Week 2022-21: Nagarjuna - Collected Quotes

"If I have presented any theory

Then I am at fault.

But I have not accepted any theory;

I am totally free from any blame." (Nagarjuna , "Vigrahavyavartanikarika")

"In eating, sleeping, fearing, and copulating, men and beasts are alike;

Man excelleth the beast by engaging in religious practices.

So why should a man, if he be without religion, not be equal to the beast?" (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

"It's amazing, a wonder, that one wakes up in the morning." (Nagarjuna)

"O mighty one, The Four Recollections

Having been shown to be unmistakably the sole Path traversed by the Buddhas,

Do thou maintain zealous watchfulness over them at all times;

Through carelessness herein, all spiritual efforts become fruitless." (Nagarjuna)

"That which one desireth not for oneself,

Do not do unto others." (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

"The foolish are like ripples on water,

For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced;

But the righteous are like carvings upon stone,

For their smallest act is durable." (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

"The phenomena that have arisen interdependently

Are designated as emptiness;.

'Whatever has arisen through interdependent causation

Has no reality." (Nagarjuna , "Vigrahavyiivartanlkiirikii")

"The science which teacheth arts and handicrafts

Is merely science for the gaining of a living;

But the science which teacheth deliverance from worldly existence,

Is not that the true science?" (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

"The universality of change, when completely understood, is the seeing into the heart of all things, and the mind that thus understands is the mind that truly seeks the way." (Nagarjuna)

"Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves." (Nagarjuna)

"Time is fleeting, learning is vast; no one knoweth the duration of one's life:

Therefore use the swan's art of extracting milk from water,

And devote thyself to the Most Precious [Path]"  (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

To him who hath recovered from illness,

What need is there of a physician?

To him who hath crossed the river,

What need is there of a boat?" (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

"To him who knoweth the True Nature of things,

What need is there of a teacher?" (Nagarjuna)

"With the wise and gentle, the contented and the truthful,

Companionship, even in prison, is better than sovereignty with the unruly." (Nagarjuna, [attributed] "The Staff of Wisdom")

Week 2022-19: Dalai Lama - Collected Quotes

"It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come." (Dalai Lama)

"Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it." (Dalai Lama)

"Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects." (Tenzin Gyatso, Dalai Lama XIV)

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." (Dalai Lama)

"My religion is kindness." (Dalai Lama)

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day". (Dalai Lama)

"Once a year, go someplace you have never been before." (Dalai Lama)

"One must lose all, sacrifice, in order to gain anything, you must first lose everything." (The 14th Dalai Lama)

"Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values." (Dalai Lama)

"Out primce purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them." (Dalai Lama)

"Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free." (Dalai Lama)

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck." (Dalai Lama)

"Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer." (Dalai Lama)

"Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other." (Dalai Lama)

"Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality." (Dalai Lama)

"Silence is sometimes the best answer." (Dalai Lama)

"Spend some time alone every day." (Dalai Lama)

"Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk." (Dalai Lama)

"The feeling of unbearableness at the sight of other peoples’ suffering, other sentient beings’ suffering. In order to generate that feeling one must first have an appreciation of the seriousness or intensity of another’s suffering. The more fully one understands suffering, and the various kinds of suffering that we are subject to, the deeper will be one’s level of compassion." (Dalai Lama)

"The mind has power over the body and speech, and therefore any training of body and speech must begin with the mind." (Dalai Lama, "Stages Of Meditation", 2002)

"The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well being." (Dalai Lama)

"The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness." (Dalai Lama)

"The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred." (Dalai Lama)

"The way to develop inner peace through meditation begins with the recognition that the destroyer of inner peace is not some external foe, but is within us. Therefore, the solution is within us too. However, that inner change does not take place immediately in the way that we switch on a light, but takes weeks, months and years." (Dalai Lama)

"There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster." (Dalai Lama)

"There needs to be understanding that anger never helps to solve a problem. It destroys our peace of mind and blinds our ability to think clearly. Anger and attachment are emotions that distort our view of reality." (Dalai Lama)

"This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness." (14th Dalai Lama)

"Tibetan Buddhism considers sleep to be a form of nourishment, like food, that restores and refreshes the body. Another type of nourishment is samadhi, or meditative concentration. If one becomes advanced enough in the practice of meditative concentration, then this itself sustains or nourishes the body." (Dalai Lama XIV)

"To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in somebody else. Rather than speaking badly about people and in ways that will produce friction and unrest in their lives, we should practice a purer perception of them, and when we speak of others, speak of their good qualities." (Dalai Lama)"

"True change is within; leave the outside as it is." (Dalai Lama)

"We all have to live together, so we might as well live together happily." (Dalai Lama)

"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection." (Dalai Lama)

"We cannot hope to die peacefully if our lives have been full of violence, or if our minds have mostly been agitated by emotions like anger, attachment, or fear. So if we wish to die well, we must learn how to live well: Hoping for a peaceful death, we must cultivate peace in our mind, and in our way of life." (Dalai Lama)

"We need to strengthen such inner values as contentment, patience and tolerance, as well as compassion for others. Keeping in mind that it is expressions of affection rather than money and power that attract real friends, compassion is the key to ensuring our own well-being." (Dalai Lama)

"What acts as a far more effective circumstance for generating compassion and what, in fact, rouses us from our comfortable meditation seat is actually seeing or hearing others - encountering others directly, not just conceptually in our imagination." (Dalai Lama)

"What is Love? Love is the absence of judgment." (Dalai Lama)

"When you lose, don’t lose the lesson." (Dalai Lama)

"When you realize you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it." (Dalai Lama)

"When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy. Pride leads to violence and evil. The truly good gaze upon everything with love and understanding." (Dalai Lama)

"Why worry? If there is anything that you can do to change it then change it, if not then why worry." (Dalai Lama)

"Wisdom is the best guide and faith is the best companion. One must try to escape from the darkness of ignorance and suffering, and seek the light of Enlightenment." (Dalai Lama)

Week 2022-18: Miyamoto Musashi - Collected Quotes

"[FIRST TECHNIQUE] […] your sword now having bounced upward, leave it as it is until the opponent strikes again, whereupon you strike the opponent's hands from below. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"[SECOND TECHNIQUE] […] If your sword misses the opponent, leave it there for the moment, until the opponent strikes again, whereupon you strike from below, sweeping upwards.[…]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"[THIRD TECHNIQUE] [...] as the opponent strikes, you strike at his hands from below. [...] as he tries to knock your sword down, bring it up in rhythm, then chop off his arms sideways. The point is to strike an opponent down all at once from the lower position just as he strikes. [...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Having a position without a position, or a guard without a guard, means that the long sword is not supposed to be kept in a fixed position. [...] Where you hold your sword depends on your relationship to the opponent, depends on the place, and must conform to the situation; wherever you hold it, the idea is to hold it so that it will be easy to kill the opponent. [...] Even though you may catch, hit, or block an opponent's slashing sword, or tie it up or obstruct it, all of these moves are opportunities for cutting the opponent down. This must be understood. [...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"In my individual school, one can win with the long sword, and one can win with the short sword as well. For this reason, the precise size of the sword is not fixed. The way of my school is the spirit of gaining victory by any means. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"In the present age, not only the bow but also the other arts have more flowers than fruit. Such skills are useless where there is a real need. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"It is said the warrior's is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways. Even if a man has no natural ability he can be a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the Way. Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Other schools become theatrical, dressing up and showing off to make a living, commercializing martial arts. […] Do you think you have realized how to attain victory just by learning to wield a long sword and training your body and your hands? This is not a certain way in any case. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Speaking in terms of carpentry, soldiers sharpen their own tools, make various useful implements, and keep them in their utility boxes. […] An essential habit for carpenters is to have sharp tools and keep them whetted.[…]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"The field of martial arts is particularly rife with flamboyant showmanship, with commercial popularization and profiteering on the part of both those who teach the science and those who study it. The result of this must be, as someone said, that "amateuristic martial arts are a source of serious wounds". (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"The master carpenter, knowing the measurements and designs of all sorts of structures, employs people to build houses. In this respect, the master carpenter is the same as the master warrior. . . . As the master carpenter directs the journeymen, he knows their various levels of skill and gives them appropriate tasks. . . . Efficiency and smooth progress, prudence in all matters, recognizing true courage, recognizing different levels of morale, instilling confidence, and realizing what can and cannot be reasonably expected-such are the matters on the mind of the master carpenter. The principle of martial arts is like this [...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"[…] the power of knowledge of the art of the sword. This is something that requires thorough examination, with a thousand days of practice for training and ten thousand days of practice for refinement. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Thus in my individual school there is an aversion to a narrow, biased attitude. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"The Way of the warrior does not include other ways, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, certain traditions, artistic accomplishments, and dancing. But even though these are not part of the Way, if you know the Way broadly, you will see it in everything." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"The way of warrior skill is the way of nature. When you are in line with the power of nature, knowing the rhythm of all situations, you will be able to cut and strike the enemy naturally." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"To attain the Way of strategy as a warrior you must study fully other martial arts and not deviate even a little from the Way of the warrior. With your spirit settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit heart and mind, and sharpen the twofold gaze perception and sight. When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Whatever guard you adopt, do not think of it as being on guard; think of it as part of the act of killing. [...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"When your life is on the line, you want to make use of all your tools. [...] We find that whatever the weapon, there is a time and situation in which it is appropriate. [...] Both the spear and the halberd depend on circumstances; neither is very useful in crowded situations. [...] they should be reserved for use on the battlefield. [...] [the bow] is inadequate for seiging a castle.[...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Whether you adopt a large or small guard depends on the situation; follow whatever is most advantageous. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"You should not have any particular fondness for a particular weapon, or anything else for that matter. Too much is the same as not enough. […] Pragmatic thinking is essential. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"You should not have any particular fondness for a particular weapon, or anything else for that matter." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"You must contemplate the Way of the warrior's skill so you will be able to beat a man in combat by the use of your eye. With diligent training, you will be able to beat ten men in combat by using your spirit." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"If you do not look at things on a large scale, it will be difficult for you to master strategy. If you learn and attain this strategy, you will never lose, even to twenty or thirty enemies. More than anything … you must set your heart on strategy and earnestly stick to the Way." (Miyamoto Musashi)

"One can win with the long sword, and one can win with the short sword as well. For this reason, the precise size of the sword is not fixed. The way of my school is the spirit of gaining victory by any means […]" (Miyamoto Musashi)

"Strategy is the craft of the warrior." (Miyamoto Musashi)

"Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men." (Miyamoto Musashi)

"Whatever state of mind you are in, ignore it. Think only of cutting." (Miyamoto Musashi)

"You can only fight the way you practice." (Miyamoto Musashi)