Ajahn AnanWe meditate to get to know our mind. But that doesn’t mean we think, “I’ve got to be peaceful!” If we think and attach in this way then we’ll tend to get irritated with ourself when we’re not peaceful. Our aim is just to know the mind. And when we’re working on developing constant awareness, this will include times when we are not very peaceful, when there are thoughts and distractions coming up. So we just know, “Oh, now the mind is distracted.” There will also be times when our mindfulness and concentration are strong and the hindrances disappear. At those times we are aware that, “Now the mind is peaceful. Now the mind is calm and concentrated.” Whatever the experience, we know it for what it is. That’s our aim
Always ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhYou have always been here.
Protection 24/7 ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaI am never far from those with faith,
Or even those without it,
Though they do not see me.
My children will always,
Always,
Be protected by my compassion.
The key to human happiness ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaThe key to human happiness lies within our own state of mind, and so too do the primary obstacles to that happiness.
The impossible is possible ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheRecognizing the instability of causes and conditions leads us to understand our own power to transform obstacles and make the impossible possible. This is true in every area of life. If you don’t have a Ferrari, you very well may create the conditions to have one. As long as there is a Ferrari, there is the opportunity for you to own one. Likewise if you want to live longer, you can choose to stop smoking and exercise more. There is reasonable hope. Hopelessness — just like its opposite, blind hope — is the result of a belief in permanence.
You can transform not only your physical world but your emotional world, for example, turning agitation into peace of mind by letting go of ambition or turning low self-respect into confidence by acting out of kindness and philanthropy. If we all condition ourselves to put our feet in other people’s shoes, we will cultivate peace in our homes, with our neighbors, and with other countries.
Opening up our small mind ~ Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzukif you want to obtain perfect calmness in your zazen [meditation], you should not be bothered by the various images you find in your mind. Let them come, and let them go. Then they will be under control. But this policy is not so easy. It sounds easy, but it requires some special effort. How to make this kind of effort is the secret of practice. Suppose you are sitting under some extraordinary circumstances. If you try to calm your mind you will be unable to sit, and if you try not to be disturbed, your effort will not be the right effort. The only effort that will help you is to count your breathing, or to concentrate on your inhaling and exhaling. We say concentration, but to concentrate your mind on something is not the true purpose of Zen. The true purpose is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes. This is to put everything under control in its widest sense. Zen practice is to open up our small mind. So concentrating is just an aid to help you realize “big mind,” or the mind that is everything.
Never stop thinking about how to gain liberation ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheIt is not enough to wish from time to time that you could be free of samsara. That idea must pervade your stream of thinking, day and night. A prisoner locked in jail thinks all the time about different ways of getting free—how he might climb over the walls, ask powerful people to intervene, or raise money to bribe someone. So, too, seeing the suffering and imperfection of samsara, never stop thinking about how to gain liberation, with a deep feeling of renunciation.
The capacity of meeting everything anew ~ Krishnamurti
KrishnamurtiThis, after all, is the truth: to have the capacity of meeting everything anew, from moment to moment, without the conditioning reaction of the past, so that there is not the cumulative effect which acts as a barrier between oneself and that which is.
Changing the object of your cherishing ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpocheAs soon as your object of concern changes from yourself to someone else, your heart is released from the bondage of the self-cherishing thought. As soon as you change the object of your cherishing, there is peace in your heart.
Simple Common Sense ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche
Tai Situ RinpocheIs it difficult for you to be good to yourself? If you are good to yourself then you are good to everybody. If you do good things to benefit others it is good for you. If you do harmful actions against others it is bad for you. That is a fact. So in order to be good to yourself you have to be good to others, in order to be truthful to yourself you have to be truthful to others, and in order to be kind to yourself you have to be kind to others. You cannot be kind to yourself by being cruel to others and you cannot be honest to yourself by being dishonest to others. So this is very simple common sense.
The way known by the wise ~ Aryadeva
AryadevaIn the beginning one reverses nonvirtue.
In the middle one reverses the view of a self.
In the end one reverses all views.
Those who know this way are wise.
The profound absence of objectification ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaThose whose mind has transcended
Existence and non-existence and abides no more [in them],
They’ve realized the meaning of conditioned existence,
The profound absence of objectification.
Transcending Pleasure, Transcending Pain ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIn meditation we are not trying to overcome or to defeat anything, and we are not trying to gain any level of high spiritual achievement for the sake of pleasure. Since the practice of meditation is not at all geared to pleasure, its achievement should also be beyond pleasure — and since it transcends pleasure, it also transcends pain. But transcending pain and developing peace are by-products of meditation practice rather than an immediate aim.
Being good, no matter what ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThere is no way to be a good person without making any efforts, doing nothing. But if we bring to bear the sort of confidence and sincere determination that says, “I don’t care what happens; no matter what, I will be a good person in the world; it is not alright for everyone in the world to be deceitful, with bad intentions and behaving badly, so I myself will be a good person,” in that case, I think at that point we can become good people without difficulty. I think it can basically come about without hardship.
The ground of practice is your direct experience ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul RinpocheDon’t think you have to leave most of your mind behind when you become a practitioner. That would be a wrong view of the spiritual path. The ground of practice is your direct experience – regardless of its content. You don’t have to act out or indulge in these emotions. Just give them space and see them clearly.
Space and awareness ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen RinpocheIt is said that the difference between buddhas and sentient beings is like the difference between the narrowness and the openness of space. Sentient beings are like the space held within a tightly closed fist, while buddhas are fully open, all-encompassing. Basic space and awareness are innately all-encompassing. Basic space is the absence of mental constructs, while awareness is the ‘knowing’ of this absence of constructs, recognizing the complete emptiness of mind essence. Space and awareness are inherently indivisible.
A flexible identity ~ Pema Chödron
In the most ordinary terms, egolessness is a flexible identity. It manifests as inquisitiveness, as adaptability, as humor, as playfulness. It is our capacity to relax with not knowing, not figuring everything out, with not being at all sure about who we are — or who anyone else is either.
Unlimited potential ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheWhen Buddhist talk about emptiness, we don’t mean nothingness, but rather an unlimited potential for anything to appear, change, or disappear.
The happiness of the Buddha ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahTry to be mindful, and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still. This is the happiness of the Buddha.
Just a movie ~ Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin PalmoThis endless film show is being played in our mind – moment to moment mind states – and that is projected out in front of us as our external reality. Now as long as we are fascinated by the movie in front of us, then we believe it and we become deeply involved in what appears to be happening. But if we look back and realise it’s just a mind-show that we are projecting, then even though we can still enjoy it, we are not going to be totally devastated if it’s a tragedy or completely engulfed if it’s a romance. We know it’s just a movie.