The Buddha, The Dharma, The Sangha

"Spiritual powers and their wondrous functioning--hauling water and carrying firewood." --Layman Pang, upon his realization

Saturday, November 19, 2011

In day to day life if you lead a good life, honestly, with love, with compassion, with less selfishness, then automatically it will lead to nirvana....We must implement these good teachings in daily life. Whether you believe in God or not does not matte so much; whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much; as a Buddhist, whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter so much. you must lead a good life.

And a good life does not mean just good food, good clothes, good shelter. These are not sufficient. a good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity. That we humans can help each other is one of our unique human capacities. We must share in other peoples' suffering; even if you can not help with money, to show concern, to give moral support and express sympathy are themselves valuable. This is what should be the basis of activities; whether one calls it religion or not does not matter....In my simple religion, love is the key motivation.

from Kindness, Clarity, and Insight 25th Anniversary Edition
by The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso


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