Understanding that samsaric activities are empty of meaning, With great compassion, you strive only for the benefit of others. Without attachment to samsara or nirvana, you act according to the Great Vehicle. Peerless Teacher, at your feet I bow. Patrul Rinpoche
Each instant, put your heart into it again. Each moment, remind yourself again. Each second, check yourself again. Night and day, make your resolve again. In the morning, commit yourself again. Each meditation session, examine mind minutely. Never be apart from dharma, not even accidentally. Continually, do not forget. Patrul Rinpoche
I claim to be arousing bodhicitta, but still do not have it. I have trained in the path of the six perfections, but have remained selfish. Bless me and small-minded beings like me, That we may train in the sublime bodhicitta. Patrul Rinpoche
I see that samsara is suffering, but crave it still. I fear the abyss of the lower realms but continue to do wrong. Bless me and those who have gone astray like me That we may sincerely renounce the things of this life. Patrul Rinpoche
I know all the details of karma, but I do not really believe in it. I have heard a lot of Dharma, but never put it into practice. Bless me and evil-doers like me That our minds may mingle with the Dharma. Patrul Rinpoche
I understand that there is no self, but still have gross concepts of “I.” I have decided to renounce duality, but am beset by hopes and fears. Bless me and all those like me who believe in a self That we may realize the natural state, the absence of self. Patrul Rinpoche
Impermanence is everywhere, yet I still think things will last. I have reached the gates of old age, yet I still pretend I am young. Bless me and misguided beings like me, That we may truly understand impermanence. Patrul Rinpoche
You renounce evil and take up good, as in the teachings on cause and effect. Your action follows the progression of the Vehicles. Through your perfect view, you are free from all clinging. Peerless Teacher, at your feet I bow. Patrul Rinpoche
Stop living a false and empty life. Drop those deceptions of your own mind And endless projects that you don’t need! Don’t make your head spin with the burden Of strings of ideas that never come true And endless distracting activities — They’re just waves on water. Just keep quiet. Patrul Rinpoche
I don’t like happiness, I like suffering: If I am happy, the five poisons increase. If I suffer, my past bad karma is exhausted. I don’t value high positions, I like low ones. If I am important, my pride and jealousy increase; If I am lowly, I relax and my spiritual practice grows. The lowest […]
What makes an action good or bad? Not how it looks, nor whether it is big or small, but the good or evil motivation behind it. No matter how many teachings you have heard, to be motivated by ordinary concerns — such as a desire for greatness, fame or whatever, is not the way of […]
Not to listen is to be like a pot turned upside down. Not to be able to retain what you hear is to be like a pot with a hole in it. To mix negative emotions with what you hear is to be like a pot with poison in it. The upside-down pot: when you […]
You know the relative to be a lie, yet still you practise the two accumulations. You realize that in the absolute there is nothing to be meditated on, yet still you practise meditation. You see the relative and absolute as one, yet still you diligently practise. Peerless teacher, at your feet I bow. Patrul Rinpoche
No sutra, tantra, or shastra speaks of any being ever attaining perfect buddhahood without having followed a spiritual teacher. Patrul Rinpoche
Take the example of an old cow, She’s content to sleep in a barn, You have to eat, sleep, and shit — That’s unavoidable — But beyond that is none of your business. Patrul Rinpoche
If you have really assimilated the teachings properly, everything you do, say and think should be as soft as stepping on cotton wool, and as mild as tsampa soup laced with butter. Patrul Rinpoche
Ultimately we need to realize the indivisibility of the two truths, but claiming that the relative refers to existence, while on the absolute level things do not exist, will never qualify as the view of the middle way. When we realize the one genuine nature of the correct relative, the two truths will merge inseparably, […]
Listen up, old bad-karma Patrul, You dweller-in-distraction. For ages now you’ve been Beguiled, entranced, and fooled by appearances. Are you aware of that? Are you? Right this very instant, when you’re Under the spell of mistaken perception You’ve got to watch out. Don’t let yourself get carried away by this fake and empty life. Your […]
Listening to the teachings—you’ve already heard hundreds of teachings, But when you haven’t grasped the meaning of even one teaching, What’s the point of more listening? Reflecting on the teachings—even though you’ve listened, If the teachings aren’t coming to mind when needed, What’s the point of more reflection? None. Meditating according to the teachings— If […]
The practitioner of self-liberation is like an ordinary person as far as the way in which the thoughts of pleasure and pain, hope and fear, manifest themselves as creative energy. However, the ordinary person, taking these really seriously and judging them as acceptable or rejecting them, continues to get caught up in situations and becomes […]