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21 " Those who understand the way it is, rather than the way they wish it were, are on the path to freedom. "
― Noah Levine , Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries
22 " The point of the spiritual revolution is not to become a good Buddhist, but to become a wise and compassionate human being, to awaken from our life of complacency and ignorance and to be a buddha. "
23 " We come to understand the law of casuality - that is, we see that all beings are experiencing what they're experiencing based on their own actions and not by what we wish for them - and therefore we relax in a deep understanding and acceptance of the way things are. "
24 " An action from a confused and suffering being in the past doesn't represent what that being is forever; it is only an expression of that being's suffering. And if we cling to resentment over past hurts, we simply increase our own suffering. "
25 " The most important thing to remember is that we must live in the present, and if in the present moment we are still holding on to old wounds and betrayals, it is in this moment that forgiveness is called for. "
26 " If we cling now, we suffer later. If "
27 " Rather than reacting with our usual attachment or aversion, taking everything personally and feeling the need to do something about it, we relax into the experience, seeing it clearly and letting it be as it is. "
28 " True happiness exists as the spacious and compassionate heart's willingness to feel whatever is present. "
29 " Experience each moment as if it were the first sensation of its kind ever. Bring childlike interest and curiosity to your present-time experience. "
30 " A good basic guideline for our speech (in relation to Ethical Conduct) is to reflect whether what we are saying is both true and useful. There may be times when we are honest in what we say, but our words are too brutal or harsh. And there may be other times when we are deliberately being kind with the words we choose, but what we are saying is not totally true. "
31 " A good basic guideline for our speech is to reflect on whether what we are saying is both true and useful. There may be times when we are honest in what we say, but our words are too brutal or harsh. And there may be other times when we are deliberately being kind with the words we choose, but what we are saying is not totally true. "
32 " In the beginning we are all floating downstream. At some point we become aware that the currents are dragging us down and that we are no longer satisfied with the status quo of human "
33 " In the beginning we are all floating downstream. At some point we become aware that the currents are dragging us down and that we are no longer satisfied with the status quo of human existence. "
34 " True happiness exists as the spacious and compassionate heart’s willingness to feel whatever is present. "
35 " We have the ability to effect a great positive change in the world, starting with the training of our own minds and the overcoming of our deluded conditioning. Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness; it is a revolutionary stance from the inside out, for the benefits of all beings in existence. "
36 " The Buddha likened humans to the lotus flowers. Out of the deluded mud of human existence, filled with greed, hatred, and delusion, in a world where wars, oppression, and lust rule the masses, there are those who can and will rise above the muck and emerge victorious against suffering. "
37 " Serving the truth comes down simply to living life from the place of positive intentions. It means doing the right thing even when everything and everyone in society is telling you to ignore, supress, or abandon the path of nonviolence, understanding and care. "
38 " As we observe the way our minds and bodies react to pleasure and pain, we begin to clearly understand how ultimately impersonal this human experience is, and how through our delusions and self-centeredness we are constantly making it personal and taking it personally "
39 " Wise and careful action, from a foundation of sober awareness, is the way of the revolutionary. "