Sakyong Mipham Quotes & Sayings

Shambhala existed in Tibet and has been continued over the years, and now it is in the West. At its core, it is very much dedicated to the basic theme of benefiting others. — Sakyong Mipham

Shambhala can be relevant in terms of what is going on in the world. — Sakyong Mipham

Meditation practice is relevant because in meditation our conceptual mind relaxes and we can feel who we are at heart. — Sakyong Mipham

For me, language and how I use it are very important. I held back on doing a poetry book, walking the fine line between trying to be helpful and just putting more junk out there. — Sakyong Mipham

It seems we all agree that training the body through exercise, diet, and relaxation is a good idea, but why don't we think about training our mind? — Sakyong Mipham

One of my favorite Tibetan sayings is Even if you're going to die tomorrow, you can learn something tonight. — Sakyong Mipham

You have people who are good at English but don't have the training in Buddhism or Shambhala, or they have the training but are not good in English. Getting that mixture is really rare. — Sakyong Mipham

Fundamentally, Buddhism is for the awakenment and benefit of beings. So, you can't say, "Oh, you can't have it because you're not ready for it." That goes against the fundamental principle. — Sakyong Mipham

This jewel is the wisdom and compassion that it takes to act not on behalf of ourselves but for all beings. This is where real confidence and competence come from. Once we possess this jewel, our life becomes blessed. — Sakyong Mipham

It is said that if our intention is to help others-even if we are unable to follow it through-we will never have any regret. Regret is a result of trying to make "me" happy. — Sakyong Mipham

You need to eat well, sleep well, and have a roof over your head, but don't go much further than that before extending yourself to others. — Sakyong Mipham

Caring for others is the basis of worldly success. — Sakyong Mipham

A lot of times people do spiritual practice just for themselves. I try to turn that a little bit. I try to make spiritual practice more a part of the community. I write about infusing people with compassion. — Sakyong Mipham

This is bravery: using the challenge of daily life to sharpen our mind and open our heart. — Sakyong Mipham

The practice of overcoming hope is recognizing our positive qualities. With excessive hope, we begin to belittle what we have achieved. We might then feel inadequate and have fear of not achieving more. — Sakyong Mipham

Enlightened Society is all about nurturing the human spirit - waking up to the goodness, kindness and strength that we already have. — Sakyong Mipham

You need to become more genuine to who you are. So, people pushing you can help take you to the level where you really understand the principles and enter them into action. — Sakyong Mipham

Every moment of our life is important. — Sakyong Mipham

In looking for my mind, I discovered that it seems to be in many different places. Sometimes it is drinking a glass of water, remembering swimming in the summer, feeling the breeze. In this contemplation I observed that the self is more elusive than I thought. — Sakyong Mipham

If we cut speed and relax with what's going on in our life right now, kindness and patience will naturally come about. — Sakyong Mipham

If you rise with a positive attitude - because everything is possible, everything is doable - if you have that level of confidence, you exude it. It actually inspires the people around you. — Sakyong Mipham

I write about whatever is timely - whatever is happening at the time for me - with what the expressive feeling is. — Sakyong Mipham

We suffer because we want life to be different from what it is. We suffer because we try to make pleasurable what is painful, to make solid what is fluid, to make permanent what is always changing. — Sakyong Mipham

When we are using this term 'basic goodness,' we are talking about our inherent completeness. — Sakyong Mipham

In Tibetan, we say people who have good windhorse have the sense they can accomplish what they want to do. — Sakyong Mipham

Throughout life it is inevitable that we will experience both pain and pleasure. Learning how to handle them leads to harmony and happiness. In meditation, if we are unable to handle pain or boredom, then that pain or boredom becomes our master. Then we spend our entire life trying to avoid being bored or feeling pain. However if we can handle our mind, then we know that we can handle boredom and pain. — Sakyong Mipham

Each of us holds human destiny in our hands. It will be completely determined by how the mind feels about itself. — Sakyong Mipham

I think Shambhala can be a very strong force as a social example of how you can try to live a life balanced in terms of both the spiritual and the secular. — Sakyong Mipham

As a leader, you have the choice to determine what you are going to do and how you are going to engage others. You can decide to act compassionately regardless of what the weather is - whether it is cloudy or sunny - or whether things are inspirational or not. — Sakyong Mipham

is the ability to share what we have with others. — Sakyong Mipham

The nature of our mind may be displayed in many ways, but Ashe is the fundamental basis. — Sakyong Mipham

The first thing you have to do is acknowledge the basic and fundamental goodness of all beings. If you don't, then you are going to have conflict. That's at the core of Shambhala. — Sakyong Mipham

One of the characteristics of every great teacher I've known is tremendous exertion. It's interesting: You may see them as spiritual people or compassionate people, but the driving force is that incredible exertion - and their ability to sustain it. — Sakyong Mipham

Running and meditation are very personal activities. Therefore they are lonely. This loneliness is one of their best qualities because it strengthens our incentive to motivate ourselves. — Sakyong Mipham

The wise are balanced, and the foolish are extreme. — Sakyong Mipham

Movement is good for the body. Stillness is good for the mind. — Sakyong Mipham

Shambhala vision is universal. It has no bias towards one type of culture or group. It is not ethnocentric and does not encourage one specific kind of person, race, or religion. Shambhala vision promotes a universality in relationship to basic goodness. All human beings are basically good and an enlightened society, at various levels of manifestation, can occur in any culture. — Sakyong Mipham

A lot of people talk about the spirituality of Buddhism, and it is a spiritual discipline. But in Shambhala there also is a notion that you have to be synchronized with both heaven and earth. — Sakyong Mipham

Heaven is the natural spaciousness of our mind before we make it small with self-protection. — Sakyong Mipham

Sometimes people feel disappointed when they hear about practicing compassion: "You mean I have to be nice?" It's kind of a letdown. We often overlook compassion, seeing it as merely a pit stop on the way to more advanced practices. We want something more; we don't even know what. But that's just a trick of our mind. One of the greatest teachings is to practice compassion. — Sakyong Mipham

People sometimes don't like organized situations. Sometimes people need to be left alone more. Sometimes people need environmental support. — Sakyong Mipham

Ultimately, as individuals we each have to ask ourselves to be courageous and apply certain principles. — Sakyong Mipham

We can't hire out our own inner work, but we can do the manual labor with delight and decency. — Sakyong Mipham

To protect this earth is to protect the very spirit of life — Sakyong Mipham

There is a tendency sometimes within the Shambhala community to make it just about meditating and, so, less about compassion. Shambhala is based upon compassion, but a lot of people come in and say, "I need to get more meditation. I need to do this for me, me, me." That's fine, but the view here is much more societal. — Sakyong Mipham

If we do not push ourselves enough, we do not grow, but if we push ourselves too much, we regress. What is enough will change, depending on where we are and what we are doing. In that sense, the present moment is always some kind of beginning. — Sakyong Mipham

when we are brave enough to be in the present, we have the power to transform the world. — Sakyong Mipham

For a lot of us, the opposite of auspicious coincidence is obstacles. Life usually is a mixture of both, but as we begin to exhibit exertion, more and more auspiciousness happens. — Sakyong Mipham

I think we are very environmental people. We need to be supported environmentally. Books very much have that imprint on the mind. — Sakyong Mipham

A book very much is the center of the road, so people always can refer back to it. — Sakyong Mipham

After you run, there's a sense of accomplishment; you feel like your life is meaningful. It's a moment of clarity. — Sakyong Mipham

When I ask people to contemplate selflessness, the sometimes react as if I've asked them to put their house on the market or give away all their money. If there was a self that existed in the way we think, discovering selflessness would be like putting our house on the market. But in the Buddhist tradition, the discovery of selflessness is called "completely joyful." It's not called "the raw end of the deal," or "I'd rather go back to bed," or "This is scary and depressing." — Sakyong Mipham

When I was going into one of my first meditation retreats, I asked my father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, for some advice. He said, "How you act when you're alone affects the rest of your life." Even in solitude, the ruler engages in virtue. — Sakyong Mipham

Your life and your practice should not be separate. You bring your practice into experience. You bring it about. — Sakyong Mipham

There is a direct correlation between physical exertion and mental relief. — Sakyong Mipham

What distinguishes Shambhala is its intention of trying to create a society based upon certain principles. So, Shambhala's focus is not just on the individual, but on society as a whole. — Sakyong Mipham

If we can feel confident in our goodness, it will illuminate our life and society — Sakyong Mipham

The most outrageous thing we can do in this world is to accept what happens and fly with it. — Sakyong Mipham

The self-assured strength that grows from knowing that we already have what we need makes us gentle, because we are no longer desperate. — Sakyong Mipham

When we are certain that the way to accomplish our own wishes is to help others, we have no regrets. — Sakyong Mipham

The bones and tendons of the mind are mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness is the mind's strength, and awareness is its flexibility. Without these abilities, we cannot function. When we drink a glass of water, drive a car, or have a conversation, we are using mindfulness and awareness. — Sakyong Mipham

Once I was running and there was someone on the treadmill next to me who stopped running to answer a question I asked and flew of the back of the treadmill. Being fully engaged has many benefits. — Sakyong Mipham

If we are going to live in a society, there has to be an attitude where people really do care for others. — Sakyong Mipham

Initially, you have to live a period where you are developing your attitude. I would consider that a meditation: determining what you want to do. You have a period where you meditate and you get the strength. — Sakyong Mipham

We want to infuse our day with good habits so that we can turn seemingly mundane situations into a ceremony of goodness. — Sakyong Mipham

I would say courage first; then wisdom, which is a sense of knowledge and confidence; and also the wish and desire to uplift. The underlying notion is "How do I help?" That attitude really is a spiritual journey and a path. — Sakyong Mipham

We live in a culture where information is becoming easier to access. Certain special practices have been kept very quiet and secret, and those traditions need to be respected. But there are a lot of teachings people can access that would benefit them greatly. — Sakyong Mipham

As the conceptual, material world increases its hold on us, and inanimate objects become more lifelike, we humans must become more human. Open hearts, kindness and care-these are our most precious gifts. — Sakyong Mipham

When we have gone beyond the boundaries of hope and fear, we are able to work with whatever comes our way. — Sakyong Mipham

Being fooled into trying to make things work out for 'me' is called samsara. — Sakyong Mipham

True happiness is always available to us, but first we have to create the environment for it to flourish. — Sakyong Mipham

1. Running with the Mind of Meditation — Sakyong Mipham

What is really happening in meditation is that we are developing the ability to think when we want to, and to not think when we don't want to. — Sakyong Mipham

The notion of auspiciousness is something positive, something with forward momentum, coming out of our actions. — Sakyong Mipham

The principles of Buddhism and Shambhala can be effective in helping the course of what is happening in the world. — Sakyong Mipham

Our only reliable source of strength is the goodness of our hearts. Our only foundation for coming to terms with the suffering of the times is our innate need to be decent human beings. — Sakyong Mipham

Shambhala does have unique teachings, as do many Buddhist traditions. For example, certain teachings within Shambhala have to do with raising the personal windhorse, or the energy of the individual, so a person has good fortitude to be able to live a good life. — Sakyong Mipham

Certain teachers have tremendous amounts of experience. They are articulate, and they give wonderful discourse. But at some point along the road, they themselves learned from and studied a book. — Sakyong Mipham

The principles of Buddhism have become more commonplace, which is a good thing. — Sakyong Mipham

If you decide to go on a Buddhist path, you have to be careful if you start mixing a lot of different traditions you are not totally familiar with - mixing this kind of meditation with that kind of practice or this kind of visualization with that kind of mantra. Then you really are concocting your own thing, and you have no idea what is going to happen. — Sakyong Mipham

When we appreciate something, that means we have allowed ourselves to relax and take it in. — Sakyong Mipham

I want people to know you can live a life that is less aggressive and still have success. — Sakyong Mipham

In meditation we are continuously discovering who and what we are. — Sakyong Mipham

Many of us are slaves to our minds. Our own mind is our worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders off. We try to keep stress at bay, but anxiety keeps us awake at night. We try to be good to the people we love, but then we forget them and put ourselves first. And when we want to change our life, we dive into spiritual practice and expect quick results, only to lose focus after the honeymoon has worn off. We return to our state of bewilderment. We're left feeling helpless and discouraged. It seems we all agree that training the body through exercise, diet, and relaxation is a good idea, but why don't we think about training our minds? — Sakyong Mipham

When stress is the basic state of mind, even good things stress us out. We have to learn to let go. — Sakyong Mipham

People can be trained in certain principles, but then they actually have to apply them and try them out. — Sakyong Mipham

Sometimes it seems like most people are being pulled into a negative energy, but then you meet strong individuals or strong leaders and they are free from it. — Sakyong Mipham

If you see life as an opportunity, or if you see helping others as an opportunity, then all of a sudden you become joyous. You want to go forward. — Sakyong Mipham

Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act non-virtuously, suffering results. — Sakyong Mipham

Shambhala is a Buddhist tradition with its own unique view and approach. — Sakyong Mipham

Our root fantasy is that "I" am real and that it's possible for "me" to be happy. — Sakyong Mipham

Your regular teachers will get mad at you. If you keep asking something again and again, they will get tired of saying the same thing. A book will not do that. A book always will be there for you. In whatever you want, the book will be there. — Sakyong Mipham

If the mind is flexible, the world is flexible. — Sakyong Mipham

What is my great wish and intention, is to make a base of compassion and to encourage people to work to shift the energy. — Sakyong Mipham

My books definitely are ambassadors, as you called them. They express what the vision is, what the purpose is. — Sakyong Mipham

Meditate with delight and run with joy. — Sakyong Mipham

This wisdom sees water for water, earth for earth, fire for fire, and wind for wind. We are not surprised by change, and when it occurs, we can be like water and flow. When it is time to be solid like the earth, we can be steadfast. When the heat of enthusiasm is necessary, we are like the fire of all fires. We can blow with the wind of virtue, uplifting any situation. Or we can rest in space, accommodating everything. This is the power of a king or queen - the warrior of all warriors. — Sakyong Mipham

Poetry is a language for when you can't quite write prose about something, you can't quite say it, but if you do a poem, it kind of gets to the point. — Sakyong Mipham

The most important thing is having the right mind - a mind that can see it. Once you have an open mind, you see a lot of auspicious coincidence taking place. — Sakyong Mipham

What is amazing is how stuck people are in their own habits. It is really hard to get people out of their habits. But once they shift, it also is amazing how rapid the progress can be. — Sakyong Mipham