Those who seek liberation for themselves alone cannot become fully enlightened. Though it may be said that one who is not already liberated cannot liberate others, the very process of forgetting oneself to help others is in itself liberating. - Muso Kokushi
Swami Kripalu on personal growth: Growth can only be gradual. The seed that is sown today does not sprout into a tree the next day. It does so only in the course of time, at its own pace, and by its own order.
There exists only the present instant… a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.
~Meister Eckhart
You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life.. ~Jiddu Krishnamurti
You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event–it is a habit. - Aristotle
We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew….Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful…and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things. ~ Desmond Tutu
Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” - Carl Jung
“For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision
But today well lived makes
Every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope
Look well, therefore to this day.”
- Sir William Osler
“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” -Marcel Proust
“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” - Bertrand Russell
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” – Marian Wright Edelman “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
“The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.” – Abraham Lincoln
“I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everythig, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” - Edward Everett Hale
“Take charge of your thoughts.” - Plato
“Out beyond the idea of right thinking and wrong thinking is a field. . . . I will meet you there. . . .” – Jalaluddin Rumi
- Huang-po