Mingyur RinpocheIn private interviews, I hear about problems with family members, partners, and employers. When you listen, the problems sound so small. But if you think about that problem again and again, it gets bigger and bigger. Making a mountain out of a molehill is the monkey’s specialty. This is the nature of the restless monkey-mind. Generally we do not observe the mind itself, so this encounter with the monkey can be confusing. But actually we are beginning to recognize awareness and all the thoughts, feelings, and impulses that are constantly moving through it. If people come to meditation in order to get rid of thoughts, this encounter with the monkey-mind might be disheartening. But we do not have to get rid of the monkey-mind. Ignoring this thought-factory never works, and suppressing it is impossible. But we can befriend it. How do we do this? By hanging around. We’re not aggressive. We do not try to conquer or control our new friend, but if we want to get to know its qualities, we have to stay present for the encounter. When we begin to meditate, no matter what style or tradition we follow, we will surely meet the monkey. But with awareness meditation, we give the monkey a constructive job to do.
Destroying the seed of cyclic existence ~ Aryadeva
AryadevaWhen selflessness is seen in objects, the seed of cyclic existence is destroyed.
No place to perch ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThere is no promise of love and light or visions of any kind – no angels, no devils. Nothing happens: it is absolutely boring. Sometimes you feel silly. One often asks the question, “Who is kidding whom? Am I on to something or not?” You are not on to something. Traveling the path means you get off everything, there is no place to perch. Sit and feel your breath, be with it.
What are you doing when you are unhappy ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronSit quietly for a few minutes and become mindful of your breath as it goes in and out. Then contemplate what you do when you’re unhappy or dissatisfied and want to feel better. Even make a list if you want to. Then ask yourself: Does it work? Has it ever worked? Does it soothe the pain? Does it escalate the pain? If you’re really honest, you’ll come up with some pretty interesting observations.
The practice of karma ~ Lama Yeshe
Lama YesheKarma is not something complicated or philosophical. Karma means watching your body, watching your mouth, and watching your mind. Trying to keep these three doors as pure as possible is the practice of karma.
The supreme thing ~ Khunu Rinpoche
Khunu RinpocheThe supreme thing to know is bodhicitta.
The supreme thing to learn is bodhicitta.
The supreme thing to practice is bodhicitta.
The supreme thing to meditate on is bodhicitta.
True vision ~ Bodhidharma
BodhidharmaWhen your mind doesn’t stir inside, the world doesn’t arise outside. When the world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And such understanding is true understanding.
No roots, no home ~ Tilopa
TilopaThe clouds that wander through the sky have no roots, no home,
Nor do the distinctive thoughts floating through the mind.
Once the self-mind is seen,
Discrimination stops.
The mind of the Victorious Ones ~ Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche
Nyoshul Khen RinpocheProfound and tranquil, free from complexity,
Uncompounded luminous clarity,
Beyond the mind of conceptual ideas;
This is the depth of the mind of the Victorious Ones.In this there is not a thing to be removed,
Nor anything that needs to be added.
It is merely the immaculate
Looking naturally at itself.
Remaining even-minded ~ Ayya Khema
Ayya KhemaThe more we watch our mind and see what it does to us and for us, the more we will be inclined to take good care of it and treat it with respect. One of the biggest mistakes we can make is taking the mind for granted. The mind has the capacity to create good and also evil for us, and only when we are able to remain happy and even-minded no matter what conditions are arising, only then can we say that we have gained a little control. Until then we are out of control and our thoughts are our master.
Cut the knot of greed ~ Minling Terchen Gyurme Dorje
Minling Terchen Gyurme DorjeIt may be that you become rich,
But you will have a hard time being satisfied.
Be able to cut the knot of greed.
That is what really matters.
Not a big deal ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheRenunciation mind is very simple in a way: we have renunciation mind when we realise that all this is not a big deal. Somebody steps on your toe – what’s the big deal? The more we get used to this notion, the more we have renunciation mind. Renunciation somehow has this connotation of giving something up. But it is like the example of the mirage. You can’t give up the water because there is none; it is only a mirage. Moreover, you don’t have to give up a mirage, because what is the point of giving up a mirage? One need simply know that it is a mirage. Such understanding is a big renunciation. The moment you know that it is a mirage, most likely you will not even go there because you know it is fake. Or even if you do go, there is no disappointment because you already know what is there. At the very least you will only have a little disappointment.
True freedom ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Tsoknyi RinpocheTrue freedom comes about through confidence in liberating any and all thought states.
The body, speech and mind of buddha ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaWhatever exists is only its own nature;
and whatever ends is only its own nature:
there is no movement at all in pure mind
and that stillness is the body of buddha.Every word that is uttered is only its own purity;
and every vibration is only its own purity:
nothing is spoken or uttered in pure mind,
which is the speech of buddha.Every thought and intention is intertained only as its own spaciousness,
and every intuition is realised only as its own spaciousness;
nothing at all is thought or intuited in pure mind,
the mind of buddha past, present and future.
Encouragement for virtue ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaVirtues are acquired through endeavor,
Which rests wholly upon yourself.
So, to praise others for their virtues
Can but encourage one’s own efforts.
Continuing practice into everyday life ~ Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro ThayeContinue practice into everyday life with a single meditation, always keeping in mind the intention to help others in all activities, eating, dressing, sleeping, walking, or sitting.
Satisfying people on all different levels ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen RinpocheThe Buddha realized that different beings had various capacities, so out of his great compassion and skillful means, he gave teachings that were right for different individuals. Although the essence of the teachings is to simply let be in recognition of ones own nature, the Buddha taught a lot of complex instructions to satisfy people on all different levels. Another reason why there are the nine vehicles is because people couldnt leave well enough alone. It seems to be human nature to love complications, to want to build up a lot of stuff. Later on, of course, they must allow it to fall into pieces again.
Cut off from the present moment ~ Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin PalmoOur society is very result-oriented, that’s why we are so competitive. That’s why we are always stressed, because we are always looking at something in the distance. If you are always looking at the top of the mountain you are climbing, you cannot be aware of the grass and flowers growing at your feet. We are always looking ahead, aren’t we? And then the actual thing, the actual living, passes us by. We are locked inside our brains, cut off from the present moment, always centered on something beyond our reach. We are imagining this mirage of happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment which will magically appear once this and this and this happens. But what’s happening right now is “it” and it’s the only “it” we have. The rest is just fabrication.
Why was I born? ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahA good practice is to ask yourself very sincerely, “Why was I born?” Ask yourself this question in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night…every day.
Taking upon myself ~ Gyelse Tokme Zangpo
Gyelse Tokme ZangpoEven if others should seek to cut off my head,
Though I’ve done them not the slightest wrong,
To take upon myself, out of compassion,
All the harms they have amassed — this is the practice of all the bodhisattvas.