Saturday, January 31, 2009

Dharma Quote of the Week - Embracing Change

Great quote this week on a topic close to my heart, impermanence.

Dharma Quote of the Week

"There is often a big disparity between the way we perceive things and the way things really are. For instance, when we see an object we think, 'Oh, this is the very same object which I saw two days ago.' This is a very crude way of talking about reality. What is actually happening here is a kind of a conflation between an image or a concept of an entity and the actual reality of the moment. In reality, the object or entity that we are perceiving has already gone through a lot of stages. It is dynamic, it is transient, it is momentary, so the object that we are perceiving now is not the same as the one we perceived a day ago or two days ago, but we have the impression that we are perceiving the very same thing because what we are doing is conflating our concept of that object and the actual object. By grasping for permanence, we cause things to appear to us differently than how they actually exist.

"It is vital to leave a lot of room for change in one's relations to another person. Change comes about in times of transition, allowing love actually to ripen and expand. Then one is able to really know the other one--to see that person with their faults and weaknesses and going through change, a human being like oneself. Only at this stage can there be true love."--The Dalai Lama

~ From Impermanence: Embracing Change by David Hodge and Hi-Jin Kang Hodge, published by Snow Lion Publications.

1 comment:

buddhagirl said...

you ought to try Tara Mahayana Buddhist Center here in tucson. Gen Kelsang Lingpur is a western Buddhist nun whom does the teachings. she is out of town this week. www.meditationintucson.org check it out!
hazel