A nation can assume that the addition of the words "under God" to its pledge of allegiance gives evidence that its citizens actually believe in God whereas all it really proves is that they believe in "believing" in God
Huston SmithRead
After his great awakening, the Buddha continued to meditate and to devote himself to others; otherwise his vision would have receded into a pleasant memory.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of action and dedication after gaining insight or enlightenment.
The quote reflects on the actions of the Buddha after his enlightenment, highlighting that sustaining insights requires ongoing effort and commitment to help others. It suggests that merely having a profound realization is not enough; one must actively apply that understanding in service to the world to prevent it from fading into an unattainable ideal.
Themes
BuddhaMeditationActionEnlightenmentService
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about personal growth and helping others, this quote can highlight the importance of action following enlightenment.
More from Huston Smith
All quotes βOne reason education undoes belief is its teaching of evolution; Darwin's own drift from orthodoxy to agnosticism was symptomatic. Martin Lings is probably right in saying that more cases of loss of religious faith are to be traced to the theory of evolution ... than to anything else.
Huston SmithRead
So always, if we look back, concern for face-to-face morality, and its modern emphasis on justice as well, have historically evolved as religious issues.
Huston SmithRead
The crisis that the world finds itself in as it swings on the hinge of a new millennium is located in something deeper than particular ways of organizing political systems and economies.
Huston SmithRead
...conversation can be as mutually incomprehensible as foreign languages. We need the different and complementary perspectives of the various yogas - and ideally of all religions - not only to reach God but to reach each other.
Huston SmithRead
In the post-individualistic era, science and spirituality will become allies, and human beings will realize a vast potentiality now only dimly felt.
Huston SmithRead
Similar quotes
If you want to make life easy, make it hard.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
I learned many years ago never to waste time trying to convince my colleagues.
Albert EinsteinRead
Union in privacy (with one's wife); boldness; storing away useful items; watchfulness; and not easily trusting others; these five things are to be learned from a crow.
ChanakyaRead
To accept good advice is but to increase one's own ability.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's positive and that it is not worse, rather than the uncomfortable edges of bitterness for the negatives and that it is not better.
Lena HorneRead
What greater wealth is there than to own your life and to spend it on growing? Every living thing must grow. It can't stand still. It must grow or perish.
Ayn RandRead