The man who has no evil cannot be hurt by evil.

Due to having many parts there is no unity, There is not anything without parts. Further, without one, there is not many. Also, without existence there is no non-existence.

- Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland 71"


They, the enlightened, intent on jhana, delighting in stilling & renunciation, self-awakened & mindful: even the devas view them with envy.

- Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Through the round of many births I roamed without reward, without rest, seeking the house-builder. Painful is birth again & again. House-builder, you're seen! You will not build a house again. All your rafters broken, the ridge pole destroyed, gone to the Unformed, the mind has come to the end of craving.

- Dhammapada, 11, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.


Some people live closely guarded lives, fearful of encountering someone or something that might shatter their insecure spiritual foundation. This attitude, however, is not the fault of religion but of their own limited understanding. True Dharma leads in exactly the opposite direction. It enables one to integrate all the many diverse experiences of life into a meaningful and coherent whole, thereby banishing fear and insecurity completely.

- Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"

The mind is something more radiant than anything else can be, but because counterfeits--passing defilements--come and obscure it, it loses its radiance, like the sun when obscured by clouds. Don't go thinking that the sun goes after the clouds. Instead, the clouds come drifting along and obscure the sun.

- Ajaan Mun, "Heart Released"

A man approached the Blessed One and wanted to have all his philosophical questions answered before he would practice. In response, the Buddha said, It is as if a man had been wounded by a poisoned arrow and when attended to by a physician were to say, I will not allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned the caste, the age, the occupation, the birthplace, and the motivation of the person who wounded me. That man would die before having learned all this. In exactly the same way, anyone who should say, I will not follow the teaching of the Blessed One until the Blessed One has explained all the multiform truths of the world-that person would die before the Buddha had explained all this.

- from the Majjhima Nikaya