Tibetan Buddhism Quotes and Inspiration

If one stays too long with friends
They will soon tire of him;
Living in such closeness leads to dislike and hate.
It is but human to expect and demand too much
When one dwells too long in companionship.
"The Song of the Snow Ranges", Milarepa
More Buddhism quotes on love and friendship

Om Manu Padme Hum Art Print
Schuck

Whenever a physical illness arises, we usually multiply our suffering by worrying and by pressing mental anxiety on top of it. One should understand that the human body is a composite of elements and agents that constantly are struggling with one another. When these elements and agents fall into disharmony or when external factors such as the many types of evil powers are affected, the various diseases naturally arise with intensity and for long period of time. Therefore one might as well face up to the fact that during the course of one's life a certain amount of disease is inevitable.

From: 'Using Illness To Train The Mind', by the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso

It is in the nature of cyclic existence that what has gathered will eventually disperse -- parents, children, brothers, sisters, and friends. No matter how much friends like each other , eventually they must separate. Gurus and students, parents and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, and friends -- no matter who they are -- must eventually separate.

HH the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatzo

Can impure body, speech, and mind be transformed into pure body, speech, and mind, or are they entirely separate? All Buddhas are cases of beings who were like ourselves and then in dependence on the path became enlightened; Buddhism does not assert that there is anyone who from the beginning is free from faults and possesses all good qualities. The development of pure body, speech, and mind comes from gradually leaving the impure states and their being transformed into the pure.

HH the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso on Om Mani Padme Hum

Love and Compassion Art Print

The still revolutionary insight of Buddhism is that life and death are in the mind, and nowhere else. Mind is revealed as the universal basis of experience - the creator of happiness and the creator of suffering, the creator of what we call life and what we call death.

Sogyal Rinpoche in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Anything that is created must sooner or later die.
Enlightenment is permanent because we have not produced it; we have merely discovered it.

Chogyam Trungpa

Thanka Painting, Tibet Photographic Print
Koutsaftis, Vassi
Buy at AllPosters.com

Sometimes remembering our basic goodness takes a leap of faith. The trick is to connect with the soft spot that we already have. Sometimes it helps to find little ways that the seed of goodness manifests in our life. To find our ability to rejoice and to care, even when it's fleeting, strengthens our confidence. To see how we block our hearts and close our minds brings self-compassion and the longing not to do that anymore.

Pema Chodron quote from 'The Places that Scare You'

One of the most famous aspects of Tibetan Buddhism is the prayer wheels. These are turned by the faithful in the conviction that the prayer will go up in the air and help humanity gain enlightenment.

Tibetan Buddhists believe ritually walking around a a mountain, a temple or a monastery, will help cleanse them spiritually. This circumambulating is often done while prostrating at every step - as shown in this picture. If you remember the Tibetan Climate and height - you will realize that this is no small feat.

There are 4 or 5 main schools of Tibetan Buddhism (depending on who you ask).

The Nyingma Tradition

The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin to the Indian adept, Guru Padmasambhava, who came to Tibet in 817 C.E. at the invitation of King Trisong Deutsan (742-797) in order to subdue the evil forces then impeding the spread of Buddhism. Guru Rinpochey, as he is popularly known, bound all evil spirits by oath and transformed them into forces compatible with the spread of Buddhism. In collaboration with the great Bodhisattva Abbot Shantarakshita, Guru Rinpochey then built Samyey monastery, which became a principal centre of learning and the site where many of the texts that would make up Tibet's vast Buddhist literature were first translated into Tibetan.

More about the Nyingma lineage

The Sakya Tradition

The Sakya tradition is closely bound up with the Khon ancestral lineage, which derived from celestial beings. The lineage has descended intact up to the present time from Khon Könchok Gyelpo(1034-l 102), founder of the Sakya tradition through hereditary lama's.

More about the Sakhya lineage

Gelugpa tradition

Drepung Monastery The Kadampa tradition founded by Atisha was the direct source of inspiration for the development of the Gelug tradition founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419).

More about the Gelugpa lineage

Kagyu tradition

The Kagyu lineage, sometimes referred to as the "oral lineage" of Tibet, originated with the great yogi Tilopa, who lived in Northern India around the 10th century A.D. He is considered the founder of the lineage and, in addition, he received four special transmissions (Tib: bka-babs-bzhi) for which he became the lineage holder.

more about the history of the Kagyu lineage

The schools of Tibetan Buddhism in a historical line up

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