All beings are by nature Buddha,
as ice by nature is water.
Apart from water there is no ice;
apart from beings, no Buddha.
-Hakuin Zenji
If you think, “I breathe,” the “I” is extra. There is no you to say “I.” What we call “I” is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all. When your mind is pure and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no “I,” no world, no mind nor body; just a swinging door.
-Shunryu Suzuki
Birth decrees to all men who live a common circumstance.
Diverse actions define their unique specialness.
Lowly men are never high, even when elevated.
High souls are never low, even when downtrodden.
-Tirukkural
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
-Mother Teresa
Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is not those who lack energy or refrain from action, but those who work without expectation of reward who attain the goal of meditation. Theirs is true renunciation. Therefore, Arjuna, you should understand that renunciation and the performance of selfless service are the same. Those who cannot renounce attachment to the results of their work are far from the path.
-Bhagavad Gita
If we pick up the handle, we pick up the pot. Similarly, if we meditate on and develop compassion-the wish that all others be without suffering-we hold within us the essence of all other Dharma practices.
-Geshe Hgawang Dhargyey
In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is the mind.
-Santideva