Lama TsongkhapaWhen 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 to strive for their welfare, you who are in the Conqueror’s lineage?… Here, you should use a great person’s joy, charisma, and strength to shoulder the responsibility of others’ welfare, for focusing only on your own welfare is a trait shared even with the animals.
Unoriginated trust in yourself ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe Tibetan word for wisdom is yeshe, which means ‘primordial intelligence.’ You are yourself at the beginning of any beginning. You could almost call it ‘unoriginated trust in yourself.’ You do not have to find the beginning at all. It is a primordial situation, so there is no point in trying to logically find the beginning. It ‘is’ already. It is beginningless.
Communication without agenda ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronIf we really want to communicate, we have to give up knowing what to do. When we come in with our agendas, they only block us from seeing the person in front of us. It’s best to drop our five-year plans and accept the awkward sinking feeling that we are entering a situation naked. We don’t know what will happen or what we’ll do.
Naked radiant awareness itself ~ Jigme Lingpa
Jigme LingpaThe location of the truth of the Great Perfection is the unfabricated mind of the present moment, this naked radiant awareness itself, not a hair of which has been forced into relaxation. Maintaining this at all times, just through not forgetting it even in the states of eating, sleeping, walking, and sitting, is called meditation. However, until you are free from the obscurations of cognition, it is impossible for this not to be mixed with the experiences of bliss, clarity, and nonconceptualization. Nevertheless, just by not forgetting the nature of one’s own awareness — the kind that is not a tangled mindfulness that gets more tangled in order to be mindful — at some point the unelaborated ultimate truth, transcending terms and examples, will appear.
Ten foundations of training ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaThe Master said:
When practicing the dharma, you must train perfectly in the ten foundations of training.The lady asked:
What are these ten foundations of training?The Master said:
You must resolve through the view, gaining understanding of all the teachings, like the garuda bird soaring in the skies.
You must find certainty through the conduct, without being intimidated by anything whatsoever,like an elephant entering the water.You must practice through the samadhi, clearing away the darkness of ignorance, like lightning a lamp in a dark room.
You must accomplish the aim through the instructions, liberating all phenomena in your nature, like finding a wish-fulfilling jewel.
You must progress gradually through the empowerments, being free from the fear of falling into samsara, like a prince ascending the royal throne.
You must keep the basis through the samayas, not letting any of your actions be wasted, like fertile ground.
You must liberate your being through learning, becoming adept in all aspects of the dharma, like a noble steed freed from its chains.
You must compare all sources, understanding all the philosophical schools of the dharma, like a bee seeking a hive.
You must condense them into a single point, understanding that all the numerous teachings are of one taste, like a trader adding together his profits.
You must reach eminence in knowledge, understanding clearly and distinctly the meaning of all the teachings, like arriving at the summit of Mount Sumeru.
The people of Tibet who desire to be learned without training themselves in these points are not learned in the essential meaning but become practitioners with much sectarianism.
This is due to the fault of not having become adept in these ten foundations of training.
The ultimate nature of mind ~ 4th Shechen Gyaltsab
4th Shechen GyaltsabThe qualities of enlightenment are inherent in consciousness but can remain invisible for a long time. The ultimate nature of mind, emptiness endowed with the qualities of supreme enlightenment, is always present in us but remains latent until we recognize it and become familiar with it.
Being happy in spite of our difficulties ~ Maha Ghosananda
Maha GhosanandaIf we cannot be happy in spite of our difficulties, what good is our spiritual practice?
A mirror in which we can see our own mistakes ~ Ayya Khema
Ayya KhemaThe realization of where our dukkha comes from must be followed by the understanding that disliking it will not make it go away; only letting go of wanting makes dukkha disappear, which means unequivocal acceptance. Accepting oneself results in being able to accept others. The difficulty with other people is that they present a mirror in which we can see our own mistakes. How useful it is to have such a mirror. When we live with others we can see ourselves as if it were a mirror-image and eventually we learn to be together like milk with water, which completely blend. It is up to each one of us to blend; if we wait for others to do it we are not practicing. This is a difficult undertaking but also a very important one.
Studying that which is beyond good and evil ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahPeople don’t study that which is beyond good and evil. This is what they should study. “I’m going to be like this; I’m going to be like that,” they say. But they never say, “I’m not going to be anything because there really isn’t any ‘I’.” This they don’t study.
Speak peacefully ~ Longchenpa
Pointing out faults to a short-tempered retinue
In these degenerate times, even with the wish to benefit,
Gives rise to negative states of mind.
‘To speak peacefully’ is my heart advice.
Finding your teacher ~ Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu SuzukiWherever you go you will find your teacher, as long as you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
Real strength ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhReal strength can be found not in power, money, or weapons, but in deep, inner peace. When we have enough insight, we are not caught by many difficult situations anymore.
Facing the world as it is ~ Krishnamurti
KrishnamurtiIf you really faced the world as it is, and tackled it, you would find it something infinitely greater than any philosophy, greater than any book in the world, greater than any teaching, greater than any teacher.
Source of fear ~ Bokar Rinpoche
Bokar RinpocheFear appears from a false vision of reality.
The path of nonviolence ~ Chatral Rinpoche
Chatral RinpocheTo obtain real peace and happiness in this world one has simply to follow the path of ahimsa – nonviolence – which naturally is common to all the religions of the world. If we do not like to experience any pain or suffering of any kind, how can we expect any other creature – whether big or small – to feel otherwise? There is no better prayer or worship we can offer to Lord Buddha than being thoughtful, kind, compassionate and abstaining from taking the life of any fellow human being, animal, bird, fish or insect.
A rare and precious treasure ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheTo meet someone who really hurts you, is to meet a rare and precious treasure. Hold that person in high esteem, and make full use of the opportunity to eradicate your defects and make progress on the path. If you cannot yet feel love and compassion for those who treat you badly, it is a sign that your mind has not been fully transformed, and that you need to keep working on it with increased application.
Effortless compassion ~ Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche
Nyoshul Khen RinpocheAn effortless compassion can arise for all beings who have not realized their true nature. So limitless is it that if tears could express it, you would cry without end. Not only compassion, but tremendous skillful means can be born when you realize the nature of mind. Also you are naturally liberated from all suffering and fear, such as the fear of birth, death and the intermediate state. Then if you were to speak of the joy and bliss that arise from this realization, it is said by the buddhas that if you were to gather all the glory, enjoyment, pleasure and happiness of the world and put it all together, it would not approach one tiny fraction of the bliss that you experience upon realizing the nature of mind.
Two things practitioners need ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheJigme Lingpa has advised us that as practitioners, we need two things. One is humility and the other is confidence. When you lose your inspiration, when you think that you are lazy and you don’t have devotion, then you should think, ‘The fact that I think like this is good, it means that I am considering this as a problem.’ That realization is some kind of renunciation, or at least food for renunciation. And thinking like that, having that kind of attitude, is confidence. And then again sometimes we should think, ‘What I am practicing is not enough.’ Not only sometimes, actually, most of the time we should think that what we are doing is not enough, we have to do more. The purification that we are engaging in, the accumulation of merit that we are doing, is not enough. Never enough. That is the practice of humility. So this, too, is really important.
Liberating your deluded thinking ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen RinpocheThe Buddha proved definitively that mere meditative concentration is not sufficient to gain liberation. Through meditation alone, one ends up in the realms of the meditation gods and the Formless Realms, states which in themselves definitely do not lead out of samsara. There is a famous quote: “If you know how to meditate, but not how to be free, then aren’t you just like the meditation gods?” So, it’s very important to know how to liberate your deluded thinking. That is the vital point.
Decorative dharma ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaOne should not view one’s dharma practice as being something decorative, regarding statues and images as material possessions or as furnishings for one’s house, or thinking that because there is an empty space on a wall one might as well put up a thangka for decoration. That kind of attitude should not be cultivated. When you arrange the statues or thangkas, you should do so out of a deep respect from the mind, moved by your faith and conviction. If you can arrange these physical representations—statues and so forth—out of deep respect and faith, that’s all right. On the other hand, the attitude that they are merely material possessions is dangerous and destructive. I think that some people who have a cupboard or the like in which they keep all their precious possessions may arrange an altar on it just for the sake of decoration. This is very wrong.
Having such motivations is not the proper way to become a Buddhist; the proper way to become a Buddhist is to bring about some positive change within the mind. Any practice that can give you more courage when you are undergoing a very difficult time and that can provide you with some kind of solace and calmness of mind is a true practice of the dharma.