|
Inspirational
Writings |
Virtues Sweetness is the taste of all virtues. Patience is the fortress of all virtues. Cheerfulness is the evidence of all virtues. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Decisions 'My decisions, or lack of decisions, determine the reality of my life' - If we do not take responsibility for how we live, life will feel unfair and oppressive. Making a decision not to live like this anymore is to realise that, at last, we can choose our life's direction - and this brings a feeling of empowerment. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Honorable Character "If wealth and honor do not dissipate you, poverty and low status do not make you move from your principles, authority and might do not distort you, then you can be called a great man." - Unknown Source: Ip Man - Portrait of a Kung Fu Master, 2001, King Dragon Press, p.37 |
Loss "While we cannot truly lose what we cannot truly have and hold, we can truly suffer, over what we imagine we had and held." - Stonepeace |
Leaving our mark "Walking in someone else's steps will not get you in front of the line. Walking in someone else's steps, you will not leave your mark." - Denis Diderot |
Love of the
"ennemy" In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. - Actor Asa Burtterfield as Andrew "Ender" Wiggin in the movie "Ender's Game" |
Original
Peace It is not necessary to search for peace. It is within. Your original state is one of peace. Learn to be in charge of yourself and maintain your peace: centre your awareness on your spiritual form - a tiny star-like point of light, seated in the middle of your forehead. Really experience the difference between You the Sparkling Star, and your body, the physical vehicle. Learn to detach yourself from the vehicle. Even a few moments of this practice, if done regularly, will return you to your natural state of peace. And your actions will be filled with love - for the self and others. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Thoughts, Words and
Deeds Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Be yourself "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs - Commencement address, Stanford University, June 12, 2005 |
Harmony All things have their time. All things have their answers. All things have their right to be. Accepting this reality, all things come into harmony. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Karma "Karma is not something complicated or philosophical. Karma means watching your body, watching your mouth, and watching your mind. Trying to keep these three doors as pure as possible is the practice of karma." - Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire" |
Spotting
Qualities A compassionate person develops an eye for spotting the qualities that make each person special. Even when others are at their lowest ebb, it is possible to help them restore their self-belief by keeping a firm, clear vision of their goodness and specialities. Taking a gently encouraging approach, I must never give up on anyone. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Recipe For
Happiness Two heaped cups of patience, One heartful of love, Two handfuls of generosity One headful of understanding and a dash of humour. Sprinkle with kindness, add plenty of faith and mix well, Spread over a period of a lifetime and serve to everyone you meet. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Hope If at any time I begin to lose hope in myself, let me simply look inside my heart and see all the good actions I have ever performed, from the smallest to the grandest. When I see how much happiness I have given, I easily remember the purpose of my life. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Of life and
death... Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autum rain. When you wake in the morning hush. I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight of night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. - Native American Prayer, Author unknown - Source: buddhism.kalachakranet.org |
Determination - Courage -
Love Fill every thought with determination, every step with courage and every word with love. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
A Long And Healthy
Life There are three ingredients for a long and healthy life: live with attention but without worry, use time in a worthwhile way, keep your thoughts pure, positive and filled with strength. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
Destiny "You believe a man can change his destiny?" - Actor Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto. "I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed." - Actor Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren in the movie "The Last Samurai" |
Less A rich person is not someone who has more, but someone who desires less. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
"Do not believe in anything
simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply
because it
is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is
found
written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the
authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions
because they
have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and
analysis,
when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the
good and
benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." - Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), 563-483 B.C. http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Buddha-Buddhism-Religion-Nirvana.ht |
Letting Go of
Sorrow If I allow bitterness and resentment to fester inside, it will make my relationships guarded and unsatisfying. The more I close down to others, the more I become a stranger to myself. By letting go of sorrow and negativity, I can keep my nature open and loving. Remaining open to life, with its constant adventures and opportunities to grow, is the only way to reach my full potential. - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
"You fill your life with peace
when you discover you only have to be yourself, to be what you have always
been
- a peaceful being." - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
"Thoughts have
great power, they are like seeds you plant in your mind. The more you hold
onto
a particular thought, the more power you invest in it. Positive thoughts
give us
energy and strength. Negative thoughts rob us of power and make us feel
tired
and strained. We are by nature positive. Negativity is the result of
faulty
thinking. You can change if you want to. You can't control other people,
situation or circumstances, but you can control what is going on inside
you. It
takes time to change and transform those old patterns of thinking. Be
patient
with yourself. It starts with a thought..... Today!" - www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk |
"Kung-Fu. Hard
work over time to accomplish skill. A painter can have kung-fu. Or the
butcher
who cuts meat every day with such skill his knife never touches bone.
Learn the
form, but seek the formless. Hear the soundless. Learn it all, then forget
it
all. Learn The Way, then find your own way. The musician can have kung-fu,
or
the poet who paints pictures with words and makes emperors weep. This,
too, is
kung-fu. But do not name it, my friend, for it is like water. Nothing is
softer
than water yet it can overcome rock. It does not fight. It flows around
the
opponent. Formless, nameless, the true master dwells within. Only you can
free
him." - Martial artist and actor Jackie Chan as Lu Yan, and martial artist and actor Jet Li as The Silent Monk in the movie "The Forbidden Kingdom" |
Love "The greatest love of all is not to have one love you truly. The greatest love of all is to be one who loves all truly." - Stonepeace |
| "The goal of practice is not to obtain miraculous powers but to transform our being, as to easily generate mental calmness and deep vision." - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalaï-lama |
Knowledge and
Will "Knowing is not enough. We must apply. Willing is not enough. We must do." - Bruce Lee |
"Our deepest fear is not that we
are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is
our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who
am I
to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not
to be?
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened
about
shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all
meant
to shine, as children do. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as
we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission
to do
the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically
liberates others." - from A Return to Love, by
Marianne
Williamson |
"The foundation of any society is
the individual. A society cannot be built or developed without building
and
developing the individual. To build the individual is to inculcate this
individual with universal values, free of stereotypical, ethnical,
political and
religious biases, such as respect, compassion and unconditional love. To
develop
the individual is to allow this individual to realize his/her importance
towards
oneself and others, as well as to allow this individual to grow, to
develop and
to become to the point where, if willing, this individual can in turn
contribute
to the development of others." - Paul Duval (March 9, 2005) |
"Our Land." - Actor Tony Leung
Chiu Wai as Broken Sword in the movie "Hero" |
"Our Land... Our Planet. Isn't
it?" - Paul Duval |
"In the first stage, man and
sword are interchangeable. Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a
lethal
weapon. In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the
heart.
Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred
paces. But
the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior
embraces
all around him. The desire to kill is gone. Only peace remains." - Actor
Chen
Dao Ming as the King of Qin in the movie "Hero" |
"Since the day you were born, you
ARE. So BE!" - Paul Duval |
"In walking, just walk. In
sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble." - Yun-Men |
"Everyone and everything has its
importance, its significance, its reason for being and living." - Paul
Duval |
"A man with outward courage dares
to die. A man with inward courage dares to live." - Lao-Tzu |
"Man. Woman. Male. Female. Those
are but ingredients to a recipe for creating same." - Paul
Duval |
"We are what we think. All that
we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." -
Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), 563-483 B.C. |
"You must be the change you wish
to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi |
"Be shapeless. Be formless. Like
water. When you pour water in a glass, it becomes the glass. When you pour
water
into a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water into a tea pot, it
becomes
the tea pot. Water can flow, or water can crash. Be water my friend." -
Bruce
Lee |