Bokar RinpocheUnderstanding that everything is impermanent, that happiness is transformed into suffering, and that all phenomena are lacking reality in themselves and are only projections of our mind, will permit us to counteract the first hindrance to meditation, that is, our attachment to this world.
See you later ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheSee you later. We don’t know. Maybe there is no later.
Inevitable changes ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheEvery strong attachment generates an equally powerful fear that we’ll either fail to get what we want or lose whatever we’ve already gained. This fear, in the language of Buddhism, is known as aversion: a resistance to the inevitable changes that occur as a consequence of the impermanent nature of relative reality.
Bodhicitta mind ~ Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul RinpocheOnce bodhicitta has been aroused in you whatever dharma practices you do will lead to the attainment of perfect enlightenment.
Freedom from the fear of what is ~ Krishnamurti
KrishnamurtiReality can be found only in understanding what is; and to understand what is, there must be freedom, freedom from the fear of what is.
Teachers on the path ~ Shabkar
ShabkarIn the beginning I took the teacher as the teacher,
In the middle I took the scriptures as the teacher,
In the end I took my own mind as the teacher.
Effect of compassion ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaTrue compassion brings with it the dispelling of internal tensions, a state of calmness and serenity.
The meaning of wrathful deities ~ Garchen Rinpoche
Garchen RinpocheThe transformation that occurs when the afflictive emotions are subdued with the sharp discriminating awareness is the arising of the wrathful deities. The actual nature of the afflictive emotions is primordial wisdom, thus the five poisons are the five wisdoms. Through the power of awareness the afflictive emotions collapse, and this collapsing reveals their true nature, primordial wisdom. This collapsing or transformation is the wrathful deity.
The wrathful deities are infuriated with compassion; they are not angry. They are like a mother taming a mischievous child. The mother loves the child and becomes infuriated in order to help her child. The wrathful deities arise with intense compassion, taming the very coarse afflictive emotions of sentient beings. Their compassion is even more intense than the compassion of peaceful deities.
Supreme among all virtuous thoughts ~ Khunu Rinpoche
Khunu RinpocheJust like the lotus among flowers
is bodhicitta supreme among all virtuous thoughts.
Since having it brings immediate and final happiness,
one should make every effort to produce it.
Unrecognized problem ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpocheWithout meditating, without studying Dharma, we have a problem but we don’t recognize it. It’s as if we have cancer but we don’t recognize that we have cancer. Only when the doctor introduces it to us do we understand.
Dreamlike world ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaThe object of knowledge in dream is not seen when one awakes. Similarly the world disappears to him who is awakened from the darkness of ignorance.
View and Action ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheYour view can, and should be, as high as possible — there is no danger in this since enlightenment is the total realization of the absolute view. But at the same time your behavior should be as grounded as possible in an awareness of cause and effect. If you lose this basic attitude regarding actions, if you forget all common sense and use the loftiness of the view as an excuse for putting into action whatever comes into your mind, you are engaging in mundane activities contrary to the Dharma, just like ordinary worldly people.
Escaping from the monsters of our minds ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronWe can spend our whole lives escaping from the monsters of our minds.
The four levels of obscurations ~ Kalu Rinpoche
Kalu RinpocheThe failure of the mind to recognize its own nature is what is meant by the term “ma-rik-pa,” or ignorance, the first level of obscuration or defilement in the mind. As a result of this ignorance, there arises in the mind the imputation of an “I” and an “other,” something that is other than the mind. This dualistic clinging, something that we have had throughout beginningless time and that never stops, is the second level of obscuration, the obscuration of habits. Based upon this dualistic clinging arise the three root mental afflictions: mental darkness, desire, and aggression. Based upon those three afflictions are the 84,000 various mental afflictions, the third level of obscurations, called the obscuration of mental affliction. Under the influence of this, we perform actions that are obscured in their nature – the fourth level, called the obscuration of actions or karma. These four levels or types of obscurations are the cause for all sentient beings to wander in samsara. If these are removed or cleaned, then the inherent qualities of mind’s nature, which we refer to as wisdom or “yeshe,” will naturally manifest and spread like the rays of the sun. The word in Tibetan for the removal of these obscurations, “sang,” means “cleansing,” and the word for the spreading of the inherent qualities of the mind that occurs as a result of that is “gye,” or “increasing.” “Sang-gye,” these two words together, is the Tibetan word for a Buddha. Therefore what is meant by Buddhahood is the recognition and realization of the complete purity of the mind.
Know from the rivers ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniKnow from the rivers in clefts and in crevices: those in small channels flow noisily, the great flow silent. Whatever’s not full makes noise. Whatever is full is quiet.
Keep looking ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Tsoknyi RinpocheLook at your life. Look at the ways in which you define who you are and what you’re capable of achieving. Look at your goals. Look at the pressures applied by the people around you and the culture in which you were raised. Look again. And again. Keep looking until you realize, within your own experience, that you’re so much more than who you believe you are. Keep looking until you discover the wondrous heart, the marvelous mind, that is the very basis of your being.
Transparency of time and space ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaWhen we practice meditation, we begin to realize what is known as the transparency and impermanence of time and space. We realize how much we are dwelling on our little things and that we cannot catch any of it and build a house on it. We cannot even lay the foundation. The whole thing keeps shifting under our feet and under our seat. The rug is being pulled out from under us completely, simply from the experience of working with ourselves. Nobody is pulling it, but we find that the rug constantly moves.
Learning to be aware of your actions ~ Lama Yeshe
Lama YesheEvery minute you perform hundreds of karmic actions, yet you are hardly conscious of any of them. In the stillness of meditation, however, you can listen to your mind, the source of all this activity. You learn to be aware of your actions to a far greater extent than ever before. This self-awareness leads to self-control, enabling you to master your karma rather than be mastered by it.
Conquering ourselves ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahWe have limited time in our life, therefore we should try to teach ourselves, not to teach others. We should conquer ourselves, rather than conquer others. Whether coming or going, standing, sitting or lying down, our mind should be focused in this way. If we practise like this and develop mindfulness continuously, wisdom arises quickly and this is a fast way of practice.
Your entire life ~ Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom RinpocheTake your entire life as the only measure for the duration of your practice.