When we bear witness, when we become the situation - homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death - the right action arises by itself. We don't have to worry about what to do. We don't have to figure out solutions ahead of time. Peacemaking is the functioning of bearing witness. Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises.

Bernie Glassman

Categorized in : Death Inspirational Buddhist

Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning...look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.

Bernie Glassman

laughter wisdom morning

Our tendency in life is to avoid things that frighten us. But in order to become whole, we need to go deeper and deeper into ourselves by reaching further and further into the things we fear.

Bernie Glassman

fear order needs

I always have this red nose in my pocket, and if it looks like I'm taking things too seriously, or the person I'm talking to is taking them too seriously, I put the nose on. It doesn't matter what we're doing or talking about, it doesn't matter if we agree or disagree, the nose changes everything.

Bernie Glassman

pockets talking looks

When you care about perfection, you care about an expectation. But there is also caring for where I am right now, for what's happening right now. When I spend time with students, they tell me that they've read something in a book or heard something from a teacher that they don't think they're living up to. And I tell them, “Take care of yourself right now. Befriend what's happening, not just who you're supposed to be or what the world should be like. This is where you are now. So how do you care for yourself this minute?

Bernie Glassman

caring teacher book

In every area, working with what you habitually reject is one of the best ways to facilitate growth and transformation.

Bernie Glassman

transformation growth way

When we don't ask, we don't let others give. When we fear rejection, we don't let generosity arise.

Bernie Glassman

generosity rejection giving

Our work may be important, but we don't take it too seriously. Otherwise, we get attached to one relatively small thing and ignore the rest of life.

Bernie Glassman

rest-of-life important may

I honor businesses for what they do, I honor nonprofits for what they do, I honor government for what it does, and then I invite everyone to the table so that together we can come up with innovative and broad-based solutions that can serve as many people as possible. The fewer or less diverse voices you invite to the table, the smaller and narrower your solution will be and the fewer people it will serve.

Bernie Glassman

together-we-can government business

We're creating a little niche for ourselves instead of working the whole canvas.

Bernie Glassman

niche creating littles

Take the selfishness out of anger and you're left with determination.

Bernie Glassman

selfishness left determination

Sometimes you come to a fall and sometimes you come to white water. Your rowing has to adapt to the situation. You can't do the same stroke coming down a small stream as you would coming down Niagara Falls. Even if you're only rowing down a stream, different things happen: maybe the wind changes, maybe the current, and suddenly everything's different. So gently is really important. Don't power yourself or blast through; rock with the way things are.

Bernie Glassman

rocks wind fall

The extraordinary language of Nonviolent Communication is changing how parents relate to children, teachers to students, and how we all related to each other and even to ourselves. It is precise, disciplined, and enormously compassionate. Most important, once we study NVC we can't ignore the potential for transformation that lies in any difficult relationship - if we only bother to communicate with skill and empathy.

Bernie Glassman

teacher lying children

It's very rare to be in a state where there's nothing in, where you have no attachment to any idea or concept about yourself. In that state you've immediately raised the mind of compassion, because if nothing is in, everything is in, and you are now free to experience yourself as the world.

Bernie Glassman

experience-yourself attachment compassion

People get stuck a lot because they're afraid to act; in the worst case,...we get so attached to some end result that we can't function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn't wait.

Bernie Glassman

waiting people moving

The pursuit of enlightenment is for the purpose of the world, not merely for the purpose of the individual. Practices for enlightenment must lead to action in the world.

Bernie Glassman

enlightenment purpose practice

The basic problem, actually, is how to get rid of the idea that we're going to get rid of our problems. Only then can we relate directly with the real issues of our life.

Bernie Glassman

issues real ideas

I always tell people that if you get upset over what someone says, imagine him or her with a clown's nose on and you won't get so angry.

Bernie Glassman

upset noses people

Each of is an arm of Kannon, enabling Kannon to do her work. Like her, we're also overwhelmed, but when we reallize that the millions of pieces are all operating as one, then there's no problem. The reason we get overwhelmed is that we're attached to a certain result or taht we want to achieve a certain result or that we to achieve a certain goal. If we weren't attached we wouldn't be overwhelmed. It's endless. And we just take one step after the next

Bernie Glassman

pieces compassion goal

Look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.

Bernie Glassman

mirrors laughing looks

An English philosopher said that whatever is cosmic is also comic. Do the best you can and don't take it so seriously.

Bernie Glassman

philosopher comic said