new fortune

[feisty_meow.git] / infobase / fortunes.dat

diff --git a/infobase/fortunes.dat b/infobase/fortunes.dat
index 921ce42c35232e55c46e72f812f804b3e3ef589e..7daa698271d33037fa6f2627b7231b17c2a52fe7 100644 (file)
--- a/infobase/fortunes.dat
+++ b/infobase/fortunes.dat
@@ -41265,4 +41265,35 @@ seeking genuine peace and liberation.
   -- Santikaro, from "Hooked!: Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the
      Urge to Consume", edited by Stephanie Kaza, published by Shambhala
      Publications and Snow Lion Publications
-
+~
+    The teachings are for living in this world—for having fewer problems and
+fewer tensions.  Many people speak now about world peace.  What does that
+mean?  How can we have world peace if we don’t have peace in ourselves?  We
+are each members of society—society meaning all of us together, not as
+individuals.  Since many individuals make up society, it means that the
+individuals must have a kind of evolution.  Although we have power and
+military might, and sometimes there are provisional changes, in the real sense
+it never changes.
+    Society is made up of individuals each having their point of view, their
+feelings, and their sensations.  If we want to develop society so that there
+is more peace and happiness, each one of us must work with our condition.  For
+example, our society is like numbers.  When we count, we must always begin
+with the number “1.” If I think about society, I must start with myself as
+“number one.”
+  -- Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, from "Dzogchen Teachings", published by Shambhala
+     Publications
+~
+    One of my favorite quotes from the Buddha is: "Let us rise up and be
+thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,
+and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got
+sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."
+    Gratitude is one of the fruits of living from genuine happiness; at the
+same time, it arises from an inherent seed in our being, a seed that requires
+cultivation.  There's a quote from Meister Eckhart, the Christian mystic, that
+illustrates how important this quality is: "If the only prayer you said in
+your whole life was 'thank you,' that would suffice." If we truly understood
+the depth of this teaching it would be all we'd need to know.  Unfortunately,
+we can't just tell ourselves to be grateful and expect it to happen, yet it's
+a quality that certainly can be nurtured.
+  -- Ezra Bayda, from "Beyond Happiness: The Zen Way to True Contentment",
+     published by Shambhala Publications