Buddhist Psychology Quotes

“Every object that brings us pleasure can also bring us suffering and anxiety. The more we value an object, the more we worry that it will be broken or taken from us. That is the nature of our mind and of our relationship with objects.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“A mind cannot exist independently, without an object. By its very nature, mind is the subject, the agent, the doer. Subject and object are interdependent—without one the other cannot exist. This is why if, through deep meditation, we free our minds from interaction with all external and internal objects, the subjective mind will naturally focus on itself as the object.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“We are always making assumptions about wholes based on knowing only parts.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“In Tibetan we say, “Build the dike before the water comes.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“When we misconceive reality it is very easy to become obsessed. And then, when our obsession lets us down, which will definitely happen sooner or later, we will experience anger and depression.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“Someone from a dysfunctional family or someone with no education is less likely to be able to control the anger and frustrations that arise in everyday life.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“We do not perceive things directly but perceive rather our thoughts about things. And these stories and perceptions, when accompanied by powerful emotions, can dramatically color our experiences.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that if we can maintain a calm and peaceful mind, our external surroundings can only cause us limited disturbance.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“Mind is mere experience—it is not matter; therefore its cause must be the same.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“No matter the level of subtlety of view, all Buddhist schools agree that only a previous moment of mind can cause the present moment of mind.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“Lama Yeshe says: I hope that you understand what the word “spiritual” really means. It means to search for, to investigate, the true nature of the mind. There’s nothing spiritual outside. My rosary isn’t spiritual; my robes aren’t spiritual. Spiritual means the mind, and spiritual people are those who seek its nature.4”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“Buddhism does not consider the root cause of our problems to be an external agent of this life, but rather an internal agent developed over many lifetimes—the habitual tendencies of our own minds.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“The Buddha uses the framework of the four noble truths to formulate this insight: the first truth, the truth of suffering, is the illness. The second truth, the truth of the origin of suffering, refers to the cause of the illness. The third truth, the truth of cessation, is the understanding that a complete cure is possible. And the fourth truth, the truth of the path that leads to cessation, is the cure.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“In his first teaching, the Buddha compares the stages of freeing the mind to recovery from an illness: if we don’t first recognize that we are ill, we won’t seek help.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3

“the real threats to our well-being are attachment, anger, and ignorance—the three fundamental deluded minds that lead to all other afflictions, both mental and physical.”
― Tashi Tsering, Buddhist Psychology: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3