Living in a society should be our daily reminder of how much we receive from and owe to one another. A clear awareness of this debt for the kindness we receive from others can provide a stable foundation for engagement in social service or activism. Our actions can be grounded in the simple wish to care for others as we ourselves have been cared for by the world.

17th Karmapa

from the book The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

translated by Ngodup Tsering Burkhar & Damchö Diana Finnegan


Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.

Further quotes from the book The Heart Is Noble:

• The Wealth of Contentment
• Reality is your teacher
• Protective Inner Wisdom
• Authentic love toward others
• Healthy relationships
• There are no fixed starting points
• A noble vision
• Open-minded
• Capacity for Change
• Finding our nobility of heart
• Taking delight in your inner nature
• Difference without Division
• My trust is a gift
• There are no fixed starting points
• Loving Responsibility
• Boxed limitless potential
• Authentic love
• Our life is vast
• Just Love
• We truly have everything we need already