Since our fundamental problem is distraction, its fundamental solution is to be mindful. There are an infinite number of methods for developing mindfulness that all fall into one of two categories: shamatha or vipashyana. The point of shamatha practice is to make mind malleable. But a pliant mind alone will not uproot samsara completely, we […]
Why do we need devotion? Generally speaking, we need devotion because we need enlightenment. In one way, enlightenment can be understood very simply as a release from certain obsessions and hang-ups. Until we are free from these obsessions and habits, we will wander endlessly in samsara, going through all sorts of anxiety, suffering, and so […]
The great Longchenpa said, when the moon rises and when there is a clear lake, even though you may not wish it, the moon is reflected in the lake. Likewise, as long as sentient beings have merit, the image of the Buddha and his teachings and his blessing are reflected, even though you don’t search […]
Training in discipline purifies wrongdoing and wrong thinking; training in meditation stabilises right view, right motivation and right action; and training in wisdom liberates us from the root of ignorance. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Ultimately, in order to attain enlightenment, we must exhaust all our karma, both good and bad, not merely collect as much good karma as we can and get rid of the bad. Karma is by nature conditioning, and since all our activities are conditioned by karma, they can only be a direct contradiction to our […]
The quintessence of the path is to have the wisdom that realizes egolessness. Until we have this wisdom, we have not understood the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. In order to achieve this wisdom, first we have to make our mind malleable, workable—in the sense of being in control of our own mind. As Shantideva […]
Generally speaking, the ultimate message of Buddhism is that you possess buddhanature. In other words, you already and quite naturally have within you the qualities of complete enlightenment. But you need to realize this. The fact that you don’t have this realization is the reason why you are wandering in samsara. According to Nagarjuna, the […]
Kongtrul Rinpoche suggested we pray to the guru, buddhas, and bodhisattvas and ask them to grant their blessings, “So I may give birth to the heart of sadness.” But what is a “heart of sadness”? Imagine one night you have a dream. Although it is a good dream, deep down you know that eventually you […]
The masters of the past suggest we should constantly remind ourselves about: the imminence of death; the futility of our worldly activities; and the worst news of all, that there is no end to samsara’s sufferings. Just look around you and you will see that the world never ceases to churn out more and more […]
This is what the dharma practitioner needs to understand — that the whole of samsara, or nirvana, is as essenceless or untrue as that film. Until we see this, it will be very difficult for dharma to sink into our minds. We will always be carried away, seduced by the glory and beauty of this […]
It is vital to understand that however positive this worldly life, or even a small part of it, may appear to be, ultimately it will fail because absolutely nothing genuinely works in samsara. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
When any two components or more come together, a new phenomenon emerges – nails and wood become a table; water and leaves become tea; fear, devotion, and a savior become God. This end product doesnt have an existence independent of its parts. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
The great Jigme Lingpa said that when a yogi pursues the path of enlightenment, he could spend years and years accumulating merit through all kinds of methods, but meditation that lasts the duration of a cup of tea is more penetrating to this solid hard wrapping of ours. Spending years and years in meditation is […]
When struck by the desire arrow, all of our common sense, sobriety, and sanity go out the window while false dignity, decadence, and immorality trickle in. Poisoned, we stop at nothing to get what we want. Someone struck with passion might even find a streetwalking hippopotamus sexy, even as a beautiful girl loyally waits for […]
How often we get jealous when someone receives a better or a higher teaching than we do? Their getting enlightenment means your wish is at last coming true. With their receiving higher teachings, or someone becoming better practitioners, this means at last your aspiration is being realized! But instead, we feel jealous or we feel […]
Most of the time we are trying to make the good things last, or we are thinking about replacing them with something even better in the future, or we are sunk in the past, reminiscing about happier times. Ironically, we never truly appreciated the experience for which we are nostalgic because we were too busy […]
What are the signs of progress in our practice? What can we expect? Should we wait for a signal from the guru — or an award? According to Karma Chagme Rinpoche, we will have no experiences, no special dreams, no pure visions. The “king of all signs,” also known as the “sign of no-sign,” which […]
Our true nature is like a wineglass, and our defilements and obscurations are like dirt and fingerprints. When we buy the glass, it has no inherently existing fingerprints. When it becomes soiled, the habitual mind thinks the glass is dirty, not that the glass has dirt. Its nature is not dirty, it’s a glass with […]
The main purpose of spiritual path is awakening. This awakening isn’t some supernatural awakening. It’s awakening to the truth. We usually shy away from the truth, and so we constantly get ourselves bogged down. Because of this, the elements and ingredients of the path are especially designed to dismantle our strong habits, including our emotional […]
Nothing that passes through your mind, not even your mind itself, will stay as it is forever. Things might last for the duration of your experience of this existence, or even into the next generation; but then again, they may dissolve sooner than you expect. Either way, eventual change is inevitable. There is no degree […]
