Quotessence
Home / Books / Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World

Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World

Book by Mary Pipher · 5 quotes · Alzheimers, Buddhism, Built

Filter quotes by topic

AllAlzheimersBuddhismBuiltFoundFullnessFullness Of LifeGivingIdentityInspirationJoyLedgesMeditationMeditation PracticeMy ThoughtsSchoolSelf EducationSpiritualWaterfalls

Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World Quotes

“I wish I could have just skipped elementary school and junior high. Outside school, I loved talking to people and learning from them. I would spend time visiting with old people in their gardens and on their porches. I liked to play with little kids and chat with patients who came to my mother's office. Almost every day, I learned things about the natural world and animals, and I read more books on weekends and during the summer than I could possibly read at school. I believe I would have learned more if I had just been left alone to educate myself.”

SchoolSelf Education
Book:Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World
Create image

“I read of a Buddhist teacher who developed Alzheimer's. He had retired from teaching because his memory was unreliable, but he made one exception for a reunion of his former students. When he walked onto the stage, he forgot everything, even where he was and why. However, he was a skilled Buddhist and he simply began sharing his feelings with the crowd. He said, "I am anxious. I feel stupid. I feel scared and dumb. I am worried that I am wasting everyone's time. I am fearful. I am embarrassing myself." After a few minutes of this, he remembered his talk and proceeded without apology. The students were deeply moved, not only by his wise teachings, but also by how he handled his failings. There is a Buddhist saying, "No resistance, no demons.”

BuddhismAlzheimers
Book:Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World
Create image

“Religions are metaphorical systems that give us bigger containers in which to hold our lives. A spiritual life allows us to move beyond the ego into something more universal. Religious experience carries us outside of clock time into eternal time. We open ourselves into something more complete and beautiful. This bigger vista is perhaps the most magnificent aspect of a religious experience. There is a sense in which Karl Marx was correct when he said that religion is the opiate of the people. However, he was wrong to scoff at this. Religion can give us skills for climbing up on onto a ledge above our suffering and looking down at it with a kind and open mind. This helps us calm down and connect to all of the world's sufferers. Since the beginning of human time, we have yearned for peace in the face of death, loss, anger and fear. In fact, it is often trauma that turns us toward the sacred, and it is the sacred that saves us.”

InspirationSpiritual
Book:Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World
Create image