Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWorries concerning the melodramas of day-to-day life serve no purpose. To fret in this futile manner is to be like the child who is delighted at having built a sand castle, and distraught when the sea washes it away.
Samsara ~ Naropa
NaropaThe mind, deluded by the appearance of samsara,
Sees the faults of others with the senses.
It is darkened by the prison of samsara;
It is made intolerable by the fire of samsara;
It is caught in the spider web of samsara;
It is stuck in samsara as the bee is in nectar;
It is encased in samsara like a silkworm in a cocoon.
There is no substance to the hollow tree of samsara.
Samsara is like the moon’s reflection in water,
Without essence;
Samsara is like an animal chasing a mirage;
He who desires samsara falls into a pit.
Samsara is like being trapped in the jaws of a crocodile;
Samsara is like wandering in the land of the rakshas;
Samsara is like a poisonous snake which destroys anyone who sees or touches it;
Samsara is bordered by the precipice of karma;
Samsara is like a wave in water, or fog;
Samsara is tied by the lasso of karma;
Samsara is bound by the seal of karma;
Samsara is the density of darkness;
Samsara is the deep mud of the three poisons;
Samsara is the dance of impermanence;
Samsara is the enchantment of this life;
Samsara is the shadow of birth and death;
Samsara is a merciless hunter;
Samsara is snared by the hound of death;
Samsara is a vast, sorrowful field of grasping and fixation;
Samsara is the galloping horse of the eight worldly dharmas;
Samsara si caught by the iron hook of desire;
Why should I not search for the Lama
While I have this precious, impermanent body?
Smile five times a day ~ Mother Teresa
Mother TeresaPeace begins with a smile — smile five times a day at someone you don’t really want to smile at at all — do it for peace.
Discipline ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaDiscipline is about giving up the search for entertainment.
Finding the lama in your heart ~ Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom RinpocheSince pure awareness of nowness is the real buddha,
In openness and contentment I found the lama in my heart.
When we realize this unending natural mind is the very nature of the lama,
Then there is no need for attached, grasping, or weeping prayers or artificial complaints,
By simply relaxing in this uncontrived, open, and natural state,
We obtain the blessing of aimless self-liberation of whatever arises.
Cultivating forbearance with the kleshas as a game rather than a practice or training ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWhen I say, “they are masses of defects” I mean understanding that the kleshas or disturbing emotions are completely defective, completely rotten, or, I don’t want to say “bad,” but like bad, that there is no part of them that is worthwhile. An analogy for this and how it gives you the ability not to indulge the kleshas even in situations of adversity is: Someone asked you to do something that you had no interest whatsoever in doing. You would not have to think about it. “Do I want to do this or not?” You would immediately be able to clearly state to the person, “I do not wish to do this.” And that is the way you respond to the kleshas when you have correctly observed their defective nature that they are naturally faulty.
Nevertheless this type of forbearance with the kleshas does not initially arise spontaneously within us. It is something we have to develop through conscious effort. It may be best to regard the effort and process of cultivating this forbearance as a game rather than a practice or training. If we are about to do something and someone tells us, “OK, now we are going to study,” the whole thing becomes a little depressing. We become depressed by the word “study.” But if someone were to say, “OK, the study is over now. Now we are going to play a game,” then the concept “game” cheers us up and makes us enthusiastic, even though the game may be just as much a matter of learning as the supposed study was. Therefore, in the same way I think it is best if we avoid the concept of practice here and think of the approach we take to developing forbearance with the kleshas as a kind of game. Then we will be able to enthusiastically put a great deal of effort into it, provided that we think of it as a game and not as a process of study, training, or practice.
Only thoughts ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheThere are, in fact, no good thoughts or bad thoughts. There are only thoughts.
Within the world itself ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahPeople who suffer will accordingly gain wisdom. If we don’t suffer, we don’t contemplate. If we don’t contemplate, no wisdom is born. Without wisdom, we don’t know. Not knowing, we can’t get free of suffering – that’s just the way it is. Therefore we must train and endure in our practice. When we then reflect on the world, we won’t be afraid like before. It isn’t that the Buddha was enlightened outside of the world but within the world itself.
Inclination to cultivate warm-heartedness ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaAll living beings have experience of pleasure and pain, and we are among them. What makes human beings different is that we have a powerful intelligence and a much greater ability to achieve happiness and avoid suffering. Real happiness and friendship come not from money or even knowledge, but from warm-heartedness. Once we recognise this we will be more inclined to cultivate it.
The amor of loving-friendliness ~ Bhante Gunaratana
Bhante GunaratanaIt is said that nothing can harm a person who is pouring out of loving-friendliness- not even bullets of fire, much less harassment at the office!
Allowing our primordial wisdom to awaken ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche
Tai Situ RinpocheNow, when we meditate and practice, what is really happening to us is that our primordial wisdom is awakening. That’s what it is. When we meditate, what we are doing is allowing our primordial wisdom to awaken. Even in an ordinary, day to day situation, like when you are in a terrible dilemma; if you are able to ask your friends to leave the room, and then you say to yourself “I’m going to sit down and be quiet.” If you do that for half an hour, then no matter what kind of terrible dilemma that you are in, you will see the situation very clearly. You will have a perspective over your problem, and you might even find out, to your surprise, that there is no problem at all. Maybe what you were calling a problem half an hour ago is actually a very good thing. Maybe it is exactly what you need to get, for what you want to achieve. Otherwise, it might be something that is a problem indeed, but there is more solution than problem itself, and I can guarantee you one thing (this is my little experience through the blessing of the dharma): the solution for the problem is in the problem. I guarantee you. It is always there. It is just like a question: when somebody asks a question, if that person breaks down that question for themselves then that is the answer. The answer is in the question, you know? The solution is in the problem, but it is very hard to see – especially if it is your problem. You can feel your problem from the tip of your hair into the middle of your bones, and therefore you cannot have the perspective easily, but if you can relax then you are able to see more clearly. That’s the principle of meditation. When you meditate with sacred methods of meditation then, through the blessing of the lineage and so forth, that potential for seeing things clearly – the primordial wisdom – awakens. Even temporarily, it makes all the difference on earth, all the difference that you can think of. It will make a big difference, an enormous difference.
Seeing the futility of all the glory of this world ~ Gyelse Tokme Zangpo
Gyelse Tokme ZangpoEven though I may be famous and revered by all,
And as rich as Vaiśravaṇa, the god of wealth himself,
To see the futility of all the glory and riches of this world,
And to remain without conceit — this is the practice of all the bodhisattvas.
Not knowing reality ~ Sakya Trizin
Sakya TrizinIf we really wish to be free from suffering and experience happiness, it is important to work on the causes. Without working on the causes, we cannot expect to yield any results. Each and every thing must have its own complete cause; things do not appear from nowhere, from the wrong cause, or from an incomplete cause. So the source of all our suffering is our own negative deeds. Negative deeds result from not knowing reality, not knowing the true nature of the mind. Instead of seeing the true nature of the mind, we cling to a self for no logical reason. All of us have a natural tendency to cling to a self because we are so used to it. It is a kind of habit we have formed since beginningless time. However, if we carefully examine and investigate, we cannot find the self.
Being with us ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronThe most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.
Sticking to notions of I and mine ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheBy sticking to notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and blindly following the feelings of attraction and repulsion to which these notions give rise, we accumulate negative karma. Let us stop doing that!
Bravery ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe ultimate definition of bravery is not being afraid of who you are.
Why not practice now ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaWithout thinking that death will come, I am absorbed in plans for the future. After having done the many and futile activities of this life I will leave utterly empty-handed. What a blunder; as I will certainly need an understanding of the excellent dharma. So why not practice now?
Beginning to develop awareness ~ Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin PalmoAs we begin to develop awareness of the mind, the mind itself appears to divide into two. A new aspect of the mind arises. This is referred to variously as the witness, the seer, the knower, or the observer. It witnesses without judgment and without comment. Along with the arrival of the witness, a space appears within the mind. This enables us to see thoughts and emotions as mere thoughts and emotions, rather than as ‘me’ and ‘mine.’ When the thoughts and emotions are no longer seen as ‘me’ or ‘mine’, we begin to have choices. Certain thoughts and emotions are helpful, so we encourage them. Others are not so helpful, so we just let them go. All the thoughts and emotions are recognized and accepted. Nothing is suppressed. But now we have a choice about how to react. We can give energy to the ones, which are useful and skillful and withdraw energy from those which are not.
What person is there ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaIf a person is not earth, not water,
Not fire, not wind, not space,
Not consciousness, and not all of them,
What person is there other than these?
A ridiculous comedy ~ Ryokan
RyokanWhere there is beauty, there is ugliness.
When something is right, something else is wrong.
Knowledge and ignorance depend on each other.
It has been like this since the beginning.
How could it be otherwise now?
Wanting to toss out one and hold onto the other
makes for a ridiculous comedy.
You must still deal with everything ever-changing,
even when you say it’s wonderful.