Sunday, May 17, 2020

Some Thoughts On Peace and Love


War and peace start in the human heart - and whether that heart is open or whether that heart closes has global implications. Pema Chödrön

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come.Thích Nhất Hạnh, from Living Buddha, Living Christ 

Peace is not just the absence of violence but the manifestation of human compassion. The Dalai Lama

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. Rumi

When we hold on to our opinions with aggression, no matter how valid our cause, we are simply adding more aggression to the planet, and violence and pain increase. Cultivating nonaggression is cultivating peace. Pema Chödrön

Look at the people you don't love and see them as an exercise for you to open your heart. ― Ram Dass

Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds. Mahatma Gandhi

What do we most need to do to save our world? What we most need to do is to hear within us the sounds of the Earth crying. Thích Nhất Hạnh

Spiritual practice involves, on the one hand, acting out of concern for others' well-being. On the other, it entails transforming ourselves so that we become more readily disposed to do so. The Dalai Lama

Love is an action. Never simply a feeling. ― bell hooks 

We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts. Pema Chödrön

When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed. ― Fred Rogers

Joy comes not through possession or ownership but through a wise and loving heart... Weigh the true advantages of forgiveness and resentment to the heart. Then choose. Jack Kornfield

I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion, and where it isn't, that's where my work lies. ― Ram Dass

Whoever you are—whether you are a postal worker, autoworker, lawyer, doctor, high-tech expert—there are multiple ways you can advance the cause of love, kindness, and generosity. Rabbi Michael Lerner

Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart. Rumi  

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

The more we love, the more real we become. Stephen Levine

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