Gyelse Tokme ZangpoThe practice of all the bodhisattvas is to study, reflect and meditate,
Tirelessly, both day and night, without ever straying into idleness,
In order to free oneself and others from this ocean of samsara,
Having gained this supreme vessel — a free, well-favoured human life, so difficult to find.
Joining our being with the dharma ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWhen we say practice, it’s not all that helpful for us just to hear the dharma, or listen to the dharma. It’s not all that helpful for us to develop some kind of understanding about the dharma. What we really need to do is join the dharma with our own being, and then we need to practice that over and over again. Joining our being with the dharma, so that we can become habituated and familiarized with it – this is what is most important.
Appreciating the recognition of our weaknesses ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche
Tai Situ RinpocheIt also advices us to be positive with ourselves. Instead of getting frustrated with our faults we should appreciate the fact that we have recognized them. If we find a particular weakness, instead of thinking, “Oh my goodness, how terrible I have this weakness,” we should think, “How wonderful I have recognized my weakness.” We should try to appreciate the recognition of our weaknesses rather than being disappointed in finding them.
The awareness of whatever is arising in the mind ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpocheMeditation is not supposed to be the fabrication or the reinforcement of some particular state, but simply the cultivation of the awareness of whatever is arising in the mind.
An Adamantine Song on the Ever-Present ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaTo experience the ocean of essence,
resembling the sphere of unchanging space:
free of center and perimeter,
pervading the expanse.
Enlightened mind transcends cognitions!Rootless and baseless are appearance
and void, in the self-arisen rikpa
of every perception.
Vivid is the sense of noncessation:
luminous, the absence of object perception.Within the voidness free of class distinction
all appearances dissolve, for their ground is lost;
The rikpa of liberation is spread evenly.
Subject and object are both void,
for their roots are lost.The essence of self-arisen wisdom
and all duality are cleansed like the sky;
subjects and objects arise as free from bounds,
as naked dharmakaya!
This is the Great Perfection, free of cognition!The self-arisen ground primordially pure,
the ultraversed path supremely swift,
the unsought fruit spontaneously savored,
such is the Great Perfection,
in the radiant dharmakaya.This primordial sphere of pervasive essence
is the Great Perfection of samsara
and nirvana; this song of transcending –
beyond cause and effect, beyond all endeaver,
Just be ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhBe yourself.
Life is precious as it is.
All the elements for your happiness are already here.
There is no need to run, strive, search or struggle.
Just Be.
Just like me ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheOnce we recognize that other sentients being – people, animals, and even insects – are just like us, that their basic motivation is to experience peace and to avoid suffering, then, when someone acts in some way or says something that is against our wishes, we’re able to have some basis for understanding: oh well, this person (or whatever) is coming from this position because, just like me, they want to be happy and they want to avoid suffering. That’s their basic purpose. They’re not out to get me; they’re only doing what they think they need to do.
Mindfulness is our practice ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheI will repeat that mindfulness, in other words ‘awareness,’ is our practice. We are ignorant beings, and as such require constant reminders about the importance of making the effort to land in this awareness. Therefore all our guru’s activities—from when he yawns or coughs, to when he appears or disappears—are his way of reminding us to come back, again and again, to mindfulness. And as long as we are mindful and aware, no one practice is better than another.
Close or far away ~ Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche
Khenpo Tsultrim RinpocheNot only is there no difference between being close to the guru or far away, the guru’s blessings are stronger when you are far away. For example, Milarepa stayed with Marpa in order to receive all the oral instructions, then went off to practice in the mountains of Lachi. Once, when Milarepa supplicated Marpa with great longing and devotion, Marpa appeared to him in the midst of a cloud, riding a lion, even though he was very far away…
I say this because some people think that when they are a student of a particular guru, they need to stay with the guru all the time. This is not the case. There is actually no difference between staying near the guru or staying far from the guru. If you have very strong faith, although you may actually be living far from the guru, the guru will be right there. But if you have no faith, you may always be in the presence of the guru but still be far away.
Co-operation ~ Krishnamurti
KrishnamurtiTwo people who have lived together for a long time have an image of each other which prevents them from really being in relationship. If we understand relationship we can co-operate but co-operation cannot possibly exist through images, through symbols, through ideological conceptions.
The influence of perception ~ Bhante Gunaratana
Bhante GunaratanaPerception is so influential because in addition to determining the apparent characteristics of objects or mental pictures of objects, such as their color, shape, size, or hardness, the thought that follows perception also judges whether the things we perceive are pleasant, unpleasant, or neither. The Buddha taught that desire or craving arise naturally in an untrained mind when it encounters what it takes to be pleasant, beautiful, or attractive. Dislike or aversion arise when the mind encounters what it takes to be unpleasant, ugly, or repulsive. We generally ignore or pay little attention to what we perceive to be neither pleasant nor unpleasant. As we discover, sensory objects in themselves are not marked with beauty or ugliness, pleasantness or unpleasantness, attractiveness or unattractiveness. It is the thinking about what is perceived that judges or categorizes them and thus guides our responses.
Science ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaIf science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. By learning from science about aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced, I believe that Buddhism enriches its own worldview.
Blind faith in religion ~ Ponlop Rinpoche
Ponlop RinpocheWe talk about blind faith in religion, but actual blind faith exists in our everyday world. What do we really trust? We trust our senses, our perceptions, our culture, our thoughts ― completely, one-pointedly, and blindly. We trust these more than we trust religion.
The idea of having blind faith in religion is totally a myth. The real blind faith exists in our worldly existence. We trust anything that is within the range of experiences of our mind, whether they are perceptual or conceptual.
Taking our reactions less seriously ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul RinpocheIf we’re not too confused or hard on ourselves, we will discover the sanity beyond habitual reactions. Identifying less with habits and more with our basic nature lightens things up. With more space in our mind, we take our reactions less seriously. We can watch them the way we would watch children at play – knowing they will quickly wear themselves out.
The Song of the Seven Truths ~ Milarepa
MilarepaI make obeisance to you, Marpa the translator.
I pray that you grant me increase of bodhi-mind.
However beautiful a song’s words may be,
it is but a tune to those
who grasp not the words of truth.If a parable agrees not with Buddha’s teaching,
however eloquent it may sound,
‘Tis but a booming echo.If one does not practice dharma,
however learned in the doctrines one may claim to be,
one is only self-deceived.Living in solitude is self-imprisonment,
if one practices not the instructions of the oral transmission.
Labor on the farm is but self-punishment,
if one neglects the teachings of the Buddha.For those who do not guard their morals,
prayers are but wishful thinking.
For those who do not practice what they preach,
oratory is but faithless lying.Wrong-doing shunned, sins of themselves diminish;
Good deeds done, merit will be gained.
Remain in solitude, and meditate alone;
much talking is of no avail.
Follow what I sing, and practice dharma!
The eight similes of illusion ~ Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul RinpocheAs in a dream, all the external objects perceived with the five senses are not there, but appear through delusion.
As in a magic show, things are made to appear by a temporary conjunction of causes, circumstances and connections.
As in a visual aberration, things appear to be there, yet there is nothing.
As in a mirage, things appear but are not real.
As in an echo, things can be perceived but there is nothing there, either outside or inside.
As in a city of gandharvas, there is neither a dwelling nor anyone to dwell.
As in a reflection, things appear but have no reality of their own.
As in a city created by magic, there are all sorts of appearances but they are not really there.
Identifying the true enemy ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheNow, with the help of your spiritual teacher, you can at last identify the true enemy. Brandish the sword of transcendent knowledge and annihilate the demon of attachment to ‘I’ and to the reality of phenomena.
Openness is like the wind ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronBasic wakefulness, natural openness, is always available. This openness is not something that needs to be manufactured. When we pause, when we touch the energy of the moment, when we slow down and allow a gap, self-existing openness comes to us. It does not require a particular effort. It is available anytime. As Chögyam Trungpa once remarked, “Openness is like the wind. If you open your doors and windows, it is bound to come in.”
Just naturally alert ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen RinpocheTo keep an eye on whether one is distracted or not, first of all, one needs effortful mindfulness. When that slowly, slowly has become habituated it becomes effortless. By effortful mindfulness, one is led to the effortless.
When effortful mindfulness has become self-sustained, there is a vivid, wakeful, effortless state of being awake without any need for force or struggle, without rigidity, just naturally alert. When you become accustomed, there is only undistracted rigpa.
It is said, “Sustain primordial free awareness with natural mindfulness.” That means without being distracted, without being carried away, exactly as it is, rest freely. Although this self-abiding non-distraction is called mindfulness, in this context there is no duality.
Indigestion in the mind ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaA lack of balance in life boils down to not being fully aware in situations and not feeling present. The present moment of action is not properly accomplished, for when a person is halfway through dealing with the present action, he or she is already drifting on to the next action. This produces a kind of indigestion in the mind. There is something always left incomplete, like leaving a fruit half eaten.