Offerings

Buddha Shakyamuni:
"It is not easy to be reborn as a human being.
It is rarer than for a one-eyed turtle, who rises to the surface only once every hundred years,
to push his neck through a wooden yoke with one hole that floats on the surface of the wide ocean."

Shantideva:
"...why should you put yourself through hell for no reason?"

Arnaud Desjardins:
"on days when the sky is grey, the sun has not dissapeared forever."

Sogyal Rinpoche:
"The ordinary mind is ceaselessly shifting and shiftless prey of external influences, habitual tendencies, and conditioning;
the masters liken it to a candle flame in an open doorway, vulnerable to all the winds of circumstances."

Sri Nisargadatta:
"The real world is beyond our thoughts & ideas;
we see it through the net of our desires,
divided into pleasure and pain, right & wrong, inner and outer.
To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net.
It is not hard to do, for the net is full of holes."

Kalu Rinpoche:
"The first thing upon which we should meditate is our precious & fleeting human life, hard to obtain and easy to destroy;
I will now give it meaning."

"Our lives are like a bubble or a candle;
Impermanence & death are like the wind!"

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:
" If one were truly aware of the value of human life, to waste it blithely on distractions and the pursuit of vulgar ambitions would be the height of confusion."

"Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that be carried away on the first morning breeze."

Milarepa:
"If hate reigns supreme, it chains us to hell.
Great avarice open the gulf of eternal hunger.
Dull ignorance makes us no better than animals.
Growing passion ties us to the world of men.
If jealousy takes root, it leads to the realm of waring gods.
Overbearing pride traps us in the land of the heavens.
These are the six fetters that chain us to samsara."

Matthieu Richard:
"When the mind is full of memories and preoccupied by the future,
it misses the freshness of the present moment.
In this way, we fail to recognize the luminous simplicity of mind that is always present behind the veils of thoughts."

"Knowledge does not mean mastering a great quantity of different information, but understanding the nature of mind.
This knowledge can penetrate each one of our thoughts and illuminate each one of our perceptions."

"What counts is not the enormity of the task, but the size of the courage."

"The basic root of happiness lies in our minds; outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favourable."

Howard Cutler:
"When faced with a feeling of stagnation and confusion, it may be helpful to take an hour, an afternoon, or even several days to reflect on what it is that will truly bring us happiness."

Jack Kornfield:
"Stay in touch with our heart."

"The things that matters most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another."

"To see the preciousness of all things, we must bring our full attention to life."

The 14th Dalai Lama:
"Peace of mind is rooted in affection and compassion. There is a very high level of sensitivity and feeling there."

"Awareness of impermanence is encouraged, so that when it is coupled with our appreciation of the enormous potential of our human existence, it will give us a sense of urgency that I MUST USE EVERY PRECIOUS MOMENT."

Pema Chodron:
"Usually we think that brave people have no fear.
The truth is that they are intimate with fear."

"When there's a disappointment, I don't know if it's the end of the story,
But it may be just the beginning of a great adventure."

-The above quotes are from a book called "OFFERINGS"- with everyday quotes, lots of inpirational pictures too.