Monk Quotes

• A habit does not a monk make.

  Francois Rabelais

  Doe, Habit

  52 Copy quote

• Working with Monk brought me close to a musical architect of the highest order. I felt I learned from him in every way--through the senses, theoretically, technically. I would talk to Monk about musical problems, and he would sit at the piano and show me the answers just by playing them. I could watch him play and find out the things I wanted to know. Also, I could see a lot of things that I didn't know about at all.

  John Coltrane

  Order, Play, Piano

  "Coltrane on Coltrane" in Downbeat, September 29, 1960.

  34 Copy quote

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• Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Motivational, Inspiring

  "Weekly Meditations for Healthy Sex (Jan. 25-31)" by Alexandra Katehakis, www.huffingtonpost.com. January 25, 2013.

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• Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Positive, Happiness

  32 Copy quote

• The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God. Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics, and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death so that we may also share their crowns of glory.

  John of Damascus

  Life, God, Faith

  68 Copy quote

• I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.

  Sheng-yen

  Inspirational, Letting Go, Buddhist

  61 Copy quote

• Modern education is premised strongly on materialistic values. It is vital that when educating our children's brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts, a key element of which has to be the nurturing of our compassionate nature.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Sympathy, Education

  9 Copy quote

• The key to maintaining your inspiration in the day-to-day work of meditation practice is to approach it as play—a happy opportunity to master practical skills, to raise questions, experiment, and explore.

  Thanissaro Bhikkhu

  Inspirational, Happy, Buddhist

  71 Copy quote

• Nature abhors a vacuum.

  Francois Rabelais

  Nature, Hate, Science

  "Gargantua", Chapter V, as quoted in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations, p. 544-48, 1922.

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• Compassion is a verb.

  Nhat Hanh

  Sympathy, Wisdom, Compassion

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• Try to remain truthful. The power of truth never declines. Force and violence may be effective in the short term, but in the long run it's truth that prevails.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Running, Wisdom

  34 Copy quote

• Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  93 Copy quote

• In contemplative prayer we seek to become the person we are called to be, not by thinking of God, but by being with God. Simply to be with God is to be drawn into being the person God calls us to be

  John Main

  God, Religious, Prayer

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• I really feel that some people neglect and overlook compassion because they associate it with religion. Of course, everyone is free to choose whether they pay religion any regard, but to neglect compassion is a mistake because it is the source of our own well-being.

  Dalai Lama

  Sympathy, Spiritual, Wisdom

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• We should practice by showing one another love and helping one another. It is a mistake to pursue happiness and to seek to the avoid suffering by deceiving and humiliating other people. We must try to achieve happiness and eliminate suffering by being good-hearted and well-behaved.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Happiness, Happy

  17 Copy quote

• Anger and hatred are the real enemies that we must confront and defeat, not the 'enemies' who appear from time to time in our lives.

  Dalai Lama

  Life, Spiritual, Wisdom

  Dalai Lama, Sofia Stril-Rever (2010). “My Spiritual Journey”, p.28, Harper Collins

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• 

  Sleep is the best meditation.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Spiritual, Wisdom

  65 Copy quote

• This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Uplifting, Spiritual

  "The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness: An Anthology by and about the Dalai Lama" edited by Sidney Piburn, (p.52), 1990.

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• We need to take action to develop compassion, to create inner peace within ourselves and to share that inner peace with our family and friends. Peace and warm-heartednes s can then spread through the community just as ripples radiate out across the water when you drop a pebble into a pond

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Change, Family

  6 Copy quote

• We need to strengthen such inner values as contentment, patience and tolerance, as well as compassion for others. Keeping in mind that it is expressions of affection rather than money and power that attract real friends, compassion is the key to ensuring our own well-being.

  Dalai Lama

  Friendship, Sympathy, Wisdom

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• While people are often content to criticize and blame others for what goes wrong, surely we should at least attempt to put forward constructive ideas. One thing is for certain: given human beings' love of truth, justice, peace, and freedom, creating a better, more compassionate world is a genuine possibility. The potential is there.

  Dalai Lama

  Love, Inspirational, Wisdom

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• Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

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• Faith, sympathy - fiery faith and fiery sympathy! Life is nothing, death is nothing, hunger nothing, cold nothing. Glory unto the Lord - march on, the Lord is our General. Do not look back to see who falls - forward - onward! Thus and thus we shall go on, brethren. One falls, and another takes up the work

  Swami Vivekananda

  Inspirational, Life, Moving On

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.1916, Manonmani Publishers

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• The quality of everything we do: our physical actions, our verbal actions, and even our mental actions, depends on our motivation. That's why it's important for us to examine our motivation in our day to day life. If we cultivate respect for others and our motivation is sincere, if we develop a genuine concern for others’ well-being, then all our actions will be positive.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

  28 Copy quote

• The real destroyer of inner peace is fear and distrust. Fear develops frustration, frustration develops anger, anger develops violence.

  Dalai Lama

  Trust, Wisdom, Peace

  43 Copy quote