If anyone has time on their hands and is a quote collector....

I'd be most grateful if you'd share favorite quotes on the following subjects:


Compassion

Empathy

Cooperation

Community


Thanks. :hi:

Though I haven't "collected" for some time, I do enjoy looking for quotes on different subjects. I believe these would fall under Compassion?

Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. ~Seneca

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. ~John Wooden

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."
— Dalai Lama XIV

"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."
— Albert Schweitzer

Zen Parable: Paradise
Two people are lost in the desert. They are dying from hunger and thirst. Finally, they come to a high wall. On the other side they can hear the sound of a waterfall and birds singing. Above, they can see the branches of a lush tree extending over the top of the wall. Its fruit look delicious.

One of them manages to climb over the wall and disappears down the other side. The other, instead, returns to the desert to help other lost travelers find their way to the oasis.

More later. You have a lovely day! :hug:

I LOVE that Zen parable!!!! I also especially love the John Wooden quote.

Thank you so much, laylah!

:loveya:

it is the least I can do.

Yes, that Zen parable REALLY spoke to me!

:loveya:

The Zen Parable.
In theravada (the original kind of Buddhism) you are supposed to reach for enlightenment yourself so you go to Nirvana and never come back to Earth.

In Mahayana Buddhism(Chinese) you become enlightened, but as a Bodhissatva (enlightened person) you stay behind on Earth to help others on the path to enlightenment.
That is why Mahayana Buddhists revere Kwan Yin, the Bodhissatva of Compassion, the Goddess of Mercy. She was a legendary goddess who became enlightened and stayed behind on earth to help others.

The male version of Kwan Yin in Japan is called Kannon.

~ We live in a culture that discourages empathy. A culture that too often tells us our principle goal in life is to be rich, thin, young, famous, safe, and entertained. ~ Obama

~ Empathy is the lovefire of sweet remembrance and shared understanding. ~ John Eaton

"I did not know how to reach him, how to catch up with him... The land of tears is so mysterious."
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince)

"Only by examining our personal biases can we truly grow as artists; only by cultivating empathy can we truly grow as people."
— Jen Knox

"To embrace suffering culminates in greater empathy, the capacity to feel what it is like for the other to suffer, which is the ground for unsentimental compassion and love. (157)"
— Stephen Batchelor (Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist)

:hug:

:hug:

:hug:

It is a Buddhist prayer, I think.

May the supreme and precious Bodhichitta Arise,
Where it has arisen, may it not diminish,
Where it has not diminished,
May it flourish abundantly.
,

That IS lovely and profound.

:hug:

"One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye." The Little Prince

I love every word in that book. One of my top three favorite books of all time.

Thank you!

:hug:

-"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

and I have this as attributed to the Dalai Lama:

Never Give Up

No matter what is going on
Never give up
Develop the heart
Too much energy in your country
Is spent developing the mind
Instead of the heart
Be compassionate
Not just to your friends
But to everyone
Be compassionate
Work for peace
In your heart and in the world
Work for peace
And I say again
Never give up
No matter what is going on around you
Never give up

:hi:

"Whatever is happening in your life right now, dedicate it consciously to the furtherance of love's purposes on earth." ~Marianne Williamson


"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." Albert Schweitzer


"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live." ~George Bernard Shaw

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

"It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can." ~Sydney Smith


"Any ordinary favor we do for someone or any compassionate reaching out may seem to be going nowhere at first, but may be planting a seed we can't see right now. Sometimes we need to just do the best we can and then trust in an unfolding we can't design or ordain." - Sharon Salzberg

and for having a screen name that makes me smile.

:hi:

:hug:

(True to form, it's long...:rofl:)

"If we just worry about the big picture, we are powerless. So my secret is to start right away doing whatever little work I can do. I try to give joy to one person in the morning, and remove the suffering of one person in the afternoon. If you and your friends do not despise the small work, a million people will remove a lot of suffering." ~ Sister Chan Khong (Buddhist nun)



I always wonder why it's quotes by famous (or supposedly) famous people that are so impactful, versus regular Jane or John Doe quotes?

Or, maybe regular Jane and John Doe quotes ARE also impactful, so long as the reader has a clue of their background perhaps?

What do you think?

:hug:

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank

Live simply that others might simply live. ~Elizabeth Ann Seton (I have had this quote framed, for years; however, it is attributed to Thich Nhat Hanh :shrug: )

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale

We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been - a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.
- Starhawk

People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.
- Daisaku Ikeda

Obviously, a (rushed) Google job, but done with love. :hug:

Happy Friday everyone. :loveya: