Thrangu RinpocheWe may ask how Mahamudra meditation and Mind Training are related. There are two kinds of truths or realities, the conventional and ultimate. Mahamudra is a very high-level teaching that concerns the ultimate truth of reality. But sometimes we are unable to realize that ultimate meaning, and because of this, various things happen to us. Sometimes our meditation goes very well, but at other times our diligence decreases, our pride increases, and our meditation doesn’t go the way it should. During these down times, the instructions of Mind Training are very beneficial to practice.
To be there 100 percent ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhBe there with 100 percent of yourself. In every moment of your daily life. That is the essence of true Buddhist meditation. Each of us knows that we can do that, so let us train to live each moment of our daily life deeply. That is why I like to define mindfulness as the energy that helps us to be there 100 percent. It is the energy of your true presence.
Not being afflicted by the hindrances ~ Gyatrul Rinpoche
Gyatrul RinpocheIf you are a dharma practitioner, the meaning of not being afflicted by the hindrances that arise from enemies, illness, malevolent spirits or anything thing else is not that you are actually going to be able to prevent the arising of such things in the future. In fact, killing one enemy will not guarantee you that a second one is not going to manifest. Or by freeing yourself from one illness, you cannot be guaranteed in cyclic existence that you are not going to acquire a new one. What this does mean, rather, is that hindrances are not able to arise as obstacles to the spiritual path. You do not and cannot avert them completely, but they do cease to hinder progress on the path because they become part of the path.
The possibility of being able to expand ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronThere’s no problem with being where you are right now. Even if you feel loving-kindness and compassion for only one sentient being, that is a good place to start. Simply acknowledging, respecting, and appreciating the warmth is a way to encourage its growth. We can be where we are and at the same time leave wide open the possibility of being able to expand far beyond where we are now in the course of our lifetime.
Formal meditation practice ~ Gyaltsab Rinpoche
Gyaltsab RinpocheFormal meditation practice is important because our minds are constantly involved with any number of preoccupations, misconceptions and fixations. There is a sense of having spread ourselves too thin. But through the practice of meditation we can begin to experience a sense of groundedness and simplicity. We can begin to have some idea of who we are and what it is we are doing. Fundamental issues, which were previously sources of confusion for us, can begin to take on clarity and certainty. When we practice meditation, we think and analyze more clearly and effectively.
The dharmakāya’s very own face – Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi LodröPure awareness of the unborn dharmakāya
Is not created by cause or condition, but is naturally occurring.
Vividly alert, fresh and nakedly clear,
Unstained by thoughts of perceiver or perceived,
Unspoiled by presumptive understanding—
In this natural experience of concentration, remain.
‘Remain’, however, is but an expression —
In reality, there is no one that remains, nor any remaining as such.In this rigpa-emptiness — the dharmakāya’s very own face —
Abide at all times, in undistracted recognition.
Compassion that has power ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpocheOrdinary love and compassion are compared to a mother with no arms who sees her only child being carried away by a river and cannot do anything to save her child. But the compassion developed from directly seeing buddha nature is not this helpless kind of compassion; it is a compassion that has power. Therefore, when there is direct realization of buddha nature, there arises wisdom, compassion, and the power to end samsara.
Morning contemplation ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaAs soon as I wake up in the morning, I remind myself that nothing exists as it appears. Then I think about sentient beings who want happiness, but experience suffering. I generate compassion for them, determined to help them as much as I can to eliminate their negative emotions.
Unless mind is tamed within ~ Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro ThayeUnless mind is tamed within,
Outer enemies will be inexhaustible.
If you tame the anger within,
All enemies on earth will be pacified.
Developing clarity and the ability to help others ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniYou should inquire deeply and directly into the distress of the mind and find out what has been created and who is the self that is suffering. Without this understanding, you can’t develop clarity and the ability to help others. A person may be expert at undoing knots, but if he never sees that there is a knot in front of him, how will he undo it? Without clear and direct looking, you will be locked into time and space and unable to free yourself from the material world.
Like the events in a dream ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThe various activities of ordinary life follow one after another like the waves of the ocean. The rich never feel they have enough money; the powerful never feel they have enough power. Think about it: the best way to satisfy all your desires and complete all your projects is to abandon them.
A realized being sees the preoccupations of ordinary people as being like the events in a dream, and watches them like an old man watching children play. Last night you dreamed, perhaps, of being a great king, but when you woke up, what was left? What you experience in the waking state has scarcely more reality than that.
Rather than pursuing these elusive dreams, let your mind rest in serene contemplation, free of mental agitation and distraction, until the realization of emptiness becomes an integral part of your experience.
The six perfections ~ Dezhung Rinpoche
Dezhung RinpocheNagarjuna summarizes the six perfections in a few short verses, to the effect that giving means to give freely your own possessions; morality consists of accomplishing the benefit of others; patience is giving up anger; vigor is the apprehension of virtue; meditation is the undefiled, single pointed state of mind; and wisdom is ascertainment of the ultimate nature of reality.
Also, each paramita has its particular benefit: giving begets prosperity; morality, well-being; patience, radiance; vigor, splendor; meditation, a tranquil mind; and with wisdom, liberation is gained.
The right moment is now ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheIf the thought of practicing the Dharma occurs to you, do not hesitate for a moment. Do not just put it off until tomorrow. The right moment is now. The farmer does not wait for frost to harden the ground before sowing his fields. He does it when the soil is moist. As soon as you have met a qualified spiritual teacher and have received the teacher’s instructions, you are ready to set out on the path of awakening.
The seventh paramita ~ Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin PalmoI say that a sense of humour is the seventh paramita or the seventh spiritual quality on the path, because one of the problems of newcomers on the spiritual path is that we tend to take ourselves too seriously. Then, it all becomes too intense, and we become all very critical of both ourselves and of others. So, therefore, it is important to laugh enough in life, to have a sense of humour about ourselves and about the whole situation. Don’t take it too seriously. That doesn’t mean that we are not sincere, but we shouldn’t be too serious about the whole thing. We should keep a sense of proportion because otherwise, the ego takes over. And the ego is a very stern task master. And it all becomes too intense, and just too heavy, too serious. So, laugh enough. Lamas love to laugh. I think this is the sign of a good guru. They love to laugh and are not too rigid.
The Poverty Approach ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThere are two somewhat romantic approaches to basic sanity. One is based on a sense of poverty. You feel you don’t have “it,” but the others do. You admire the richness of “that”: the goal, the guru, the teachings. This is a poverty approach — you feel that those other things are so beautiful because you don’t have what they have. It is a materialistic approach — that of spiritual materialism — and it is based on there not being enough sanity in the first place, not enough sense of confidence and richness.
Spiritual wealth ~ Jigme Lingpa
Jigme LingpaThe merit of being led by a sublime being is beyond comparison, far better than the merit of kings and queens. Even if you may not always practice, if you have a constant wish to practice and a constant concern about not being able to practice, you are far wealthier than the most materially successful person. If you put emphasis on generating the motivation to be kind and to enlighten all sentient beings, there is no comparison. You have surpassed what any other religion or spiritual system can do.
The Dawn of Enlightenment ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe dawn of enlightenment could be described as a form of absorption. But it is not a trancelike state in which one loses contact with the world around one. It is a sense of totality and a sense of openness which does not seem to have any beginning or end.
Get along in your family ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpochePeople often ask me, “What is the best way to make sure our children grow up to appreciate the Dharma and become Buddhists?” The advice I give is to get along in your family. If the members of a family all get along and are kind and loving, honest and straightforward, peaceful and affectionate with one another, the children will see it and say, “You know, Dharma practitioners must be all right.” They consequently develop an interest in the Dharma and eventually start to practice. This is why it is very important not to bicker or quarrel or fight.
A main condition for our selfishness ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaHowever autonomous we may feel ourselves to be, we could not even begin our lives without two specific people who therefore are not entirely distinct from or ‘other’ to us. Once born, we eat food from others, learn from others, and are clothed and cared for all our lives by others. Just a few steps of analysis show us how dependent we are upon many, many others for our basic existence. Who we are as individuals emerges as a result of those diverse causes and conditions. We can give a separate name to that result and use that name to identify ourselves throughout life, but that does not mean we are utterly separate or separable from those causes and conditions. It is completely valid to bear a name that distinguishes us, but we invest a reality in that name that goes far beyond its function. We slowly come to believe that what our name points to is wholly separable from everything else. This message is communicated to us in many ways — and we repeat it to ourselves — “You are unique in the world. You are special. There is no one else like you.” It is true we are unique, but to the extent that this discourse heightens our sense of ourselves as absolutely distinct and unrelated to others, this perception itself becomes a main condition for our selfishness.
Samsara and nirvana ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaThose who believe in existence are born in higher realms.
Those who believe that nothing exists are born in lower realms.
By completely understanding the truth as it is,
There is liberation without relying on the two extremes.