Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Quotes
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The great Tibetan meditator Gungtang Jampelyang once asked 'What is the difference between a wise man and a fool?' The difference lies in their intention. A wise person is someone who has a good intention, not someone who merely possesses knowledge.
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Everything we now enjoy has been provided through the kindness of other beings, past or present.
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Pride is a mental factor causing us to feel higher or superior to others. Even our study of dharma can be the occasion for the delusion of pride to arise if we think our understanding is superior to that of everyone else. Pride is harmful because it prevents us from accepting fresh knowledge from a qualified teacher. Just as a pool of water cannot collect on the tip of a mountain, so too a reservoir of understanding cannot be established in a mind falsely elevated by pride.
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Whenever anyone, Buddhist or not, sees a Temple or an image of Buddha they receive blessings.
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Patient acceptance is often considered a weak and passive response to problems that we do not have the power or courage to solve. In reality, however, being patient is far from being passive. There is nothing strong or courageous in reacting to hardship or insults with anger - all we are doing is being defeated by our delusions.
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Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.
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Painful things do not come to us from outside, but arise from within our own mind. Circumstances or other people have no power to make us feel bad; the most they can do is trigger the potentials for painful feelings that already exist within our own mind.
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One of the most common ways of not acknowledging our faults is to blame others.
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Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others' kindness.
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Happiness and suffering are states of mind, and so their main causes cannot be found outside the mind.
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Since the real purpose of meditation is to increase our capacity to help others, taking time each day to meditate is not selfish. We have to manage our time and energy in such a way that we can be of maximum benefit to others, and to do this we need time alone to recover our strength, collect our thoughts, and see things in perspective
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No matter how many possessions we acquire, they will not provide us with any lasting happiness and freedom. On the contrary, it is often our pursuit of material possessions that causes our problems. If we want ultimate happiness and freedom from suffering, we must engage in the supreme practices of training the mind. There is no other way.
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We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds.
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Many people are very intelligent in accomplishing worldly attainments. This intelligence is not wisdom because worldly attainments such as a high position, reputation, wealth and success in business are deceptive. If we die tomorrow they will disappear tomorrow, and nothing will be left for our future. Wisdom, however, will never deceive us.
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Enlightenment is the inner light of wisdom that is permanently free from all mistaken appearance, and whose function is to bestow mental peace upon each and every living being every day.
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Love is the great protector, protecting us from anger and jealousy.
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Today we can see many different forms of Buddhism, such as Zen and Theravada Buddhism. All these different aspects are practices of Buddha's teachings, and all are equally precious; they are just different presentations.
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When we look at external things, we can usually distinguish those that are useful and valuable from those that are not. We must learn to look at our mind in the same way.
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Happiness is a state of mind, so the real source of happiness must lie within the mind, not in external conditions.
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A Temple is one of the best ways of benefiting other living beings - it is the best form of public service.
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The more we want certain situations, the more we find ourself stuck in situations we do not want.
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Being patient means to welcome wholeheartedly whatever arises.
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It is through our anger and hatred that we transform people into enemies.
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If we want to cook food we need to leave the stove on continuously and not keep turning it on and off. If the heat is continuous, no matter whether it is high or low our food will eventually be cooked. Similarly, if we continuously apply effort, even if it is only a small effort, it is certain that we shall eventually experience the fruits of our practice.
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The path to enlightenment is really very simple - all we need to do is stop cherishing ourself and learn to cherish others. All other spiritual realisations will naturally follow from this.
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Without improving our mind there is no way to solve our human problems.
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Love is the real nuclear bomb that destroys all our enemies, because when we love all living beings, we have no enemies.
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If everyone practiced cherishing others, many of the major problems of the world would be solved in a few years.
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In general, 'Buddha' means 'Awakened One', someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. There are many people who have become Buddhas in the past, and many people will become Buddhas in the future.
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When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subside and our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within.
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