Suffering, in fact, can be helpful in many ways. It spurs your motivation and as many teachings point out, without suffering there would be no determination to be free from samsara. Sadness is an effective antidote to arrogance. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
These trains of thought and states of mind are constantly changing. Like the shapes of clouds in the wind. But we attach great importance to them. An old man watching children play knows very well that their games are of little consequence. He feels neither elated or upset at what happens in their game. While […]
Keep in mind the many other beings who are suffering in the same way as you are, and pray that your suffering may absorb theirs, and that they may be liberated from all suffering. In this way, illness can teach us compassion. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Why would you invest all that energy on those plans for the future if you were not somehow blindly convinced that you are still sure to be here in this world for a long time to come? The great practitioners of the past described themselves as “yogis with the thought of impermanence implanted firmly in […]
All phenomena appear in their uniqueness as part of the continually changing pattern. These patterns are vibrant with meaning and significance at every moment; yet there is no significance to attach to such meanings beyond the moment in which they present themselves. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
In order to be able to practice Dharma, it may happen that you have to endure illness, or suffer from heat, cold, hunger or thirst. But since these short-term sufferings will help you purify your past negative actions and, in the long term, to reach ultimate buddhahood, accept them with joy, like a swan gliding […]
To bring about a true change in your attitudes is hard at first. But if you understand the meaning behind this mind training, and keep on trying to apply it, you will find that it helps you in every difficult situation, just as a well-designed vehicle can travel any distance quickly with ease. Dilgo Khyentse […]
We should think like this: ‘May all the torments destined for me in the future, the heat and cold of the hells and the hunger and thirst of the famished spirits, come to me now. And may all the karma, obscuration and defilement causing beings to fall into an infernal destiny sink into my heart […]
There is no emotion that you cannot be rid of, because emotions are simply thoughts, and thoughts are just like the wind moving through the empty sky. There is nothing to them. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
We should learn to see everyday life as mandala – the luminous fringes of experience, which radiate spontaneously from the empty nature of our being. The aspects of our mandala are the day-to-day objects of our life experience moving in the dance or play of the universe. By this symbolism the inner teacher reveals the […]
When some great teachers of the past reflected on the rarity of human existence, they did not even feel like sleeping; they could not bear to waste a single moment. They put all their energy into spiritual practice. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
From the point of view of one who seeks enlightenment, it is far better to be a human being than to be born even in the heavens of the gods, where there is nectar to live on and all wishes are granted by the wish-fulfilling tree; where there is neither fatigue nor difficulty, neither sickness […]
All difficulties come from not thinking of others. Whatever you are doing, look constantly into the mirror of your mind and check whether your motive is for yourself or for others. Gradually you will develop the ability to master your mind in all circumstances; and by following in the footsteps of the accomplished masters of […]
Banishing all hope and all fear, rest in the diamond-like certainty that the primordial simplicity of awareness is itself buddhahood. That is the way of perfect bliss, in which all the qualities of enlightenment will flourish without effort. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
A dharma practitioner should be able to cope with all possible circumstances, neither elated by the good nor cast into despair by the bad. In either case, free from expectation and doubt, one should remember the guru. Happiness and sorrow, joy and suffering, though nothing in themselves, can become either a help or a hindrance […]
A vulture, when it has finished feeding off a carcass, abandons it and soars away. Similarly, when the time comes, your mind, having finished with this life, will abandon your corpse and fly off into the bardo. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
An explorer who discovers a treasure island can fill his ship with gold, diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. But his good fortune has nothing to compare with human life, which offers us something far more precious than any gold and precious stones-the chance to reflect on and practice the Dharma and give meaning to our […]
Some people spend all their energy, and even risk their lives to achieve fame. Fame and notoriety are both no more than an empty echo. Your reputation is an alluring mirage that can easily lead you astray. Discard it without a second thought, like the snort you blow from your nose. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
The three essential factors on which the accomplishment of the Dharma depends are: to meet with a qualified teacher; by receiving the instructions, to cultivate the correct attitude; and finally, to have the necessary material conditions. If we do not follow a genuine master, we will never know how to practice the teachings. If the […]
A prisoner locked in jail thinks all the time about different ways of getting free — how he might climb over the walls, ask powerful people to intervene, or raise money to bribe someone. So, too, seeing the suffering and imperfection of samsara, never stop thinking about how to gain liberation, with a deep feeling […]
