We need modern ideas, but we also need ancient wisdom. If we deny ancient wisdom we are making a big mistake. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso More Quotes by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso More Quotes From Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Whenever we practise meditation, whether or not our meditation is clear, we are performing a virtuous mental action that is a cause of our future happiness and peace of mind. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso future-happinessmeditationmind Patience is a strength, not a weakness; and if by practicing patience we stop retaliating to harm and criticism, people will gradually come to understand that our real nature is very special Geshe Kelsang Gyatso realpeacepeople Learning to cherish others is the best solution to our daily problems, and it is the source of all our future happiness and good fortune. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso future-happinessdaily-problemscherish Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso inner-peaceyogaimpossible When a jealous person sees signs of other people's success and good fortune, his heart is pierced with envy. But someone who has learned to rejoice in the good fortune of others experiences only happiness. Seeing another person's beautiful house or attractive partner immediately makes him happy - the fact that they are not his own is irrelevant. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso jealousheartbeautiful If everyone practiced cherishing others, many of the major problems of the world would be solved in a few years. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso would-beworldyears If we transform our ordinary mind into love and compassion we will naturally act in a positive way. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso compassionmindordinary The solution to all the problems of daily life is to cherish others. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso daily-lifeproblemlife-is No matter how many possessions we acquire, they will not provide us with any lasting happiness and freedom. On the contrary, it is often our pursuit of material possessions that causes our problems. If we want ultimate happiness and freedom from suffering, we must engage in the supreme practices of training the mind. There is no other way. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso freedompracticehappiness We need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare while neglecting the welfare of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso independentspiritualreality Our mental attitude transforms a situation into either a problem or an opportunity. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso problemopportunityattitude We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso interconnectedimpossiblekindness Pride is a mental factor causing us to feel higher or superior to others. Even our study of dharma can be the occasion for the delusion of pride to arise if we think our understanding is superior to that of everyone else. Pride is harmful because it prevents us from accepting fresh knowledge from a qualified teacher. Just as a pool of water cannot collect on the tip of a mountain, so too a reservoir of understanding cannot be established in a mind falsely elevated by pride. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso prideteacherthinking Whenever we strive to make progress in our meditations, contemplations and so forth we are practicing effort. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso progresseffortmeditation The more we control our mind, the more our inner peace increases and the happier we become Geshe Kelsang Gyatso inner-peaceincreasemind Normally we divide the external world into that which we consider to be good or valuable, bad or worthless, or neither. Most of the time these discriminations are incorrect or have little meaning. For example, our habitual way of categorizing people as friends, enemies, and strangers depending on how they make us feel is both incorrect and a great obstacle to developing impartial love for all living beings. Rather than holding so tightly to our discriminations of the external world, it would be much more beneficial if we learned to discriminate between valuable and worthless states of mind. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso mindpeopleenemy Whenever we see anyone in a high or low position, male or female, they differ only in appearance, dress, behavior, and status. In essence they are all equal--they all experience problems in their lives. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso malesessencedresses There is no situation so bad that it cannot be accepted patiently, with an open, accommodating, and peaceful heart. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso peacefulacceptedheart Listening is a lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso ignorancedarknesslistening When we look at external things, we can usually distinguish those that are useful and valuable from those that are not. We must learn to look at our mind in the same way. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso learningmindlooks
