In order to be sure that a certain person is not present, you must know the absent person. Likewise, in order to be certain of the meaning of “selflessness” or “the lack of intrinsic existence,” you must carefully identify the self, or intrinsic nature, that does not exist. For, if you do not have a […]
Even though you experience transcendence, and cultivate the spirit of enlightenment, without wisdom from realizing emptiness, you cannot cut off the root of the cyclic life — so you should strive to understand relativity. Lama Tsongkhapa
Just as I have fallen into the sea of samsara, So have all mother migratory beings. Bless me to see this, train in supreme bodhicitta, And bear the responsibility of freeing migratory beings. Lama Tsongkhapa
Whilst lacking pure renunciation there is no way to pacify The continual thirst for pleasure in the ocean of saṃsāra, And since all living beings are bound by their craving for existence, You must begin by finding the determination to be free. The freedoms and advantages are rare, and there’s no time to waste— Reflect […]
The knowledge that appearances arise unfailingly in dependence, And the knowledge that they are empty and beyond all assertions— As long as these two appear to you as separate, There can be no realization of the Buddha’s wisdom. Yet when they arise at once, not each in turn but both together, Then through merely seeing […]
The one who sees that cause and effect operate infallibly For all the phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, And for whom any objects of conceptual focus have subsided, Has set out upon the path delighting all the buddhas. Lama Tsongkhapa
When you see that beings have fallen, just as you have, into the ocean of existence and are stumbling, unable to walk in a safe direction, because the eye of wisdom – which distinguishes what to adopt and what to discard – for them is closed, is it not better to care for others and […]
This life is as impermanent as a water bubble; Remember how quickly it decays and death comes. After death, just like a shadow follows the body, The results of negative and positive karma ensue. Lama Tsongkhapa
By pacifying distractions to wrong objects And correctly analyzing the meaning of reality, Please bless me to generate quickly within my mind-stream The unified path of calm abiding and special insight. Lama Tsongkhapa
If you lack the wisdom that realizes the nature of things, Although you might grow accustomed to renunciation and bodhicitta, You will be incapable of cutting through conditioned existence at its root, Exert yourself, therefore, in the methods for realizing interdependence. Lama Tsongkhapa
If renunciation is not embraced By the pure motivation of bodhicitta, It will not become a cause for the perfect bliss of unsurpassed awakening, So the wise should generate supreme bodhicitta. Beings are swept along by the powerful current of the four rivers, Tightly bound by the chains of their karma, so difficult to undo, […]
Meditate again and again until you have turned your mind away from the activities of this life, which are like adorning yourself while being led to the execution ground. Lama Tsongkhapa
The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and venerable guru; Correct devotion to him is the root of the path. By clearly seeing this and applying great effort, Please bless me to rely upon him with great respect. Lama Tsongkhapa
Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once, Is greatly meaningful and difficult to find again, Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly, Day and night, takes its essence. Lama Tsongkhapa
Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all suffering; They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, Please bless me to generate the strong wish for the bliss of liberation. Lama Tsongkhapa
When you know that appearances dispel the extreme of existence, While the extreme of nothingness is eliminated by emptiness, And you also come to know how emptiness arises as cause and effect, Then you will be immune to any view entailing clinging to extremes. Lama Tsongkhapa