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Don’t power yourself or blast through; rock with the way things are.

Bernie Glassman

The pursuit of enlightenment is for the purpose of the world, not merely for the purpose of the individual. Practices for enlightenment must lead to action in the world.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Enlightenment Practice Purpose
Don’t make a whole to-do about it. Don’t get down on yourself be- cause you’re not an expert rower; don’t start reading too many books in order to do it right.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Book Order Reading
You can’t do the same stroke coming down a small stream as you would coming down Niagara Falls.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Falls Small Steam Strokes
When we go… to bear witness to life on the streets, we’re offering ourselves. Not blankets, not food, not clothes, just ourselves.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Bears Clothes Offering
Our tendency in life is to avoid things that frighten us. But in order to become whole, we need to go deeper and deeper into ourselves by reaching further and further into the things we fear.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Fear Needs Order Ourselves
The basic problem, actually, is how to get rid of the idea that we’re going to get rid of our problems. Only then can we relate directly with the real issues of our life.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Ideas Issues Problem Real Relate
When we don’t ask, we don’t let others give. When we fear rejection, we don’t let generosity arise.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Generosity Giving Rejection
It’s very rare to be in a state where there’s nothing in, where you have no attachment to any idea or concept about yourself.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Attachment Compassion Experience Yourself
Even if you’re only rowing down a stream, different things happen: maybe the wind changes, maybe the current, and suddenly everything’s different. So gently is really important.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Change Everything Maybe Wide
I always have this red nose in my pocket, and if it looks like I’m taking things too seriously, or the person I’m talking to is taking them too seriously, I put the nose on. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing or talking about, it doesn’t matter if we agree or disagree, the nose changes everything.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Looks Pockets Talking
Each of is an arm of Kannon, enabling Kannon to do her work. Like her, we’re also overwhelmed, but when we reallize that the millions of pieces are all operating as one, then there’s no problem.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Compassion Goal Pieces
The reason we get overwhelmed is that we’re attached to a certain result or taht we want to achieve a certain result or that we to achieve a certain goal.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Achieve Attached Certain Overwhelmed Result
Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning…look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Laughter Morning Wisdom
When we bear witness, when we become the situation – homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death – the right action arises by itself. We don’t have to worry about what to do.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Buddhist Death Inspirational
Don’t power yourself or blast through; rock with the way things are.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Blast Power Things Way Yourself
I honor businesses for what they do, I honor nonprofits for what they do, I honor government for what it does, and then I invite everyone to the table so that together we can come up with innovative and broad-based solutions that can serve as many people as possible.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Business Everyone Government Together

Don’t power yourself or blast through; rock with the way things are.

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Don’t power yourself or blast through; rock with the way things are.

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