The Heart Is Noble Quotes

“Nothing is intrinsically or ultimately bad. Any situation that arises is only relatively good or bad based on many factors, including—most significantly—how you perceive the situation and how you respond to it.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“One of our most important challenges in life is to remain mindful of who we are and what we are doing. To keep this awareness present all the time is a great support for spiritual growth. One aspect of a spiritual life is to live consciously. For that, we need to be as fully aware as possible. Without mindfulness, we end up sleepwalking through life. We act without realizing what we are doing. – 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“If you can do something to change the circumstances, why be upset about it? And if you cannot do anything to change the circumstances, why be upset about it?”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“Inside each of us there is a noble heart. This heart is the source of our finest aspiration for ourselves and the world. It fills us with the courage to act on our aspirations. Our nobility may be obscured at times, covered over with small thoughts or blocked by confused and confusing emotions. But a noble heart lies intact within each of us nonetheless, ready to open and be offered to the world… When we clear away all that blocks it, this heart can change the world. - 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“Compassion itself is noble.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“When you eat meat, you ingest not only the chemical substances that animals are full of, but also the emotional and physical stress that animals experience throughout their lives and at the moment of their slaughter. That stress is also part of your meat.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“This is the dark side of the “American dream.” We blame the poor, accusing them of being poor because they do not work hard enough. Yet for the most part, the poor have less because the rich have taken more.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“When you feel authentic love toward others, you will be deeply moved to act. You will not rest until you have found ways to secure the happiness of all those you are able to include in your feelings of love. As you learn to love more and more widely, your love will motivate you to act to benefit not just the few people in your inner circle, but your whole society, and eventually, the whole world. This makes love an immensely powerful basis for social action of any sort.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“When compassion is present, we do not overlook others’ pain. Rather, there is a sense of urgency to end that pain, as if a fire has just been lit underneath you. When you have such compassion, as soon as you see suffering, you wish to jump up and act to end it at once. You have no fear and no hesitation in taking on the suffering of other people, animals, and even the planet itself. This is what I would call the right kind of fearlessness. This is the fearlessness of true heroes. - 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“The fact that you have the intention to work for others is important. Act on your wholesome intentions and altruistic impulses. If you have the thought of benefiting society, that is significant. Nurture and treasure that thought, and act on it as best you can. Doing so will certainly change you, and that in itself can be the start of the change you want to see in your world. – 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“Interdependence and emptiness show us that there are no fixed starting points. We can start from nothing. Whatever we have, wherever we are — that is the place we can start from. Many people have the idea that they lack what they need in order to start working toward their dreams. They feel they do not have enough power, or they do not have enough money. But they should know that any point is the right starting point. This is the perspective that emptiness opens up. We can start from zero. – 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“The amount of work that needs to be undertaken is great, and we bear an enormous responsibility. The future of the world depends on this. We cannot wait for others to act. Who is the hero who can save the world? It is you. It is everyone of us. If you accept this challenge, that would be truly heroic. You would be an altruistic hero. – 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“We need to let the heart lead. Compassion is indispensable; it is the single most important factor we need if we are going to have any real success in protecting the environment, in creating a just society, or simply in living wholesome, happy lives.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“When you feel authentic love toward others, you will be deeply moved to act. You will not rest until you have found ways to secure the happiness of all those you are able to include in your feelings of love. As you learn to love more and more widely, your love will motivate you to act to benefit not just the few people in your inner circle, but your whole society, and eventually, the whole world. – 17th Karmapa”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“Inside each of us there is a noble heart. This heart is the source of our finest aspiration for ourselves and the world. It fills us with the courage to act on our aspirations. Our nobility may be obscured at times, covered over with small thoughts or blocked by confused and confusing emotions. But a noble heart lies intact within each of us nonetheless, ready to open and be offered to the world… When we clear away all that blocks it, this heart can change the world.”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

“Interdependence and emptiness show us that there are no fixed starting points. Many people have the idea that they lack what they need in order to start working toward their dreams. They feel they do not have enough power, or they do not have enough money. But they should know that any point is the right starting point. This is the perspective that emptiness opens up. We can start from zero. (17th Karmapa)”
― Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out