I’ve been going through the Dalai Lama’s Path to Tranquility, and thought to share a few verses from what inspired him to write that book: a work called the Eight Verses For Training The Mind. I want to point them out as to show how very different our world would be if we were to live according to those principles. Here are a few:
“When I see beings of wicked nature
overwhelmed by violent negative emotions and sufferings,
I shall hold such rare ones dear,
As if I have found a precious treasure.”
And this makes sense. Why let others bring us down to their level with their anger. Fill them with your love, brighten their darkness with your light, and watch their anger and violence dissipate. In our reality, we get dragged down into that darkness and fight with them. If only more of us would think about shining a light of good on their enemies instead of trying to destroy them, it would be one different reality indeed! Ok, here’s another:
“When in the company of others
I shall always consider myself the lowest of all,
and from the depth of my heart
Hold them dear and supreme.”
As if to say, there IS honor in being humble, in humility. Always making an effort to help others, instead of always being selfish and thinking of yourself first. Imagine how incredibly different things would be if you walked into your office tomorrow and everyone would practice this! Everyone would be nice to one another. And keep in mind, you put others before you, and they put you first in return, so it’s a positive-positive. There is a reason why it feels good inside when you help out someone. Perhaps we are meant to do this more?? Yet we don’t! Why don’t we do something that feels so good more frequently then? Things to ponder about indeed. Anyways, the Path to Tranquility is full of verses as such for everyday of the year, and its inspiration is called Eight Verses for Training the Mind. It’s very soothing to the soul and puts things into a more spiritual perspective. I highly recommend it 🙂
