---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a certain kind of action that…"
description: "\"“There is a certain kind of action that leads to freedom and fulfillment,” Krishna begins. “A certain kind of action that is always aligned with our tr..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg"
---

#  There is a certain kind of action that leads to freedom…

![“There is a certain kind of action that leads to freedom and fulfillment,” Krishna begins. “A certain kind of action that is always aligned with our true nature.” This is the action that is motivated by dharma. This is the action taken in the service of our sacred calling, our duty, our vocation…” quote by Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg)

> ““There is a certain kind of action that leads to freedom and fulfillment,” Krishna begins. “A certain kind of action that is always aligned with our true nature.” This is the action that is motivated by dharma. This is the action taken in the service of our sacred calling, our duty, our vocation. In dharma, it is possible to take passionate action without creating suffering. It is possible to find authentic fulfillment of all human possibilities.””

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Action aligned with one's true nature and duty brings freedom and fulfillment without causing suffering.

**In simple terms:** Living true purpose brings freedom and joy.

Key Takeaway

Act from duty, not desire.

Themes

freedom fulfillment duty authenticity

Mood

peaceful inspired reflective

Type

philosophical spiritual

When to use this quote

- career choice
- volunteering
- creative projects
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

dharma aligned action non‑attachment

Questions to Reflect On

- What duties feel authentic to you?
- How can you act without creating suffering?

A Different Perspective

May be hard to discern true duty from societal expectations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [True nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-nature/)

## Related quotes

> [“Many of us ordinary folk have tasted these moments of "union" - on the ladder, in the pond, in the jungle, on the hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/many-of-us-ordinary-folk-have-tasted-these-moments-of-union-on-the/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [Some people are afraid of generosity. They feel they will be taken advantage of or oppressed. In cultivating generosity, we are only oppressing our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-chah/some-people-are-afraid-of-generosity-they-feel-they-will-be-taken/)

[Ajahn Chah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-chah/)

> [Whatever does not spring from a man's free choice, or is only the result of instruction and guidance, does not enter into his very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/whatever-does-not-spring-from-a-man-s-free-choice-or-is-only-the/)

[Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/)

> [“Acting with discipline requires you to know your true nature and, having come to know it, to bring it under control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/acting-with-discipline-requires-you-to-know-your-true-nature-and/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [Your true nature doesn't come out. So the gods let you do what you want because free will would be compromised if they showed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarsem-singh/your-true-nature-doesn-t-come-out-so-the-gods-let-you-do-what-you/)

[Tarsem Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarsem-singh/)

> [Our Soul is a spark of the Divine. It is pure and perfect. Evil deeds merely obstruct our vision of the true nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/our-soul-is-a-spark-of-the-divine-it-is-pure-and-perfect-evil-deeds/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“Hockey is not for pussies. Technically, it’s defined as a sport. Words like play and game get thrown around liberally to shield its true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-meader/hockey-is-not-for-pussies-technically-it-s-defined-as-a-sport-words/)

[Kate Meader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-meader/)

> [A person's true nature is revealed by how they treat those they have no reason to be nice to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/a-person-s-true-nature-is-revealed-by-how-they-treat-those-they-have/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [The relentless attempts to be thin take you further and further away from what could actually end your suffering: getting back in touch with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/the-relentless-attempts-to-be-thin-take-you-further-and-further-away/)

[Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/)

> [“Now I am experiencing the Clear Light of objective reality. Nothing is happening, nothing ever has happened or ever will happen. My present sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-i-am-experiencing-the-clear-light-of-objective-reality-nothing-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/)

[Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/)

> [“Sometime before sleep it occurred to me that the true nature of being without might mean never knowing what one lacked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tosca-lee/sometime-before-sleep-it-occurred-to-me-that-the-true-nature-of-being/)

[Tosca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tosca-lee/)

> [In opening we can see how many times we have mistaken small identities and fearful beliefs for our true nature and how limiting this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/in-opening-we-can-see-how-many-times-we-have-mistaken-small/)

[Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/)

> [“Self-realization or self-knowing or awakening is about knowing/ becoming conscious of our true nature and living in harmony with the universe in an ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/self-realization-or-self-knowing-or-awakening-is-about-knowing/)

[Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/)

> [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/)

[Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/)

## More by Stephen Cope

> [“The goal of human life," says Ramakrishna, "is to meet God face to face." But the magic is this: if we look deeply into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/the-goal-of-human-life-says-ramakrishna-is-to-meet-god-face-to-face/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“longing for our idealized images of life separates us from our true selves and from our true callings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/longing-for-our-idealized-images-of-life-separates-us-from-our-true/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“I understood that the attachment to myself and my image ... was actually taking me away from my self, away from this wonderful opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/i-understood-that-the-attachment-to-myself-and-my-image-was-actually/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“The feminine comes to us in nature. Go outside. Look at the amazing waves of green, of lilacs, of blue mountains. We are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/the-feminine-comes-to-us-in-nature-go-outside-look-at-the-amazing/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“Many of us ordinary folk have tasted these moments of "union" - on the ladder, in the pond, in the jungle, on the hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/many-of-us-ordinary-folk-have-tasted-these-moments-of-union-on-the/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“Quoting from Phillip Moffitt Will Yoga and Meditation Really Change My Life? The most profound change I’m aware of just now is a growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/quoting-from-phillip-moffitt-will-yoga-and-meditation-really-change/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“Around his celestial home Indra had flung a vast net—a web stretching out infinitely in all directions. Each vertex, or node, of this net…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flung-a-vast-net-a-web-stretching/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“Quoting from Thomas Merton Dialogues With Silence The true contemplative is not one who prepares his mind for a particular message that he wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/quoting-from-thomas-merton-dialogues-with-silence-the-true/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“How important was mantra to Gandhi’s transformation? Extremely. When done systematically, mantra has a powerful effect on the brain. It gathers and focuses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/how-important-was-mantra-to-gandhi-s-transformation-extremely-when/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

> [“Our unconscious ideals cause us to sacrifice our true lives to a beautiful chimera, a haunting dream, a compelling illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/our-unconscious-ideals-cause-us-to-sacrifice-our-true-lives-to-a/)

[Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

[Explore all 11 Stephen Cope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/)

## More Buddhism quotes

> [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/)

[Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/)

> [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/)

[Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/)

> [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/)

[Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/)

> [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/)

[Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/)

> [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sorensen/the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d-teachings-from-their-broader/)

[Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sorensen/)

> [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/)

[Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/)

> [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/)

[Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/)

[Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“There is a certain kind of action that leads to freedom and fulfillment,” Krishna begins. “A certain kind of action that is always aligned with our true nature.” This is the action that is motivated by dharma. This is the action taken in the service of our sacred calling, our duty, our vocation. In dharma, it is possible to take passionate action without creating suffering. It is possible to find authentic fulfillment of all human possibilities.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen Cope"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-leads-to-freedom-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Buddhism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-leads-to-freedom-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/stephen-cope-39822_buddhism_there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-l_725497.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is a certain kind of action that leads to freedom and fulfillment,” Krishna begins. “A certain kind of…” — Stephen Cope",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Stephen Cope",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“There is a certain kind of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-leads-to-freedom-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/there-is-a-certain-kind-of-action-that-leads-to-freedom-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
