Religion

"Remember that the term Rational was intended to signify a discriminating attention to every several thing and freedom from negligence; and that Equanimity is the voluntary acceptance of things which are assigned to thee by the common nature; and the is the elevation of the intelligent part above the pleasurable or painful sensations of the flesh, and above that poor thing called fame, and death, and all such things. If then, thou maintainest thyself in the possession of these names, without desiring to be called by these names by others, thou wilt be another person and wilt enter into another life."

"Be not uneasy, discouraged, or out of humour, because practice falls short of precept in... particulars. If you happen to be beaten, come on again, and be glad if most of your acts are worthy of human nature. Love that to which you return, and do not go like a schoolboy to his master with... ill will. ...[Y]ou must apply to philosophy... as those who have sore eyes make use of a good receipt. And when you are thus disposed, you will easily acquiesce in reason, and make your abode with her. ...[P]hilosophy will put you upon nothing but what your nature wishes and calls for. But you are crossing the inclinations of your nature. Is not this the most agreeable? And does not pleasure often deceive us under this pretence? ...[W]hat is ...more delightful than greatness of mind, and generosity, simplicity, equanimity, and piety? And once more, what can be more delightful than prudence? than to be furnished with that faculty of knowledge and understanding which keeps a man from making a false step, and helps him to good fortune in all his business?"

"I perform, sir, the rite of equanimity. I abandon all bad activity for the course of my life, threefold by threefold, in mind, body and speech. I will not perform nor cause anybody to perform nor approve anybody performing any bad action. I repent of it, sir, I censure, reject and abandon myself."

"[M]an cuts out for himself a manageable world: he throws himself into action uncritically, unthinkingly. He accepts the cultural programming that turns his nose where he is supposed to look; he doesn't bite the world off in one piece as a giant would, but in small manageable pieces, as a beaver does. He uses... "character defenses": he learns not to expose himself, not to stand out... to embed himself in other-power, both of concrete persons and of things and cultural commands; the result is that he comes to exist in the imagined of the world around him. He doesn't have to have fears when his feet are solidly mired and his life mapped out in a ready-made maze. All he has to do is to plunge ahead in a compulsive style of drivenness in the "ways of the world" that the child learns and in which he lives later as a... grim equanimity."

"[W]hen a Westerner discusses, say, Hindu-ism or Buddhism, he is always conscious of the fundamental differences between these ideologies and his own. He may admire this or that of their ideas, but would naturally never consider the possibility of substituting them for his own. Because he a priori admits this impossibility, he is able to contemplate such really alien cultures with equanimity and often “with sympathetic appreciation. But when it comes to Islam - which is by no means as alien to Western values as Hindu or Buddhist philosophy this Western equanimity is almost invariably disturbed by an emotional bias. Is it perhaps, I sometimes wonder, because the values of Islam are close enough to those of the West to constitute a potential challenge to many Western concepts of spiritual and social life?"

"What I find terrifying is the detachment and equanimity with which we view and discuss an unbearable tragedy. We all know that if Russia or China were guilty of what we have done in Vietnam, we would be exploding with moral indignation at these monstrous crimes."

"Nor can the violation of the Great Church be listened to with equanimity. For the sacred altar, formed of all kinds of precious materials and admired by the whole world, was broken into bits and distributed among the soldiers, as was all the other sacred wealth of so great and infinite splendor. [...] Nay more, a certain harlot, a sharer in their guilt, a minister of the furies, a servant of the demons, a worker of incantations and poisonings, insulting Christ, sat in the patriarch's seat, singing an obscene song and dancing frequently."

"Newspapers are meant to be provocative, outrageous even. Striking the right balance between the law and politics is never going to be easy. If that front page helped raise consciousness about this vital debate, then I can face my maker with equanimity."

"Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to be present; inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness, with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness, mindfulness, and equanimity right here and right now."

"1. The Light of Asia, by Edwin Arnold, London (1879)...; 2. The Secret of Death... (1885)...; 3. H.P. Blavatsky...; 4. “The Bhagavad Gita”...; 5. “Sutta Nipata" (Buddhist scripture...); 6. Dhammapada...; 7. Pensees (Thoughts), by Blaise Pascal (1657-8)...; 8. Maxims, by François VI de La Rochefoucauld (1678)...; 9. Locksley Hall, by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1835)...; 10. The Gulistan (Rose Garden of Paradise), by Musle-Huddeen Sheik Saadi оf Shiraz (1258)...; 11. In Memoriam A.H.H., by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1849)...; 12. A Practical Grammar of the Turkish Language, by Dr. Charles Wells, London (1880)...; 13. Lucifer, monthly magazine London...; 14. Javidan Khirad... (10,000 – 7,500 B.C.)...; 15. Udanavarga...; 16. MahaMangala Sutta...; 17. The Upanishads, translated byF. Max Muller,(1884) ...; 18. Yajnavalkya-Smriti... dated to between the 3rd to 5th-century CE...; 19. The Vishnu Purana...; 20. The Path...; 21. Vasettha Sutta...; 22. Saddharma-Pundarika (The Lotus of the True Law)...; 23. Kabalistic Axiom...; 24.Vasala Sutta...; 25. “Sutra of the 42 Chapters...; 26. Rigveda...; 27. Cato, by Joseph Addison...; 28. The Conduct of Life, by R.W. Emerson (1860)...; 29. Anugita...; 30. The Voice of the Silence, by H.P. Blavatsky (1889)...; 31. Metamorhoses, by Ovid, 2-8 AD...; 32. Sanatsugatiya...; 33. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Routledge, 1887...; 34. Queen Mab, by Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1813...; 35. The Babylonian Talmud, tractate “Shabbath”...; 36. The Guide of the Perplexed, by Moses Maimonides (c. 1190)...; 37. The Ordinances of Manu (Laws of Manu)..."

"Some of the aphorisms were included in The Golden Rules of Buddhism (compiled by H. S. Olcott, Adyar, 1887) and were taken from this source instead of the original... The following 37 sources, listed in the below bibliography, are in the order that they appear in the book."

"The best possession of the man of clay is health; the highest virtue of the man of spirit is truthfulness."

"The path of virtue lies in the renunciation of the seven great sins."

"Man walks on, and Karma follows him along with his shadow."

"He who hath subdued himself, may hope to subdue others. One's own self is the most difficult to master."

"Let every man first become himself that which he teaches others to be."

"Hatred is never quenched by hatred; hatred ceases by showing love; this is an old rule."

"Daily practical wisdom consists of four things: — To know the root of Truth, the branches of Truth, the limit of Truth, and the opposite of Truth."

"The virtuous man who is happy in this life, is sure to be still happier in his next."

"Rain in the morn brings the sun after noon. He who weeps today, may laugh tomorrow."

"What ought to be done is neglected, what ought not to be done is done. The sins of the unruly are ever increasing."

"Often vinegar got for nothing, is sweeter to the poor man than honey bought."

"Like oil, truth often floats on the surface of the lie. Like clear water, truth often underlies the seeming falsehood."

"Every tree hath its shadow, every sorrow its joy."

"Without Karma, no fisherman could catch a fish; outside of Karma, no fish would die on dry land, or in boiling water."

"The book Gems from the East was published in 1890 in London and New York. Since then it has been republished many times and has been translated into many languages... it contains the wisdom of different nations and ages. She (HPB) widely used The Sacred Books of the East (SBE)– the prolific series of fifty volumes which has translations of key sacred texts including: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism , Jainism, and Islam. The series was edited by the famous linguist and scholar of comparative religion, Max Müller, who is also well known by scholars of The Secret Doctrine. SBE was published by Oxford University Press during 1879—1910 years, but as we know HPB would take material for her works right from manuscripts without waiting for the final published version and exact quotations prove this (considering further editors’ minor corrections)."

"A traveller without observation is a bird without wings."

"A student without inclination for work is like a squirrel on its wheel; he makes no progress."

"A learned man without pupils, is a tree which bears no fruit; a devotee without good works, is a dwelling without a door."

"So runs my dream: but what am I? An infant crying in the night: An infant crying for the light: And with no language but a cry."

"Behold, we know not anything; I can but trust that good shall fall At last — far off — at last, to all, And every winter change to spring."

"Two things are impossible in this world of Maya: to enjoy more than Karma hath allotted; to die before one's hour hath struck."

"A thousand regrets will not pay thy debts."

"It is not every graceful form that contains as graceful a disposition."

"This is truth the poet sings — That a sorrow's crown of sorrows / Is remembering happier things."

"Every man thinks his own wisdom faultless, and every mother her own child beautiful."

"Narrowness of mind causes stubbornness; we do not easily believe what is beyond that which we see."

"Flattery is a false coin which circulates only because of our vanity."

"The soul ripens in tears."

"A narrow stomach may be filled to its satisfaction, but a narrow mind will never be satisfied, not even with all the riches of the world."

"To feel one's ignorance is to be wise; to feel sure of one's wisdom is to be a fool."

"Men who have not observed proper discipline, and have not gained treasure in their youth, perish like old herons in a lake without fish."

"As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind."

"As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals."

"He who hath too many friends, hath as many candidates for enemies."

"One proof is better than ten arguments."

"False friendship is like a parasitic plant, it kills the tree it embraces."

"All our dignity consists in thought, therefore let us contrive to think well; for that is the principle of morals."

"Having tasted the sweetness of illusion and tranquillity, one becomes free from fear, and free from sin, drinking in the sweetness of Dhamma (law)."

"The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind by passion. Blessed are the patient, and the passionless."