We are not simply passive receptors of events. At all times we are actively projecting our own personal version of reality onto the world around us. Two people in the same circumstances will have very different experiences of what happened. This is because they have different karma.

I knew that behind this appearance was another reality. As I was discovering, even the most powerful first impressions could mask a very different truth.

“We all face this same choice when dealing with problems. We don’t ask for them. We don’t want them. But the way we deal with them is what’s most important. If we are wise, the greatest problems can lead to the greatest insights.”

“Isn’t that interesting? Only this morning at the temple, we saw novice monks competing for admission to the monastery. There are too many novices and not enough places. But turning to the jail, nobody wants to go there, even though the conditions are easier than in a monastery. This proves that it is not so much the circumstances of our lives that

“If hard work is only a condition, then what is the karmic cause for success?” she asked. His Holiness gave her a look of immense benevolence. “Generosity,” he answered. “The success you currently enjoy arises from your past generosity. And the generosity you are practicing now means that you will enjoy more success in the future.”

“The Dharma is an inner journey,” Geshe Wangpo said, touching his heart. “Not about saying you are Buddhist, or wearing clothes to show you are Buddhist, or even believing you are Buddhist. What is ‘Buddhist’?” He gestured with open hands. “Just a word. Just a label. What is the value of a label if the product inside isn’t authentic?

“To stop thinking about their time inside as a waste of their life and instead to see it as an amazing opportunity for personal growth. There are some who do, and the transformation in those people is incredible. They are able to find real meaning and purpose, and they come out as completely changed people.” “Very good,” His Holiness said, smiling

Karma operates not so much as some external credit-and-debit ledger but more as an energy, a charge that grows over time. This is how even small acts of generosity, especially when motivated by the best intention, can become causes for much greater wealth in the future.” The actress and her colleagues were studying him closely. “Where it gets

It was not my circumstances that were causing me distress but my belief about these circumstances.