Life is short and the time of death is uncertain; so apply yourself to meditation. Avoid doing evil, and acquire merit, to the best of your ability, even at the cost of life itself. In short: Act so that you have no cause to be ashamed of yourselves and hold fast to this rule.
Interpretation
Life is fleeting, so focus on self-improvement and moral actions.
This quote emphasizes the importance of making the most of the limited time we have. It encourages individuals to engage in meditation and moral conduct, suggesting that one should strive for personal growth and ethical living, regardless of the challenges they face. The call to act without shame reinforces the idea of accountability and integrity in one's actions.
In practice
In a motivational speech about seizing opportunities, one might use this quote to inspire action.
All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.
He who knows that all things are his mind, That all with which he meets are friendly, Is ever joyful.
When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick
I have no desire for wealth or possessions, and so I have nothing. I do not experience the initial suffering of having to accumulate possessions, the intermediate suffering of having to guard and keep up possessions, nor the final suffering of loosing the possessions.
When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick: every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower. One only throws a stick at a lion once.
In the gap between thoughts_x000D_ nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.
Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.
A credible witness to truth and to the values of the Gospel is urgently needed.
I am not more gifted than anybody else. I am just more curious than the average person and I will not give up a problem until I have found the proper solution.
Everything you do is right, nothing you do is wrong, yet you must still make ceaseless effort.
Women and wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small, and the want great
The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do that counts.
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