Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment. — Lao Tzu
Enlightenment means taking full responsibility for your life. — William Blake
It is not the accumulation of extraneous knowledge, but the realization of the self within, that constitutes true progress. — Okakura Kakuzo
The trouble with Westerners is that they want to witness their own enlightenment. — Chogyam Trungpa
The secret teaching was the bodhisattva ideal, to live for others, for the welfare of all beings. That's enlightenment, not some flashy state of luminosity. — Frederick Lenz
Enlightenment doesnt occur from sitting around visualizing images of light, but from integrating the darker aspects of the Self into the conscious personality. — Sayings
He who knows others is wise.He who knows himself is enlightened. — Lao Tzu
Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength. — Lao Tzu
The greatest obstacle to enlightenment is getting past your delusion that you are not already enlightened. — Ramana Maharshi
Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold on to the truth within yourself as to the only truth. — Buddha
Enlightenment or awakening is not the creation of a new state of affairs but the recognition of what already is. — Alan Watts
When we wake up from our confused state of mind, that is enlightenment. — Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Those who know are wise. Those who know themselves are enlightened. — Lao Tzu
Short Self Enlightenment Quotes
The essence of knowledge is self-knowledge. — Plato
Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world. — Ramana Maharshi
Be lamps unto yourselves; be your own confidence. Hold truth within yourselves. — Buddha
By your own efforts waken yourself, watch yourself. And live joyfully. — Buddha
Be - don't try to become. Being is enlightenment, becoming is ignorance. — Osho
Self Enlightenment Image Quotes
Maturity is learning to walk away from people and situation that threaten your peace of mind, self respect, values, morals and self worth.
Path To Enlightenment Quotes
Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. — Morihei Ueshiba
Create the way by your walking; you will not find a ready-made path — Osho
But by reading them again and again finally I was able to grasp the essential part. What emotion, enthusiasm, enlightenment and confidence they communicated to me! I wept for joy. — Ho Chi Minh
We are what we believe we are.
Ultimately one must abandon the path to enlightenment. If you still define yourself as a Buddhist, you are not a buddha yet. — Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
There are many paths to enlightenment. Be sure to take the one with a heart. — Lao Tzu
It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. Life is not easy. The road to happiness is not a path well trotted. You have to find your own path to enlightenment. — Jamie Campbell Bower
Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination. — Buddha
The further we travel down the path of enlightenment, the more humble we become. We shouldn't seek to impress others—or allow ourselves to be taken—with mere outer trappings. If we do our inner work, our spirit will be our calling card. Nice to meet you. — Philip Toshio Sudo
One of the great dangers on the spiritual path is that the ego becomes spiritualized. The ego loves to think of itself as spiritually evolved. It is just another way that it manages to feel important and in control. It is very difficult to free yourself from an enlightened ego. — Leonard Jacobson
The path to enlightenment is really very simple - all we need to do is stop cherishing ourself and learn to cherish others. All other spiritual realisations will naturally follow from this. — Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Spiritual Enlightenment Quotes
However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them? — Buddha
The mind of an enlightened human being is flexible and adaptable. The mind of the ignorant person is conditioned and fixed. — Ajahn Sumedho
The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started. — T. S. Eliot
Knowledge is another form of God. If someone loves both. So he will get the answers to every question. — Vishesh Panthi
Forces of light on earth shall overcome the force of darkness. Complete spiritual enlightenment on earth will occur. — Edgar Cayce
You will burn and you will burn out; you will be healed and come back again. — Fyodor Dostoevsky
The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being. — Eckhart Tolle
Just being the seeker, somebody whose open to spiritual enlightenment, is in itself the important thing and it's the reward for being a seeker in this world. — Walter Isaacson
The garden is a metaphor for life, and gardening is a symbol of the spiritual path. — Larry Dossey
The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self. — Albert Einstein
Enlightenment is a destructive process. It
has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the
crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing
through the facade of pretence. It's the
complete eradication of everything we
imagined to be true. — Adyashanti
Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. What you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. — Ajahn Chah
One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. — Carl Jung
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. — Buddha
Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize it. — Osho
The people to become enlightened in Atlantis lit the "flame of enlightenment" on earth for the first time. The members of the various mystery schools have kept the flame alive by passing on the secret techniques for attaining enlightenment from the time of Atlantis to our present day. — Frederick Lenz
All that we are is the result of what we have thought; what we think we become. — Buddha
To an Earthkeeper, love is not a feeling or something your barter with. Love is the essence of who you are, and it radiates from you as a brilliant aura: You become love, practice fearlessness, and attain enlightenment. — Alberto Villoldo
Enlightenment Quotes
Women make up one half of society. Our society will remain backward and in chains unless its women are liberated, enlightened and educated. — Saddam Hussein
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared. — Buddha
I can feel guilty about the past, Apprehensive about the future,but only in the present can I act.The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness. — Abraham Maslow
I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. — Marie Curie
Women should not be enlightened or educated in any way. They should, in fact, be segregated as they are the cause of hideous and involuntary erections in holy men. — Unknown Author
The prosperity of a country depends, not on the abundance of its revenues, nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the beauty of its public buildings; but it consists in the number of its cultivated citizens, in its men of education, enlightenment and character. — Martin Luther
Architecture
is a small piece of this human equation, but for those of us who practice it,
we believe in its potential to make a difference, to enlighten and to enrich the
human experience, to penetrate the barriers of misunderstandin g and provide a
beautiful context for life's drama. — Frank Gehry
Nothing that results in human progress is achieved with unanimous consent. Those that are enlightened before the others are condemned to pursue that light in spite of the others. — Christopher Columbus
If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good. — Shantideva
Imparting education not only enlightens the receiver, but also broadens the giver - the teachers, the parents, the friends. — Amartya Sen
God Enlightenment Quotes
An enlightened society is one where all people - the rich and the poor, the literate and the illiterate, the black and the white, men and women - live happily as children of the same Lord. Thus experiencing the brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of God. — Pandurang Shastri Athavale
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure about you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. — Marianne Williamson
So I cast my lot with Him-not the one who claimed wisdom, Confucius; or the one who claimed enlightenment, Buddha; or the one who claimed to be a prophet, Muhammad, but with the one who claimed to be God in human flesh. The one who declared, 'Before Abraham was born, I am'-and proved it. — Norman Geisler
Pray to God with tears in your eyes whenever you want illumination or find yourself faced with any doubt or difficulty. The Lord will remove all your impurities, assuage your mental anguish, and give you enlightenment. — Sarada Devi
The kingdom of God is just behind the darkness of closed eyes, and the first gate that opens to it is your peace. — Paramahansa Yogananda
The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in secret and God enlightens him. — John Climacus
We look for the Secret - the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of the Wise, Supreme Enlightenment, 'God' or whatever...and all the time it is carrying us about...It is the human nervous system itself. — Robert Anton Wilson
Reality is all-encompassing: the absolute nature is one. Although we may feel separate from the original uncreated reality - whether we call it 'God,' 'peak experience,' or 'enlightened mind' - through awareness we can contact this essential part of ourselves. — Tarthang Tulku
God [is] not the exclusive property of any one tradition. The divine light [cannot] be confined to a single lamp, belonging to the East or the West, but enlightens all human beings. — Karen Armstrong
In tribulation immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction. — Saint John of the Cross
Words Of Enlightenment Quotes
Words are a distraction to enlightenment. Getting rid of conceptual thinking means enlightenment. — Ramesh S Balsekar
There is a flaw with words, they always force us to feel enlightened, but when we turn around to face the world they always fail us and we end up facing the world as we always have, without enlightenment — Carlos Castaneda
The inward journey is about finding your own fullness, something that no one else can take away. — Deepak Chopra
All the buddhas of all the ages have been telling you a very simple fact: Be — don´t try to become. Within these two words, be and becoming, your whole life is contained. Being is enlightenment, becoming is ignorance." Osho — Osho
When awareness expands, events that seem random actually aren't. A larger purpose is trying to unfold through you. When you become aware of that purpose- which is unique for each person- you become like an architect who has been handed the blueprint. — Deepak Chopra
Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. — Buddha
Art is never decoration, embellishment; instead, it is work of enlightenment. Art, in other words, is a technique for acquiring liberty. — Bruce Lee
Zen is a special transmission outside the scriptures,With no reliance on words and letters.A direct pointing to the human mind,And the realization of enlightenment. — John Daido Loori
Everything in Irenaeus is bathed in a warm and radiant joy, a wise and majestic gentleness. His words of struggle are hard as iron and crystal clear, ... so penetrating that they cannot fail to enlighten the unbiased observer. — Hans Urs von Balthasar
Throughout history, every period of enlightenment has been accompanied by darkness, pushing in opposition. Such are laws of nature and balance. — Dan Brown
Enlightenment And Love Quotes
Only those who overflow with love will build the happy and enlightened world of the future. — Fethullah Gulen
Through watering the ground of affectionate love with cherishing love, And then sowing the seeds of wishing love and compassion, the medicinal tree of Bodhichitta will grow. — Je Tsongkhapa
Be kind to yourself as you proceed along this journey. This kindness, in itself, is a means of awakening the spark of love within you and helping others to discover that spark within themselves. — Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Enlightened leadership is spiritual if we understand spirituality not as some kind of religious dogma or ideology but as the domain of awareness where we experience values like truth, goodness, beauty, love and compassion, and also intuition, creativity, insight and focused attention. — Deepak Chopra
Enlightenment is not something you achieve. It is the absence of something. All your life you have been going forward after something, pursuing some goal. Enlightenment is dropping all that. — Joko Beck
Once you know yourself as a genuine seeker, and when your own inner chamber is quite enlightened, then comes the natural unfoldment of pure love and compassion and a genuine desire to serve others. — Rod Stryker
Love works a different way in different minds, the fool it enlightens and the wise it blinds. — John Dryden
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. — Buddha
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. — Buddha
Concentrate the mind on the present moment. — Buddha
Enlighten Quotes
In human life, you will find players of religion until the knowledge and proficiency in religion will be cleansed from all superstitions, and will be purified and perfected by the enlightenment of real science. — Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. — James Madison
Before enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water. After enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water. — Matsuo Basho
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create disticntions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. — Buddha
Even in the world, the yogi who faithfully discharges his responsibilities, without personal motive or attachment, treads the sure path of enlightenment. — Mahavatar Babaji
In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart. — Swami Vivekananda
You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible. — Deepak Chopra
The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable. — Malcolm Gladwell
The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, and you should try not to forget snacks and magazines. — Anne Lamott
If anyone thinks he can help you, he will inevitably mislead you, and the less phony he is; the more powerful he is, the more enlightened he is, the more misery and mischief he will create for you. — U.G. Krishnamurti
Self Realization Quotes
I trust that you will so live today as to realize that you are masters of your own destiny, masters of your fate; if there is anything you want in this world, it is for you to strike out with confidence and faith in self and reach for it. — Marcus Garvey
The strongest person is not the one who is able to do something, but the one who is able not to do what he has the power to do. This self-denial is the unique way to usher in God's kingdom and to realize the kingdom life. — Witness Lee
It took cancer to realize that being self-centered is not the way to live. The answer is to try and help others. — Terry Fox
We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us. — Jean-Paul Sartre
Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside. — Ramana Maharshi
If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other. Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love. — Muhammad Ali
Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders. — Diane Nash
Realize that your world is only a reflection of yourself and stop finding fault with the reflection. Attend to yourself, set yourself right; mentally and emotionally. The physical self will follow automatically. — Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Every word, facial expression, gesture, or action on the part of a parent gives the child some message about self-worth. It is sad that so many parents don't realize what messages they are sending. — Virginia Satir
Life is short. Time is fleeting. Realize the Self. Purity of the heart is the gateway to God. Aspire. Renounce. Meditate. Be good; do good. Be kind; be compassionate. Inquire, know Thyself. — Sivananda
Self Realisation Quotes
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately. — Henry David Thoreau
We don't realise that we are actually perfect just the way we are. We are born perfect, but spend a lifetime trying to be something we are not, and then feel inadequate for failing. Your only purpose is to BE YOURSELF, otherwise you will deprive the universe of who you came here to be. — Anita Moorjani
Only two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge: those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say, whose minds are not over-crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realise that they know nothing. — Ramakrishna
Know that you are a spark of God and can exist fully only within the realization of that profound truth. As such, you are a light and inspiration to others. — Harold Klemp
Self-realisation means that we have been consciously connected with our source of being. Once we have made this connection, then nothing can go wrong. — Swami Paramananda
Fearlessness means faith in God: faith in his protection, His justice, His wisdom, His mercy, His love, and His Omnipresence... To be fit for Self-realization man must be fearless. — Paramahansa Yogananda
We can either watch life from the sidelines, or actively participate... Either we let self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy prevent us from realising our potential, or embrace the fact that when we turn our attention away from ourselves, our potential is limitless. — Christopher Reeve
All that is required to realise the Self is to “Be Still. — Ramana Maharshi
All service should be regarded as an offering to God, and every opportunity to serve should be welcomed as a gift from God. When service is done in this spirit, it will lead to self- realization. — Sathya Sai Baba
Live for yourself. Love those around you - but realise they have their own agendas. — Alex Gaskarth
Under a socialist system every nation will be the supreme arbiter of its own destinies, national and international; will be forced into no alliance against its will, but will have its independence guaranteed and its freedom respected by the enlightened self-interest of the socialist democracy of the world. — James Connolly
An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens. — Thomas Jefferson
Because the relationship between self and world is reciprocal, it is not a matter of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the Earth, the Earth heals us. No need to wait. As we care enough to take risks, we loosen the grip of ego and begin to come home to our true nature. — Joanna Macy
The basic nature of all conscious beings is 'self-existing wakefulness'.
Self-existing meaning spontaneous or without effort and wakefulness meaning natural awareness.
To ignore our basic nature, is to wander in fear and confusion,
to directly realise our essential nature is to be Enlightened. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Humour breaks down boundaries, it topples our self-importance, it connects people, and because it engages and entertains, it ultimately enlightens. — John Agard
The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self. — Whitney M. Young
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. — Buddha
When one is seized with a passion to understand one’s self, one has to leave behind all normal life and habitual modes of thought. — R.K. Narayan
It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. — Buddha
Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. — Immanuel Kant
Religions are the training wheels of self enlightenment. They can be helpful in the beginning but at some point they must be let go. — Reggie Watts
Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge. — Alice Walker
The Bible and several other self help or enlightenment books cite the Seven Deadly Sins. They are: pride, greed, lust, envy, wrath, sloth, and gluttony. That pretty much covers everything that we do, that is sinful... or fun for that matter. — Dave Mustaine
Self-interest, be it enlightened, works indirectly for the public good. — William H. Prescott
Whether you believe it a moral imperative or in the rich world's enlightened self-interest, securing the conditions that will lead to a healthy, prosperous future for everyone is a goal I believe we all share. — Bill Gates
My commitment to the security and future of Israel is based upon basic morality as well as enlightened self-interest. Our role in supporting Israel honors our own heritage. — Gerald R. Ford
Only listen to the observations of the enlightened because everyone else is self-centered, egocentric and bound by the net of desire. — Frederick Lenz
Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened faith. — Nirmala Srivastava
How do we give credible hope to the billion poorest people in the world? It requires compassion to get ourselves started, and enlightened self-interest to get serious... If economic divergence continues, combined with global integration, it will build a nightmare for our children. — Paul Collier
Charm might be described as enlightened self-interest, a development of one's best self. ... In the simplest possible terms, I think genuine charm is an unmotivated interest in others. — Arlene Francis
Enlightened self-interest from those involved in hydrocarbons should lead to the support of technologies enabling the clean use of hydrocarbons, such as carbon capture and storage, and not to the defence of deniers and cranks. — Nicholas Stern
Only after Self-Realisation and only then, is there a direct experience of the Spirit. It then manifests its powers in the human personality, and it's light enlightens the consciousness into a new awareness. The Divine intelligence of the Spirit radiates on all sides. — Nirmala Srivastava
I am not a communist first and an individualist second. I am an individualist first, and I don't mean this in the shallow, purely egotistical sense of self-interest and everyone else be damned. I mean this in the true sense of enlightenment, recovery of personality, and the full development of personality. — Murray Bookchin
Intuition is a powerful tool that can heal the painful split we all feel between our earthly, mundane selves and our divine, eternal selves. When we realize that our spiritual knowledge is in us right now, and always has been, we become filled with light, light-hearted, and enlightened. — Penney Peirce
We go to the mountain for enlightenment, for self-realization, for adventure, for discovery. It's pregnant with meaning. When people see a mountain, they invest it with meaning. Not plot. Not character. — Joe Rohde
The teaching process is lengthy because there are many, many states of mind to go through. And in each state of mind there is a different aggregate of self to be explored. — Frederick Lenz
Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity...No thing is required for this enlightenment.. .except freedom; and the freedom in question is the least harmful of all, namely, the freedom to use reason publicly in all matters. — Immanuel Kant
To the enlightened man... whose consciousness embraces the universe, to him the universe becomes his 'body', while the physical body becomes the manifestation of the universal mind. His inner vision an expression of the highest reality, and his speech an expression of eternal truth and mantric power. — Anagarika Govinda
The new world economic order is not an exercise in philanthropy, but in enlightened self-interest for everyone concerned. — Carlos Fuentes
Only a development of thought achieved through the self-education of the whole man can prevent any body of thought whatsoever from becoming a poison; can prevent enlightenment from becoming an agent of death. — Karl Jaspers
The sole work and deed of universal freedom is therefore death, a death too which has no inner significance or filling, for what is negated is the empty point of the absolutely free self. It is thus the coldest and meanest of all deaths, with no more significance than cutting off a head of cabbage or swallowing a mouthful of water. — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Self-interest is hostile to the common good, but enlightened self-interest is not. And this is the best key to the meaning of enlightenment. — Allan Bloom
Faith is the readiness to reveal whatever is concealed. You don't have to conceal doubts by putting on patches of self-confirmation. The readiness to be exposed seems to make the difference between ego's approach to spirituality and an enlightened one. — Chogyam Trungpa
An enlightened trust in the sovereignty of human reason can be every bit as magical as the exploits of Merlin, and a faith in our capacity for limitless self-improvement just as much a wide-eyed superstition as a faith in leprechauns. — Terry Eagleton
I embrace the concept of enlightened self-interest - that in doing something for others, people also reap profound benefits for themselves. It might involve a little bit of sacrifice and discipline, but, and this is so crucial to understand, that participation has given me back so, so much more than I have given it. — Simon McKeon
The Spirit is like the steady axis of a wheel. If our attention reaches the immovable firm axis at the very centre of the wheel of our existence (which is constantly moving), we become enlightened by the Spirit, the source of inner peace, and reach a state of complete calm and self-knowledge. — Nirmala Srivastava
Dualistic doctrines that regard mind and body as separate entities do not provide much enlightenment on the nature of the disembodied mental state or on how an immaterial mind and bodily events act on each other — Albert Bandura
The miracle of enlightenment is that you take the self and let it dissolve in the white light of eternity. — Frederick Lenz
Because not even the least Dharma is there found or got at. Therefore is it called 'utmost, right and perfect enlightenment'. Self-identical is that Dharma and nothing is therein at variance. Therefore is it called 'utmost, right and perfect enlighten' — Buddha
I think Enlightenment as an epistemic ideal involves rejecting the appeal to a fundamental stratum of non-conceptual self-evidence. — Ray Brassier
In Conclusion
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