That’s how to rest the mind in objectless shinay meditation: as though you’ve just finished a long day of work. Just let go and relax. You don’t have to block whatever thoughts, emotions, or sensations arise, but neither do you have to follow them. Just rest in the open present, simply allowing whatever happens to […]
A more constructive approach to negative emotions, similar to working with negative thoughts, is simply to rest your attention on the emotion itself rather than on its object. Just look at the emotion without analyzing it intellectually. Don’t try to hold on to it and don’t try to block it. Just observe it. When you […]
Though we’re conditioned to identify with the thoughts that pass through our awareness rather than with awareness itself, the awareness that is our true nature is infinitely flexible. It is capable of any and every sort of experience – even misconceptions about itself as limited, trapped, ugly, anxious, lonely, or afraid. When we begin to […]
One day I asked my father, “When I get enlightened, will I be able to remember me? My old self?” It was not unusual for my father to laugh affectionately at my questions, but he found this one particularly hilarious. Then he explained that enlightenment is not like being possessed by a spirit. Tibetan culture […]
If we were to become aware of our habitual thoughts, perceptions, and sensations, rather than being carried away by them, their power over us would begin to fade. Mingyur Rinpoche
The more we allow ourselves to be guided by compassion – to pause for a moment and try to see where another person is coming from – the less likely we are to engage in conflict. Mingyur Rinpoche
There’s no difference between what is seen and the mind that sees it. Mingyur Rinpoche
In a sense, we’re homesick for our true nature. Mingyur Rinpoche
Conditions are always changing, and real peace lies in the ability to adapt to this changes. Mingyur Rinpoche
The essence of meditation practice is to let go of all your expectations about meditation. Mingyur Rinpoche
What happens when you begin to recognize your experiences as your own projections? What happens when you begin to lose your fear of the people around you and conditions you used to dread? Well, from one point of view – nothing. From another point of view – everything. Mingyur Rinpoche
Experience is always changing, like the movement of clouds against the sky. Realization – the stable awareness of the true nature of your mind – is like the sky itself, an unchanging background against which shifting experience occur. Mingyur Rinpoche
Use every distraction as an object of meditation and they cease to be distractions. Mingyur Rinpoche
In very simple terms, the most effective approach to meditation is to try your best without focusing too much on the results. Mingyur Rinpoche
When the underlying causes that produced and perpetuated an experience of happinesss change, most people end up blaming either external conditions or themselves. However, because it reflects a loss of confidence in oneself, or in the things we’re taught to believe should bring us happiness, blame only makes the search for happiness more difficult. Mingyur […]
To the extent that you can acknowledge the true power of your mind, you can begin to exercise more control over your experience. Pain, sadness, fear, anxiety, and all other forms of suffering no longer disrupt your life as forcefully as they used to. Experiences that once seemed to be obstacles become opportunities for deepening […]
Even though thoughts and emotions come and go, the mind’s natural clarity is never disturbed or interrupted. Mingyur Rinpoche
Just as space isn’t defined by the objects that move through it, awareness isn’t defined by what it apprehends. Mingyur Rinpoche
Of course, developing loving-kindness and compassion toward those we know already isn’t so hard after a bit of practice. It’s a little bit more of a stretch to extend the same sense of warmth and relatedness toward those we don’t know, and in many cases, can’t even possibly know. As we hear about tragedies around […]
Clarity is always functioning even when we’re not consciously attentive to it. Mingyur Rinpoche
