Buddha Shakyamuni

Accept my words only when you have examined them for yourselves; do not accept them simply because of the reverence you have for me. Those who only have faith in me and affection for me will not find the final freedom. But those who have faith in the truth and are determined on the path, they will find awakening.

--Buddha Shakyamuni, from Majjhima Nikaya

The Instructions of Gampopa

Not to tame your own mind or transcend the confusion that arises in your own experience, but rashly attempting to tame the minds of others, is extremely bewildered. If you do not first tame your own mind, then attempting to tame the minds of others or alleviate the bewilderment of others will not work, because you will still be so confused that you will not know how to do it, and you will probably only generate mental affliction. --The Instructions of Gampopa, Snow Lion Publications

The basic problem

The basic problem is that one believes that everything is real, and thus everything is treated as such. --Kalu Rinpoche, Gently Whispered

Beyond there is no greater friend than gift.

Possessions are ephemeral and essenceless
Know this and give them generously to monks,
To brahmins, to the poor, and to your friends:
Beyond there is no greater friend than gift.

Having realized that possessions such as food are inconstant and fluctuate, that in changing and transforming they are devoid of essence, in order to make them meaningful try to use them properly, giving to those with good qualities (monks and brahmins), to those who suffer (the poor, the sick, and so forth), to those who help you (friends) and to those you venerate (spiritual teachers and parents). Even beyond the world there is no friend more sublime, more beneficial, than giving, because it gives rise directly and indirectly to ripened effects that are inexhaustible.

-- from Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend: with Commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche by Nagarjuna, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications

the word for "practice"

In the Tibetan tradition, the word for "practice" is the same as that for "attain." That is, in a sense, to practice is to attain. This is not necessarily a rarified goal; it is something everyone can cultivate to the extent that they try. -- Daniel Goleman, Mind-Science: An East-West Dialogue