Jeen's Favorite Quotes from Classical Religion and Spirituality

"It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others."
--Saint John of the Cross

"It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it."
--W. Somerset Maugham

"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes."
--The Buddha

"If you let your mind dwell on ghosts, you'll become a ghost yourself. If you fix your mind on God your life will be filled with God. Now--which are you going to choose?"
--Sri Ramakrishna

"The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Earth are set apart."
--Seng-Ts'an

"Where are you searching for me friend? Look! Here am I right within you. Not in the temple, nor in mosque, not in Kaaba, nor Kailas, but here right within you am I."
--Kabir

"To the illumined man or woman, a clod of dirt, a stone, and gold are the same."
--The Bhagavad Gita

"Hasten slowly and ye shall soon arrive."
--Milarepa

Guidance: Quoted from "Words to Live By" written by Sri Eknath Easwaran

"Just as we live in a physical atmosphere, we are surrounded also by a mental atmosphere. And just as the air we breathe may become polluted, our mental atmosphere can be polluted by negative thinking.

"If trees were not always releasing oxygen into the atmosphere, scientists tell us, all life on earth would suffer. On a smoggy day in California, the trees along the freeway look gray and drab in the haze; they do not seem to add anything valuable to the landscape. Yet they are performing a vital function: they are taking in our carbon dioxide and giving us oxygen in return.

"A person whose mind is free from negative thinking spreads a life-giving influence in much the same way that a tree gives oxygen. Although a selfless man or woman may seem to go through the day doing nothing extraordinary, without them nothing would revitalize the atmosphere in which we think. By being vigilant and not encouraging negative thoughts, all of us can offer this vital service--which benefits everybody, including ourselves."