What makes the Buddhist path so special is that it looks dualistic, but it has that ability to liberate you from the bondage of dualism. It is a deliberate and conscious knot that is consciously and deliberately designed to undo itself. All the skillful means and methods of the Buddhadharma are like a thorn that we use to take out another thorn in our hand. The purpose of renunciation mind, compassion, the recitation of mantras, and contemplation on the breath is to dig out dualism. These practices will dismantle the puzzle of dualism. They speak the language of the nondual and have the flavor of the nondual. For example, compassion is definitely dualistic, but with heavy investment, it leads you to nonduality.
Of these skillful methods that appear dualistic but point in the direction of nondualism, guru yoga is supreme. In the Vajrayana, guru devotion is even more practical than practicing compassion. It’s tangible. In the end, there is no such thing as dualistic and nondualistic. Remembering all of this, we develop gratitude to the guru and appreciation of the path of Tantrayana.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book The Guru Drinks Bourbon?
Read a random quote or see all quotes by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
Further quotes from the book The Guru Drinks Bourbon?:
- Never opt for the easy way out
- Good gurus are on the verge of extinction
- You and only you will decide
- Spiritual wealth
- Examining the Guru
- The Worst Forms of Abuse Award
- Celebrity Gurus
- Vajra hell
- The path is practical
- The quest for a guru
- Seeing a student’s potential
- The whole purpose of the outer guru
- Merging with the guru’s mind
- Practicing Dharma requires sacrifice
- Devotion is supreme
- Advice on selecting a guru
- No one can please everyone
- Samsara
- Experience is like a mist in the morning