David Michie Quotes

“You know, Professor, this stray kitten and you have one very important thing in common.'
'I can't imagine,' responded the professor coolly.
'Your life is the most important thing in the world to you,' said His Holiness. 'Same for this kitten.”

— David Michie

“The main shift, you see, is from placing self at the center of our thoughts to putting others there. It is-what do you say?-a paradox that the more we can focus our thoughts on the well-being of others, the happier we become. The first one to benefit is oneself. I call this being wisely selfish.”

— David Michie

Surely you're not saying that the life of a human and the life of an animal are of the same value?' he ventured.
'As humans we have much greater potential, of course,' His Holiness replied. 'But the way we all want very much to stay alive, the way we cling to our particular experience of consciousness-in this way human and animal are equal.

— David Michie

“We all share these wishes. But also the way we look for happiness and try to avoid discomfort is the same. Who among us does not enjoy a delicious meal? Who does not wish to sleep in a safe, comfortable bed? Author, monk-or stray kitten-we are all equal in that." Across the coffee table, the history professor shifted in his seat. "Most of all," the Dalai Lama said, leaning over and stroking me with his index finger, "all of us just want to be loved.”

— David Michie

There's no thrilling anticipation of the day's first cup of coffee ... nor the eye-closing delight of that first swallow of sauvignon blanc in the evening. We cats have no access to everyday mood-enhancing substances. Apart from humble catnip, there is no pharmaceutical refuge if we're suffering from boredom, depression, existential crisis, or even an everyday headache.

— David Michie

“It is the wonderful paradox," he continued, "that the best way to achieve happiness for oneself is to give happiness to others.”

— David Michie

“I didn't know you had a cat!' she exclaimed.
I am always surprised how many people make this observation-though not all are as bold as the American in giving voice to their astonishment. Why should His Holiness not have a cat-if indeed, 'having a cat' is a correct understanding of the relationship?”

— David Michie

“Most people think that their only option is to change their circumstances. But these are not the true causes of their unhappiness. It has more to do with the way they think about their circumstances.”

— David Michie

“We cats are the most habitual of creatures. Preferred sun loungers, meal times, hidey holes, and scratching posts are among the considerations in which we take daily satisfaction. And it is exactly because many humans embrace routine that we even consider allowing them to share our homes, let alone retain them as members of our staff.”

— David Michie

“Fear," said Lobsang. "An instinct that prevents many people from taking actions that they know, deep down inside, would liberate them. Like a bird in a cage whose door has been opened, we are free to go out in search of fulfillment, but fear makes us look for all kinds of reasons not to.”

— David Michie

“As much as possible, it is useful to think of all other beings as being just like me. Every living being strives for happiness. Every being wants to avoid all forms of suffering. They are not just objects or things to be used for our benefit. You know, Mahatma Gandhi once said: 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

— David Michie

The purpose of Buddhism is not to convert people. It is to give them tools so they can create greater happiness. So they can be happier Catholics, happier atheists, happier Buddhists.

— David Michie

“Even though cats spend most of the day dozing comfortably, we like our humans to keep busy. Not in a noisy or intrusive way-just active enough to entertain us during those periods when we choose to remain awake. Why else do you think most cats have a favorite theater seat-a preferred spot on a windowsill, porch, gatepost, or cupboard top? Don't you realize, dear reader, that you are our entertainment?”

— David Michie

How to deal with problems in life. They are never asked for, but how we deal with them defines our future happiness or unhappiness.

— David Michie

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of present-moment reality. It wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments. If we are not fully present for many of those moments, we may not only miss what is most valuable in our lives but also fail to realize the richness and the depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation.

— David Michie

“When we think of other beings with compassion, this makes us happiest. When we consider how to help others avoid suffering and give them contentment, we, ourselves, are the first to benefit.”

— David Michie

“It was the ruling King of Bhutan himself who, in the 1980s, set up a system that measured national advancement according to Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product.”

— David Michie

Buddha was once asked to describe the essence of his teachings," Rinpoche said. "Do you know what he replied? 'Abandon harmfulness. Cultivate goodness. Subdue your mind.

— David Michie

“Yes, karma propels us into all kinds of unexpected situations," His Holiness said. "This is another reason we should behave with love and compassion toward all living beings. We never know in what circumstances we will meet up with them again. Sometimes even in this same lifetime.”

— David Michie

If pleasure is a circumstantial enjoyment, happiness refers to a deeper sense of fulfilment not dependent on circumstance, and which is usually accompanied by qualities such as peacefulness, purposefulness and benevolence. Unlike pleasure, which requires situations to be constantly renewed or upgraded, happiness is a state of mind that grows the more we experience it.

— David Michie

In Buddhism we would say that you are lazy ... Despising yourself, thinking you are no good, saying 'I can't do this.' This is the mind of weakness. You must work to overcome it .

— David Michie

“Karma operates not so much as some external credit-and-debit ledger but more as an energy, a charge that grows over time. This is how even small acts of generosity, especially when motivated by the best intention, can become causes for much greater wealth in the future.”

— David Michie

How do you think the Dharma is able to describe the death process in such detail? It's not a whole bunch of lamas sit around speculating on what might happen. It's because they actually go through it. Frequently.

— David Michie

“You now have first-hand knowledge of how our of control the mind is.”

— David Michie

“What if someone conducted tens of thousands of hours of rigorous investigation to discover truths about the nature of consciousness? Suppose other people replicated the research over hundreds of years. How amazing would it be not just to have an intellectual understanding of the mind's potential but also to establish the most rapid and direct way to realize it? That is the science of Buddhism.”

— David Michie

“For all of us with consciousness"-the Dalai Lama returned to his seat-"our life is very precious. Therefore, we need to protect all sentient beings very much. Also, we must recognize that we share the same two basic wishes: the wish to enjoy happiness and the wish to avoid suffering." These”

— David Michie

Without question, the most important practice is bodhichitta. The wish to attain enlightenment to lead all living beings to that same state ... This mind of enlightenment is based on pure, great compassion, which in turn is based on pure, great love. In each case pure means impartial. Without conditions. And great means benefiting all living beings, not just the small group of those we happen to like at the moment.

— David Michie

Four tools, Geshe Wangpo said, looking at

— David Michie

“From our perspective the only way to enjoy a state of permanent happiness and avoid all suffering is to achieve enlightenment. This is why bodhichitta is considered to be the most altruistic of motivations. We wish to achieve enlightenment not only for ourselves but to help every other living being achieve the same state.”

— David Michie

“As we think, so we become.”

— David Michie

“Before we eat any meal, vegetarian or meat, we should always remember the beings that have died so that we can eat. Their lives were just as important to them as your life is to you. Think of them with gratitude and pray that their sacrifice will be a cause for them to be reborn in a higher realm-and for you to be healthy, so that you can quickly, quickly reach full enlightenment in order to lead them to that same state.”

— David Michie

“First, people were not thinking about what they were doing 47 per cent of the time. Second, people were unhappier when their minds were wandering than they were not. And third, what people were thinking was a better predictor of their happiness than what they were doing.”

— David Michie

“Like depression, loneliness arises from unhappiness creating thoughts feeding into the insula, deepening the negative spiral of thoughts and feelings.”

— David Michie

“Meditation provides the tools not only to abide more comfortably in the present, but also to observe rather than engage with unhappiness-creating thoughts.”

— David Michie

“His Holiness leaned forward in his chair, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Isn't that interesting? Only this morning at the temple, we saw novice monks competing for admission to the monastery. There are too many novices and not enough places. But turning to the jail, nobody wants to go there, even though the conditions are easier than in a monastery. This proves that it is not so much the circumstances of our lives that make us happy or unhappy but the way we see them." There were murmurs of agreement. "Do we believe that, whatever our circumstances, we have the chance to live happy and meaningful”

— David Michie

“It's our version of "me" that causes us the most stress and heartache. Which is why it comes as a relief to discover that this version is as transient as a cloud in the sky. Focus on the cloud and the result is uncertain. Focus on the sky and we discover clarity.”

— David Michie

“When we understand the true nature of mind, we start to see these thoughts merely as thoughts instead of engaging with them. They arise, abide, and pass. They have no substance and certainly no power unless we git it to them.”

— David Michie

“,,, let go of the real source of our unhappiness: our own self-obsession. Stress, loneliness, pessimism, financial worries, and unhappy relationships all have one thing in common: they're all about "me".”

— David Michie

“When we're being mindful, we're paying attention to the present moment, deliberately and non-judgementally. When we're meditating, we're being mindful of a specific object, such as the sensation of the breath at the tip of our nostrils, for a sustained period of time.”

— David Michie

“The researchers summarized: "A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.". Long ago, Buddhists reached much the same conclusion.”

— David Michie