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You can’t do the same stroke coming down a small stream as you would coming down Niagara Falls.

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
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
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
Befriend what’s happening, not just who you’re supposed to be or what the world should be like. This is where you are now. So how do you care for yourself this minute?
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Befriend Care Minute Supposed
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
In that state you’ve immediately raised the mind of compassion, because if nothing is in, everything is in, and you are now free to experience yourself as the world.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Compassion Experience Immediately Mind World
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.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Blast Power Things Way Yourself
When you care about perfection, you care about an expectation. But there is also caring for where I am right now, for what’s happening right now.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Book Caring Teacher
Our work may be important, but we don’t take it too seriously. Otherwise, we get attached to one relatively small thing and ignore the rest of life.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Important Life May Rest
I always tell people that if you get upset over what someone says, imagine him or her with a clown’s nose on and you won’t get so angry.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Nose People Upset
Most important, once we study NVC we can’t ignore the potential for transformation that lies in any difficult relationship – if we only bother to communicate with skill and empathy.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Empathy Most Relationship Skill Transformation
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
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
Look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Laughing Looks Mirror
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
We’re creating a little niche for ourselves instead of working the whole canvas.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Creating Littles Niche
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
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
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
If we weren’t attached we wouldn’t be overwhelmed. It’s endless. And we just take one step after the next
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Attached Next Step Take
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
People get stuck a lot because they’re afraid to act; in the worst case,…we get so attached to some end result that we can’t function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn’t wait.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Moving People Waiting
The extraordinary language of Nonviolent Communication is changing how parents relate to children, teachers to students, and how we all related to each other and even to ourselves. It is precise, disciplined, and enormously compassionate.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Children Lying Teacher
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
In every area, working with what you habitually reject is one of the best ways to facilitate growth and transformation.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Growth Transformation Way
When I spend time with students, they tell me that they’ve read something in a book or heard something from a teacher that they don’t think they’re living up to. And I tell them, “Take care of yourself right now.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Book Care Living Something Spend Take Teacher Tell

You can’t do the same stroke coming down a small stream as you would coming down Niagara Falls.

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You can’t do the same stroke coming down a small stream as you would coming down Niagara Falls.

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