Bernie Glassman famous quotes

07-10-2025

Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning...look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.
-- Bernie Glassman

#Morning #Practice #Mirrors
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. We don't have to figure out solutions ahead of time. Peacemaking is the functioning of bearing witness. Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises.
-- Bernie Glassman

#Worry #Mind #Body
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. 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

#Teacher #Children #Lying
Take the selfishness out of anger and you're left with determination.
-- Bernie Glassman

#Determination #Selfishness
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. 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, â€œTake care of yourself right now. 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

#Teacher #Book #Caring
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. The fewer or less diverse voices you invite to the table, the smaller and narrower your solution will be and the fewer people it will serve.
-- Bernie Glassman

#Business #Government #Voice
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
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. 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. If we weren't attached we wouldn't be overwhelmed. It's endless. And we just take one step after the next
-- Bernie Glassman

#Compassion #Goal #Steps
Look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.
-- Bernie Glassman

#Mirrors #Laughing #Looks
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

#Clothes #Offering #Bears

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