Peace is more than just the absence of war. It is a state of harmony and understanding among individuals and nations. It involves respecting diversity, embracing differences, and cultivating empathy and compassion within ourselves. Imagine a world where conflicts are resolved through dialogue and understanding. Though it may seem like a distant dream, it is a vision worth working towards. Let us strive for peace, both within ourselves and in the world around us.
“Each of you, make yourself an island, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. "Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge."Devotion toward another person, no matter how saintly, is not sufficient to liberate anyone; there can be no liberation or salvation without direct experience of reality. Therefore truth has primacy, not the one who speaks it. It is a path of insight into the nature of reality, a path of truth-realization. In order to solve our problems, we have to see our situation as it really is. We must learn to recognize superficial, apparent reality, and also to penetrate beyond appearances so as to perceive subtler truths, then ultimate truth, and finally to experience the truth of freedom from suffering.The only way to experience truth directly is to look within, to observe oneself.
The only way to experience truth directly is to look within,
to observe oneself. All our lives we have been accustomed to look
outward. We have always been interested in what is happening
outside, what others are doing. We have rarely, if ever, tried to
examine ourselves, our own mental and physical structure, our own
actions, our own reality. Therefore we remain unknown to
ourselves. We do not realize how harmful this ignorance is, how
much we remain the slaves of forces within ourselves of which we
are unaware.
This inner darkness must be dispelled to apprehend the truth. We
must gain insight into our own nature in order to understand the
nature of existence
We investigate the truth about ourselves not out of idle intellectual curiosity
but rather with a definite purpose.
By observing ourselves we become aware for the
first time of the conditioned reactions, the prejudices that cloud our
mental vision, that hide reality from us and produce suffering. We
recognize the accumulated inner tensions that keep us agitated,
miserable, and we realize they can be removed. Gradually we learn
how to allow them to dissolve, and our minds become pure,
peaceful, and happy.
to observe oneself. All our lives we have been accustomed to look
outward. We have always been interested in what is happening
outside, what others are doing. We have rarely, if ever, tried to
examine ourselves, our own mental and physical structure, our own
actions, our own reality. Therefore we remain unknown to
ourselves. We do not realize how harmful this ignorance is, how
much we remain the slaves of forces within ourselves of which we
are unaware.
This inner darkness must be dispelled to apprehend the truth. We
must gain insight into our own nature in order to understand the
nature of existence
We investigate the truth about ourselves not out of idle intellectual curiosity
but rather with a definite purpose.
By observing ourselves we become aware for the
first time of the conditioned reactions, the prejudices that cloud our
mental vision, that hide reality from us and produce suffering. We
recognize the accumulated inner tensions that keep us agitated,
miserable, and we realize they can be removed. Gradually we learn
how to allow them to dissolve, and our minds become pure,
peaceful, and happy.