Quotes from David Michie

If any object, achievement, or relationship was a true cause of happiness, then whoever had such a thing should be happy. But no such thing has ever been found," continued Lobsang. "What's saddest of all is that if we believe that our happiness depends on something we don't currently have, then we can't be happy here and now. Yet here and now is the only time we can be happy. We can't be happy in the future; it doesn't yet exist.

Though one man may conquer a thousand men a thousand times in battle, he who conquers himself is the greatest warrior.

thinking about the past, especially going over bad things that have happened in our minds again and again, serves no purpose.

we should behave with love and compassion toward all living beings. We never know in what circumstances we will meet up with them again.

Hedonia is happiness we get when we take from the world. Chocolate. Parties. Stuff. It's all coming from outside ourselves.

You now have first-hand knowledge of how our of control the mind is.

Eudemonia, on the other hand, is the happiness we get from what we give to the world.

the more we keep giving, the more profound our sense of well-being.

Enjoy the pleasures of this world, but don't neglect your inner well-being.

The power of meow?" suggested Serena as Mrs. Trinci stroked me. "Exactly," said His Holiness, chuckling. "It is the pathway to well-being and to discovering our own true nature.

From the many people around me who practiced mindfulness, I realized how essential it is to attend to the present moment, if we are to experience the rich variety of everyday life. Only by being fully awake to the present are we able to put our realizations into action- not to mention make every cup of coffee count.

The awesome privilege of being healthy and free to choose how to spend our time.

Every time we do something nice for someone else, even if it is a routine thing they expect, we can do so with the thought 'By this act of love, or of giving happiness, may I attain enlightenment to liberate all living beings.' Every time we practice generosity, whether it is making a donation or nursing a cat, we can think the same thing.

I have lived with several Zen masters—all of them cats. ECKHART TOLLE, AUTHOR OF THE POWER OF NOW

when I really paid close attention, when my mind was open and my senses acute, I was able to find intense joy in the simplest of things.

Mind is the forerunner of all actions.

mind that is peaceful, gentle and benevolent will only produce positive outcomes.

In Buddhism, we define love as the wish to give happiness to others.

Thinking too much of happiness is suffering" the Dalai lama said " Anxiety, depression, resentment, fear – these become much worse with too much attention to the self. The mantra me, me, me is not so good

we are free to go out in search of fulfillment, but fear makes us look for all kinds of reasons not to.

For all of us with consciousness"—the Dalai Lama returned to his seat—"our life is very precious. Therefore, we need to protect all sentient beings very much. Also, we must recognize that we share the same two basic wishes: the wish to enjoy happiness and the wish to avoid suffering." These

Blind faith is not a quality to be encouraged

Without question, the most important practice is bodhichitta. The wish to attain enlightenment to lead all living beings to that same state... This mind of enlightenment is based on pure, great compassion, which in turn is based on pure, great love. In each case pure means impartial. Without conditions. And great means benefiting all living beings, not just the small group of those we happen to like at the moment.

people are much happier when they're mindful of what they're doing.