Sakyong Mipham Quotes

If ruling our world stems from developing certainty in our sanity, how do we discover it? The Shambhala teachings instruct us to "put our mind of fearfulness in the cradle of loving-kindnes."

Your regular teachers will get mad at you. If you keep asking something again and again, they will get tired of saying the same thing. A book will not do that. A book always will be there for you. In whatever you want, the book will be there.

The wise are balanced, and the foolish are extreme.

Even when we speak of selflessness, the mind goes to "me." We think, "I'm selfless," but everything is selfless.

My books definitely are ambassadors, as you called them. They express what the vision is, what the purpose is.

Being human is a precious situation, and we shouldn't waste time in useless activities.

Each of us holds human destiny in our hands. It will be completely determined by how the mind feels about itself.

When we appreciate something, that means we have allowed ourselves to relax and take it in.

In Tibetan, we say people who have good windhorse have the sense they can accomplish what they want to do.

If we cut speed and relax with what's going on in our life right now, kindness and patience will naturally come about.

When the mind is totally present, it is relaxed, nimble, and sensitive. It feels lighter and clearer. It notices everything, but it is not distracted by anything. It is the feeling of knowing exactly where you are and what you are doing.

Running and meditation are very personal activities. Therefore they are lonely. This loneliness is one of their best qualities because it strengthens our incentive to motivate ourselves.

If the mind is flexible, the world is flexible.

What is my great wish and intention, is to make a base of compassion and to encourage people to work to shift the energy.

After you run, there's a sense of accomplishment; you feel like your life is meaningful. It's a moment of clarity.

If you see life as an opportunity, or if you see helping others as an opportunity, then all of a sudden you become joyous. You want to go forward.

People sometimes don't like organized situations. Sometimes people need to be left alone more. Sometimes people need environmental support.

Shambhala existed in Tibet and has been continued over the years, and now it is in the West. At its core, it is very much dedicated to the basic theme of benefiting others.

It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor-the determining factor of success and happiness is contentment.

You have people who are good at English but don't have the training in Buddhism or Shambhala, or they have the training but are not good in English. Getting that mixture is really rare.

For me, language and how I use it are very important. I held back on doing a poetry book, walking the fine line between trying to be helpful and just putting more junk out there.

Shambhala does have unique teachings, as do many Buddhist traditions. For example, certain teachings within Shambhala have to do with raising the personal windhorse, or the energy of the individual, so a person has good fortitude to be able to live a good life.

Our mind is always subject to being distracted by thoughts of what happened in the past and ideas of what could happen in the future, but the living experience is what is happening NOW.

Shambhala is a Buddhist tradition with its own unique view and approach.

Every moment of our life is important.

What distinguishes Shambhala is its intention of trying to create a society based upon certain principles. So, Shambhala's focus is not just on the individual, but on society as a whole.

The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.

Meditate with delight and run with joy.

There is a direct correlation between physical exertion and mental relief.

The notion of auspiciousness is something positive, something with forward momentum, coming out of our actions.

Changing our decision sets up a bad habit. It reinforces decision-making as an expression of bewilderment and ignorance, instead of wisdom and freedom.

There is a tendency sometimes within the Shambhala community to make it just about meditating and, so, less about compassion. Shambhala is based upon compassion, but a lot of people come in and say, "I need to get more meditation. I need to do this for me, me, me." That's fine, but the view here is much more societal.

Heaven is the natural spaciousness of our mind before we make it small with self-protection.

Once I was running and there was someone on the treadmill next to me who stopped running to answer a question I asked and flew of the back of the treadmill. Being fully engaged has many benefits.

It's one thing to have the attitude of enlightenment and another thing to act in an enlightened way, which is conduct or activity ...

The principles of Buddhism and Shambhala can be effective in helping the course of what is happening in the world.

The exertion it takes to get back in shape when we are out of shape is arguably more than it takes to stay in shape...

Sometimes people feel disappointed when they hear about practicing compassion: "You mean I have to be nice?" It's kind of a letdown. We often overlook compassion, seeing it as merely a pit stop on the way to more advanced practices. We want something more; we don't even know what. But that's just a trick of our mind. One of the greatest teachings is to practice compassion.

For a lot of us, the opposite of auspicious coincidence is obstacles. Life usually is a mixture of both, but as we begin to exhibit exertion, more and more auspiciousness happens.

We can't hire out our own inner work, but we can do the manual labor with delight and decency.

If you rise with a positive attitude - because everything is possible, everything is doable - if you have that level of confidence, you exude it. It actually inspires the people around you.

Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don't even notice it.

Our power comes not from suppressing others but from uplifting them.

Whatever we do lays a seed in our deepest consciousness, and one day that seed will grow.

To protect this earth is to protect the very spirit of life

If you decide to go on a Buddhist path, you have to be careful if you start mixing a lot of different traditions you are not totally familiar with - mixing this kind of meditation with that kind of practice or this kind of visualization with that kind of mantra. Then you really are concocting your own thing, and you have no idea what is going to happen.

Throughout life it is inevitable that we will experience both pain and pleasure. Learning how to handle them leads to harmony and happiness. In meditation, if we are unable to handle pain or boredom, then that pain or boredom becomes our master. Then we spend our entire life trying to avoid being bored or feeling pain. However if we can handle our mind, then we know that we can handle boredom and pain.

I write about whatever is timely - whatever is happening at the time for me - with what the expressive feeling is.

Movement is good for the body. Stillness is good for the mind.

When I ask people to contemplate selflessness, the sometimes react as if I've asked them to put their house on the market or give away all their money. If there was a self that existed in the way we think, discovering selflessness would be like putting our house on the market. But in the Buddhist tradition, the discovery of selflessness is called "completely joyful." It's not called "the raw end of the deal," or "I'd rather go back to bed," or "This is scary and depressing."

One of the characteristics of every great teacher I've known is tremendous exertion. It's interesting: You may see them as spiritual people or compassionate people, but the driving force is that incredible exertion - and their ability to sustain it.

True happiness is always available to us, but first we have to create the environment for it to flourish.

Beginning a conversation is an act of bravery. When you initiate a conversation, you fearlessly step into the unknown. Will the other person respond to favorably or unfavorably? Will it be a friendly or hostile exchange? There is a feeling of being on the edge. That nanosecond of space and unknowing can be intimidating. It shows your vulnerability. You don't know what is going to happen. You feel quite exposed. There's a chance you'll experience embarrassment. Yet this very feeling is what allows you to connect to the other person.

The most outrageous thing we can do in this world is to accept what happens and fly with it.

Ultimately, as individuals we each have to ask ourselves to be courageous and apply certain principles.

As a leader, people push you. They really want to keep pushing you until you get aggressive. Then they say, "Oh, see, it doesn't work."

A lot of people do their practice. They meditate on compassion. Then they yell at people afterwards. NThat is not quite working. One of the things I try to emphasize is contemplative meditation - bringing your thought and intention into meditation.

In looking for my mind, I discovered that it seems to be in many different places. Sometimes it is drinking a glass of water, remembering swimming in the summer, feeling the breeze. In this contemplation I observed that the self is more elusive than I thought.

There are no boundaries-only possibilities

If we can feel confident in our goodness, it will illuminate our life and society

The nature of our mind may be displayed in many ways, but Ashe is the fundamental basis.

As a leader, you have the choice to determine what you are going to do and how you are going to engage others. You can decide to act compassionately regardless of what the weather is - whether it is cloudy or sunny - or whether things are inspirational or not.

When people say that meditation makes them calm, they are often referring to this stability of the mind. A stable mind creates the foundation for a happier and more contented person.

One of my favorite Tibetan sayings is Even if you're going to die tomorrow, you can learn something tonight.

When I came to the West and heard about knights slaying dragons, I was shocked. In Tibet, the dragon symbolizes incomprehensible profundity.

I want people to know you can live a life that is less aggressive and still have success.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MIND AND THE BODY IS THAT NO ONE IS SURPRISED TO GET WINDED WHILE RUNNING TO CATCH THE BUS. NOBODY GETS MAD AT THEMSELVES, SAYING "I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAN'T RUN 26.2 MILES!" HOWEVER, WHEN WE BECOME OVERWHELMED BY LONGER HOURS AT WORK, MORE E-MAILS, OR MORE PARENTING DUTIES, WE BECOME IRRITABLE, MOOD, AND UNHAPPY. IT DOESN'T OCCUR TO US THAT OUR MIND IS OUT OF SHAPE. WE PUT MORE STRESS ON OURSELVES BECAUSE WE ASSUME WE SHOULD JUST BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT ALL. WE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED WHEN WE CAN'T, FOR WE HAVE NOT BUILT THE BASE OF THE MIND.

In meditation we are continuously discovering who and what we are.

I would say courage first; then wisdom, which is a sense of knowledge and confidence; and also the wish and desire to uplift. The underlying notion is "How do I help?" That attitude really is a spiritual journey and a path.

is the ability to share what we have with others.

Caring for others is the basis of worldly success.

When we are certain that the way to accomplish our own wishes is to help others, we have no regrets.

If we do not push ourselves enough, we do not grow, but if we push ourselves too much, we regress. What is enough will change, depending on where we are and what we are doing. In that sense, the present moment is always some kind of beginning.

The practice of overcoming hope is recognizing our positive qualities. With excessive hope, we begin to belittle what we have achieved. We might then feel inadequate and have fear of not achieving more.

Shambhala can be relevant in terms of what is going on in the world.

A book very much is the center of the road, so people always can refer back to it.

If you want to be miserable, think of yourself. If you want to be happy, think of others.

The self-assured strength that grows from knowing that we already have what we need makes us gentle, because we are no longer desperate.

1. Running with the Mind of Meditation

Initially, you have to live a period where you are developing your attitude. I would consider that a meditation: determining what you want to do. You have a period where you meditate and you get the strength.

Our root fantasy is that "I" am real and that it's possible for "me" to be happy.

When we are using this term 'basic goodness,' we are talking about our inherent completeness.

As the conceptual, material world increases its hold on us, and inanimate objects become more lifelike, we humans must become more human. Open hearts, kindness and care-these are our most precious gifts.

When stress is the basic state of mind, even good things stress us out. We have to learn to let go.

This wisdom sees water for water, earth for earth, fire for fire, and wind for wind. We are not surprised by change, and when it occurs, we can be like water and flow. When it is time to be solid like the earth, we can be steadfast. When the heat of enthusiasm is necessary, we are like the fire of all fires. We can blow with the wind of virtue, uplifting any situation. Or we can rest in space, accommodating everything. This is the power of a king or queen - the warrior of all warriors.

What is really happening in meditation is that we are developing the ability to think when we want to, and to not think when we don't want to.

I think we are very environmental people. We need to be supported environmentally. Books very much have that imprint on the mind.

When I was going into one of my first meditation retreats, I asked my father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, for some advice. He said, "How you act when you're alone affects the rest of your life." Even in solitude, the ruler engages in virtue.