Quote of The Day (182)
This section contains short teachings extracted from the messages that Sifu Kuan Ming received over the years, since 1979. The quotes contained herein are a collection of the daily quotes for your contemplation.
To allow your mind to direct your activities without control is to live a life without any discipline. To have such a mind, you will find it difficult to understand what life is. To possess such a state of mind is to be ignorant of the joys of a calm and quiet mind. (D-820209-1)
The Virtue of Patience
To be patient is to be able to take a lot of difficulties and pains and undesirable situations with full stride and confidence without complaints because even such sufferings are not permanent. To be patient is to be able to accept all kinds of people, even those who speak ill of you and your religion. To be patient, you will need to undergo severe tests in your daily lives, and until the day arrives when you can accept all that comes unto you with a calm mind, you have not achieved this great virtue yet. (D-820224-1)
Life is to be lived selflessly, meaningfully, fruitfully, and preciously. Life must be lived in awareness so that there is understanding of what it is, so that there will be the awakening to the pains of reality, and so that there will be the yearning to leave behind Samsara totally, which means that all the pleasures of this world will not be able to hold you back because you have understood the meaning of illusion and emptiness! (D-831205-2)
No matter what others say about your practice, do not be disturbed by their comments; just be sure that you are true to your motivation and Path and aim to continue practising whatever way you feel is suitable to you as long as the deeds of body, speech, and mind are pure in essence and are performed for the benefit of others. Be patient with painful remarks, be sturdy in cultivation, and be humble in your attitude, and there is no way that they can disturb you! (D-831201-1)
To make a day pleasant, start with a calm mind, maintain love and understanding for others, and look forward to giving any help that you can give without making any distinction in your act. Whether an act is charitable or not, that is not to be considered just as long as you have the heart to provide some help that will benefit someone; that is a good act. And evil acts are those that bring suffering and harm to others. Knowing this, it is not difficult to know whether each act that you perform is good or evil. (D-820205-5)
In life, each moment is quite different from the next, and therefore you have to understand that the past cannot be relived and that you cannot be what you have been before. One must expect to have moments of joy and sadness, for they must exist together in order for life to become meaningful, for you to enjoy, and for you to understand each moment of existence. (D-820203-1)
Giving assistance to the poor, homeless, and sick is to practise loving-kindness and compassion. It is also a means of understanding very clearly the meaning of life and the experiencing of impermanence.
Continue to cultivate with sincerity and zeal so that nothing can change your aim. It must be that as long as you have life, you must practise that which is good and abandon that which is evil. (D-831205-1)
Knowing the importance of leading a life that is worthwhile, many know that to cultivate is to bring great rewards to future lives, and many already know what is best for them if they were to walk the Path to Liberation, but how many are following and practising what the knowledge has given them? (D-820128-1)
Let there be contentment; let there be happiness arising from your worship; let there be calmness derived from your way of practice. When you have found the Way that is noble, honourable, selfless, beneficial, and workable for you—there is no need to wish for the way of practice or worship as adopted by others! (D-831123-2)
When you are the one who lives and appreciates each moment of the day, the day is well spent, and idle hours will not be wasted but will be spent in true cultivation, especially the cultivation of the mind. The mind must be looked into; the mind must be calmed so that at all times of the day, you are aware of the happenings, and you will be right on the Path with clarity and awareness. (D-820126-2)
The fifteenth day of the lunar month is a very auspicious day for the beings who revere it. On this day, the moon is at its brightest, and so is the receptivity of those capable of feeling the wholeness and oneness of its influence. Keep this day pure, keep this day holy, and keep this day calm, just as you can feel the calmness of the moon, just as the light of the moon can bring such indescribable feelings of serenity to your mind and to the universe. (D-820208-1)
There will be temptations for those who are seriously cultivating because in their being in this state, they bring forth all manners of tests for the mind. To face your mind squarely, those tests squarely, you need to seek to improve, and then you will retain that mind which is clear enough for you to see the problems that are surrounding the mind. (D-820122-1)
What have you done today? What have you achieved? There is no need to achieve in the material sense in order to consider it as an achievement. As long as you have spent your time fruitfully and have brought about no harm to others but have instead been in the position to make the day more pleasant for others, and as long as you know what you are doing each moment, you’re living! (D-820126-3)
Kuan Yin worship is the most natural thing in the universe. Just by being a true person who cares for others and helps others at any time they need your help or at any time you are confronted with a situation and you provide the help—that is Kuan Yin worship. When you are able to hold on to noble aspirations and all your actions of body, speech, and mind are motivated by compassion, that kind of worship is very much better and purer than any of the established methods of worship, no matter how long they have been founded. (D-831123-1)
Do not be half-hearted in your practice and cultivation, as it will mean you are cheating yourself. Wake up from the dream, from the illusion that the conditions of the world have trapped your mind into believing that they are real and permanent. Nothing is permanent, not even your own life. (D-831121-3)
Go about your life with a grander purpose and learn to live in happiness with your own self and then with others. If that is already your purpose, then practise compassion and cultivate the virtues of life so as to avoid any act that is unwholesome and brings harm to yourself and to others. (D-831121-2)
Try to learn to accept life as it comes. Be content with what you have. When your family is well, be grateful; when you have enough to provide for your family, be satisfied; when you have good health, be joyful that you have more happiness than others already, and this should start you to cultivate diligently and give some thoughts to the sufferings of others. (D-831121-1)
Reading a book or many books will not liberate you because life is an experience that consists of myriads of experiences that are the true teachers if you are aware of their inner meanings. Do not just hope and pray that things will happen to you according to your wishes. This is the lowest form of cultivation. Rise above this level, get up from the dreamy state, and read, see, and practise Dharma, the way that is beneficial to yourself and to others. (D-831115-2)
Aspirations are the greatest motivations in the search for liberation. No one can tell you how you should practice or how you should live your life. By yourself you will commit yourself to the Path that is good, that will lead you to liberation. There is no need to seek the help of a guru or a god to help you through, for there is no convenient way. Dharma must be learned by oneself and then practised to know the meanings. One cannot wish for attainment. (D-831115-1)
The mind needs nothing, just the purification of all defilements that are causing you to be in this state of living, of trapping you into miserable existences. Nothing can be of any real benefit to you. Leave that which brings about encrustments, want nothing, fear nothing, just live each day well and in full awareness of the actions of body, speech, and mind, and ensure that non-virtuous deeds are avoided. Practise the good qualities of the bodhisattvas and see the real joy within them; all other worldly joys are really empty joys, temporary and ending in suffering and disappointment. (D-831109-4)
Some people pray for the ability to feel the divine, to communicate, to be able to cure others, and all other kinds of motivations that may sound noble at first glance. But it is wrong aspiration, it is wrong understanding, for the purpose of worship is not for any self-gain that may confuse the mind and riddle it with delusions. All kinds of mystical powers are useless in the practice of compassion, in the search for Buddhahood. Only the ego is developed, only pride will be strengthened, and only greed will be established within the mind, setting the way to unwholesome thoughts, desires, and actions. (D-831109-2)
In your prayers, open up your heart and mind and embrace all; pray for all—those whom you love, yourself, and those whom you have no idea of loving, especially your enemies. Pray for peace of mind, within oneself and others, and pray for the well-being, the wholesomeness, and the strength to practise virtues throughout life. Let your prayers be kind to all, let your actions be beneficial to all, let your petitions be for all kinds of beings, and then you are all-embracing, a Kuan Yin! (D-831109-1, 831029-6)
Each time you breathe in, remember Me; each time you breathe out, also remember Me. Whenever you breathe in, that is the vibration of “Kuan,” and each time you breathe out, that is “Yin”. “Kuan Yin” is you, is your life, is in you and outside you. As long as you live, Kuan Yin is part of you; that is the way to be a true disciple so that moment to moment, I am in your mind, within your awareness, so how could you not remember your cultivation? (D-831029-5)
The feelings of joy and sadness, all such emotions that arise out of your sincere care for others—they too are aspects of Me, your Kuan Shih Yin. To find Me in yourself is to see Me in others. Others who cause you to be gentle, sympathetic, loving, generous, noble, righteous, etc., are manifestations of My spirit. They become your trainers, they become your teachers, so you must respect them and be grateful to them for playing those parts. (D-831029-4)
Happy Chinese New Year of the Horse 2026! May your noble spirit of self-reliance, fortified by the teachings, faith, and diligence, empower you to overcome all challenges, obstacles, and hindrances in the year ahead!
Life is for the moment, and it is the moment of the day that we must learn to live. Live for the day, from moment to moment, face the day with calmness and with true understanding, and all problems arising will be received and solved. (D-820126-1)
Do not fear what is in store for the coming year. Live it well through right understanding, and a good harvest will come by. Always appreciate each day and make good use of it. Life is short and uncertain; do not waste it in fruitless actions. Do not waste time moaning over the past or fearing the future. Life is now, and time is running out. Set your mind to cultivation! (D-881213-3)
There is nowhere to seek Kuan Yin except within your own heart, within your own mind. The body, speech, and mind become Kuan Yin whenever purity is manifested. So, there must be true love and compassion in all your daily actions if you are seeking Me. (D-831029-3)
The action of selfless love brings immeasurable benefits to all. Selfless love is free from being possessive in any way; it is an energy that flows from one to others, to those who wish to receive. Do not measure how much that you can give but give freely. Each time your heart is filled with love and mercy for others, you become Me, My embodiment. Each time a being is kind and acts compassionately towards others, I am there, within his body, speech, and mind. (D-831029-2)
Like the sun that shines for all, like the rain that falls for all, like the love and compassion of the Buddhas of the Universe, let your actions too be for all. Allow no discrimination, entertain no unwholesome thoughts, and desist from opinions; whatever you do, do it for the benefit of all beings. (D-831029-1)
Those who allow the sound of Om Mani Padme Hum to flow from their lips must practise compassion, must practise gentleness and kindness, and must practise severe discipline in order to gain wisdom. Any development that leads to attachment should be avoided. (D-831109-3)
Chant the Om. Bring to mind the wonderful sound of the Om; dwell upon it, merge with it! Be part of the Universe! Surrender your body and mind and feel only the vibrations of love and compassion; that is the real nature of you. The sound of Om is pure, is mighty, is infinite. Let Om become you! (D-830301-1)