Quotes from Tashi Tsering

The first training, ethics (also called ethical conduct or moral discipline) is crucial in developing the second and the third, concentration and wisdom, and as such is really the foundation for the other two.

the causes and conditions that produce that phenomenon contain the seed for its destruction.

As Shantideva writes in this beautiful prayer: As long as space endures As long as sentient beings remain, Until then may I too remain To dispel the miseries of the world.

So ethical conduct, practicing a moral life, is not something that can effectively be enforced from the outside but must grow out of a subjective understanding of what helps and what harms others.

Looking at both the substantial and contributory causes together and knowing that it is a combination of both that has created the situation gives us a chance to explore more realistic ways to approach our problems.

Karma is the seed that ripens into suffering. But karmic actions are triggered by our delusions, which themselves can be broken down into our afflictive emotions and the fundamental confusion that is the root cause.

We avoid harming others not simply because the actions themselves might have obviously negative repercussions, but because the mind that generates an unethical action will cause suffering for ourselves and others in less discernable ways in the future.

As the name implies, acquired ignorance is not intrinsic but rather comes about due to the influence of adopted beliefs and the culture we are raised in.

karma, which is Sanskrit for action, is the cause and not the result.

Instinctively, we assume that objects exist separate from the mind, but any investigation of objects necessarily involves the mind in some way, so knowledge always has a subjective element. We know there is a pen because we experience the pen. Thus, no object of knowledge exists apart from the mind experiencing it.

the real threats to our well-being are attachment, anger, and ignorance—the three fundamental deluded minds that lead to all other afflictions, both mental and physical.

In his first teaching, the Buddha compares the stages of freeing the mind to recovery from an illness: if we don't first recognize that we are ill, we won't seek help.

look at the company you work for and see what effect they are having on the environment and the people in that environment; see what damage is being done. Even if we personally are not doing anything wrong, if our livelihood is based on something even slightly harmful, subconsciously something happens. That mental state will always disturb our mind.

The Buddha uses the framework of the four noble truths to formulate this insight: the first truth, the truth of suffering, is the illness. The second truth, the truth of the origin of suffering, refers to the cause of the illness. The third truth, the truth of cessation, is the understanding that a complete cure is possible. And the fourth truth, the truth of the path that leads to cessation, is the cure.

just because mindfulness is simple does not mean that it is easy.

Buddhism does not consider the root cause of our problems to be an external agent of this life, but rather an internal agent developed over many lifetimes—the habitual tendencies of our own minds.

As long as there is consciousness, these two potentials exist—the potential to become enlightened and the potential to suffer.

Lama Yeshe says: I hope that you understand what the word "spiritual" really means. It means to search for, to investigate, the true nature of the mind. There's nothing spiritual outside. My rosary isn't spiritual; my robes aren't spiritual. Spiritual means the mind, and spiritual people are those who seek its nature.4

No matter the level of subtlety of view, all Buddhist schools agree that only a previous moment of mind can cause the present moment of mind.

Mind is mere experience—it is not matter; therefore its cause must be the same.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that if we can maintain a calm and peaceful mind, our external surroundings can only cause us limited disturbance.

We do not perceive things directly but perceive rather our thoughts about things. And these stories and perceptions, when accompanied by powerful emotions, can dramatically color our experiences.

we are borne along by these four different kinds of sufferings: birth, aging, sickness, and death. Our life starts with birth, which is full of pain and suffering, and ends with death, which is also suffering. Between these two, whether our life is short or long, sickness and aging keep punishing us. We are drowning in the currents of these four rivers, tossed around by strong waves.

we are bound tightly by our past actions, the effects of which are inescapable.