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Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart--The Buddhist Path of Kindness

Book by Sylvia Boorstein · 12 quotes · Feels, Needs, Pain

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Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart--The Buddhist Path of Kindness Quotes

“I think a lot about Big Mind-Small Mind, expansive, wide-lens consciousness and contracted, introverted consciousness. I have moments-we all do-when just being alive is a pleasure and a miracle. They feel like moments when the shutters of the mind are open so I can look out. It also feels as if those same shutters have no hooks to fix them in an open position. One small wind and bang-they slam shut.”

IfsThinkingFeelsMindLooksI CanMomentsBigsPleasureConsciousnessAliveAwarenessPositionWindMiracleWideJust BeingHookLensesBangsSlamIntrovertedShuttersSmall Minds
Book:Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart--The Buddhist Path of Kindness
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“I am thankful that thus far today I have not had any unkind thoughts or said any harsh words or done anything that I regret. However, now I need to get out of bed and so things may become more difficult.”

NeedsMaySaidDoneTodayDifficultRegretBedHarshI RegretUnkindI Am ThankfulHarsh Words
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“The path of compassion leads to the development of insight. But it doesn't work to say, "Ready, set, go! Be compassionate!" Beginning any practice depends on intention. Intention depends on intuiting-at least a little bit-the suffering inherent in the human condition and the pain we feel, and cause, when we act out of confusion. It also depends on trusting-at least a little bit-in the possibility of a contented, satisfied mind.”

FeelsMindHumansLittlesPainSufferingCausesBitsCompassionPracticePathConditionsPossibilityReadyDependsDevelopmentLittle BitIntentionInsightSatisfiedConfusionCompassionateHuman ConditionInherent
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“We have moments of such clarity, of such appreciation of the incredible web of interconnected events that carry us from breath to breath, day to day, as long as we live-and the next moment we fret about how much we weigh. Or who we didn't send a Valentine. Or who forgot to compliment the dinner. Or whatever.”

LongMomentsNextEventsPerspectiveBreathsIncrediblesAppreciationDinnerClarityComplimentDay To DayValentineInterconnected
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“We are all dangling in mid-process between what already happened (which is just a memory) and what might happen (which is just an idea). Now is the only time anything happens. When we are awake in our lives, we know what's happening. When we're asleep, we don't see what's right in front of us.”

KnowsIdeasMightHappensProcessMemoriesOur LivesHappenedFrontsHappeningsThings HappenAwakeOnly Time
Book:Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart--The Buddhist Path of Kindness
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“If I want to free myself from endless cycles of struggling with temptation, I need to keep rediscovering that the pain of the struggle is greater than the pain of the desire. If I develop the habit of restraining myself, I'll enjoy the relief of feeling the desires pass, and I'll remember that desires are not the problem. Feeling pushed around by them is. I'll continue to have desires, of course, because I'm alive, but they'll be more modest in their demands.”

IfsWantNeedsFeelingsProblemPainRememberDesireCoursesEnjoyStruggleGreaterAliveHabitDemandEndlessTemptationReliefCyclesModestI'm AliveRestraining
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“Dedication to goodness-dedication in response to an inner moral mandate rather than external restraint-was both the antidote to the pain and the source of great happiness.”

PainMoralSourceGoodnessResponseDedicationRestraintAntidoteGreat HappinessMandates
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“What if someone hurts you with a weapon? Wait. Think it over. You probably feel angry. That's normal. But wasn't it the stick striking your body that hurt you? Can you be angry at the stick? Of course not. Should you be angry at the wielder of the stick? Wouldn't it make more sense to be angry at the hatred in the mind of the stick wielder? If you think about it, isn't the end of hatred in the world what you want most of all? Why, then, would you add to it by giving energy to your anger? After all, it will pass on its own if left alone, especially if you respond to it with compassion.”

IfsThinkingWorldWantGivingFeelsShouldMindEndsBodyCoursesEnergyLeftWaitingHurtCompassionNormalWeaponsHatredAngryAddSticksWhat You WantYour BodyWhat IfOver YouLeft Alone
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“It is our own pain, and our own desire to be free of it, that alerts us to the suffering of the world. It is our personal discovery that pain can be acknowledged, even held lovingly, that enables us to look at the pain around us unflinchingly and feel compassion being born in us. We need to start with ourselves.”

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“The Buddha taught that suffering is the extra pain in the mind that happens when we feel an anguished imperative to have things be different from how they are. We see it most clearly when our personal situation is painful and we want very much for it to change. It's the wanting very much that hurts so badly, the feeling of "I need this desperately," that paralyzes the mind. The "I" who wants so much feels isolated. Alone.”

WantNeedsFeelsMindDifferentFeelingsHappensPainSufferingHurtSituationTaughtPainfulExtrasIsolatedImperatives
Book:Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart--The Buddhist Path of Kindness
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“When we are relaxed and reasonable content, we are naturally wise. We accept that life is unpredictable, unreliable. We say jokingly or philosophically, "Nothing is sure except death and taxes," or "God willing and the creek don't rise," reminding each other that, notwithstanding the level of planning, we are continually dealing with being surprised. We get startled. We recover. We are disappointed. We adjust. Mostly-with Wisdom intact-we manage.”

WisdomLife IsLevelsAcceptingWiseWillingTaxesPlanningGods WillManageReasonableDisappointedUnpredictableRelaxedRemindingUnreliableCreeks
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