“Sila (morality) means behaving well at all times, living according to ethical rules or precepts, restraint of the senses and passions, good manners, self-discipline, courtesy, consideration and politeness. Sila is also used as a general term for the daily practice of sustained awareness and mindful actions.”
You must be wondering, doesn’t she have anything else to talk about!! What can I say…….this happens to be my interest at the moment…..so kindly bear with me………some selected quotes which makes us stop and think twice.
“Self discipline although not always easy while combating negative emotions, should be a defensive measure. At least we will be able to prevent the advent of negative conduct dominated by negative emotions. That is sila or moral ethics.”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (Born 1934) Tibet
“At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations.”
Aung San Suu Kyi (Born 1945) Myanmar
I am unable to restrain external things, but I shall restrain my own mind. What need is there to restrain anything else?
Santideva (8th Century) India
“It is easy to do what is harmful to ourselves. What is helpful and good is hard to do.”
The Dhammapada
“He will easily be content and at peace whose conscience is pure.”
Thomas A Kempis (1380- 1471) Germany
“The ideals which have lighted my way and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty and truth.”
Albert Einstein (1879- 1955) Germany
“As the wind blows down a shaky tree, so temptation overthrows him who lives only for pleasure, who is immoderate, idle and weak.”
The Dhammapada
“We can be as free of regret for failure by being restored to virtue as by never having sinned. A person who sees his faults and confesses them will be pure.”
Atisa (982-1054) Tibet
“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”
Moliere (1622- 1673) France
“To enjoy freedom…….we have to control ourselves.”
Virginia Woolf (1882- 1941) England
“An evil man may wish to injure the Virtuous Ones and, raising his head, spit toward heaven, but the spit, far from reaching heaven, will return and descend upon himself. Virtue cannot be destroyed, while evil inevitably destroys itself.”
The Buddha (the Sutra of 42 sections)
“Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”
Aristotle (384-322 bce) Greece
“If we truly desire to be happy, there is not other way to proceed but by the way of virtue: it is the method by which happiness is achieved.”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (Born 1934), Tibet
“Moral people are unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways, peaceful and calm, and wise, not proud and demanding in their nature.”
The Metta Sutta
“The most important human task is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life.”
Albert Einstein (1879- 1955) Germany
And last of all a beautiful quote that I have received from my dear friend on Woman’s day, no relation to the other quotes, but couldn't help adding it to this collection!!
The two most divine things on earth: a beautiful woman in a rural spot!
James Hunt
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Quotes