Sakyong Mipham Quotes - Page 2

As the conceptual, material world increases its hold on us, and inanimate objects become more lifelike, we humans must become more human. Open hearts, kindness and care-these are our most precious gifts.

What is amazing is how stuck people are in their own habits. It is really hard to get people out of their habits. But once they shift, it also is amazing how rapid the progress can be.

When the mind is totally present, it is relaxed, nimble, and sensitive. It feels lighter and clearer. It notices everything, but it is not distracted by anything. It is the feeling of knowing exactly where you are and what you are doing.

Our root fantasy is that "I" am real and that it's possible for "me" to be happy.

Meditation practice is relevant because in meditation our conceptual mind relaxes and we can feel who we are at heart.

Our mind is always subject to being distracted by thoughts of what happened in the past and ideas of what could happen in the future, but the living experience is what is happening NOW.

There are no boundaries-only possibilities

Being human is a precious situation, and we shouldn't waste time in useless activities.

When stress is the basic state of mind, even good things stress us out. We have to learn to let go.

If you see life as an opportunity, or if you see helping others as an opportunity, then all of a sudden you become joyous. You want to go forward.

It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor-the determining factor of success and happiness is contentment.

When I ask people to contemplate selflessness, the sometimes react as if I've asked them to put their house on the market or give away all their money. If there was a self that existed in the way we think, discovering selflessness would be like putting our house on the market. But in the Buddhist tradition, the discovery of selflessness is called "completely joyful." It's not called "the raw end of the deal," or "I'd rather go back to bed," or "This is scary and depressing."

The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.

Every moment of our life is important.

Poetry is a language for when you can't quite write prose about something, you can't quite say it, but if you do a poem, it kind of gets to the point.

If we can feel confident in our goodness, it will illuminate our life and society

Shambhala vision is universal. It has no bias towards one type of culture or group. It is not ethnocentric and does not encourage one specific kind of person, race, or religion. Shambhala vision promotes a universality in relationship to basic goodness. All human beings are basically good and an enlightened society, at various levels of manifestation, can occur in any culture.

What is my great wish and intention, is to make a base of compassion and to encourage people to work to shift the energy.

...This jewel is the wisdom and compassion that it takes to act not on behalf of ourselves but for all beings. This is where real confidence and competence come from. Once we possess this jewel, our life becomes blessed.

To shift the direction of our planet, we must now be willing to experiment with the theory that within the speed and stress, we are good.

The wise are balanced, and the foolish are extreme.

Enlightened Society is all about nurturing the human spirit - waking up to the goodness, kindness and strength that we already have.

When people say that meditation makes them calm, they are often referring to this stability of the mind. A stable mind creates the foundation for a happier and more contented person.

Auspicious coincidence is the right thing happening at the right time.

If we do not push ourselves enough, we do not grow, but if we push ourselves too much, we regress. What is enough will change, depending on where we are and what we are doing. In that sense, the present moment is always some kind of beginning.