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Frederick Lenz

Frederick Lenz Quotes

Author

Frederick Lenz was an American author known for his profound understanding and unique insights into Zen Buddhism. His works blended Zen philosophy with modern life, resonating with readers worldwide.

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All Buddhism Ifs People Mind World Enlightenment Meditation Yoga Way Rama Awareness Self Teacher Thinking Light Energy Enlightened Inspirational States Karma

Famous Frederick Lenz Quotes

“Don't care what anybody says about enlightenment, except the enlightened and those who seek it.”

Care Buddhism Enlightenment Don't Care Buddhist Enlightened Etiquette

Author:Frederick Lenz

“As a monk you have a responsibility to meditate many hours a day. Not just to sit there but to think of the ten thousand radiances.”

Thinking Hours Responsibility Buddhism Thousand Ten Buddhist Monk Etiquette Radiance

Author:Frederick Lenz

“A Buddhist monk has a responsibility first and foremost to themselves, and that's to find the truth each day in every part of their life.”

Firsts Responsibility Buddhism Buddhist Each Day Monk Etiquette Buddhist Monk

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Our sense of being worthwhile, our sense of being good, our sense of being anything must go - Final clearance sale.”

Buddhism Finals Be Good Buddhist Worthwhile Etiquette Clearance

Author:Frederick Lenz

“It's considered very, very bad karma, if I can cut to the chase, to take power from a teacher and not use it for something very positive.”

Ifs I Can Use Teacher Cutting Buddhism Karma Buddhist Etiquette Very Positive Bad Karma

Author:Frederick Lenz

“We seek to unify ourselves with the endless light of truth, of God, of nirvana. We recognize the infinite playing through all beings and all forms, but we only have to concern ourselves with ourselves.”

Light Form Buddhism Concern Infinite Endless Buddhist Etiquette Truth Of God

Author:Frederick Lenz

“That's what self-discovery seems to mean to most people. You're going to beat yourself up. You're going to reduce what you're supposed to be and do to a set of rules so you can defy them, or so you can perform them and feel smug.”

People Feels Mean Self Seems Buddhism Beats Discovery Self Discovery Buddhist Supposed To Be Etiquette

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Humility simply means that you do a great job at everything and it isn't really a big deal.”

Mean Bigs Jobs Deals Humility Buddhism Buddhist Big Deal Etiquette Great Job

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Spiritual dignity says that I don't have to compete with anyone; I don't have to do what my friends do. All I have to do is be myself and be dignified in my meditation and my lifestyle.”

Spiritual Meditation Buddhism My Friends Dignity Lifestyle Buddhist Etiquette

Author:Frederick Lenz

“I have a great deal of spiritual dignity. It's on loan from eternity, and you do too, and we have to use it in our relationship with each other.”

Use Spiritual Deals Buddhism Dignity Eternity Buddhist Our Relationship Loan Etiquette

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Without that poise and balance and gentle humor and caring sense, nothing happens at all. It's just egotism and vanity and jealousy and possessiveness.”

Happens Buddhism Balance Caring Things Happen Buddhist Vanity Gentle Etiquette Egotism Poise Possessiveness

Author:Frederick Lenz

“You've gained some powers by your entrance into other dimensions and you use them to attack others or to make others miserable, then power reverses on you and it pulls you apart because it's not supposed to be used that way.”

Way Use Used Buddhism Buddhist Miserable Supposed To Be Dimensions Reverse Etiquette Entrances

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Spiritual Balance is the obvious answer to the obsession that sometimes accompanies religious practice, occult practice, philosophical understandings - the assertion that one is right - that something that you're doing is better than something somebody else is doing, the way you're doing it is better than the way someone else is doing it.”

“What matters is that you meditate, you're seeking enlightenment, you're on the pathway to enlightenment, and you're having fun. Don't look for reassurance in the eyes of others. Look for reassurance in your own eyes. Only you know if Buddhist practice is improving the quality of your life.”

Ifs Knows Looks Matter Eye Fun Quality Practice Buddhism Enlightenment Seeking Buddhist Having Fun What Matters Improving Etiquette Pathways Reassurance

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Buddhism is a practice in which we learn to avoid injuring others, and ourselves. It's a practice in which we learn to respond to beauty, and to respond to difficult circumstances with patience, with a sense of calm, with clarity.”

Difficult Practice Buddhism Circumstances Calm Clarity Buddhist Etiquette Difficult Circumstances

Author:Frederick Lenz

“It is not bad living in a monastery. I've done it many times in many lives. But I think you can do a better job outside the monastery, if you have the necessary component parts.”

Ifs Thinking Done Jobs Can Do Buddhism Components Better Jobs Monasteries

Author:Frederick Lenz

“I think one can advance faster outside a monastery if you use the experiences of daily life to advance yourself.”

Ifs Thinking Use Buddhism Faster Daily Life Monasteries

Author:Frederick Lenz

“The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for people to work in teams, more difficult for people here to live in harmony, in a monastery.”

People Different Seems America Spirit Difficult Team Buddhism Harder Harmony West East Conditioning Monasteries

Author:Frederick Lenz

“The person who's in the Zen monastery, who's doing a kind of poor job at meditating and a half-ass job cleaning the gardens is not doing very good yoga.”

Kind Persons Jobs Poor Half Buddhism Yoga Garden Very Good Ass Cleaning Meditating Monasteries

Author:Frederick Lenz

“The person in the business suit who works on Wall Street, who does their work perfectly, is probably evolving a lot faster, if they also meditate.”

Ifs Persons Doe Streets Wall Buddhism Suits Faster Evolve

Author:Frederick Lenz

“I think to be in a monastery or an ashram is not always the answer because we don't fight, we kick back. We don't listen to Sri Krishna.”

Thinking Fighting Answers Buddhism Kicks Krishna Monasteries

Author:Frederick Lenz

“I don't think there is a right approach to teaching self discovery. Every situation is unique.”

Thinking Self Situation Teaching Buddhism Approach Unique Discovery Self Discovery

Author:Frederick Lenz

“There is a certain beauty and refinement that is often found in our world and it is expensive. It shouldn't necessarily be so. It is just the way our economic system is.”

World Way Certain Found Economic Buddhism Expensive Our World Refinement Economic Systems

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Truth occurs in unusual places. Sometimes it's in the frozen food section of the supermarket, sometimes it appears while you are waiting for your car to be fixed, sometimes you see it while in bed with someone you love, sometimes you find it while you're meditating on a lone mountain.”

Sometimes Waiting Car Buddhism Bed Mountain Fixed Unusual Sections Frozen Meditating Lone Supermarkets One You Love Someone You Love

Author:Frederick Lenz

“You can live in the world and have all the myriad experiences that life has to offer and yoke your awareness field to the planes of light, and eventually to nirvana itself.”

World Light Awareness Fields Buddhism Offers Planes Yoke

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Between the creative, open and spontaneous approach to life, and the highly disciplined, pragmatic approach, there's a doorway, if you can find it - and it leads to immortality.”

Ifs Creative Buddhism Approach Immortality Spontaneous Doorways Pragmatic

Author:Frederick Lenz

“You need to become a winner to go beyond winning and losing.”

Needs Winning Buddhism Losing Winner Winning And Losing

Author:Frederick Lenz

“This is the fourth age, the Kali Yuga, and it's a time of great darkness. At the end of this age, there's supposed to be a cosmic dissolution and then life begins anew. It's a wonderful cycle of rebirth.”

Ends Age Darkness Wonderful Buddhism Supposed To Be Cycles Cosmic Fourth Rebirth Dissolution Kali Kali Yuga

Author:Frederick Lenz

“We live in a world where money is necessary. You can't just go out and roam the forest and the cities, at least in America.”

World America Cities Buddhism Forests

Author:Frederick Lenz

“People in the West sometimes have these marvelous visions of India and Tibet. They assume that there are all these sadhus walking around and everybody is breathing enlightenment. Forget it. Don't look at it through rose-colored glasses.”

People Looks Sometimes Forget Vision Buddhism Walking Enlightenment India Assuming Rose West Glasses Breathing Marvelous Forget It Tibet Colored Glass Rose Colored Glasses

Author:Frederick Lenz

“What we are seeking to do is not melt the map of America. We are seeking to melt the self, the solid form that we consider ourselves to be.”

Self America Form Buddhism Seeking Maps

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Somehow in the middle of the L.A. trendiness, Boston conservation, New York chic and San Francisco intellectual mellow, there's a place where everything meets.”

Middle New York Buddhism Intellectual Conservation Boston San Francisco Mellow Chic

Author:Frederick Lenz

“You exist forever. You've always existed and you'll always exist. You move in and out of bodies like some people in Los Angeles move in and out of houses, every other week, every other lifetime.”

People Body Moving House Forever Week Buddhism Lifetime Los Angeles

Author:Frederick Lenz

“In the West people spend most of their time and energy working. The problem is you are so tired from work that you don't have much energy to meditate - unless you use work in a tantric way.”

People Way Use Problem Success Energy Careers Buddhism Tired West Time And Energy Tired Of Working

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Material success is a way of tightening up your life so that you can move into higher planes of attention. You should try to do well in every aspect of your life, because each aspect of your life affects your total being.”

Way Should Trying Wells Moving Attention Materials Buddhism Higher Aspect Planes

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Self-control is completely necessary for increasing and raising your attention level. One of the places you practice that is at work.”

Self Success Levels Attention Careers Practice Buddhism Self Control

Author:Frederick Lenz

“The degree of success that you attain in all of your physical, mental and spiritual undertakings is dependent upon the strength and clarity of your finite mind and your ability to access your infinite mind.”

Mind Spiritual Ability Buddhism Degrees Infinite Access Clarity Dependent Finite Undertakings

Author:Frederick Lenz

“If you meditate you will be able to find new ways to utilize your career and the routines of daily life.”

Ifs Way Able Careers Buddhism Daily Life New Ways

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Combine meditation with career as a yoga. You will find that your practice will not be any less powerful than a person who lives in a monastery. You might even excel because practice in a monastery can get very one-sided.”

Persons Might Success Powerful Careers Practice Meditation Buddhism Yoga Monasteries One Sided

Author:Frederick Lenz

“It is necessary to go through all the daily tasks and bring perfection to them, to learn to be perfect in your meditation, and to win in all your endeavors so that one day you will complete again.”

Winning Perfect Meditation Buddhism One Day Perfection Tasks Endeavor Daily Tasks

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Changing the way you dress can make it easier to make deeper changes in the structure of your personality.”

Way Buddhism Personality Easier Dresses Structure Deeper

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Clothes can have a very refined vibration. An ochre robe can be extremely refined and so can a wonderful satin gown or a silk brocade coast.”

Wonderful Buddhism Clothes Coast Vibrations Refined Silk Robes Gowns Satin

Author:Frederick Lenz

“If you want to create a different character, you can do so just by altering your style of dress and cosmetics.”

Ifs Want Different Character Can Do Style Buddhism Dresses Cosmetics Different Characters

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Clothing is art. It's an expression of how you feel. I think that it's not so much a question of a certain style or designer, but of finding the type of clothing that works well for you.”

Thinking Feels Wells Art Certain Style Expression Buddhism Type Findings Designer Clothings How You Feel

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Life is learning how to deal with traffic. It requires patience, a good sense of timing, and sometimes not giving in to the traffic but reshaping your life.”

Giving Sometimes Life Is Deals Buddhism Timing Traffic Good Sense Giving In

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Clothing has a great deal to do with the attitudes and energy that others direct towards you. I favor the chic, and tend to avoid the trendy. I think that it's good to be chic when possible because it is more inaccessible.”

Thinking Energy Deals Attitude Buddhism Direct Favors Clothings Chic Inaccessible Trendy

Author:Frederick Lenz

“Ideally, you would live in an area that is not necessarily in the middle of the country, out in the woods, because you can isolate yourself there and get stuck in your own thoughts.”

Country Middle Buddhism Areas Woods Stuck

Author:Frederick Lenz

“I feel that there's a certain danger in always being in a lovely rural setting. You can lose touch.”

Feels Certain Loses Danger Buddhism Lovely Setting Settings

Author:Frederick Lenz

“It's certainly easy to meditate on top of a mountain, but one should be also able to meditate in the heart of the city.”

Should Heart Able Easy Cities Buddhism Mountain

Author:Frederick Lenz

“If you want to help people, if you care, go to the cities. The city is where the pain is the greatest - and the cities are a hell of a lot of fun if you like art, movies and plays.”

People Ifs Want Art Play Helping Care Pain Fun Cities Hell Buddhism If You Care

Author:Frederick Lenz

About the Author

Born: February 9, 1950
Died: April 12, 1998
Known for: Author
Quotes: 4397

Related Topics

Buddhism Ifs People Mind World Enlightenment Meditation Yoga Way Rama Awareness Self Teacher Thinking Light Energy Enlightened Inspirational States Karma

Popular Topics

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Books & Sources

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