--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not just philosophy, not just words…" description: "\"It's not just philosophy, not just words; it's knowing how the mind functions; only then can you develop loving-kindness; only then can you become a sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/thubten-yeshe-19793_function_it-s-not-just-philosophy-not-just-words_751792.jpg" --- # It's not just philosophy, not just words; it's knowing how… ![“It's not just philosophy, not just words; it's knowing how the mind functions; only then can you develop loving-kindness; only then can you become a spiritual person.” quote by Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/thubten-yeshe-19793_function_it-s-not-just-philosophy-not-just-words_751792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/thubten-yeshe-19793_function_it-s-not-just-philosophy-not-just-words_751792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/thubten-yeshe-19793_function_it-s-not-just-philosophy-not-just-words_751792.jpg) > “It's not just philosophy, not just words; it's knowing how the mind functions; only then can you develop loving-kindness; only then can you become a spiritual person.” [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights understanding the mind as prerequisite for compassion and spiritual growth. **In simple terms:** Know your mind to develop kindness. Key Takeaway Study mental processes to foster compassion. Themes mindfulness compassion spirituality Mood calm inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation practice - psychotherapy - teaching sessions Key Concepts self-awareness psychology Buddhist ethics Questions to Reflect On - What mental habits block compassion? - How can insight translate into action? A Different Perspective Understanding alone may not guarantee kindness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Loving kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-kindness/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-person/) ## Related quotes > [To practice Zen Buddhism is to train oneself to eliminate hatred, anger and selfishness and to develop loving-kindness towards all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thich-thien-an/to-practice-zen-buddhism-is-to-train-oneself-to-eliminate-hatred/) [Thich Thien-An](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thich-thien-an/) > [Knowing your own mind is the solution to all our problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/knowing-your-own-mind-is-the-solution-to-all-our-problems/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Kindness is a spiritual gentleman. Meanness is a spiritual rascal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/kindness-is-a-spiritual-gentleman-meanness-is-a-spiritual-rascal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Believing in a non-existent unconscious simply reveals the not knowing about how the mind and our memory fundamentally works or who we really are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-klingenberg/believing-in-a-non-existent-unconscious-simply-reveals-the-not/) [Arne Klingenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-klingenberg/) > [Actual knowledge is identical with its object: in the individual, potential knowledge is in time prior to actual knowledge, but in the universe as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/actual-knowledge-is-identical-with-its-object-in-the-individual/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Deep down in your heart know that all is well. Understand that the Universe is your friend and can never hurt you. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/deep-down-in-your-heart-know-that-all-is-well-understand-that-the/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [A family can develop only with a loving woman as its center.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/a-family-can-develop-only-with-a-loving-woman-as-its-center/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing or even reading long, dense books. In fact, it is something men and women of action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/philosophy-is-not-just-about-talking-or-lecturing-or-even-reading/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [Environmental philosophy just is philosophy full stop. It only sprung up as distinct subfield because mainstream philosophy was ignoring some of the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/environmental-philosophy-just-is-philosophy-full-stop-it-only-sprung/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Shamanism is just show business and philosophy is just a branch of that vaudevillian impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/shamanism-is-just-show-business-and-philosophy-is-just-a-branch-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Art requires philosophy, just as philosophy requires art. Otherwise, what would become of beauty?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/art-requires-philosophy-just-as-philosophy-requires-art-otherwise/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Everything that you could think about in life, or experience, or be interested in, theoretically should be expressed or dealt with in cinema. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/everything-that-you-could-think-about-in-life-or-experience-or-be/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [Sometimes, in doing philosophy, one just wants to utter an inarticulate sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/sometimes-in-doing-philosophy-one-just-wants-to-utter-an-inarticulate/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [It is an acknowledged truth in philosophy that a just theory will always be confirmed by experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/it-is-an-acknowledged-truth-in-philosophy-that-a-just-theory-will/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [Philosophy just puts everything before us, and neither explains nor deduces anything.-Since everything lies open to view there is nothing to explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-just-puts-everything-before-us-and-neither-explains-nor/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## More by Thubten Yeshe > [If you expect your life to be full of ups and downs, then your mind will be much more peaceful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/if-you-expect-your-life-to-be-full-of-ups-and-downs-then-your-mind/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [There's a big difference between being able to explain religion intellectually and transforming that knowledge into spiritual experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/there-s-a-big-difference-between-being-able-to-explain-religion/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [At certain times, a silent mind is very important, but 'silent' does not mean closed. The silent mind is an alert, awakened mind; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/at-certain-times-a-silent-mind-is-very-important-but-silent-does-not/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [The mind is very powerful. Therefore, it requires firm guidance. A powerful jet plane needs a good pilot; the pilot of your mind should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/the-mind-is-very-powerful-therefore-it-requires-firm-guidance-a/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [When a strong wind blows, the clouds vanish and blue sky appears. Similarly, when the powerful wisdom that understand the nature of the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/when-a-strong-wind-blows-the-clouds-vanish-and-blue-sky-appears/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [“Lord Buddha never put much emphasis on belief. Instead, he exhorted us to investigate and try to understand the reality of our own being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/lord-buddha-never-put-much-emphasis-on-belief-instead-he-exhorted-us/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Karma is not something complicated or philosophical. Karma means watching your body, watching your mouth, and watching your mind. Trying to keep these three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/karma-is-not-something-complicated-or-philosophical-karma-means/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [The narrow mind rejects; wisdom accepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/the-narrow-mind-rejects-wisdom-accepts/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Having no background in philosophic thought and ignorant of the reasons supporting their faith, they experience great uneasiness when someone questions their beliefs. Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/having-no-background-in-philosophic-thought-and-ignorant-of-the/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Be wise. Treat yourself, your mind, sympathetically, with loving kindness. If you are gentle with yourself, you will become gentle with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/be-wise-treat-yourself-your-mind-sympathetically-with-loving-kindness/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [It is precisely because our present life is so inseparably linked with desire that we must make use of desire's tremendous energy if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/it-is-precisely-because-our-present-life-is-so-inseparably-linked/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Don't think that examining and knowing the nature of your mind is just an Eastern trip. That's a wrong conception. It's your trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/don-t-think-that-examining-and-knowing-the-nature-of-your-mind-is/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Just the idea that you are religious doesn't help at all. It does not help you; it does not help others. In order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/just-the-idea-that-you-are-religious-doesn-t-help-at-all-it-does-not/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Some people live closely guarded lives, fearful of encountering someone or something that might shatter their insecure spiritual foundation. This attitude, however, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/some-people-live-closely-guarded-lives-fearful-of-encountering/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) > [Your mind is your religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-yeshe/your-mind-is-your-religion/) [Thubten Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) [Explore all 32 Thubten Yeshe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-yeshe/) ## More Function quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. 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