INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

The Top 10 Inspirational Buddha Quotes

by Myrko Thumi

Buddha means “Awakened One”, someone who has awakened and sees things as they really are. According to AboutBuddha.org , a Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. Because he has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and has removed all obstructions from his mind, he knows everything of the past, present, and future, directly and simultaneously. Moreover, Buddha has great compassion which is completely impartial, embracing all living beings without discrimination.
The person who is generally referred to by the name Buddha was Siddhārtha Gautama, a spiritual teacher born in Nepal and the founder of Buddhism who lived at around 500 BCE. Forty-nine days after Buddha attained enlightenment he was requested to teach. As a rematter osult of this request, Buddha rose from meditation and taught the first Wheel of Dharma.
Those teachings of The Buddha such as The Four Noble Truths or the Noble Eightfold Path are timeless and reflect personal and spiritual development.
Many Buddha quotes that are handed down until today are both inspirational as well as reflecting deeper truth of reality. What can we learn, where can we be inspired from The Buddha for everyday life and our own development today?
I selected the following Buddha quotes as both inspirational and helpful, regardless of where we are in personal development …

1. “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” 

You become what you think about or in other words: what you focus on grows in your life and from what you take your focus away from diminishes. This is also the message of the law of attraction, recently very popular by the movie and book “The Secret“.
It means that the mind is directing our life in the way we manifest the life around us by the thoughts and directions we take with our mind. Since everything we created around us is first created in the mind, it is the tool or the interface between our self and the material world.
Another quote of Buddha with a similar message here is “He is able who thinks he is able”. This also shows the creative power of the mind and if we are able to consciously use it in that way – avoiding negative thoughts and utilizing empowering thoughts – we use it in a supportive manner.

2. “All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?”

This is the core of personal development. It points towards the need to train and develop the mind and to free it from limits and negativity.
The other quote “The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.” makes the same point with the special notion of happiness. The mind used correctly – i.e. constructive, empowering, solution- and action-oriented, positive, truth-seeking – can create happiness. But used poorly – i.e. blaming, egocentric, negative, blinded by ambition or separation – it will create unhappiness for us. Training the mind is the key here.
The quote may also point to a transformation by awakening directly, where the mind becomes the servant of the self and not the creator of a self-image (the concept of the ego) as a replacement for the true self.

3. “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

This points to the abundant nature of reality. The abundance mentality says there is enough for everyone, we only have to realize and live by it. It is the opposite of a scarcity mentality, where you have the belief that you always have to fight for your part in a limited world.

4. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” 

The essence of living in the present moment, the Now, is focusing the mind here and take attention away from thinking about past or future. The present moment is all there ever is to experience life directly. Past and future are only concepts of our mind and therefore are good for learning from the past or conceptual planning when it is useful, but after this there is no need for them. Especially not to dwell in them and get stuck there in the mind by constant thinking loops.
I wrote more about this in “What is The Present Moment ” and in “Clock Time vs. Psychological Time “. The present moment is the entry point to the spiritual dimension and to life itself.

5. “However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?” 

Action is what counts. It means to be action-oriented and to actually do what we think, to prove what we believe by applying it in reality. Only if we “walk our talk” we are authentic and truthful to ourselves.
To apply yourself and your ideas in reality is like a proof-test for what we think is right and will work. If there is no action and therefore no testing in reality, the words or ideas themselves are of no real sustainable value.
Another quote for this message is “A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.”

6. “Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.”

This is the essence of Carpe Diem – to seize the day fully means living wisely. It means to live to the highest truth we know and to rise to our highest values and capabilities.
Living wisely also means not to believe every thought that comes, but to live more from the space between thoughts, from our essence.

7. “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

The so-called Inside-Out approach means to look within oneself to find the inspiration and power to act from this place. It means not to look to the outside world for liberation or happiness, but to take the responsibility for oneself and become that what we are seeking.
His second quote here “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” talks directly about this responsibility, response-ability we have inside.

8. “In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”

Any perspective we have on anything is only a relative truth. There are always both (or more) sides of any story. An objective perspective or an absolute truth is very hard or maybe impossible to see. But to be aware of this and to be interested to see another perspective from another person can be very mind-opening and valuable.
The matter of perspective (also described in the 7 habits of highly effective people) is a very powerful one and it is the core of most (if not all?) conflicts between people. One things one is right as long one stays in one’s own single perspective – needless to say, the other person has the same reality.
There is a similar quote by The Buddha that fits in here: “In seperateness lies the world’s great misery, in compassion lies the world’s true strength” which shows that if we become able to dissolve the separate perspective to a perspective of oneness with all other, we hold the key to end conflicts and to find solution and agreements suitable for everybody.

9. “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”

This quote is perhaps the most difficult one to really understand. In the first place, it is not about the beautiful nature of the flower or beauty itself. What Buddha is talking about – in my humble opinion – is to see and get in touch with the life in a flower directly, without any interference by our mind by mental concepts and thoughts of the flower.
Eckhart Tolle in “A New Earth” talks about the flowering of human consciousness, maybe you want to take a look …

10. “The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” 

If we are not authentic and truthful to ourselves, we build a wall around us that eventually we have to tear down again. It is then literally a resistance to the reality and our own nature where we can hide some time, but life has a way to show us our own faults in the end.
To be true to the best one knows means to come from our own best knowledge and not buy into something outside ourselves blindly, always asking: is this really true to what I know?
In resonance with this quote also is the final one by The Buddha:
“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.”

Source:http://www.myrkothum.com 

This Passive Education System

It comes as no surprise when I hear about the high unemployment rate among Ghanaian graduates. In fact any critical observer of our education system will expect this to occur. It is disheartening that after over 56 years of independence our education system has not seen any significant change but rather we still use the old system where all the emphasis is on theory and classroom work rather than the practical aspect that will make students marketable after school. In fact upon short interviews with many students reveals that most students have no clear vision of what they want to do in future with the course they read at even the tertiary level. It seems even tertiary education has become just a trend and not a purpose driven action to improve upon one's knowledge base and equip him or her with the necessary skills he or she can independently survive.
I once went to withdraw money from the bank. As I stood in the queue in the banking hall, one young lady approached me asking for assistance to write a figure on her cheque. I quickly obliged and entered into a conversation with her. I realized she was a third year student in a reputable private university in our beloved country. I was shocked! I couldn't stop wondering what criteria of selection was used to admit someone who couldn't write such a simple figure. This reminds me of a popular adage : Don't blame the writer, blame the game. In deed the student is not the one to blame but rather the system. I remember taking an Integrated Science examination question paper from the just-ended B.E.C.E. and realized that almost 75% of the questions there quite analogous to what I wrote in 2009. I would not be surprised if in ten years time these same set of questions are given to candidates to answer. I will not even go on to talk about the W.A.S.S.C.E. ; In fact I will save it for another day.
But what does this all go to prove? The current education system trains students to be passive observers of their environment with no clear aims or visions to bring about any positive change. Ghanaian students from primary level to the tertiary stage are spoon-fed and thus are not able to function independently when they leave school. In fact science education now has no meaning in Ghana. Isn't it funny when a graduate holding a degree in civil engineering applies to work in bank? Clearly this individual had no clear understanding of the purpose for which he obtained that degree. It is a pity that all our major construction and engineering feats are achieved by expatriates. What meaning do we give to science education then? Business students are no different. It is rare to meet a business student who wishes to do something on his or her own after school. Everyone want to work at a bank, insurance company or some multimillion conglomerate. What happens to the spirit of entrepreneurship? Would there have been any Microsoft if Bill Gates thought this way? Most students are hit with a true picture of reality on the job market when it becomes too late; when they've completed school and have remained unemployed for year. Sadly, they attribute their plight of unemployment to spirits who know nothing about it.
Comparing our economy to more developed nations reveals that most of their production is done by their graduates; companies liaise with educational institutions to design courses that will be necessary for the job market. Can this be said about Ghana?where something as simple as toothpick is imported?Definitely no!
   Our education system clearly needs to undergo a serious radical change. Students should be taught to become more independent from even the primary level. Tertiary institutions should collaborate with companies to design courses that will be needed in the job market. The corruption factor should seriously be checked to ensure that only qualified students are admitted.
Let's take our education seriously because it can steer the future of our nation.

Let's Join Hands to Fight Narcotic Drugs

Narcotic drugs continue to remain a global problem that seem to worsen as the year go by. In deed it is now so common to hear stories of drugs trafficking that one even begins to wonder whether it has become a norm in our current times. Even our very leaders who are supposed to uphold the law and help fight against this menace seem to be involved in this ignominious trader.

In deed the grievousness of the drug menace to the society seems to be losing face as the years go by. However, we must realize that the drug menace and it's concomitant effects have become more serious in our current times that even in the past. Most people do not realize the indirect effects narcotic drug are imposing on their live;most are not aware of the dangers they've been placed in as a result of their usage. In the following paragraphs I will elucidate how narcotic drug usage indirectly affect the lives of non-users.

Mr. Johnson left home with his family on New Year's day to visit his mother in Gomoa Feteh. He being a teetotallar and a non-drug user, set out sober with high spirits for the day ahead. Mid-way through the journey he saw an on-coming articulated truck moving at top-speed leaving its side of the road and moving towards his(Mr Johnson) side of the road. He attempted to dodge it but due to the proximity failed and was crushed together with his family. The driver of the truck when asked about the accident reported having seen four roads ahead of him and thus became confused. Upon blood test, he tested positive for cocaine and methamphethamine. Akosua Mansah, an 8-year old primary three pupil closed from school and set for home. On her way, as she passed by an uncompleted building(which she did everyday), Kofi Anoma, a recently completed J.H.S. graduate quickly rushed out with a club and bludgeoned her to death. When asked the reasons for his actions, Kofi claimed he had no memories of the event. A quick search of Kofi by investigators revealed left-overs of weed he had used. The victims of these two events are all non-users of narcotic drugs yet they suffered the effects of its usage. What are we to learn from this?

Jael Strauss: From top model to meth addict

We must realize that the combat against the usage of narcotic drugs should be everybody's business and not only for the security agencies. This is because the usage of these drugs lead people to commit so many horrendous crimes that affect mainly we the non-users. Many road accidents that are reported daily are as a result of drug usage. Consider a road accident involving a 'trotro' bus and an articulated truck in which all the people on-board perish and the drivers survive; most probably the drivers were under the influence of these drugs which led to the death of these noble men and women. Another case where armed robbers, in need of money to fuel their drug expenses, attack and rob people of their hard-earned belongings and may even go as far as rape and murder. All these point to the fact that sitting on the fence during this war on narcotic drug usage is definitely not the best choice to take.
What must we do then as individuals? We must make it a matter of urgency to report to our security agencies people in our neighbourhood who exhibit suspicious behaviour and exhibit queer character: they will be placed under observation  and if confirmed true will be appropriately dealt with.Parents must also make sure to observe the kind of people their children move about with to ensure they are under positive influence. Passengers of public transport who realize their driver is under the influence of any drug should immediately stop the car and report the driver to the nearest police station to protect their lives.
Let's all stand hand in hand against this drug menace to protect ourselves and our families.
 

Unity in our diversity

Although Ghana has enjoyed a long time of political stability with Ghanaians remaining one of the few nations in Africa that seem to really understand the practice of democracy,Ghana still remains a country divided heavily by partisan politics. This has eaten into every fibre of activity in our country that one begins to wonder whether our unity as a nation is really sustainable. It seems every sector of our nation is immersed in partisan politics to the point where declaring one's stand could make him or her a possible victim of discrimination.
However, one begins to wonder whether these stalwarts of these political parties who see others of different political dispensation as 'enemies' really take time to observe how politicians treat each other whenever they meet up. It is always beautiful to see our politicians and dear leaders at peace with each other whenever they meet at various public functions and gatherings. They seem not to be the very people who were tearing at each other's throat the previous night on the radio station.

President Mahama with Nana Akuffo Addo

But what are we to learn from this? Clearly Ghanians must begin to realize that the relationship portrayed by the politicians on our various media outlets whenever they are called to speak for their parties should not be a reason for us to start discriminating against one another on grounds of political party support.In fact, their demeanor on various television and radio stations should simply be taken as a mere act to defend the various policies proposed by their various political parties ultimately with the aim of developing our nation. However most people tend to misconstrue these actions and take it as justified reasons to stigmatize and bear pathological hatred for people belonging to different political divide.In deed we all realize during after-sessions of the on-going court case how leaders of the N.P.P. and N.D.C. laugh heartily with each other even though they are contesting each other in court. Does it not dawn on us that these politicians are merely actors and actresses on stage and friends off-stage and thus should not cause us to hate each other?

Sir John and Genera Mosquito

In fact it is disheartening when one begins to hear stories about married couples who are at loggerheads with each other due to different political dispensations. Do they not realize that it is this diversity that strengthens us as a nation? Or that it is this diversity that helps to make any government accountable? Ghanaians open your eyes! This is merely hatred developed from a movie show played by these politicians!
In deed for our nation to develop all hands must be on deck. We should ignore these propaganda and work hand in hand trusting one another to move our great nation forward.