When God's decree becomes your pleasure,
you become a willing slave,
not because of burdening yourself,
not on account of recompense,
but by virtue of the nature now so pure
that wherever divine edict may take you,
living and dying will appear the same.
You live for God, not for riches;
you die for God, not from fear or pain.
-Rumi
Every house a temple, every heart an altar, every human being a priest.
-Moritz Lazarus
As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. On the other hand, if you possess this inner quality of calmness of mind, a degree of stability within, then even if you lack various external facilities that you would normally consider necessary for happiness, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful life.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
..Let me tell you what we teach. When a monk sees a form with the eye, usually a feeling of liking or disliking comes into being. The monk then understands that liking or disliking has arisen but that either one is not inevitable but is conditioned and dependent on causes. So he heads for a state in which there is equanimity and finds that in so doing the liking or disliking has vanished and he sees things as they are. That is how he controls his senses. That is what we teach.
-Majjhima Nikaya
In each generation, every person is obliged to feel as though he or she personally came out of Egypt.
-Mishna Pesachim
"You tell me to stand still, but I am not walking," he shouted, "whereas you who are walking say you are still. How is it that you are standing still but I am not?"
The Buddha turned round. "My legs move but my mind is still," he said. "Your legs are still but your mind moves all the time in a fire of anger, hatred, and feverish desire. Therefore, I am still but you are not."
-Majjhima Nikaya