Chögyam TrungpaIn awareness, all happenings are seen at once. This could also be called panoramic vision.
Being a disciple without being one ~ Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
Thinley Norbu RinpocheI would like to be a disciple without being one, without hope of learning. I would like to find through my good karma, auspicious dreams, searching, or through friends, an intelligent and expert, powerful wisdom teacher to show me the truly correct path until the final result. It does not matter if he teaches in a hierarchical style, if he is a gypsy, a beautiful or terrible lady, a monk or nun, a god or demon, a layman or holy man, a janitor or craftsman. And as I would spend more time with this teacher, my actions, seeing, hearing, and thinking would automatically benefit myself and other beings as they would turn into practice. I would become more kind, profound, clear, and trustful.
You are not alone ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpocheYou are not alone because all the time there are numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas surrounding you, everywhere loving you, guiding you, that is what they do.
The best form of austerity ~ Chatral Rinpoche
Chatral RinpocheTo bear mistreatment from our enemies is the best form of austerity,
But those who hate criticism and are attached to compliments,
Who take great pains to discover all the faults of others,
While failing to keep proper guard over their own mindstream,
And who are always irritable and short-tempered,
Are certain to bring breakages of samaya upon all their associates,
So rely constantly on mindfulness, vigilance and conscientiousness.
The mistaken dualistic mind ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
Namkhai Norbu RinpocheAll the philosophical theories that exist have been created by the mistaken dualistic minds of human beings. In the realm of philosophy, that which today is considered true, may tomorrow be proved to be false. No one can guarantee a philosophy’s validity. Because of this, any intellectual way of seeing whatever is always partial and relative. The fact is that there is no truth to seek or to confirm logically; rather what one needs to do is to discover just how much the mind continually limits itself in a condition of dualism.
Dualism is the real root of our suffering and of all our conflicts. All our concepts and beliefs, no matter how profound they may seem, are like nets which trap us in dualism. When we discover our limits we have to try to overcome them, untying ourselves from whatever type of religious, political or social conviction may condition us. We have to abandon such concepts as ‘enlightenment’, ‘the nature of the mind’, and so on, until we are no longer satisfied by a merely intellectual knowledge, and until we no longer neglect to integrate our knowledge with our actual existence.
Ever-present Buddha-Nature ~ Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro ThayeGetting butter from milk is only possible because milk already contains cream. No one ever made butter by churning water. The prospector looks for gold in rocks and not in wood chips. Likewise, the quest for perfect enlightenment only makes sense because buddha-nature is already present in every being. Without that nature, all efforts would be futile.
Awareness of Feelings ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama“That which is seen and that which is touched are of a dream-like and illusion-like nature.
Because feeling arises together with the mind, it is not [ultimately] perceived.”
~ShantidevaThere is nothing whatever that has a true mode of existence. Nevertheless, this does not suggest that a person who experiences feelings and the feelings themselves — pleasant and unpleasant — are utterly non-existent. They do exist, but in an untrue fashion. Thus, the things that we see and touch have a dream-like and illusion-like quality.
In the second line the author refutes the true existence of the mind that experiences feelings. Since feelings arise in conjunction with the mind, feelings are not perceived by the mind that is simultaneous with them. There must be a causal relationship between the experienced object and the experiencing subject. If two entities are substantially distinct and exist simultaneously, there could be neither a causal relationship nor an identity relationship between them.
For this reason the author denies that either [intrinsic] relationship could hold for the feelings and the awareness that is simultaneous with them. Two mental events that arise in conjunction with each other are not able to apprehend one another. This holds true for all states of awareness. Thus, feelings are not observed by the awareness that arises in conjunction with them and that exists simultaneously with them.
Be compassionate to yourself ~ Gyalwang Drukpa
Gyalwang DrukpaBe compassionate to yourself, even as you look at your mistakes and mishaps. Then, if others are less than perfect too, use your developing compassion to kill your anger and frustration. Practise this every minute. Life is the practice. As the Buddha said, ‘Now, everything is totally in your hands.
The perfect teacher ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronGenerally speaking, we regard discomfort in any form as bad news. But for practitioners or spiritual warriors – people who have a certain hunger to know what is true – feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.
Hermit ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaTo be a hermit doesn’t just mean to live in the deep forest; it means that one’s mind is free from dualistic constructs.
The greatest offering to the Buddhas ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul RinpocheA moment of genuine contemplation of impermanence is the greatest offering among all offerings to the Buddhas.
Failing to use the instructions as an antidote ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheIf it happens that we are slighted in public, we should never think to ourselves that despite the fact that we are such good practitioners, people have no regard for us and do not come to pay respects or to receive our blessings. We should not react with annoyance and harsh words. At the moment, because we have not used the teachings as an antidote for ego-clinging, our patience and forbearance are more fragile than a blister and we are as irritable as a bear with a sore head. All that because we have failed to use the instructions as an antidote.
Being able to start practicing right away ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheOnce you understand that real dharma practice is not just about formal sitting meditation, but a never-ending confrontation with and opposition to pride and ego, as well as a lesson in how to accept change, you will be able to start practicing right away.
Use it well ~ Chatral Rinpoche
Chatral RinpocheConceiving of your body as a servant or a thing to ferry you about,
Don’t allow it to rest in idleness for even just a single moment;
Use it well, spurring on your entire body, speech and mind to virtue.
Still water reflecting reality ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhBreathing in, I see myself as still water.
Breathing out, I reflect things as they are.
Arousing bodhicitta ~ Gyelse Tokme Zangpo
Gyelse Tokme ZangpoThe practice of all the bodhisattvas is to arouse bodhicitta,
So as to bring freedom to all sentient beings, infinite in number.
For how can true happiness ever be found while our mothers,
Who have cared for us throughout the ages, endure such pain?
Wherever you are ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWe can always see the stars twinkling in the sky. In the same way, wherever you will be in the world, you can be a lamp brightening the space around you. In the evenings after dusk, I often go out on my terrace and look at the stars. When I do so and then close my eyes, I make the prayer now that I will be able to see each of you with my mind’s eye, twinkling brightly wherever you are.
Joyless samsara ~ Maitreya
MaitreyaJust as there can be no pleasant fragrance in a cesspit
There is no joy among the five classes of beings.
Never really content ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheThe Buddha compared attachment to drinking salt water from an ocean. The more we drink, the thirstier we get. Likewise, when our mind is conditioned by attachment, however much we have, we never really experience contentment.
You yourself ~ Milarepa
MilarepaTo probe deep into your roots
The ignorance and confusion are you yourself.
The preconceptions which are yourself
Are envoys and agents sent by yourself.