Perspective ~
By The Dali Lama

The very purpose of spirituality is self-discipline.
Rather than criticizing others, we should evaluate and criticize ourselves.
Ask yourself, what am I doing about my anger, my attachments, my pride, my
jealousy?
These are the things we should check in our day to day lives.

In today’s materialistic world there is a risk of people becoming slaves to
money, as though they were simply cogs in a huge money-making machine.
This does nothing for human dignity, freedom, and genuine well-being.
Wealth should serve humanity, and not the other way around.

Disturbing emotions not only disturb our own state of mind, they also
disturb the minds of others.
Self-centredness gives rise to fear and insecurity, which in turn creates
distrust.
This is why having an altruistic attitude brings a great sense of happiness
and peace of mind.
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Revolutionary Verses ~
by Fukuoka Masanobu
…
First of all, throw it all away,
the handcuffs of time and the shackles of money.
…
The essence of natural farming is not the specific technique, but our
ability to fit in with nature as a rightful partner, not as a conquerer.

…
Too much wasted time,
too many useless things.
…
Knowledge is not wisdom,
collecting knowledge, we destroy wisdom.
…
The fruit from the tree of wisdom is the wisdom of the snake,
idly we are led astray.
…
Pointless reasons and arguments, like the straw shoes of a horse,
changed daily, they are discarded after use.
…
The cherry flowers blossom, still too early to scatter,
only humans regret the futility of flowers.
…
No ears to listen and no speech, mountains, rivers, grasses and trees,
the hidden language knows the heavens, knows Earth.
…
Coming and going, the passing birds don’t stay in one place,
freely, only living.
…
Don’t look around with two eyes,
the one eye of the mind is enough.
…
The desire to see, listen and know will be your ruin,
an ocean of wisdom that gets weak and dies.
…
We only live once,
with a one-way ticket, whither do you go? whither do you return?
…
Don’t hurry, don’t get excited,
leave it to nature, leave behind human knowledge and human action.
…
After much fussing I finally passed my 90th year,
after that there is only letting go, and be the Buddha.
…
I have lived my destiny, the life and destiny of the planet,
this instant only, the death of a beggar, all by myself.
…
Destiny has run its course, separating God, nature and humans,
with a crash, the Earth is annihilated.
…
The crow craws and returns to its nest,
are the withered leaves scattered? has the sparrow flown?
a sunny spot in winter.
…
The day comes to an end, the sun takes its leave,
the trees loose their leaves, the sparrow’s nest for the night.
…
We see the same moon whether we are in Japan, Africa or Europe.  It is the
same world…the same nature.  We are a part of it, not separate.” (Fukuoka)
———————————————————————
~ Wisdom from Vandana Shiva

“You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. It is good to
remember that the planet is carrying you.”
~

“In nature’s economy the currency is not money, it is life.”
~ Vandana Shiva, Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace

“Globalized industrialized food is not cheap: it is too costly for the
Earth, for the farmers, for our health. The Earth can no longer carry the
burden of groundwater mining, pesticide pollution, disappearance of species
and destabilization of the climate. Farmers can no longer carry the burden
of debt, which is inevitable in industrial farming with its high costs of
production. It is incapable of producing safe, culturally appropriate,
tasty, quality food. And it is incapable of producing enough food for all
because it is wasteful of land, water and energy. Industrial agriculture
uses ten times more energy than it produces. It is thus ten times less
efficient.”
~ Vandana Shiva