X-Git-Url: https://feistymeow.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=database%2Ffortunes.dat;h=e56625ae0a913b3b5bfd4d4790cbb5e0203a814f;hb=e715c6598343dd15a8652cd22923c4e48aaf1aef;hp=7b6eb6a6d03d9e8cb22c246f13b15713ee2ee9e3;hpb=20d7020a6aa477b3b0b6d1b7465fe65803bc4ccb;p=feisty_meow.git

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@@ -38039,3 +38039,146 @@ strong generation of desire or hatred appears to you to be just senseless.
 Gradually, such a bias weakens, and you decide that one-sided classification
 of persons as friends and enemies has been a mistake.
   -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+  Generally speaking, even if money brings us happiness, it tends to be the
+kind that money can buy: material things and sensory experiences.  And these,
+we discover, become a source of suffering themselves.  As far as actual
+possessions are concerned, we must admit that they often cause us more, not
+less, difficulty in life.  The car breaks down, we lose our money, our most
+precious belongings are stolen, our house is damaged by fire.  Or we worry
+about these things happening.
+  The problem is not materialism as such.  Rather it is the underlying
+assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone.
+Unlike animals whose quest for happiness is restricted to survival and to the
+immediate gratification of sensory desires, we human beings have the capacity
+to experience happiness at a deeper level, which, when achieved, can overwhelm
+unhappy experiences.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+We humans are social beings.  We come into the world as the result of
+others' actions.  We survive here in dependence on others.  Whether we like
+it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives in which we do not benefit
+from others' activities.  For this reason it is hardly surprising that most
+of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.  Nor
+is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by
+concern for others.  But that is not all.  We find that not only do altruistic
+actions bring about happiness, but they also lessen our experience of
+suffering.  Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are
+motivated by the wish to bring others happiness necessarily meets with less
+misfortune than the one who does not.  Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort
+or another are the same for us all.  But the sufferings which undermine our
+internal peace—anxiety, doubt, disappointment—these are definitely less.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+If we view the world’s religions from the widest possible viewpoint and
+examine their ultimate goal, we find that all of the major world religions,
+whether Christianity or Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, are dedicated to the
+achievement of permanent human happiness.  They are all directed toward that
+goal.  All religions emphasize the fact that the true follower must be honest
+and gentle, in other words, that a truly religious person must always strive
+to be a better human being.  To this end, the different world religions teach
+different doctrines which will help transform the person.  In this regard, all
+religions are the same, there is no conflict.  This is something we must
+emphasize.  We must consider the question of religious diversity from this
+viewpoint.  And when we do, we find no conflict.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+Emptiness vs. Non-Existence
+
+The doctrines of emptiness and selflessness do not imply the non-existence of
+things.  Things do exist.  When we say that all phenomena are void of self-
+existence, it does not mean that we are advocating non-existence, that we are
+repudiating that things exist.  Then what is it we are negating?  We are
+negating, or denying, that anything exists from its own side without depending
+on other things.  Hence, it is because things depend for their existence upon
+other causes and conditions that they are said to lack independent self-
+existence.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+If we view the world’s religions from the widest possible viewpoint and
+examine their ultimate goal, we find that all of the major world religions,
+whether Christianity or Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, are dedicated to the
+achievement of permanent human happiness.  They are all directed toward that
+goal.  All religions emphasize the fact that the true follower must be honest
+and gentle, in other words, that a truly religious person must always strive
+to be a better human being.  To this end, the different world religions teach
+different doctrines which will help transform the person.  In this regard, all
+religions are the same, there is no conflict.  This is something we must
+emphasize.  We must consider the question of religious diversity from this
+viewpoint.  And when we do, we find no conflict.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+  The process of overcoming our defilements goes in conjunction with gaining
+higher levels of realisation.  In fact, when we speak of gaining higher levels
+of realisation in Buddhism we are speaking primarily of the processes through
+which our wisdom and insight deepen.  It is actually the wisdom aspect that
+enables the practitioner to move from one level to the next on the path.
+  The attainment of the levels of the path is explained in condensed form in
+the Heart Sutra, where we find the mantra tadyatha om gate gate paragate
+parasamgate bodhi svaha.  Tadyatha means It is thus; gate gate means go, go;
+paragate means go beyond and transcend; parasamgate means go utterly beyond,
+go thoroughly beyond; and bodhi svaha means firmly rooted in enlightenment.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ENDURING SUCCESS
+  It is often seen that human beings can endure problems quite well, but
+cannot endure success.  When we are successful and have everything we desire,
+it can easily go to our heads.  There is a great danger of losing our common
+sense and becoming careless and arrogant.  As it is said, "Nothing corrupts a
+person more than power." Very powerful people sometimes become so proud that
+they no longer care about their actions or about the effect they have on
+others.  Losing any sense of right and wrong, they create severe problems for
+themselves and everyone else.
+  Even if we have all the success we could dream of—fame, wealth, and so
+on—we must understand that these things have no real substance.  Attachment
+does not come from having things, but from the way our mind reacts to them.
+It is fine to participate in good circumstances, provided we can see that they
+have no real essence.  They may come and they may go.  When seeing this, we
+will not become so attached.  Even if we lose our wealth we will not be badly
+affected, and while it is there we will enjoy it without being senseless and
+arrogant.
+  -- Ringu Tulku, from "Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha",
+     edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs, page 92.
+~
+The role of other sentient beings
+
+  In relation to the attainment of liberation from cylic existence, which is
+known also as "definite goodness," the role of other sentient beings is
+indispensable.  In the Buddhist understanding, the key spiritual practices
+that lead to the attainment of liberation are the Three Higher
+Trainings—higher training in morality, in meditation, and in wisdom.  The
+last two are based upon the foundation of the first, namely the training in
+morality.  As I said before, the presence of other sentience beings is
+indispensable for this training.  This is how we come to the powerful
+realisation that the role of other sentient beings is essential in all areas
+of our mundane and spiritual activities.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+  To avoid being hurt by thorns and brambles, we might consider covering all
+the mountains with leather.  That would be impossible, but putting on shoes
+would serve the same purpose.  Similarly, if we tried to subdue all our outer
+enemies, we would never succeed.  Once one was eliminated, another would rise
+against us.  While doing this, our anger would continue to breed new foes.
+The only way to overcome our enemies is to turn inward and kill the real one,
+which is our own hatred.
+  -- Ringu Tulku, from "Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha",
+     edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs.
+~
+  One should not view one’s dharma practice as being something decorative,
+regarding statues and images as material possessions or as furnishings for
+one’s house, or thinking that because there is an empty space on a wall one
+might as well put up a thangka for decoration.  That kind of attitude should
+not be cultivated.  When you arrange the statues or thangkas, you should do so
+out of a deep respect from the mind, moved by your faith and conviction.  If
+you can arrange these physical representations—statues and so forth—out of
+deep respect and faith, that’s all right.  On the other hand, the attitude
+that they are merely material possessions is dangerous and destructive.  I
+think that some people who have a cupboard or the like in which they keep all
+their precious possessions may arrange an altar on it just for the sake of
+decoration.  This is very wrong.
+  Having such motivations is not the proper way to become a Buddhist; the
+proper way to become a Buddhist is to bring about some positive change within
+the mind.  Any practice that can give you more courage when you are undergoing
+a very difficult time and that can provide you with some kind of solace and
+calmness of mind is a true practice of the dharma.
+  -- H.H. the Dalai Lama