Atisha about Buddhism

From time to time people ask me: what I find so attractive in Buddhism? Many europeans are afraid of the words meaning for them other religions except Christian one. Normally I answer that for me Buddhism is not a religion (because I was educated in an atheist state).
It's a science of the mind.

Today I found an interesting testimony -the words of Atisha about Buddhismus

The greatest achievement is selflessness. Atisha
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.


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And because I remember him, I wanted to remember to me a little text we learned by Atisha
"the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment" -
"Bodhipatapradipam"

where Atisha writes about 3 beings:
-who is looking for the pleasures of the everyday life for himself is a person of low capacities;
-who doesn't wants to make negative actions and renounced on the pleasures of the everyday life but is looking for the peace only for himself is a person of mediocre capacities
-those who wants to liberate others from sufferings even if he has to suffer himself for it, is the person of the high capacities.

and then, from 34. Atisha speaks about clairvoyance: all Buddha said clear: it's an important step, it's unpossible to work for the best of others without it. You have to work to reach it, but first you have to be stable in Vipassana.
from 46.: Then you have to understand Emptiness and this is Wisdom. So you have to meditate about absence of "I","myself" and this meditation is practice of Wisdom.

And finally this:
from 55.:The nature of existance of our everyday life (samsara) is conceptualization. Consequently, the elimination of conceptualization is the highest state of nirvana.

Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana

My article: How To Analyse Emptiness Of "I"