Christ's will was, and is, to unite...Christ said, "I am the Way"...the Way is simple, light and straight, and unifies the whole of life.
-Kathleen Hasenberg
***
We may not be able to give much but we can always give the joy that springs in a heart that is in love with God.
-Mother Teresa
***
Give your life for that cup of divine wisdom. How can you succeed without endurance and patience? To wait for the sake of that cup is no hardship. Show patience, for patience is the key to joy.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1930
***
Adopting an attitude of universal responsibility is essentially a personal matter. The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Imagine All the People"
Quote
God may thunder His commands from Mount Sinai and men may fear, yet remain at heart exactly as they were before. But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man--suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized, finally dying a criminal's death--and he is a hard man indeed who is untouched.
-J.B. Phillips, "Your God Is Too Small"
***
There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
-Katharine Butler Hathaway
***
How numerous Your favors bestowed upon me, favors of gifts and grace and assistance. Your love is now my only desire and my ultimate bliss.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
The way of devotion is as good as the way of knowledge. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of devotion.
-Ramakrishna
***
Since the old days, it is said that "anger is the fire in one's mind that burns away all of one's virtuous deeds." Anger should be absolutely surrendered.
-Jae Woong Kim, "Polishing the Diamond"
-J.B. Phillips, "Your God Is Too Small"
***
There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
-Katharine Butler Hathaway
***
How numerous Your favors bestowed upon me, favors of gifts and grace and assistance. Your love is now my only desire and my ultimate bliss.
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
The way of devotion is as good as the way of knowledge. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of devotion.
-Ramakrishna
***
Since the old days, it is said that "anger is the fire in one's mind that burns away all of one's virtuous deeds." Anger should be absolutely surrendered.
-Jae Woong Kim, "Polishing the Diamond"
Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.
-John 20:29 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Service is the rent you pay for room on this planet.
-Shirley Chisholm
***
Lord, bestow upon us that which is good in this world and that which is good in the life to come, and save us from the doom of the Fire.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Sahih al-Bukhari
***
High Truth, unyielding Order, Consecration,
Ardor and Prayer and Holy Ritual
uphold the Earth; may she, the ruling Mistress
of what has been and what will come to be,
for us spread wide a limitless domain.
-Rig Veda
***
Enlightenment is a way of saying that all things are seen in their intrinsic empty nature, their Suchness, their ungraspable wonder. Names or words are merely incidental, but that state which sees no division, no duality, is enlightenment.
-Prajnaparamita
-John 20:29 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Service is the rent you pay for room on this planet.
-Shirley Chisholm
***
Lord, bestow upon us that which is good in this world and that which is good in the life to come, and save us from the doom of the Fire.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Sahih al-Bukhari
***
High Truth, unyielding Order, Consecration,
Ardor and Prayer and Holy Ritual
uphold the Earth; may she, the ruling Mistress
of what has been and what will come to be,
for us spread wide a limitless domain.
-Rig Veda
***
Enlightenment is a way of saying that all things are seen in their intrinsic empty nature, their Suchness, their ungraspable wonder. Names or words are merely incidental, but that state which sees no division, no duality, is enlightenment.
-Prajnaparamita
I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.
-Mother Teresa, "The Simple Path"
****
Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.
-Lauren Bacall
***
Kali is naked reality.
She is the feminine reality.
This simpleminded lover of truth
calls her my Mother, my Mother,
because she is the inexhaustible affection
who never neglects her children,
no matter how heedless or rebellious they may be.
-Ramprasad
***
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 we do not try, we will not know.
-Ayya Khema, Be An Island
-Mother Teresa, "The Simple Path"
****
Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.
-Lauren Bacall
***
Kali is naked reality.
She is the feminine reality.
This simpleminded lover of truth
calls her my Mother, my Mother,
because she is the inexhaustible affection
who never neglects her children,
no matter how heedless or rebellious they may be.
-Ramprasad
***
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 we do not try, we will not know.
-Ayya Khema, Be An Island
In the end, worship can never be a performance, something you’re pretending or putting on. It's got to be an overflow of your heart...Worship is about getting personal with God, drawing close to God.
-Matt Redman
***
Heaven is full of answers to prayer for which no one bothered to ask.
-Billy Graham (submitted by Rebecca Shirley)
***
I see people who talk about religion constantly quarreling with one another. Hindus, Mussulmans [Muslims], Brahmos, Shaktas, Vaishnavas, Shaivas all quarrel with one another. They haven't the intelligence to understand that He who is called Krishna is also Shiva and the Primal Shakti, and that it is He, again, who is called Jesus and Allah. "There is only one Rama and He has a thousand names."
-Ramakrishna
***
People sometimes justify their obsession with cleanliness on religous grounds; but true religion is not concerned with outward purity.
-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki
****
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"
-Matt Redman
***
Heaven is full of answers to prayer for which no one bothered to ask.
-Billy Graham (submitted by Rebecca Shirley)
***
I see people who talk about religion constantly quarreling with one another. Hindus, Mussulmans [Muslims], Brahmos, Shaktas, Vaishnavas, Shaivas all quarrel with one another. They haven't the intelligence to understand that He who is called Krishna is also Shiva and the Primal Shakti, and that it is He, again, who is called Jesus and Allah. "There is only one Rama and He has a thousand names."
-Ramakrishna
***
People sometimes justify their obsession with cleanliness on religous grounds; but true religion is not concerned with outward purity.
-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki
****
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"
Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn.
-Miguel de Cervantes
***
Everything has its own food, and music is the food of the spirit.
-Nasrabadi in 'Attar, "Tadhkirat"
***
I am not detachment nor salvation,
Nor anything reached by the senses;
I am beyond all thought and form.
I am everywhere, and nowhere at all-
I am Consciousness and Bliss.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
-Shankaracharya
***
If you turn your light inwardly, you will find what is esoteric within you.
-The Sutra of Hui Neng
***
-Miguel de Cervantes
***
Everything has its own food, and music is the food of the spirit.
-Nasrabadi in 'Attar, "Tadhkirat"
***
I am not detachment nor salvation,
Nor anything reached by the senses;
I am beyond all thought and form.
I am everywhere, and nowhere at all-
I am Consciousness and Bliss.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
-Shankaracharya
***
If you turn your light inwardly, you will find what is esoteric within you.
-The Sutra of Hui Neng
***
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
-Luke 12:6-7
****
Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you.
-Mary Tyler Moore
****
God gives this parable, "On the one hand there is a helpless slave, the property of his master. On the other hand there is a man whom we have greatly blessed; this man is generous both in secret and openly." Are the two alike? All praise is due to God! Yet most people do not understand.
-Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:75
***
After many births the wise seek refuge in me, seeing me everywhere and in everything. Such great souls are very rare. There are others whose discrimination is misled by many desires. Following their own nature, they worship lower gods, practicing various rites.
-Bhagavad Gita 7:19-20
***
And what, monks, is Right View? It is, monks, the knowledge of suffering, the knowledge of the origin of suffering, the knowledge of the cessation of suffering, and the knowledge of the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called Right View.
-Digha Nikaya
-Luke 12:6-7
****
Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you.
-Mary Tyler Moore
****
God gives this parable, "On the one hand there is a helpless slave, the property of his master. On the other hand there is a man whom we have greatly blessed; this man is generous both in secret and openly." Are the two alike? All praise is due to God! Yet most people do not understand.
-Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:75
***
After many births the wise seek refuge in me, seeing me everywhere and in everything. Such great souls are very rare. There are others whose discrimination is misled by many desires. Following their own nature, they worship lower gods, practicing various rites.
-Bhagavad Gita 7:19-20
***
And what, monks, is Right View? It is, monks, the knowledge of suffering, the knowledge of the origin of suffering, the knowledge of the cessation of suffering, and the knowledge of the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called Right View.
-Digha Nikaya
Before Jesus died, He willed us His Peace...He wants us to have peace in the midst of our current circumstances--peace in the morning, at night and all times in between. Peace is our inheritance! And it is a wonderful possession.
-Joyce Meyer
****
Cherishing children is the mark of a civilized society.
-Joan Ganz Cooney
***
Dear soul, Love alone cuts argument short,
for it alone comes to the rescue when you cry for help against disputes.
Eloquence is dumbfounded by Love: it dares not wrangle;
for the love fears that, if he answers back,
the pearl of inner experience might fall out of his mouth.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1934
***
In religion there are no national boundaries. A religion can and should be used by any people or person who finds it beneficial.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
-Joyce Meyer
****
Cherishing children is the mark of a civilized society.
-Joan Ganz Cooney
***
Dear soul, Love alone cuts argument short,
for it alone comes to the rescue when you cry for help against disputes.
Eloquence is dumbfounded by Love: it dares not wrangle;
for the love fears that, if he answers back,
the pearl of inner experience might fall out of his mouth.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1934
***
In religion there are no national boundaries. A religion can and should be used by any people or person who finds it beneficial.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
For certain things are not refused us, but their granting is delayed to a fitting time.
-St. Augustine
***
Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.
-Will Rogers
***
Sufficient is our Lord for us. He is the greatest of all helpers; we depend upon Him alone.
-"Munajat E Maqbool"
***
Liberation,
Bondage,
What are they to me?
What do I care for freedom?
For I have known God,
The infinite Self,
The witness of all things.
Without, a fool.
Within, free of thought.
I do as I please,
And only those like me
Understand my ways.
-Ashtavakra Gita 14:3-4
***
In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is the mind.
-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"
-St. Augustine
***
Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.
-Will Rogers
***
Sufficient is our Lord for us. He is the greatest of all helpers; we depend upon Him alone.
-"Munajat E Maqbool"
***
Liberation,
Bondage,
What are they to me?
What do I care for freedom?
For I have known God,
The infinite Self,
The witness of all things.
Without, a fool.
Within, free of thought.
I do as I please,
And only those like me
Understand my ways.
-Ashtavakra Gita 14:3-4
***
In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is the mind.
-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"
I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
-John 11:25-26 (Revised Standard Version)
****
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.
-Doug Larson
***
Those who maintain kinship with the detached, who continue to provide for those who let them down and willingly forgive their oppressors, shall indeed excel both in this world and the next.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by 'Uqbah bin Amir
***
In the light of the Sun
there is no difference between day and night.
In the light of the Supreme Truth
there is no difference between Shiva and Shakti.
-Jnaneshwar (also known as Jnanadeva)
****
Just as a cow with a young calf keeps an eye on it even when it is eating the grass, so it's proper for a person to keep an eye on all that can be done for others who are following the path.
-Majjhima Nikaya
-John 11:25-26 (Revised Standard Version)
****
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.
-Doug Larson
***
Those who maintain kinship with the detached, who continue to provide for those who let them down and willingly forgive their oppressors, shall indeed excel both in this world and the next.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by 'Uqbah bin Amir
***
In the light of the Sun
there is no difference between day and night.
In the light of the Supreme Truth
there is no difference between Shiva and Shakti.
-Jnaneshwar (also known as Jnanadeva)
****
Just as a cow with a young calf keeps an eye on it even when it is eating the grass, so it's proper for a person to keep an eye on all that can be done for others who are following the path.
-Majjhima Nikaya
I live with the understanding that truth is bigger than any religion and the world is God’s and everything in it...
-Rob Bell
****
Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it’s harvest time.
-Yiddish saying
***
Through ignorance
I once imagined I was bound.
But I am pure awareness.
I live beyond all distinctions,
In unbroken meditation.
-Ashtavakra Gita 2:17
***
I speak to those who honor the Lord, and pray to him constantly, but cannot see him. Those who cleanse themselves of sin, will be richly rewarded. To God all creatures will return.
-Qu'ran, Fatir, Surah 35:18b
***
Let your actions be like clouds going by; the clouds going by are mindless. Let your stillness be as the valley spirit; the valley spirit is undying. When action accompanies stillness and stillness combines with action, then the duality of action and stillness no longer arises.
-Pei-chien
-Rob Bell
****
Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it’s harvest time.
-Yiddish saying
***
Through ignorance
I once imagined I was bound.
But I am pure awareness.
I live beyond all distinctions,
In unbroken meditation.
-Ashtavakra Gita 2:17
***
I speak to those who honor the Lord, and pray to him constantly, but cannot see him. Those who cleanse themselves of sin, will be richly rewarded. To God all creatures will return.
-Qu'ran, Fatir, Surah 35:18b
***
Let your actions be like clouds going by; the clouds going by are mindless. Let your stillness be as the valley spirit; the valley spirit is undying. When action accompanies stillness and stillness combines with action, then the duality of action and stillness no longer arises.
-Pei-chien
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
If God can bring blessing from the broken body of Jesus and glory from something that's as obscene as the cross, He can bring blessing from my problems and my pain and my unanswered prayer. I just have to trust Him.
-Anne Graham Lotz
***
Ask God's blessing on your work, but don't ask him to do it for you.
-Dame Flora Robson
***
Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.
-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
As rivers flow into the ocean but cannot make the vast ocean overflow, so flow the streams of the sense-world into the sea of peace that is the sage. But this is not so with the desirer of desires.
-Bhagavad Gita 2:70
***
Like a deep lake,
clear, unruffled, & calm:
so the wise become clear,
calm,
On hearing words of the Dhamma.
-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-Anne Graham Lotz
***
Ask God's blessing on your work, but don't ask him to do it for you.
-Dame Flora Robson
***
Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.
-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
As rivers flow into the ocean but cannot make the vast ocean overflow, so flow the streams of the sense-world into the sea of peace that is the sage. But this is not so with the desirer of desires.
-Bhagavad Gita 2:70
***
Like a deep lake,
clear, unruffled, & calm:
so the wise become clear,
calm,
On hearing words of the Dhamma.
-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart.
-Martin Luther
****
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
-Aristotle
***
Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.
-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Birth decrees to all men who live a common circumstance.
Diverse actions define their unique specialness.
Lowly men are never high, even when elevated.
High souls are never low, even when downtrodden.
-Tirukkural 98: 972-73
***
One who seeks delight in form seeks delight in suffering. One who seeks delight in suffering, I say, is not freed from suffering.
-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"
-Martin Luther
****
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
-Aristotle
***
Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.
-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"
***
Birth decrees to all men who live a common circumstance.
Diverse actions define their unique specialness.
Lowly men are never high, even when elevated.
High souls are never low, even when downtrodden.
-Tirukkural 98: 972-73
***
One who seeks delight in form seeks delight in suffering. One who seeks delight in suffering, I say, is not freed from suffering.
-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"
He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
-John 7:18 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
-Anais Nin
***
A king asked a sage to explain the Truth. In response the sage asked the king how he would convey the taste of a mango to someone who had never eaten anything sweet. No matter how hard the king tried, he could not adequately describe the flavor of the fruit, and, in frustration, he demanded of the sage "Tell me then, how would you describe it?" The sage picked up a mango and handed it to the king saying "This is very sweet. Try eating it!"
-Hindu teaching story
***
Allah replied, "Your prayer has been heard. Follow the straight path, and do not follow the path of the ignorant."
-Qur'an, Yunus, Surah 10:89
***
The value of Dhamma isn't to be found in books. Those are just the external appearances of Dhamma, they're not the realization of Dhamma as a personal experience. If you realize the Dhamma you realize your own mind, you see the truth there. When the truth becomes apparent it cuts off the stream of delusion.
-Ajahn Chah, "Living Dhamma"
-John 7:18 (Revised Standard Version)
***
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
-Anais Nin
***
A king asked a sage to explain the Truth. In response the sage asked the king how he would convey the taste of a mango to someone who had never eaten anything sweet. No matter how hard the king tried, he could not adequately describe the flavor of the fruit, and, in frustration, he demanded of the sage "Tell me then, how would you describe it?" The sage picked up a mango and handed it to the king saying "This is very sweet. Try eating it!"
-Hindu teaching story
***
Allah replied, "Your prayer has been heard. Follow the straight path, and do not follow the path of the ignorant."
-Qur'an, Yunus, Surah 10:89
***
The value of Dhamma isn't to be found in books. Those are just the external appearances of Dhamma, they're not the realization of Dhamma as a personal experience. If you realize the Dhamma you realize your own mind, you see the truth there. When the truth becomes apparent it cuts off the stream of delusion.
-Ajahn Chah, "Living Dhamma"
I've learned that you can't give what you've never received. There's no aquifer of love, there's no distillery of faith within me, so I have to receive it.
-Max Lucado
***
To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given the chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life.
-Bette Davis
***
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]
***
Between husband and wife there should be no secrets from one another. I have a very high opinion of the marriage tie. I hold that husband and wife merge in each other. They are one in two or two in one.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1940
***
The happiness we seek, a genuine lasting peace and happiness, can be attained only through the purification of our minds. This is possible if we cut the root cause of all suffering and misery—our fundamental ignorance.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The World of Tibetan Buddhism
-Max Lucado
***
To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given the chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life.
-Bette Davis
***
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]
***
Between husband and wife there should be no secrets from one another. I have a very high opinion of the marriage tie. I hold that husband and wife merge in each other. They are one in two or two in one.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1940
***
The happiness we seek, a genuine lasting peace and happiness, can be attained only through the purification of our minds. This is possible if we cut the root cause of all suffering and misery—our fundamental ignorance.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The World of Tibetan Buddhism
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
***
True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.
-Charles Caleb Colton
***
This universe comes forth from Brahman and will return to Brahman. Verily, all is Brahman.
A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realize the Self.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
When the two hosts saw each other, the people of Moses said, “We are indeed overtaken.” Moses said, “By no means! My Lord is with me, and He will guide me.”
-The Poets 26:61-62
***
Take heed that when effort is too strenuous it leads to strain and when too slack to laziness. So make a firm determination that you will adopt the middle way, not allowing yourself to struggle or to slacken, but recognizing that faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom are the fruits of a calm and equable way.
-Theragatha
***
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
***
True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.
-Charles Caleb Colton
***
This universe comes forth from Brahman and will return to Brahman. Verily, all is Brahman.
A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realize the Self.
-Chandogya Upanishad
***
When the two hosts saw each other, the people of Moses said, “We are indeed overtaken.” Moses said, “By no means! My Lord is with me, and He will guide me.”
-The Poets 26:61-62
***
Take heed that when effort is too strenuous it leads to strain and when too slack to laziness. So make a firm determination that you will adopt the middle way, not allowing yourself to struggle or to slacken, but recognizing that faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom are the fruits of a calm and equable way.
-Theragatha
***
It is no use saying that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts.
-Dorothy Day
***
If I won't be myself, who will?
-Alfred Hitchcock
***
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
***
When you see the misfortune of your brother, do not rejoice, for Allah may save him and afflict you with the same misfortune.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Wa'silah bin al-Asqa'a
***
The moment we are enlightened within, we go beyond the voidness of a world confronting us.
-The Buddha
-Dorothy Day
***
If I won't be myself, who will?
-Alfred Hitchcock
***
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
***
When you see the misfortune of your brother, do not rejoice, for Allah may save him and afflict you with the same misfortune.
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Wa'silah bin al-Asqa'a
***
The moment we are enlightened within, we go beyond the voidness of a world confronting us.
-The Buddha
Joy is to feel the doors of the self fly open into a wealth that is endless because none of it is ours and yet it all belongs to us.
-William Sloane Coffin
***
Create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all your life.
-Foster C. McClellan
***
Behold! We have given you a clear victory that you may be absolved of the sins of your past and those yet to follow and that the Lord may perfect His favor to you and guide you and assist you with His invincible helping hand. It is but He who fills the hearts of the believers with peace and reassurance and adds strength to their conviction. Allah's are the legions of the heavens and the earth. He alone is the Knowing, Wise.
-Qur'an, Al-Fath, Surah 48:1-4
***
Free from desire,
He neither praises the peaceful
Nor blames the wicked.
The same in joy and sorrow,
He is always happy.
He sees there is nothing to do.
-Ashtavakra Gita 18:82
***
Having enjoyed a sweet delicious taste,
And having sometimes tasted what is bitter,
Do not greedily enjoy the sweet taste,
Do not feel aversion toward the bitter.
When touched by pleasant contact, do not be enthralled,
Do not tremble when touched by pain.
Look evenly on both the pleasant and painful,
Not drawn or repelled by anything.
-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"
-William Sloane Coffin
***
Create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all your life.
-Foster C. McClellan
***
Behold! We have given you a clear victory that you may be absolved of the sins of your past and those yet to follow and that the Lord may perfect His favor to you and guide you and assist you with His invincible helping hand. It is but He who fills the hearts of the believers with peace and reassurance and adds strength to their conviction. Allah's are the legions of the heavens and the earth. He alone is the Knowing, Wise.
-Qur'an, Al-Fath, Surah 48:1-4
***
Free from desire,
He neither praises the peaceful
Nor blames the wicked.
The same in joy and sorrow,
He is always happy.
He sees there is nothing to do.
-Ashtavakra Gita 18:82
***
Having enjoyed a sweet delicious taste,
And having sometimes tasted what is bitter,
Do not greedily enjoy the sweet taste,
Do not feel aversion toward the bitter.
When touched by pleasant contact, do not be enthralled,
Do not tremble when touched by pain.
Look evenly on both the pleasant and painful,
Not drawn or repelled by anything.
-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"
Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, it's what you are expected to give--which is everything
-Unknown
***
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
-Richard Bach
***
Yet I realized that my only hope of attaining eternal bliss was by detaching myself from all worldly desires, and by honouring God in every aspect of my life. I knew that I had to leave the mansion of deception, and set out with all vigour towards the house of God. I had to turn away from wealth and position, and flee from all the worldly obligations that consumed my time.
-Ghazali, “al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal”
***
Longing is like the rosy dawn. After the dawn out comes the sun. Longing is followed by the vision of God.
-Ramakrishna
***
If those who are like wanton children
Are by nature prone to injure others,
What point is there in being angry--
Like resenting fire for its heat?
-Bodhicaryavatara
-Unknown
***
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
-Richard Bach
***
Yet I realized that my only hope of attaining eternal bliss was by detaching myself from all worldly desires, and by honouring God in every aspect of my life. I knew that I had to leave the mansion of deception, and set out with all vigour towards the house of God. I had to turn away from wealth and position, and flee from all the worldly obligations that consumed my time.
-Ghazali, “al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal”
***
Longing is like the rosy dawn. After the dawn out comes the sun. Longing is followed by the vision of God.
-Ramakrishna
***
If those who are like wanton children
Are by nature prone to injure others,
What point is there in being angry--
Like resenting fire for its heat?
-Bodhicaryavatara
No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
-Luke 5:36 (Revised Standard Version)
****
When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.
-David Orr
***
The master continued, "If you put oil, pepper, garlic and onion in a cauldron, and merely add water, you have not made a stew. The basis for a stew is meat; the other ingredients are optional. Similarly, spiritual progress depends on detaching yourself from material posessions; other virtuous practices are optional."
-Nizam al-Din, "Fawa'id al-Fu'ad"
***
The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality.
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord.
Thus working may you live a hundred years.
Thus alone will you work in real freedom.
-Isha Upanishad
***
If you have a reason, you don't need to shout.
-Zen proverb
-Luke 5:36 (Revised Standard Version)
****
When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.
-David Orr
***
The master continued, "If you put oil, pepper, garlic and onion in a cauldron, and merely add water, you have not made a stew. The basis for a stew is meat; the other ingredients are optional. Similarly, spiritual progress depends on detaching yourself from material posessions; other virtuous practices are optional."
-Nizam al-Din, "Fawa'id al-Fu'ad"
***
The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality.
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord.
Thus working may you live a hundred years.
Thus alone will you work in real freedom.
-Isha Upanishad
***
If you have a reason, you don't need to shout.
-Zen proverb
If you plant for a year, plant grain. If you plant for ten years, plant trees. If you plant for a 100 years, plant men. If you plant for eternity, plant the word.
-Unknown
***
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.
-James Oppenheim
***
Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth.
Verily in this (Qur'an) is a Message for people who would (truly) worship Allah.
-Qur'an, Al-Anbiya, Surah 21:105-106
***
Can any lock keep love confined within,
When the loving heart's tiny tears escape and confess it?
The unloving belong only to themselves,
But the loving belong to others to their very bones.
-Tirukkural 8:71-72
***
Irrigators guide the water.
Fletchers shape the arrow shaft.
Carpenters shape the wood.
The wise control themselves.
-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
-Unknown
***
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.
-James Oppenheim
***
Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth.
Verily in this (Qur'an) is a Message for people who would (truly) worship Allah.
-Qur'an, Al-Anbiya, Surah 21:105-106
***
Can any lock keep love confined within,
When the loving heart's tiny tears escape and confess it?
The unloving belong only to themselves,
But the loving belong to others to their very bones.
-Tirukkural 8:71-72
***
Irrigators guide the water.
Fletchers shape the arrow shaft.
Carpenters shape the wood.
The wise control themselves.
-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Let the crucifix be not only in my eyes and on my breast, but in my heart.
-St. Bernadette
***
His words were filled with such eloquence and wisdom, as though an ocean abided inside him, and the ocean filled with eloquent pearls. The light that shone from every pearl became a criterion of right and wrong.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1922
***
In my own experience, the period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life. ...Through a difficult period, you can learn, you can develop inner strength, determination, and courage to face the problem. Who gives you this chance? Your enemy.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
-St. Bernadette
***
His words were filled with such eloquence and wisdom, as though an ocean abided inside him, and the ocean filled with eloquent pearls. The light that shone from every pearl became a criterion of right and wrong.
-Rumi, "Mathnawi"
***
God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1922
***
In my own experience, the period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life. ...Through a difficult period, you can learn, you can develop inner strength, determination, and courage to face the problem. Who gives you this chance? Your enemy.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Make it a practice to judge person and things in the most favorable light at all times, in all circumstances.
-St. Vincent de Paul
***
Getting to know someone is not a task--it’s an art.
-Pierce LeBlanc
***
The mantra AUM stands for the supreme state
Of Turiya, without parts, beyond birth
And death, symbol of everlasting joy.
Those who know AUM as the Self become the Self;
Truly they become the Self.
Om shanti shanti shanti
-Mandukya Upanishad
***
Once a rich merchant, seeing Rabi'a's house falling into disrepair, gave her a thousand pieces of gold and a new house....Immediately she returned the money to the merchant and said, "I fear I will become attached to this house and will no longer be able to occupy myself with the other world. My only desire is to be of service to God."
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
It is easy to keep things at a distance. It is harder to be aloof of them.
-Bunan
-St. Vincent de Paul
***
Getting to know someone is not a task--it’s an art.
-Pierce LeBlanc
***
The mantra AUM stands for the supreme state
Of Turiya, without parts, beyond birth
And death, symbol of everlasting joy.
Those who know AUM as the Self become the Self;
Truly they become the Self.
Om shanti shanti shanti
-Mandukya Upanishad
***
Once a rich merchant, seeing Rabi'a's house falling into disrepair, gave her a thousand pieces of gold and a new house....Immediately she returned the money to the merchant and said, "I fear I will become attached to this house and will no longer be able to occupy myself with the other world. My only desire is to be of service to God."
-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"
***
It is easy to keep things at a distance. It is harder to be aloof of them.
-Bunan
No matter how tough life gets, if you can see the shore [of heaven] and draw your strength from Christ, you’ll make it.
-Randy Alcorn
***
When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.
-Rabbi Harold Kushner
***
On this ever-revolving wheel of being
The individual self goes round and round
Through life after life, believing itself
To be a separate creature, until
It sees its identity with the Lord of Love
And attains immortality in the indivisible whole.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
***
The best dhikr is: "There is no god but Allah"; and the best invocation: "All praise is due to Allah."
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ja'bir bin Abd'Allah
***
If you wish to understand yourself, you must succeed in doing so in the midst of all kinds of confusions and upsets. Don't make the mistake of sitting dead in the cold ashes of a withered tree.
-Emyo
-Randy Alcorn
***
When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.
-Rabbi Harold Kushner
***
On this ever-revolving wheel of being
The individual self goes round and round
Through life after life, believing itself
To be a separate creature, until
It sees its identity with the Lord of Love
And attains immortality in the indivisible whole.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
***
The best dhikr is: "There is no god but Allah"; and the best invocation: "All praise is due to Allah."
-The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ja'bir bin Abd'Allah
***
If you wish to understand yourself, you must succeed in doing so in the midst of all kinds of confusions and upsets. Don't make the mistake of sitting dead in the cold ashes of a withered tree.
-Emyo
Our Christian experience must agree with the Bible. We will be taught by the Bible and fed by the Bible. But we do not believe in Christ because He is in the Bible: we believe in the Bible because Christ is in us.
-Claxton Monro
***
If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
-William Penn
***
Believers, when you are told to make room in assemblies, make room; in return Allah will make room for you in the hereafter. And when you are told to rise [for a good deed], rise up. Allah will exalt those who are truly faithful and have been endowed with knowledge, for Allah is observant of all that you do.
-Qur'an, Al-Mujadilah, Surah 58:11
From "The Bounty of Allah," translated
***
Since the seed does not contain anything other than the seed, even the flowers and the fruits are of the same nature as the seed: the substance of the seed is the substance of subsequent effects, too. Even so, the homogenous mass of cosmic consciousness does not give rise to anything other than what it is in essence. When this truth is realized, duality ceases.
-Yoga Vasishtha
***
Remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind. The natural state of the universe unmanifest.
Let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it. It is your own true nature, it is home.
-Tibetan Book of the Dead
***
-Claxton Monro
***
If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
-William Penn
***
Believers, when you are told to make room in assemblies, make room; in return Allah will make room for you in the hereafter. And when you are told to rise [for a good deed], rise up. Allah will exalt those who are truly faithful and have been endowed with knowledge, for Allah is observant of all that you do.
-Qur'an, Al-Mujadilah, Surah 58:11
From "The Bounty of Allah," translated
***
Since the seed does not contain anything other than the seed, even the flowers and the fruits are of the same nature as the seed: the substance of the seed is the substance of subsequent effects, too. Even so, the homogenous mass of cosmic consciousness does not give rise to anything other than what it is in essence. When this truth is realized, duality ceases.
-Yoga Vasishtha
***
Remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind. The natural state of the universe unmanifest.
Let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it. It is your own true nature, it is home.
-Tibetan Book of the Dead
***
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Re: Quote
Ten Sufi Thoughts
from The Way of Illumination
by Great Sufi Master Inayat Khan
There are ten principal Sufi thoughts which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of man is concerned:
1) There is one God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none else exists save God.
2) There is one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads all followers towards the light.
3) There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, which truly enlightens all readers.
4) There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfils the life's purpose of every soul.
5) There is one Law, the law of Reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.
6) There is one human Brotherhood, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the Fatherhood of God.
7) There is one Moral Principle, the love which springs forth from self-denial, and blooms in deeds of beneficence.
8 ) There is one Object of Praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
9) There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being within and without which is the essence of all wisdom.
10) There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection.
The objectives of the Sufi path:
1) To realize and spread the knowledge of unity, the religion of love and wisdom, so that the bias of faiths and beliefs may of itself fall away, the human heart may overflow with love, and all hatred caused by distinctions and differences may be rooted out.
2) To discover the light and power latent in man, the secret of all religion, the power of mysticism, and the essence of philosophy, without interfering with customs or belief.
3) To help to bring the world's two opposite poles, East and West, closer together by the interchange of thought and ideals, that the Universal Brotherhood may form of itself, and man may see with man beyond the narrow national and racial boundaries.
from The Way of Illumination
by Great Sufi Master Inayat Khan
There are ten principal Sufi thoughts which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of man is concerned:
1) There is one God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none else exists save God.
2) There is one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads all followers towards the light.
3) There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, which truly enlightens all readers.
4) There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfils the life's purpose of every soul.
5) There is one Law, the law of Reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.
6) There is one human Brotherhood, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the Fatherhood of God.
7) There is one Moral Principle, the love which springs forth from self-denial, and blooms in deeds of beneficence.
8 ) There is one Object of Praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
9) There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being within and without which is the essence of all wisdom.
10) There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection.
The objectives of the Sufi path:
1) To realize and spread the knowledge of unity, the religion of love and wisdom, so that the bias of faiths and beliefs may of itself fall away, the human heart may overflow with love, and all hatred caused by distinctions and differences may be rooted out.
2) To discover the light and power latent in man, the secret of all religion, the power of mysticism, and the essence of philosophy, without interfering with customs or belief.
3) To help to bring the world's two opposite poles, East and West, closer together by the interchange of thought and ideals, that the Universal Brotherhood may form of itself, and man may see with man beyond the narrow national and racial boundaries.
Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all.
-D.L. Moody
***
Meaningful coincidences touch a deep feeling in the psyche. These synchronistic events give us a sense that we’re part of a greater whole.
-Jean Shinoda Bolen
***
Student: "How can I become enlightened?"
Neem Karoli Baba: "Feed people."
***
No denser veil than pretension exists between God and the devotee. There is no closer way to God than spiritual impoverishment before Him.
-Tustari in ‘Attar: “Tadhkirat”
***
Since your mind is not physical,
No one else can destroy it.
But because of its attachments to the body,
It is harmed by physical suffering.
-Bodhicharyavatara
-D.L. Moody
***
Meaningful coincidences touch a deep feeling in the psyche. These synchronistic events give us a sense that we’re part of a greater whole.
-Jean Shinoda Bolen
***
Student: "How can I become enlightened?"
Neem Karoli Baba: "Feed people."
***
No denser veil than pretension exists between God and the devotee. There is no closer way to God than spiritual impoverishment before Him.
-Tustari in ‘Attar: “Tadhkirat”
***
Since your mind is not physical,
No one else can destroy it.
But because of its attachments to the body,
It is harmed by physical suffering.
-Bodhicharyavatara