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Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Quotes

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Famous Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Quotes

“As Shantideva says, suffering has many good qualities because it purifies our negative karma, increases our renunciation and compassion, reduces our pride, and helps us to overcome our bad mental habits. If we think in this way we will feel that difficult circumstances are our best friends. When our mind is balanced in this way it becomes as stable as Mount Meru, and nothing can cause it to shake.”

IfsThinkingWayFeelsMindHelpingSufferingCausesDifficultQualityCompassionPrideFriendsHabitBalanceCircumstancesNegativeOvercomingIncreaseKarmaShakesStableBalancedRenunciationGood QualityDifficult CircumstancesNegative Karma
Author:Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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“No matter how many possessions we acquire, they will not provide us with any lasting happiness and freedom. On the contrary, it is often our pursuit of material possessions that causes our problems. If we want ultimate happiness and freedom from suffering, we must engage in the supreme practices of training the mind. There is no other way.”

IfsWayWantMindMatterProblemHappinessSufferingCausesFreedomPracticeMaterialsTrainingUltimatePossessionContraryPursuitSupremeAcquireLastingWant UMaterial PossessionsLasting HappinessTraining The MindUltimate Happiness
Author:Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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“We know that we are happy when our mind is peaceful, and unhappy when it is not. It is therefore clear that our happiness depends upon our having a peaceful mind and not on good external conditions. Even if our external conditions are poor, if we maintain a peaceful mind all the time we shall always be happy.”

IfsKnowsMindHappinessTimePoorClearConditionsDependsHappyUnhappyPeacefulPeace Of MindAlways Be HappyPeaceful Mind
Book:Modern Buddhism: The Path of Compassion and Wisdom - Volume 1 Sutra
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“Pride is a mental factor causing us to feel higher or superior to others. Even our study of dharma can be the occasion for the delusion of pride to arise if we think our understanding is superior to that of everyone else. Pride is harmful because it prevents us from accepting fresh knowledge from a qualified teacher. Just as a pool of water cannot collect on the tip of a mountain, so too a reservoir of understanding cannot be established in a mind falsely elevated by pride.”

IfsThinkingFeelsMindUnderstandingWaterAcceptingStudyTeacherPrideHigherMountainAriseSuperiorsFactorsOccasionsDelusionPoolQualifiedDharmaReservoirs
Author:Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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“Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be acheived unless we first establish peace within our own minds. We can send so-called 'peacekeeping forces' into areas of conflict, but peace cannot be oppossed from the outside with guns. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.”

WorldMindFirstsHelpingForceWishPeaceImpossibleAchieveThis WorldConflictCreatingGunAreasHelping OthersInner PeacePeace WithinPeacekeepingCreating Peace
Author:Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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“Normally we divide the external world into that which we consider to be good or valuable, bad or worthless, or neither. Most of the time these discriminations are incorrect or have little meaning. For example, our habitual way of categorizing people as friends, enemies, and strangers depending on how they make us feel is both incorrect and a great obstacle to developing impartial love for all living beings. Rather than holding so tightly to our discriminations of the external world, it would be much more beneficial if we learned to discriminate between valuable and worthless states of mind.”

PeopleIfsWorldWayFeelsMindLittlesStatesWould BeEnemyExampleObstaclesStrangerValuableBe GoodDiscriminationDevelopingDividesState Of MindWorthlessBeneficialHabitualFriend EnemyCategorizing
Book:Eight Steps to Happiness: The Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness
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“When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations, we tend to regard the situation itself as our problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a positive or peaceful mind they would not be problems for us; indeed, we may even come to regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth and development. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore, if we want to be free from problems, we must transform our mind.”

IfsWantMindMayStatesProblemRealityOpportunityDifficultSidesGrowthChallengesAttitudeSituationOur LivesTroublePositiveDevelopmentNegativeDifficultyRegardArisePeacefulBuddhistPositive AttitudeEncountersState Of MindPredicamentsDifficult SituationsWhen Things Go WrongPeaceful Mind
Book:Modern Buddhism: The Path of Compassion and Wisdom - Volume 1 Sutra
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“Patience is a mind that is able to accept fully and happily, whatever occurs. It is much more than just gritting our teeth and putting up with things. Being patient means to welcome wholeheartedly whatever arises, having given up the idea that things should be other than what they are.”

ShouldMindMeanIdeasAbleGivenAcceptingPatientAriseTeethWelcomeGiven UpWholeheartedly
Book:Transform Your Life: A Blissful Journey
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“Our world does not exist from its own side--like a dream world, it is a mere appearance to our mind. In dreams we can see and touch our dream world, but when we wake up we realize that it is simply a projection of our mind and had no existence outside our mind. In the same way, the world we see when we are awake is simply a projection of our mind and has no existence outside our mind.”

WorldWayMindDoeDreamSidesRealizingExistenceWake UpMereAppearanceAwakeOur WorldOur DreamsProjectionDream World
Book:Modern Buddhism: The Path of Compassion and Wisdom - Volume 2 Tantra
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“Anger is one of the most common and destructive delusions, and it afflicts our mind almost every day. To solve the problem of anger, we first need to recognize the anger within our mind, acknowledge how it harms both ourself and others, and appreciate the benefits of being patient in the face of difficulties.”

NeedsMindFirstsProblemFacesCommonBenefitsAppreciateDifficultyPatientSolveHarmAcknowledgeDestructiveDelusion
Book:Transform Your Life: A Blissful Journey
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“Just as eagles soar through the vast expanse of the sky without meeting any obstructions, needing only minimal effort to maintain their flight, so advanced meditators concentrating on emptiness can meditate on emptiness for a long time with little effort. Their minds soar through space-like emptiness, undistracted by any other phenomenon. When we meditate on emptiness we should try to emulate these meditators.”

ShouldTryingMindLittlesLongSpaceEffortSkyLong TimeMeetingsFlightEmptinessPhenomenonSoarEaglesConcentratingEmulateObstructionExpanseMinimal Effort
Book:Modern Buddhism: The Path of Compassion and Wisdom - Volume 1 Sutra
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