Tsele Natsok RangdrolShamatha is generally held to mean abiding in the state of bliss, clarity, and nonthought after conceptual thinking has naturally subsided. Vipashyana means to see nakedly and vividly the essence of mind that is self-cognizant, objectless, and free from exaggeration and denigration. Put another way, shamatha is said to be the absence of thought activity, and vipashyana is recognizing the essence of thought.
Numerous other such statements exist, but, in actuality, whatever manifests or is experienced does not transcend the inseparability of shamatha and vipashyana. Both stillness and thinking are nothing but the display of the mind alone; to recognize your essence at the time of either stillness or thinking is itself the nature of vipashyana.
Shamatha is not to become involved in solidified clinging to any of the external appearances of the six collections, while vipashyana is the unobstructed manifestation of perception. Thus within perception the unity of shamatha and vipashyana is complete.
Vividly recognizing the essence of a thought as it suddenly occurs is shamatha. Directly liberating it within natural mind, free from concepts, is vipashyana. Thus within conceptual thinking shamatha and vipashyana are also a unity.
Furthermore, looking into the essence without solidly following after a disturbing emotion even when it arises intensely is shamatha. The empty and cognizant nakedness within which the observing awareness and the observed disturbing emotion have no separate existence is vipashyana. Thus the unity of shamatha and vipashyana is complete within disturbing emotions as well.
Our real home ~ Ajhan Chah
Ajahn ChahAnyone can build a house of wood and bricks, but the Buddha taught us that sort of home is not our real home. It’s a home in the world and it follows the ways of the world. Our real home is inner peace.
Giving up thinking of me as a living person ~ Milarepa
MilarepaI realize that even though I should possess the whole world, at my death I should have to give up everything; and so it will confer happiness in this and the next life if I give up everything now. I am thus pursuing a life which is quite opposite to that followed by the people of the world. Give up thinking of me as a living person.
An appointment with life ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhYou have an appointment with life, an appointment that is in the here and now.
Three points ~ Gyalwa Godrakpa
Gyalwa GodrakpaBody impermanent like spring mist;
Mind insubstantial like empty sky;
Thoughts unestablished like breezes in space.
Think about these three points over and over.
Dreamlike obsessions ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheSeeing the world with all the unspoiled simplicity of a young child, you are free from concepts of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, and no longer fall prey to conflicting tendencies driven by desire or repulsion. Why trouble yourself about all the ups and downs of daily life, like a child who delights in building a sand castle but cries when it collapses? To get what they want and be rid of what they dislike, look how people throw themselves into torments, like moths plunging into the flame of a lamp! Would it not be better to put down your heavy burden of dreamlike obsessions once and for all?
Like a homeless prince ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul RinpocheGrasping to a non-existent self, we misread our world and lose the true treasure of our mind. Because of our belief in a self that must be preserved at all costs, ego controls our every mental, emotional, verbal, and physical act. Although our wisdom mind is completely radiant at all times, we become like a homeless prince: a monarch who lives like a vagabond, unaware of his own inheritance.
The country of Dharma ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaMy father is wisdom and my mother is voidness.
My country is the country of Dharma.
I am of no caste and no creed.
I am sustained by perplexity;
And I am here to destroy lust, anger and sloth.
Basic human values oriented by nature ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWe are all, by nature, clearly oriented toward the basic human values of love and compassion. We all prefer the love of others to their hatred. We all prefer others generosity to meanness. And who is there among us who does not prefer tolerance, respect and forgiveness of our failings to bigotry, disrespect, and resentment?
Seeing the whole truth of any situation ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheWe must recognize that the “whole truth” is that everyone just wants to be happy. The truly sad thing is that most people seek happiness in ways that actually sabotage their attempts. If we could see the whole truth of any situation, our only response would be one of compassion.
Cultivating patience ~ Gyelse Tokme Zangpo
Gyelse Tokme ZangpoThe practice of all the bodhisattvas is to cultivate patience,
Free from any trace of animosity towards anyone at all,
Since any potential source of harm is like a priceless treasure
To the bodhisattva who is eager to enjoy a wealth of virtue.
Joyful to be here ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaFearlessness contains a feeling of joy and relaxation or well-being. From the goodness of simply being yourself, a quality of upliftedness arises, which is not overly solemn or religious. It is joyful to be in such good health, joyful to have such good posture, joyful to experience that you are alive, you are here. You appreciate colors and the temperature of the air. You appreciate smells and sounds. You begin to use your eyes, your ears, your nose, and your tongue to explore the world. You have never seen such penetrating and extraordinary red before. For the first time, you see such cool and beautiful blue. For the first time, you see such warm and delicate yellow. You see such refreshing, earthy, and wet green; such pure, clean white, as though you are opening your mouth and breathing out at the same time. For the first time, you see such wonderful black. It’s so trustworthy that you can almost sleep on it. It has a sheen, which reminds you of stroking a black horse.
Wealth is contentment ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheFor a dharma practitioner, wealth is not gold, silver, or a healthy bank account; wealth is contentment — the feeling that you have enough and need nothing more. Jigme Lingpa went on to say that although renunciants may not necessarily hunger for wealth, they might well long for fame, which he warned practitioners, is even worse than craving for wealth.
True compassion is always in a state of readiness ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaTrue compassion is something that is always on the move, and something is always in a state of readiness. We usually think of compassion as something that sometimes moves, sometimes is responsive, and sometimes is dormant. We might see a very serious situation of a sentient being suffering, then we think that our compassion rises to the occasion and performs some tasks. And then, after that situation has passed, our compassion goes back to a dormant state.
But true compassion isn’t really like that. Of course compassion is not a physical thing, but I think it’s appropriate to say that compassion is always on the move, it’s always ready for action or ready to accomplish the mission, if you will. Compassion is there in any occurrence of happiness or suffering that might be before us, whether it’s directly before our eyes or whether it’s simply in our heart and in our mind. If we can stay with this type of ever moving, ever active compassion at all times, then I think that’s what the meaning of true compassion is.
Studying ourselves ~ Dogen Zenji
Dogen ZenjiTo study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
Doing nothing other than benefiting ~ Shantideva
ShantidevaOne should do nothing other than what is directly or indirectly of benefit to living beings.
Happiness beyond this life ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpocheWe have received a precious human rebirth, which is extremely rare and with it we can achieve any happiness that we wish for ourselves. This is not just the happiness of this life — even mice and tiny insects are very clever in achieving the happiness of this life. Achieving the happiness of this life is nothing special. The special capacity that we have as human beings is achieving happiness beyond this life.
How are you ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronWe don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.
Not Wanting ~ Krishnamurti
KrishnamurtiThere is great happiness in not wanting, in not being something, in not going somewhere.
Purpose of meditation ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahWe don’t meditate to see heaven, but to end suffering.