Sakyong Mipham Quotes
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We suffer because we want life to be different from what it is. We suffer because we try to make pleasurable what is painful, to make solid what is fluid, to make permanent what is always changing.
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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.
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Your regular teachers will get mad at you. If you keep asking something again and again, they will get tired of saying the same thing. A book will not do that. A book always will be there for you. In whatever you want, the book will be there.
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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.
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The bones and tendons of the mind are mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness is the mind’s strength, and awareness is its flexibility. Without these abilities, we cannot function. When we drink a glass of water, drive a car, or have a conversation, we are using mindfulness and awareness.
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Shambhala existed in Tibet and has been continued over the years, and now it is in the West. At its core, it is very much dedicated to the basic theme of benefiting others.
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Shambhala can be relevant in terms of what is going on in the world.
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Shambhala teachings say we all have the potential to accomplish our enlightened nature - our basic goodness.
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The notion of auspiciousness is something positive, something with forward momentum, coming out of our actions.
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I hope you will attain enlightenment. I am here to tell you that you already have! But you don't know... The difference between the Buddha and us is the confidence in knowing that he was enlightened.
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One of the characteristics of every great teacher I've known is tremendous exertion. It's interesting: You may see them as spiritual people or compassionate people, but the driving force is that incredible exertion - and their ability to sustain it.
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As a leader, you have the choice to determine what you are going to do and how you are going to engage others. You can decide to act compassionately regardless of what the weather is - whether it is cloudy or sunny - or whether things are inspirational or not.
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The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.
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If we can feel confident in our goodness, it will illuminate our life and society
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What is my great wish and intention, is to make a base of compassion and to encourage people to work to shift the energy.
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The most outrageous thing we can do in this world is to accept what happens and fly with it.
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Being fooled into trying to make things work out for 'me' is called samsara.
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I would say courage first; then wisdom, which is a sense of knowledge and confidence; and also the wish and desire to uplift. The underlying notion is "How do I help?" That attitude really is a spiritual journey and a path.
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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.
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In looking for my mind, I discovered that it seems to be in many different places. Sometimes it is drinking a glass of water, remembering swimming in the summer, feeling the breeze. In this contemplation I observed that the self is more elusive than I thought.
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It is said that if our intention is to help others-even if we are unable to follow it through-we will never have any regret. Regret is a result of trying to make "me" happy.
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If you rise with a positive attitude - because everything is possible, everything is doable - if you have that level of confidence, you exude it. It actually inspires the people around you.
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Many of us are slaves to our minds. Our own mind is our worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders off. We try to keep stress at bay, but anxiety keeps us awake at night. We try to be good to the people we love, but then we forget them and put ourselves first.
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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.
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Sometimes people feel disappointed when they hear about practicing compassion: "You mean I have to be nice?" It's kind of a letdown. We often overlook compassion, seeing it as merely a pit stop on the way to more advanced practices. We want something more; we don't even know what. But that's just a trick of our mind. One of the greatest teachings is to practice compassion.
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Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act non-virtuously, suffering results.
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Many people think spirituality has nothing to do with success or accomplishing - that it's something you do with removal, with leaving the world.
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The nature of our mind may be displayed in many ways, but Ashe is the fundamental basis.
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Part of the notion in Shambhala teachings is that everybody can live their lives so they get weaker and more stressed out as they go along, or so they get more fortitude and strength.
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Your life and your practice should not be separate. You bring your practice into experience. You bring it about.
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