"According to Buddhist scriptures, compassion is the 'quivering of the pure heart' when we have allowed ourselves to be touched by the pain of life. Then, we can sustain a presence in the midst of life's suffering, in the midst of life's fleeting impermanence. We can open to the world - its ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows. We begin to recognize that just as there is pain in our own lives, so there is pain in everyone else's life. This is the birth of wise understanding. Wise understanding sees that suffering is inevitable, that all things that are born . . . and die. This is the purpose of a spiritual discipline and of choosing a path with heart - to discover peace and connectedness in ourselves and to stop the war in us and around us."
In jarring juxtaposition this old axiom popped into my head right after I read the above: "Don't piss off an old person - the older we get the less 'Life in prison' is a deterrant." Not sure what the connection is to the Buddhist text.
I worry sometimes about the fact I confuse happiness with joy. I think happiness, deep down, is overrated because it means that I'm pleased when shit goes my way and pissed when it doesn't. I think I can be joyful just being alive, good or bad, pleasant or painful.
Here's another one I like: "Live your life as if this day is your last but plan as if you're going to live forever."
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