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Quote by Shantideva

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The Way of the Bodhisattva

This book is a comprehensive guide to the principles and practices of bodhisattvahood, a concept in Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes compassion and the pursuit of enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. more

Author

Shantideva

Shantideva, the exact dates of whose birth and death are unknown, is a renowned Buddhist thinker. His biography is shrouded in mystery, and it is believed that he was a monk who dedicated himself to spreading Buddhist teachings. His most famous work, 'The Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life,' profoundly influenced the understanding of core Buddhist concepts such as compassion and wisdom, and has had a lasting impact on Buddhist thought. He is revered as the 'King of Buddhist Hearts' by later generations of Buddhists. more

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“This is the test and triumph of originality, not to show us what has never been, and what we may therefore very easily never have dreamt of, but to point out to us what is before our eyes and under our feet, though we have had no suspicion of its existence, for want of sufficient strength of intuition, of determined grasp of mind to seize and retain it.”

“It is impossible that a genius - at least a literary genius - can ever be discovered by his intimates; they are so close to him that he is out of focus to them and they can't get at his proportions; they can't perceive that there is any considerable difference between his bulk and their own.”

“I regret that I must so continually use the word genius, as if that should apply only to a caste as well defined from those below as income-tax payers are from the untaxed. The word genius was very probably invented by a man who had small claims on it himself; greater men would have understood better what to be a genius really was, and probably they would have come to see that the word could be applied to most people. Goethe said that perhaps only a genius is able to understand a genius.”