+~
+Because we don't recognize our essential nature--we don't realize that
+although appearances arise unceasingly, nothing is really there--we invest
+with solidity and reality the seeming truth of self, other, and actions
+between self and others. This intellectual obscuration gives rise to
+attachment and aversion, followed by actions and reactions that create karma,
+solidify into habit, and perpetuate the cycles of suffering. This entire
+process needs to be purified.
+ -- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, from "In the Presence of Masters: Wisdom from 30
+ Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Teachers", edited by Reginald A. Ray.
+~
+ Effort is crucial in the beginning for generating a strong will. We all
+have the Buddha nature and thus already have within us the substances through
+which, when we meet with the proper conditions, we can turn into a fully
+enlightened being having all beneficial attributes and devoid of all faults.
+The very root of failure in our lives is to think, "Oh, how useless and
+powerless I am!" It is important to have a strong force of mind thinking,
+"I can do it," this not being mixed with pride or any other afflictive
+emotion.
+ Moderate effort over a long period of time is important, no matter what you
+are trying to do. One brings failure on oneself by working extremely hard at
+the beginning, attempting to do too much, and then giving it all up after a
+short time. A constant stream of moderate effort is needed. Similarly, when
+meditating, you need to be skillful by having frequent, short sessions; it is
+more important that the session be of good quality than that it be long.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "Kindness, Clarity, and Insight"
+~
+We Buddhists are supposed to save all sentient beings, but practically
+speaking, this may be too broad a notion for most people. In any case, we
+must at least think in terms of helping all human beings. This is very
+important. Even if we cannot think in terms of sentient beings inhabiting
+different worlds, we should nonetheless think in terms of the human beings on
+our own planet. To do this is to take a practical approach to the problem.
+It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily
+lives. If we find we cannot help another, the least we can do is to desist
+from harming them. We must not cheat others or lie to them. We must be
+honest human beings, sincere human beings.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ How things appear and how they actually exist differ greatly. A person
+engaging in practice of the perfection of wisdom does this kind of analysis
+and then examines how things appear in ordinary experience, alternating
+analysis and comparison with the usual mode of appearance in order to notice
+the discrepancy between the actual mode of subsistence of phenomena and their
+appearance.
+ In this way the inherent existence which is the object of negation will
+become clearer and clearer. As much as the object of negation becomes
+clearer, so much deeper will your understanding of emptiness become. Finally,
+you will ascertain a mere vacuity that is a negative of inherent existence.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ Three attitudes prevent us from receiving a continual flow of blessings.
+They are compared to three “pots”: a full pot, a pot with poison in it,
+and a pot with a hole in the bottom.
+ The pot that’s filled to the brim is like a mind full of opinions and
+preconceptions. We already know it all. We have so many fixed ideas that
+nothing new can affect us or cause us to question our assumptions.
+ The pot containing poison is like a mind that’s so cynical, critical, and
+judgmental that everything is poisoned by this harshness. It allows for no
+openness and no willingness to explore the teachings or anything else that
+challenges our righteous stance.
+ The pot with a hole is like a distracted mind: our body is present but
+we’re lost in thought. We’re so busy thinking about our dream vacation or
+what’s for dinner that we’re completely deaf to what’s being said.
+ Knowing how sad it is to receive blessings and not be able to benefit,
+Shantideva wants to save himself grief by remaining open and attentive.
+Nothing will improve, he says, unless we become more intelligent about cause
+and effect. This is a message worth considering seriously.
+ -- Pema Chödrön, from "No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the
+ Bodhisattva".
+
+