Religious Thought 239

To those steadfast in love and devotion I give spiritual wisdom, so that they may come to me. Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their ignorance. From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives.

- Bhagavad Gita 10:10-11

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If you seek after truth, you should investigate things in such a way that your consciousness as you investigate is not distracted by what you find, or diffused and scattered; neither is it fixed and set. For the one who is not swayed, there will be a transcending of birth, death, and time. Whether you walk or stand or lie down, Stretch your limbs or draw them in again, Let you do all these things attentively, Above, across, and back again. Whatever your place in the world, Let you be the one who views the movement Of all compounded things with attention.

- Itivuttaka Sutta

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Religious Thought 238

They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of "I," "me," and "mine" to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality.

- Bhagavad Gita 2:71-72

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At the heart of Buddhist meditation are concentration and inquiry. When you cultivate these two qualities in meditation, you develop your ability to be quiet and clear, to offer understanding and love.

- Martine Bachelor, "Meditation for Life"

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Religious Thought 237

They are completely fulfilled by spiritual wisdom and Self-realization. Having conquered their senses, they have climbed to the summit of human consciousness. To such people a clod of dirt, a stone, and gold are the same. They are equally disposed to family, enemies, and friends, to those who support them and those who are hostile, to the good and the evil alike. Because they are impartial, they rise to great heights.

- Bhagavad Gita 6:8-9

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When we demand the rights and freedoms we so cherish, we should also be aware of our responsibilities. If we accept that the others have an equal right to peace and happiness as ourselves, do we not have a responsibility to help those in need?

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Religious Thought 236

Those who see all creatures in themselves And themselves in all creatures know no fear. Those who see all creatures in themselves And themselves in all creatures know no grief. How can the multiplicity of life Delude the one who sees its unity?

- Isha Upanishad

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There are, bhikkhus, two successive Dhamma-teachings of the Tathagata, the Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One. What are the two? 'See evil as evil'--this is the first Dhamma-teaching. 'Having seen evil as evil, be rid of it, be detached from it, be freed from it'--this is the second Dhamma-teaching.

- Itivuttaka

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Religious Thought 235

When your mind has overcome the confusion of duality, you will attain the state of holy indifference to things you hear and things you have heard. When you are unmoved by the confusion of ideas and your mind is completely united in deep samadhi, you will attain the state of perfect yoga.

- Bhagavad Gita 2:52-53

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There are two kinds of happiness. There is that of the uncommitted life of sensual pleasures, and there is that of the committed life, one of going forth to a new consciousness. Of these, the happiness of going forth is greater.

- Anguttara Nikaya

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