Prayer of Saint Francis of Assissi

shared by a very close friend to help me get through a hard time right now.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assissi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace!

That where there is hatred, I may bring love.

That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.

That where there is discord, I may bring harmony.

That where there is error, I may bring truth.

That where there is doubt, I may bring faith.

That where there is despair, I may bring hope.

That where there are shadows, I may bring light.

That where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted.

To understand, than to be understood.

To love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.

walking on earth is a miracle

I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle.-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"

breathe

i am breathing in and making my whole body calm and at peace. i am breathing out and making my whole body calm and at peace. this is how one practices.
- the sutra on full awareness of breathing

the things which renew humanity

teach this triple truth to all: a generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
-buddha

way of the mind

the world is apprehended by way of the mind
the world is acted upon by way of the mind
and all good things and bad
exist in the world by way of the mind.
-samyutta nikaya

peace

peace comes from within. do not seek it without.
-buddha

indifference

the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
the opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
the opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
-elie wiesel, oct. 1986

passion overwhelms the mind

as rain penetrates an improperly shingled roof, so passion overwhelms a confused mind.
-buddha

suffering is caused by ignorance

as a buddhist monk my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. i believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. people inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction.
-his holiness the dalai lama, nobel peace prize acceptance speech, oslo, december 1989

delusion

those who have great realization about delusion are buddhas. those who are greatly deluded within realization are sentient beings.
- dogen, "flowers fall"

law enforcement logic

when the only tool you have to work with is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.
-harris county (houston) district attorney chuck rosenthal