Bounty of Allah,"
***
People's good deeds are used by the Eternal as seeds for planting trees in the Garden of Eden: thus, each of us creates our own Paradise.
- Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezeritz
***
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maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
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Guest
Desire only God and your heart will be satisfied.
-Augustine of Hippo
***
True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.
-Clarence Darrow
***
Those desiring success in their actions worship the gods through action in the world of mortals, their desires are quickly fulfilled. The distinctions of caste, guna, and karma have come from me. I am their cause, but I myself am changeless and beyond all action. Actions do not cling to me because I am not attached to their results. Those who understand this and practice it live in freedom. Knowing this truth, aspirants desiring liberation in ancient times engaged in action. You too can do the same, pursuing an active life in the manner of those ancient sages.
-Bhagavad Gita 4:12-15
***
When the craft of making armor was made known, iron became wax in your hands. The mountains became your accompanists; they chant the psalms along with you, like those who teach the recitation of the Qur’an with you.
-Rumi, “Mathnawi,” 3:2498-99
***
People were given two ears and one tongue so that they may listen more than speak.
- Jewish folk saying
***
It is hard to be born as a human being and hard to live the life of one. It is even harder to hear of the path and harder still to awake, to rise, and to follow.
Yet the teaching is simple: "Cease to do evil, learn to do good. And purify your mind."
-Dhammapada
***
-Augustine of Hippo
***
True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.
-Clarence Darrow
***
Those desiring success in their actions worship the gods through action in the world of mortals, their desires are quickly fulfilled. The distinctions of caste, guna, and karma have come from me. I am their cause, but I myself am changeless and beyond all action. Actions do not cling to me because I am not attached to their results. Those who understand this and practice it live in freedom. Knowing this truth, aspirants desiring liberation in ancient times engaged in action. You too can do the same, pursuing an active life in the manner of those ancient sages.
-Bhagavad Gita 4:12-15
***
When the craft of making armor was made known, iron became wax in your hands. The mountains became your accompanists; they chant the psalms along with you, like those who teach the recitation of the Qur’an with you.
-Rumi, “Mathnawi,” 3:2498-99
***
People were given two ears and one tongue so that they may listen more than speak.
- Jewish folk saying
***
It is hard to be born as a human being and hard to live the life of one. It is even harder to hear of the path and harder still to awake, to rise, and to follow.
Yet the teaching is simple: "Cease to do evil, learn to do good. And purify your mind."
-Dhammapada
***
-
Guest
Self-control will place a man among the Gods,
While lack of it will lead him into deepest darkness.
Guard your self-control as a precious treasure,
For there is no greater wealth in life than this.
-Tirukkural 13: 121-122
Excerpted from the Tirukkural, translated by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.
***
The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales.
-John Stott
***
The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.
-Henry Ward Beecher
***
Believers, do not forget how Allah bestowed His favor upon you by restraining the hands of those who sought to harm you; so remain conscious of Allah, and depend only upon your Lord.
-Qur'an, Al-Ma'idah, 5:11
***
If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Being Peace"
While lack of it will lead him into deepest darkness.
Guard your self-control as a precious treasure,
For there is no greater wealth in life than this.
-Tirukkural 13: 121-122
Excerpted from the Tirukkural, translated by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.
***
The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales.
-John Stott
***
The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.
-Henry Ward Beecher
***
Believers, do not forget how Allah bestowed His favor upon you by restraining the hands of those who sought to harm you; so remain conscious of Allah, and depend only upon your Lord.
-Qur'an, Al-Ma'idah, 5:11
***
If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Being Peace"
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maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
"Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor Frankl
"Molecules come together exactly like you, never again will your footsteps be repeated upon this earth. Your strength is the strength someone can count on, your life is the life that can make a difference."
Author Unknown
"Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes."
-Ben Franklin
“A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom.”
-Imamu Amiri Baraka, in Kulchur
There is no middle ground with freedom. It's an all or nothing proposition. And it is a great responsibility. We can practice it, live it, respect it, and grow from the experience of freedom every single day of our lives.
Viktor Frankl
"Molecules come together exactly like you, never again will your footsteps be repeated upon this earth. Your strength is the strength someone can count on, your life is the life that can make a difference."
Author Unknown
"Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes."
-Ben Franklin
“A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom.”
-Imamu Amiri Baraka, in Kulchur
There is no middle ground with freedom. It's an all or nothing proposition. And it is a great responsibility. We can practice it, live it, respect it, and grow from the experience of freedom every single day of our lives.
-
Guest
Many prayers are declined because of the rank odor of a corrupt heart rising through the beautiful words. Let the words be wrong, but the meaning right. That flawed utterance is dearer to God.
-Rumi, "The Life and Thought of Rumi"
***
Christ is a jewel of more worth than a thousand worlds, as all know who have him. Get him, and get all; miss him and miss all.
-Thomas Brooks
***
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-Marcel Proust
***
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-Marcel Proust
***
A man should always occupy himself with Torah and the commandments, even if not for their own sake, for even if he does them with an ulterior motive, he will eventually come to do them for their own sake.
- Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 50b
***
Meditation is running into reality. It does not insulate you from the pain of life. It allows you to delve so deeply into life and all its aspects that you pierce the pain barrier and go beyond suffering.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"
-Rumi, "The Life and Thought of Rumi"
***
Christ is a jewel of more worth than a thousand worlds, as all know who have him. Get him, and get all; miss him and miss all.
-Thomas Brooks
***
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-Marcel Proust
***
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-Marcel Proust
***
A man should always occupy himself with Torah and the commandments, even if not for their own sake, for even if he does them with an ulterior motive, he will eventually come to do them for their own sake.
- Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 50b
***
Meditation is running into reality. It does not insulate you from the pain of life. It allows you to delve so deeply into life and all its aspects that you pierce the pain barrier and go beyond suffering.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"
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maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
“For you, the world is weird because if you're not bored with it you're at odds with it. For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable. I want to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while; in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.”
-Don Juan (Carlos Castaneda)
-Don Juan (Carlos Castaneda)
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Guest
A man cannot do good before he is made good.
-Martin Luther
***
Those who abstain while allowing the mind to dwell on sensual pleasure cannot be called sincere spiritual aspirants. But they excel who control their senses through the mind, using them for selfless service.
-Bhagavad Gita 3:6-7
***
We cannot do away with our daily nourishment, but let us not wallow in gluttony. Abu Yazid was once asked why he regarded fasting so supreme. He replied, "Had the Pharaoh known hunger he would not have declared himself God. And Korah would never have been so rebellious had he endured the pain of starvation."
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Good cannot come without opposition.
- Rabbi Shalom Shakna ben Yosef, quoted in "Tales of the Hasidim," by Martin Buber
Reprinted from 'A
***
-Martin Luther
***
Those who abstain while allowing the mind to dwell on sensual pleasure cannot be called sincere spiritual aspirants. But they excel who control their senses through the mind, using them for selfless service.
-Bhagavad Gita 3:6-7
***
We cannot do away with our daily nourishment, but let us not wallow in gluttony. Abu Yazid was once asked why he regarded fasting so supreme. He replied, "Had the Pharaoh known hunger he would not have declared himself God. And Korah would never have been so rebellious had he endured the pain of starvation."
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Good cannot come without opposition.
- Rabbi Shalom Shakna ben Yosef, quoted in "Tales of the Hasidim," by Martin Buber
Reprinted from 'A
***
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maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
The Present
On Arturo Toscanini's eightieth birthday, someone asked his son, Walter, what his father ranked as his most important achievement. The son replied, “For him there can be no such thing. Whatever he happens to be doing at the moment is the biggest thing in his life - whether it is conducting a symphony or peeling an orange.”
-Ardis Whitman
When we live in present moment awareness we're living with heightened senses. We're awake to the many miracles all around us, all the time. We can find joy in peeling an orange: filling our nostrils with the sweet and tangy fragrance, feasting our eyes on the brilliant fiery color, coating our fingers with the sticky and succulent juice. The orange is a gift, and we are blessed. When we are grateful, we are in the moment, and life is good!
On Arturo Toscanini's eightieth birthday, someone asked his son, Walter, what his father ranked as his most important achievement. The son replied, “For him there can be no such thing. Whatever he happens to be doing at the moment is the biggest thing in his life - whether it is conducting a symphony or peeling an orange.”
-Ardis Whitman
When we live in present moment awareness we're living with heightened senses. We're awake to the many miracles all around us, all the time. We can find joy in peeling an orange: filling our nostrils with the sweet and tangy fragrance, feasting our eyes on the brilliant fiery color, coating our fingers with the sticky and succulent juice. The orange is a gift, and we are blessed. When we are grateful, we are in the moment, and life is good!
-
Guest
A man’s heart is right when he wills what God wills.
-Thomas Aquinas
***
When we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is confused and what is brilliant, what is bitter and what is sweet, it isn't just ourselves that we're discovering. We're discovering the universe.
-Pema Chodron
***
Neglecting valuable advice, an ignorant man
becomes the cause of his own misery.
That soul who neither follows another's orders nor fathoms what to do himself creates nothing but torment until he leaves this life.
-Tirukkural 847-848
***
I heard the Prophet narrate the story of another Prophet [Jesus] before him, whose people beat him and caused him to bleed. Even as he wiped the blood off his face he said, "Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do!"
-Reported by Nayeem bin Mas'ud, Sahih al-Bukhari
***
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.
- Rabbi Harold Kushner, "When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough," paraphrasing Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan
***
For a person of unsoddened mind,
unassaulted awareness,
abandoning merit and evil,
wakeful,
there is no danger
no fear.
-Dhammapada, 39, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
-Thomas Aquinas
***
When we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is confused and what is brilliant, what is bitter and what is sweet, it isn't just ourselves that we're discovering. We're discovering the universe.
-Pema Chodron
***
Neglecting valuable advice, an ignorant man
becomes the cause of his own misery.
That soul who neither follows another's orders nor fathoms what to do himself creates nothing but torment until he leaves this life.
-Tirukkural 847-848
***
I heard the Prophet narrate the story of another Prophet [Jesus] before him, whose people beat him and caused him to bleed. Even as he wiped the blood off his face he said, "Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do!"
-Reported by Nayeem bin Mas'ud, Sahih al-Bukhari
***
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.
- Rabbi Harold Kushner, "When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough," paraphrasing Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan
***
For a person of unsoddened mind,
unassaulted awareness,
abandoning merit and evil,
wakeful,
there is no danger
no fear.
-Dhammapada, 39, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
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maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
-
Guest
Do your utmost to guard your heart, for out of it comes life.
-Walter Hilton
***
Lady Luck generally woos those who earnestly, enthusiastically, unremittingly woo her.
-B.C. Forbes
***
Those who abstain from action while allowing the mind to dwell on sensual pleasure can not be called sincere spiritual aspirants. But they excel who control their senses through the mind, using them for selfless service.
-Bhagavad Gita 3:6-7
***
Beware, the life of this world is nothing but a pastime, a momentary delight. It is but empty bragging, a pursuit of wealth and children. It is like the vegetation that flourishes after rain and is a source of delight to the farmer; but soon it turns yellow and withers away, crumbling into worthless waste. But in the life to come an eternal contentment or a grievous suffering awaits you. The life of this world is only an illusion.
-Qur'an, Al-Hadid, Surah 57:20
***
If a man has beheld evil, he may know that it was shown to him in order that he learn his own guilt and repent; for what is shown to him is also within him.
- Baal Shem Tov
-Walter Hilton
***
Lady Luck generally woos those who earnestly, enthusiastically, unremittingly woo her.
-B.C. Forbes
***
Those who abstain from action while allowing the mind to dwell on sensual pleasure can not be called sincere spiritual aspirants. But they excel who control their senses through the mind, using them for selfless service.
-Bhagavad Gita 3:6-7
***
Beware, the life of this world is nothing but a pastime, a momentary delight. It is but empty bragging, a pursuit of wealth and children. It is like the vegetation that flourishes after rain and is a source of delight to the farmer; but soon it turns yellow and withers away, crumbling into worthless waste. But in the life to come an eternal contentment or a grievous suffering awaits you. The life of this world is only an illusion.
-Qur'an, Al-Hadid, Surah 57:20
***
If a man has beheld evil, he may know that it was shown to him in order that he learn his own guilt and repent; for what is shown to him is also within him.
- Baal Shem Tov
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maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
-
Guest
All I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.
-Abraham Lincoln
***
My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.
-Mark Twain
***
Seek out and befriend those who speak and move you to repent,
Reprove your wrong-doing and teach you the right ways.
-Tirukkural 80:795
***
When you purify your hearts just as you purify your raiment, union with God will follow. You cannot become a Sufi by merely wearing coarse woolen shirts and following strict ritual, pretending to be pious while inside your hearts you bear malice and avarice. A real Sufi has attained a state of perfection on the inside. If you sincerely seek union with God, then seek Him inside your hearts and leave the world alone.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, “Fayuz E Yazdani”
***
I pray because God, the Shekhinah, is an outcast. I pray because God is in exile, because we all conspire to blur all signs of His presence in the present or in the past. I pray because I refuse to despair.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
***
Patience is the sprouting of religion, firmness its root, good conduct is the flower, the enlightened heart the boughs and branches, wisdom supreme the entire tree, the "transcendent law" the fruit, its shade protects all living things. Say then! Why would you cut it down?
-Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king
***
-Abraham Lincoln
***
My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.
-Mark Twain
***
Seek out and befriend those who speak and move you to repent,
Reprove your wrong-doing and teach you the right ways.
-Tirukkural 80:795
***
When you purify your hearts just as you purify your raiment, union with God will follow. You cannot become a Sufi by merely wearing coarse woolen shirts and following strict ritual, pretending to be pious while inside your hearts you bear malice and avarice. A real Sufi has attained a state of perfection on the inside. If you sincerely seek union with God, then seek Him inside your hearts and leave the world alone.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, “Fayuz E Yazdani”
***
I pray because God, the Shekhinah, is an outcast. I pray because God is in exile, because we all conspire to blur all signs of His presence in the present or in the past. I pray because I refuse to despair.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
***
Patience is the sprouting of religion, firmness its root, good conduct is the flower, the enlightened heart the boughs and branches, wisdom supreme the entire tree, the "transcendent law" the fruit, its shade protects all living things. Say then! Why would you cut it down?
-Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king
***
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Guest
It is more serious to lose hope than to sin.
-John of Carpathos
***
What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it—would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.
-Ralph Marston
***
If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you.
-Ramana Maharshi
***
We have ordained humankind to show kindness toward their parents, for in pain their mothers carry them and in pain do they give birth. In thirty months they bear and wean; thus when they attain maturity they may pray, "Lord, inspire us that we may be thankful for the blessings You bestowed upon us and our parents. Kindle within us the desire to do what is upright and pleasing to You. Grant us righteous offspring, Lord. Verily, we turn to You in repentance, surrendering ourselves in earnest."
-Qur'an, Al-Ahqaf, Surah 46:15
***
If you add to the truth, you subtract from it.
- The Talmud
***
For a person
forced on by his thinking,
fierce in his passion,
focused on beauty,
craving grows all the more.
He's the one
who tightens the bond.
But one who delights
in the stilling of thinking,
always mindful
cultivating
a focus on the foul:
He's the one
who will make an end,
the one who will cut Mara's bond.
-Dhammapada, 24, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-John of Carpathos
***
What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it—would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.
-Ralph Marston
***
If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you.
-Ramana Maharshi
***
We have ordained humankind to show kindness toward their parents, for in pain their mothers carry them and in pain do they give birth. In thirty months they bear and wean; thus when they attain maturity they may pray, "Lord, inspire us that we may be thankful for the blessings You bestowed upon us and our parents. Kindle within us the desire to do what is upright and pleasing to You. Grant us righteous offspring, Lord. Verily, we turn to You in repentance, surrendering ourselves in earnest."
-Qur'an, Al-Ahqaf, Surah 46:15
***
If you add to the truth, you subtract from it.
- The Talmud
***
For a person
forced on by his thinking,
fierce in his passion,
focused on beauty,
craving grows all the more.
He's the one
who tightens the bond.
But one who delights
in the stilling of thinking,
always mindful
cultivating
a focus on the foul:
He's the one
who will make an end,
the one who will cut Mara's bond.
-Dhammapada, 24, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-
Guest
Make sure the thing you’re living for is worth dying for.
-Charles Mayes
***
Worry is a misuse of the imagination.
-Dan Zadra
***
May we harness body and mind to see
The Lord of Life, who dwells in everyone.
May we ever with one-pointed mind
Strive for blissful union with the Lord.
May we train our senses to serve the Lord
Through the practice of meditation.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
***
Lord, bless us with amiable companions and children that may be a source of delight to our eyes. Allow us to be of the devout.
-From the prayer book "Al-Hizbul-A'zam"
***
Even a strong wind is empty by nature.
Even a great wave is just ocean itself.
Even thick southern clouds are insubstantial as sky.
Even the dense mind is naturally birthless.
-Milarepa, "Drinking The Fountain Stream"
-Charles Mayes
***
Worry is a misuse of the imagination.
-Dan Zadra
***
May we harness body and mind to see
The Lord of Life, who dwells in everyone.
May we ever with one-pointed mind
Strive for blissful union with the Lord.
May we train our senses to serve the Lord
Through the practice of meditation.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
***
Lord, bless us with amiable companions and children that may be a source of delight to our eyes. Allow us to be of the devout.
-From the prayer book "Al-Hizbul-A'zam"
***
Even a strong wind is empty by nature.
Even a great wave is just ocean itself.
Even thick southern clouds are insubstantial as sky.
Even the dense mind is naturally birthless.
-Milarepa, "Drinking The Fountain Stream"
-
maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
faith
“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.”
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Sometimes we want something so badly, yet we're afraid to really go for it. That's when we're told to take a leap of faith. Wow. That leap can be a pretty big one, too. But it is good for us to do this! It is only when we embrace the unknown and venture out into the field of infinite possibilities that we discover what is out there for us.
“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.”
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Sometimes we want something so badly, yet we're afraid to really go for it. That's when we're told to take a leap of faith. Wow. That leap can be a pretty big one, too. But it is good for us to do this! It is only when we embrace the unknown and venture out into the field of infinite possibilities that we discover what is out there for us.
-
Guest
One filled with joy preaches without preaching.
-Mother Teresa
***
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
-Emily Dickinson
***
I pervade the entire universe in my unmanifested form. All creatures find their existence in me, but I am not limited by them. Behold my divine mystery! These creatures do not really dwell in me, and though I bring them forth and support them, I am not confined within them. They move in me as the winds move in every direction in space.
-Bhagavad Gita 9:4-6
***
God has given you the polishing instrument, Reason,
so that by means of it the surface of the heart may be made resplendent.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi" [IV, 2475]
***
Pray as if everything depended on God; act as if everything depended on you.
- "Gates of Prayer," the Reform prayer book
***
Although you may understand the explanations, if you are still suffering because of problems, you clearly do not understand the true nature of your mind, your body, and your senses.
-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"
-Mother Teresa
***
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
-Emily Dickinson
***
I pervade the entire universe in my unmanifested form. All creatures find their existence in me, but I am not limited by them. Behold my divine mystery! These creatures do not really dwell in me, and though I bring them forth and support them, I am not confined within them. They move in me as the winds move in every direction in space.
-Bhagavad Gita 9:4-6
***
God has given you the polishing instrument, Reason,
so that by means of it the surface of the heart may be made resplendent.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi" [IV, 2475]
***
Pray as if everything depended on God; act as if everything depended on you.
- "Gates of Prayer," the Reform prayer book
***
Although you may understand the explanations, if you are still suffering because of problems, you clearly do not understand the true nature of your mind, your body, and your senses.
-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"
-
maheroonPradhan
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:54 pm
faith
“Any anxious thought as to the means to be employed in the accomplishment of our purposes is quite unnecessary. If the end is already secured, then if follows that all the steps leading to it are secured also.”
-Thomas Troward
personality
"Personality can never develop unless the individual chooses his own way, consciously and with moral deliberation."
-Carl G. Jung (1875-1961)
“Any anxious thought as to the means to be employed in the accomplishment of our purposes is quite unnecessary. If the end is already secured, then if follows that all the steps leading to it are secured also.”
-Thomas Troward
personality
"Personality can never develop unless the individual chooses his own way, consciously and with moral deliberation."
-Carl G. Jung (1875-1961)
-
Guest
It's not how much you have that makes people look up to you, it's who you are.
-Elvis Presley
***
Should the heavens dry up, worship here of the heavenly ones
In festivals and daily rites would wither.
Unless the heavens grant their gifts, neither the giver's generosity
Nor the ascetic's aloofness will grace this wide world.
No life on earth can exist without water,
And the ceaseless flow of that water cannot exist without rain.
-Tirukkural 2:18-20
***
If you devote yourself to God in this world, He will admit you among His chosen servants in the hereafter. Such devotion, however, demands sacrifice and self-denial, the two instruments that make union with God possible.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Ananda said: "Friendship with what is lovely, association with what is lovely, intimacy with what is lovely--that is half of the holy life."
The Buddha responded: "Don't say that, Ananda. It's the whole not the half of the holy life. One so blessed with what is lovely will develop a right way of being, a thinking that no longer grasps at what is untrue, an aim that is concerned and ready, a contemplation that is unattached and free. Association with what is lovely is the whole of the holy life."
-Samyutta Nikaya
***
-Elvis Presley
***
Should the heavens dry up, worship here of the heavenly ones
In festivals and daily rites would wither.
Unless the heavens grant their gifts, neither the giver's generosity
Nor the ascetic's aloofness will grace this wide world.
No life on earth can exist without water,
And the ceaseless flow of that water cannot exist without rain.
-Tirukkural 2:18-20
***
If you devote yourself to God in this world, He will admit you among His chosen servants in the hereafter. Such devotion, however, demands sacrifice and self-denial, the two instruments that make union with God possible.
-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Ananda said: "Friendship with what is lovely, association with what is lovely, intimacy with what is lovely--that is half of the holy life."
The Buddha responded: "Don't say that, Ananda. It's the whole not the half of the holy life. One so blessed with what is lovely will develop a right way of being, a thinking that no longer grasps at what is untrue, an aim that is concerned and ready, a contemplation that is unattached and free. Association with what is lovely is the whole of the holy life."
-Samyutta Nikaya
***
-
Guest
You cannot see faith, but you can see the footprints of the faithful. We must leave behind "faithful footprints" for others to follow.
-Dr. Dennis Anderson
***
Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.
-Helen Keller
***
Blessed are they who, through an illumined
Teacher, attain to Self-realization.
The truth of the Self cannot come through one
Who has not realized that he is the Self.
The intellect cannot reveal the Self,
Beyond its duality of the subject
And object. They who see themselves in all
And all in them help others through spiritual
Osmosis to realize the Self themselves.
-Katha Upanishad
***
The false promises of a merchant may persuade a buyer into purchasing his (faulty) goods; but these will be deprived of Allah's blessings.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abu Hurairah
***
A man is led the way he wishes to follow.
- Huna, Talmud: Makkot, 10b
***
Before, this mind went wandering
however it pleased,
wherever it wanted,
by whatever way that it liked.
Today I will hold it aptly in check--
as one wielding a goad, an elephant in rut.
-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
-Dr. Dennis Anderson
***
Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.
-Helen Keller
***
Blessed are they who, through an illumined
Teacher, attain to Self-realization.
The truth of the Self cannot come through one
Who has not realized that he is the Self.
The intellect cannot reveal the Self,
Beyond its duality of the subject
And object. They who see themselves in all
And all in them help others through spiritual
Osmosis to realize the Self themselves.
-Katha Upanishad
***
The false promises of a merchant may persuade a buyer into purchasing his (faulty) goods; but these will be deprived of Allah's blessings.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abu Hurairah
***
A man is led the way he wishes to follow.
- Huna, Talmud: Makkot, 10b
***
Before, this mind went wandering
however it pleased,
wherever it wanted,
by whatever way that it liked.
Today I will hold it aptly in check--
as one wielding a goad, an elephant in rut.
-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
***
-
Guest
Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent.
-Leonard Ravenhill
***
Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, and only character endures.
-Horace Greeley
***
The wise man knows the Self,
And he plays the game of life.
But the fool lives in the world
Like a beast of burden.
-Ashtavakra Gita 4:1
***
Children of Israel, I delivered you from your enemy and made a covenant with you on the right side of the holy mountain. Then I sent down the manna and quails and bade you to eat of the good things that were provided for you and warned you not to transgress, lest My wrath be incurred. For those who incur My wrath perish.
-Qur'an, Ta Ha, Surah 20:80-81
***
If we were to walk in the woods and a spring appeared just when we became thirsty, we would call it a miracle. And if on a second walk, if we became thirsty at just that point again, and again the spring appeared, we would remark on the coincidence. But if that spring were there always, we would take it for granted and cease to notice it. Yet is that not more miraculous still?
- Baal Shem Tov
***
When a lute is played, there is no previous store of playing that it comes from. When the music stops, it does not go anywhere else. It came into existence by way of the structure of the lute and the playing of the performer. When the playing ceases, the music goes out of existence.
In the same way all the components of being, both material and nonmaterial, come into existence, play their part, and pass away.
That which we call a person is the bringing together of components and their actions with each other. It is impossible to find a permanent self there. And yet there is a paradox. For there is a path to follow and there is walking to be done, and yet there is no walker. There are actions but there is no actor. The air moves but there is no wind. The idea of a specific self is a mistake. Existence is clarity and emptiness.
-Visuddhi Magga
From "The Pocket Buddha Reader,"
-Leonard Ravenhill
***
Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, and only character endures.
-Horace Greeley
***
The wise man knows the Self,
And he plays the game of life.
But the fool lives in the world
Like a beast of burden.
-Ashtavakra Gita 4:1
***
Children of Israel, I delivered you from your enemy and made a covenant with you on the right side of the holy mountain. Then I sent down the manna and quails and bade you to eat of the good things that were provided for you and warned you not to transgress, lest My wrath be incurred. For those who incur My wrath perish.
-Qur'an, Ta Ha, Surah 20:80-81
***
If we were to walk in the woods and a spring appeared just when we became thirsty, we would call it a miracle. And if on a second walk, if we became thirsty at just that point again, and again the spring appeared, we would remark on the coincidence. But if that spring were there always, we would take it for granted and cease to notice it. Yet is that not more miraculous still?
- Baal Shem Tov
***
When a lute is played, there is no previous store of playing that it comes from. When the music stops, it does not go anywhere else. It came into existence by way of the structure of the lute and the playing of the performer. When the playing ceases, the music goes out of existence.
In the same way all the components of being, both material and nonmaterial, come into existence, play their part, and pass away.
That which we call a person is the bringing together of components and their actions with each other. It is impossible to find a permanent self there. And yet there is a paradox. For there is a path to follow and there is walking to be done, and yet there is no walker. There are actions but there is no actor. The air moves but there is no wind. The idea of a specific self is a mistake. Existence is clarity and emptiness.
-Visuddhi Magga
From "The Pocket Buddha Reader,"
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
-Luke 9:25 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well.
-Josh Billings
***
Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose. Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
-Bhagavad Gita 16:17-18
***
When we allow God’s power to pervade all our actions, and submit to his decrees, we shed all anxiety about the effects of our actions on others; we cease even to consider the effects of our actions. When we cease to consider the effects of our actions, we are adopting the attributes of God himself.
-Qushayri, "Risalah"
***
Do not despise any person, and do not consider anything impossible, for there is no person who does not have an hour and no thing that does not have its place.
- Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot) 4:3
***
Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.
-Sutta Nipata
-Luke 9:25 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well.
-Josh Billings
***
Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose. Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
-Bhagavad Gita 16:17-18
***
When we allow God’s power to pervade all our actions, and submit to his decrees, we shed all anxiety about the effects of our actions on others; we cease even to consider the effects of our actions. When we cease to consider the effects of our actions, we are adopting the attributes of God himself.
-Qushayri, "Risalah"
***
Do not despise any person, and do not consider anything impossible, for there is no person who does not have an hour and no thing that does not have its place.
- Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot) 4:3
***
Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.
-Sutta Nipata
God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
-Unknown
***
Speaking to an audience of understanding men
Is like watering a bed of growing plants.
Those who speak good things to good and learned gatherings
Should never say them to ignorant groups, even forgetfully.
Speaking before men of alien mind
Is like pouring sweet nectar down a drain.
-Tirukkural 72:718-720
***
God has said, "Spend;" so earn something,
since there can be no expenditure without income.
Although He used the word, Spend absolutely,
read it, "Earn, then spend."
-Rumi, Mathnawi [V, 579-580]
***
I have no particular taste for post-mortem immortality. I am immortal now, while I am gloriously alive.
- Rabbi Joel Blau, "My Uncertain God," 1924
Reprinted
***
Be quick in doing
what's admirable.
Restrain your mind
from what's evil.
When you're slow
in making merit,
evil delights the mind.
-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-Unknown
***
Speaking to an audience of understanding men
Is like watering a bed of growing plants.
Those who speak good things to good and learned gatherings
Should never say them to ignorant groups, even forgetfully.
Speaking before men of alien mind
Is like pouring sweet nectar down a drain.
-Tirukkural 72:718-720
***
God has said, "Spend;" so earn something,
since there can be no expenditure without income.
Although He used the word, Spend absolutely,
read it, "Earn, then spend."
-Rumi, Mathnawi [V, 579-580]
***
I have no particular taste for post-mortem immortality. I am immortal now, while I am gloriously alive.
- Rabbi Joel Blau, "My Uncertain God," 1924
Reprinted
***
Be quick in doing
what's admirable.
Restrain your mind
from what's evil.
When you're slow
in making merit,
evil delights the mind.
-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in Him a source of sustenance beyond food.
-Dallas Willard
***
Service is the rent you pay for room on this planet.
-Shirley Chisholm
***
He is the Supreme Brahman, the Self of all, the chief foundation of this world, subtler than the subtle, eternal. That thou art; thou art That.
-Atharva Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad
***
Your God is one God. There is no god but him. He is merciful and compassionate.
-Qur'an, Al-Baqara, Surah 2:163
***
If you must hate, if hatred is the leaven of your life, which alone can give flavor, then hate what should be hated: falsehood, violence, selfishness.
- Ludwig Börne, German-Jewish writer, 1786-1837
***
To probe deep into your roots:
The ignorance and confusion are you yourself.
The preconceptions which are yourself
Are envoys and agents sent by yourself.
-"Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet's Beloved Saint, Milarepa"
***
-Dallas Willard
***
Service is the rent you pay for room on this planet.
-Shirley Chisholm
***
He is the Supreme Brahman, the Self of all, the chief foundation of this world, subtler than the subtle, eternal. That thou art; thou art That.
-Atharva Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad
***
Your God is one God. There is no god but him. He is merciful and compassionate.
-Qur'an, Al-Baqara, Surah 2:163
***
If you must hate, if hatred is the leaven of your life, which alone can give flavor, then hate what should be hated: falsehood, violence, selfishness.
- Ludwig Börne, German-Jewish writer, 1786-1837
***
To probe deep into your roots:
The ignorance and confusion are you yourself.
The preconceptions which are yourself
Are envoys and agents sent by yourself.
-"Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet's Beloved Saint, Milarepa"
***
The best cure for loneliness is developing an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
-Unknown
***
Don't worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you.
-Robert Fulghum
***
The benevolent expect no return for their dutiful giving.
How can the world ever repay the rain cloud?
It is to meet the needs of the deserving
That the worthy labor arduously to acquire wealth.
-Tirukkural 22: 211-213
Excerpted from the Tirukkural
***
Listen, open a window to God
and begin to delight yourself
by gazing upon Him through the opening.
The business of love is to make that window in the heart,
for the breast is illumined by the beauty of the Beloved.
Gaze incessantly on the face of the Beloved!
Listen, this is in your power, my friend!
-Rumi, Mathnawi [VI, 3095-3097]
***
Each sin is recorded the same day in heaven.
- Apocrypha: Enoch 98.7
***
If you want to know the past, to know what has caused you, look at yourself in the present, for that is the past’s effect. If you want to know your future, then look at yourself in the present, for that is the cause of the future.
-Majjhima Nikaya
-Unknown
***
Don't worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you.
-Robert Fulghum
***
The benevolent expect no return for their dutiful giving.
How can the world ever repay the rain cloud?
It is to meet the needs of the deserving
That the worthy labor arduously to acquire wealth.
-Tirukkural 22: 211-213
Excerpted from the Tirukkural
***
Listen, open a window to God
and begin to delight yourself
by gazing upon Him through the opening.
The business of love is to make that window in the heart,
for the breast is illumined by the beauty of the Beloved.
Gaze incessantly on the face of the Beloved!
Listen, this is in your power, my friend!
-Rumi, Mathnawi [VI, 3095-3097]
***
Each sin is recorded the same day in heaven.
- Apocrypha: Enoch 98.7
***
If you want to know the past, to know what has caused you, look at yourself in the present, for that is the past’s effect. If you want to know your future, then look at yourself in the present, for that is the cause of the future.
-Majjhima Nikaya