QUOTATIONS
“We must be the change we want to see in the world.”
Mahatma Ghandi
SOME THOUGHTS IN RESPONSE TO PEMA CHODRON’S QUESTION:
“WHY DO WE MEDITATE?”
I pray to draw closer to the Divine. I meditate to draw
closer to the Divine in me.
I meditate to understand myself and the universe better.
I meditate to discover what is true for me.
I meditate to try to achieve balance in my life.
I meditate because without meditation I feel less alive,
less human.
I meditate because it gives me time and space.
Meditation generates loving kindness and compassion.
It is our vehicle for learning to be a truly loving person.
But not by denying or shutting out problems and
difficulties, but by sitting with them, acknowledging them
and working with them. But with gentleness and compassion
for self and others.
"We all do the best we can in difficult circumstances”
HH The Dalai Lama
“Seek peace in your own place. You cannot find peace
anywhere, save in your own self. When a man has made peace
within himself, he will be able to make peace with the
whole world.”
Rabbi Bunam
“It is the ignorance of your freedom that is your
captivity.”
Sufi Teaching
“If there’s a choice between being right and being
compassionate, it is better to be compassionate.”
Buddhist teaching.
“I live my life in growing orbits,
Which move out over the things of the world,
And I have been drifting for a thousand years,
And I still don’t know if I’m a falcon,
Or a storm, or a great song.” Rainer Maria Rilke
“If I have no pain, I’ll never long for
freedom.”
Shantideva
“Each day, acquire something which will help you to face
poverty, or death, and other ills as well.”
Seneca: Letters from a Stoic.
“Have the wisdom to change your life from where you are. “
Rabbi Zalman Schachter –Shalomi
“How wonderful it would be if only one could be worthy of
hearing the song of the grass.”
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav
“To begin with oneself,
But not to end with oneself.
To start with oneself,
But not to aim at oneself.
To comprehend oneself,
But not to be preoccupied with oneself.”
Martin Buber
“I too have heard the dead singing,
And they tell me that
This life is good.
They tell me to live it gently,
With fire, and always with hope.
There is wonder here.”
Ben Okri: The African Elegy.
“I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am
distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at
once, and cannot add up the sum: “
Carl Gustav Jung
“The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the
most vital and artistic of human actions.”
Thich Nath Hanh
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but
sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
Thich Nath Hanh
METAPHORS FOR LIFE
EXPERIENCES:
MAKING SOUP, SWIMMING IN THE SEA, DANCING
THE TANGO, GARDENING:
MAKING SOUP: Working with eclectic mixture of ingredients.
Appeals to all the senses. Taste, smell, texture, colour
all important. Even the sound of chopping is pleasurable.
Pleasure in planning and preparation, choosing what to use
from a range of possibilities. Drawing on previous
experience. Developing expertise. Pleasure in nurturing
self and others. Pleasure in both the process and the
product.
GARDENING: Understanding need to clear
ground, feed ground, have appropriate tools, choose seeds,
bulbs etc. Importance of gathering information to develop
expertise. Books, media helpful. But also much to be learnt
from observation. Part played by instinct. “Green fingers”.
Choose what you want to plant with view to colour, shape,
size and viability for your particular circumstances,
finance etc. Opportunity to feel close to nature.
Opportunity to give pleasure to self and others. Pleasure
in process and outcome. Feeds the soul.
TANGO: Balance, communication with
partner, awareness of others, but delight in your own
personal dance. Knowledge of history and background of
Tango enhances pleasure. Opportunity to learn from expert
teachers is valuable. Joy in moving to rhythm of music, and
responding to partner. Exercise for the body, nurtures the
spirit.
SWIMMING IN SEA: Opportunity to feel close to nature,
looking towards horizon, natural movement, joy in
physicality. Sense of challenge and adventure, especially
in cold water and rough seas!
Awareness of vastness of ocean gives sense
of perspective about personal problems. Sense of being “in
your element.” Puts you in touch with a primitive and
primordial force. Pleasure for the body, balm for the soul.