Peace Does Not Come Through Prayer, We

When We Think Carefully, We See That The Brief Elation We Experience When Appeasing Sensual Impulses May Not Be Very Different From What The Drug Addict Feels When Indulging His Or Her Habit. Temporary Relief Is Soon Followed By A Craving For More. And In Just The Same Way That Taking Drugs In The End Only Causes Trouble, So, Too, Does Much Of What We Undertake To Fulfill Our Immediate Sensory Desires.

Some People Get The Impression That Buddhism Talks Too Much About Suffering. In Order To Become Prosperous, A Person Must Initially Work Very Hard, So He Or She Has To Sacrifice A Lot Of Leisure Time. Similarly, The Buddhist Is Willing To Sacrifice Immediate Comfort So That He Or She Can Achieve Lasting Happiness.

Because We All Share An Identical Need For Love, It Is Possible To Feel That Anybody We Meet, In Whatever Circumstances, Is A Brother Or Sister. No Matter How New The Face Or How Different The Dress And Behavior, There Is No Significant Division Between Us And Other People. It Is Foolish To Dwell On External Differences, Because Our Basic Natures Are The Same.

The Way To Develop Inner Peace Through Meditation Begins With The Recognition That The Destroyer Of Inner Peace Is Not Some External Foe, But Is Within Us. Therefore, The Solution Is Within Us Too. However, That Inner Change Does Not Take Place Immediately In The Way That We Switch On A Light, But Takes Weeks, Months And Years.

The Mind Must Be Developed By You Alone. There Is No Way For Others To Do The Work And For You To Reap The Results. Reading Someone Else's Blueprint Of Mental Progress Will Not Transfer Its Realizations To You. You Have To Develop Them Yourself.