gewa means making choices that extend our emotional and intellectual strength, illuminate our potential greatness, build our confidence, and enhance our ability to assist those in need of help. (Location 606)
And I’m happy to do that, because it feels like I’m participating a bit more in life as a whole instead of just focusing on my own career, my own goals. I feel more and more like we’re all in this life together—that there’s a purpose greater than meeting revenue goals.” (Location 622)
Actually the term is a very rough translation of two Sanskrit words, often used interchangeably: sugatagarbha or tathagatagarbha. Sugata may be roughly understood as “gone to bliss,” while tathagata is usually interpreted as “thus-gone.” Both refer to those, like the Buddha, who have transcended or “gone beyond” conflict, delusion, or suffering of any kind—a (Location 655)
The Tibetan word tongpa means “empty”—not in the sense of a vacuum or a void but rather in the sense of the basis of experience that is beyond our ability to perceive with our senses, to describe, to name, or to capture in a nice, tidy concept. (Location 678)
An openness that just let all this stuff come and go without taking it personally or putting it into words, but was felt at the heart of my being. (Location 701)
dak tenpar dzin—or dak dzin for short. As mentioned earlier, dak is the Tibetan word for “self,” tenpar means “as true,” and dzin is a form of the verb meaning “to grasp” or “to fixate.” We’re (Location 1456)
Which brings us to the deeper meaning of the term cherishing, which, on a subtle level, refers to holding on to something long past its need or usefulness. (Location 1499)
Even in the midst of their addictions, they knew that these substances were killing them, destroying their livelihoods and families, but the comfort they experienced while engaging in behavior that harmed themselves and others outweighed the damage they were doing and reinforced the feeling that they needed to engage in harmful behavior, even as it was destroying their lives. (Location 1513)
We’re trained to love every living creature until he or she can love themselves. Until every person on earth ceases to view one another as a threat or an enemy; until every person, in every job, every relationship, every encounter, can see the wonder, the beauty, and the potential in everyone with whom they come in contact. (Location 1553)
Myths grow up around social movements—and that is, in essence, what Buddhism is: a movement. The Buddha urged us to get off our chairs, our couches, and our cushions and get moving; to start living as though our lives meant something; to “awaken” to the knowledge that the ways we think, feel, and act have an effect on the world around us. (Location 1618)
the Buddha urged not to take our “I’s” for granted. A lot of what we’ve learned about “I” through life experience, for example, can be quite valuable. (Location 1625)
Once out of public view, many of the heroes of our world let go of their social identities, their stories, even their attachment to their true or solid selves, and drop gently and gratefully back into the openness, warmth, and fluidity of the “mere I.” (Location 1630)
The challenge the Buddha proposed was to learn to rest in openness of the “mere I” even while using the various other “I’s”; to maintain a sense of warmth and openness even when, for instance, facing someone who disagrees with you. (Location 1632)