Thought provoking

Eight steps to enlightenment
‘Awakening the Buddha Within’
Tibetan wisdom for the western world
By: Lama Surya Das

The following is a series of quotes taken from the above book. Some are by the author and some are by other people. I tried to remember to write down when it was by somebody else, but I know I forgot a lot. You’ll just have to go read the book! Seriously, I recommend this book to anyone and everyone! It is one that I plan to read over and over again. For now, enjoy the quotes. I do not necessarily agree with all of them, they are just things that caught my eye and made me think.

Spiritual energy is healing energy; when any group gathers with a dedication to something greater than one’s finite, individual self, the accumulated energy is almost palpable. Sangha

The spiritual life is the search for answers. Who am I, why am I?
“to be enlightened is to be one with all things”
“we are all lit up from within as if from a sacred source”
It’s a fact: you are not going to find truth outside yourself….. The only place you are going to be able to find truth is in your genuine spiritual center” Truth is found by living truly- in your own authentic way.
When you genuinely become you, a Buddha realizes buddhahood
You become a Buddha by actualizing your own original innate nature. This nature is primordially pure. This is your true nature, your natural mind.
Buddhism says yes, change is possible. It tells us that not matter what our background, each of us is the creator of his or her own destiny.
How does the Buddha feel? Completely comfortable, at peace, and at ease in every situation and every circumstance with a sense of true inner freedom, independent of both outer circumstances and internal emotions.
What we seek, we already are. Everything is available in the natural state.
Often raising the right questions- your own head, deep-down, burning questions- may actually be more important than having the right answer, should there ever be one.
Dzogchen- The natural great perfection, “one instant of total awareness is one instant of perfect freedom and enlightenment”
Leave everything as it is and rest your weary mind, there is a nirvanic peace in things left just as they are.
Don’t follow past thoughts, don’t anticipate the future, and don’t follow illusory thoughts that arise in the present; but turning within, observe your own true nature and maintain awareness of your natural mind, just as it is, beyond the conceptual limitations of past, present, and future”
The inner truth, the inner teacher, the absolute guru- not just to know and experience reality with the rational, logical computer brain, but to know with the intuitive heart. That’s something you can really rely on: finding truth within your won experience
Let go, open your heart, unfold your spiritual sails, open your angelic wings, and soar on the wind. Enjoy the infinite.
How wonderful! How wonderful! All things are perfect exactly as they are!
“As long as you stay unconscious, asleep at the switch of your own life, true happiness will prove elusive”
“Wisdom is self-knowledge: wisdom is truth manifested as clarity of vision. Wisdom sees that light and dark are inseparable and that shadows are also light”
“Buddha said- we should all keep the reality of death in the forefront of our consciousness so we can better prioritize our daily activities and thus better direct our attention to that which is most significant and meaningful”
“each of us becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, the proverbial accident waiting to happen”
The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings…

As the shadow follows the body,
As we think, so we become
-from the Dhammapada
“wisdom tells me I am nothing, love tells me I am everything. Between the two, my life flows”
“if it feels like love, but it’s not wise, its not love”
Love everyone, even if you don’t like them.
“truths are many, but truth is one”
“when you accept yourself, the whole word accepts you”
“everything is empty, like a dream. But it’s not like an empty room; it’s a sparkling sunlit day, and the sun is filling all the spaces”
“Enjoy this natural great perfection, things just as they are”
“something made greater by ourselves and in turn that makes us greater” –Maya Angelou (about work)
“the value of anything is always the value we vest in it”
“I firmly believe that your true vocation of calling is knowing yourself and being yourself”
“awakening to this present instant, we realize the infinite is in the finite of each instant” –Zen master
“forever is composed of nows” –Emily Dickinson
We all have all kinds of thoughts, but that does not mean we are defined by them.


Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason, and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
-The Buddha


Rely not on the teacher [person], but on the teaching.
Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words.
Rely not on theory, but on experience.
-Buddha


We live in illusion,
And the appearance of things
There is a reality.
We are that reality.
When you understand this
You see that you are nothing.
And being nothing,
You are everything.
That is all.
-Kalu Rinpoche