and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both,
superstition, bigotry and persecution.
-- James Madison, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia (1785)
+~
+Being civil often has an element of acting. However, in the hinayana, you are
+behaving rather than acting. Acting is trying to manifest yourself for the
+sake of display, whereas behaving is how you feel. Acting is the way you
+dance, and behaving is the way you sneeze or hiccup. You know if you are
+being genuine. You are the first person who knows. When you are acting, you
+are concerned with other people’s possible reactions; but when you are
+behaving, you are just behaving. It’s like sitting on the toilet seat and
+doing your duty: nobody is watching. It’s your private concern, so there is
+a quality of genuineness. In the hinayana, you behave decently because the
+dharma is actually a part of you. That is the meaning of taming yourself...
+Becoming a dharmic person means that in your everyday life from morning to
+morning, around the clock, you are not trying to kid anybody.
+ -- Chögyam Trungpa, from "The Path of Individual Liberation: Volume One of
+ The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+Today’s world requires us to accept the oneness of humanity. In the past,
+isolated communities could afford to think of one another as fundamentally
+separate. Some could even exist in total isolation. But nowadays, whatever
+happens in one region eventually affects many other areas. Within the context
+of our inter-dependence, self-interest clearly lies in considering the
+interest of others.
+ -- H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, "The Pocket Dalai Lama", published by
+ Shambhala Publications
+~
+ Compassion is an internal attitude that may manifest in our behavior.
+However, compassion is not the behavior itself, for one behavior can be done
+with different motivations. For example, we may take care of a sick relative
+because we have genuine affection for him. Conversely, we may care for him
+because we want to inherit his estate. The action is the same, but the
+motivations differ. The first motivation is prompted by genuine compassion,
+the second by self-concern.
+ Acting with compassion entails being creative and knowing that one
+behavior is not suitable for all occasions. In some circumstances, we may be
+compassionate by sharing our possessions; while in others, we may show it by
+saying, “no.” In this way, compassion must be combined with good judgment to
+be effective.
+ -- Russell Kolts and Thubten Chodron, "An Open-Hearted Life", published by
+ Shambhala Publications
+~
+Since the very beginning, the mind streams of all sentient beings possess the
+way of being of the inseparability of being lucid and being empty in an
+intrinsic manner. No matter how it may be obscured by adventitious stains, in
+terms of its nature, it is never tainted by stains, while the stains exist in
+the manner of being separable from it. This mind that is the inseparability
+of being lucid and being empty has the nature of being permanent and being
+free from change, decrease, and increase. It is ever undeceiving, changeless,
+and genuinely stable. Throughout all three phases of ground, path, and
+fruition, it is this nature of the mind that is certain to be solely the
+object of the genuine meditative equipoise within the qualities that are the
+nature of phenomena. This is what needs to be manifested through the practice
+of superior insight.
+ -- from "When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition
+ as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra", translated by Karl Brunnholzl,
+ published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ Whatever obstacles we experience, if we can take them the right way, they
+won’t obstruct our spiritual path. Rather, they will become a tool to
+stimulate our advancement toward our destination: unconditional love and
+enlightenment.
+ So try to feel joy when facing difficulties, for they provide the chance
+to purify unvirtuous past deeds, the cause of ills, and infuse us with the
+inspiration to generate yet greater virtuous deeds, the cause of healing and
+enlightenment.
+ -- Tulku Thondup, from "The Heart of Unconditional Love: A Powerful New
+ Approach to Loving-Kindness Meditation", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
projects / feisty_meow.git / blobdiff