Tai Situ RinpocheMind is empty, it doesn’t have any solid tangible reality; that is dharmakaya. But it is clear, it is always clear and that is sambhogakaya. But that clarity is the clarity of that emptiness and that emptiness is the emptiness of that clarity. They are not two things glued together by force, no! Emptiness is the emptiness of the clarity and clarity is the clarity of the emptiness – they are together.
Do not be anything at all ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahDo not be a bodhisatta; do not be an arahant; do not be anything at all. If you are a bodhisatta, you will suffer; if you are an arahant, you will suffer; if you are anything at all, you will suffer.
Infinite in scope ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheOur real nature is infinite in scope.
Unborn and unceasing ~ Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche
Khenpo Tsultrim RinpocheThe unborn true nature of all phenomena
And the unceasing true nature of luminous clarity
Are encompassed by mind itself, luminous clarity, unborn and unceasing.
Embracing the groundlessness of our situation ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronIt’s not impermanence per se, or even knowing we’re going to die, that is the cause of our suffering, the Buddha taught. Rather, it’s our resistance to the fundamental uncertainty of our situation. Our discomfort arises from all of our efforts to put ground under our feet, to realize our dream of constant okayness. When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into its dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment, or awakening to our true nature, to our fundamental goodness. Another word for that is freedom — freedom from struggling against the fundamental ambiguity of being human.
Putting others first ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaYou take up the bodhisattva path, the path of those who are dedicated to helping others, with the attitude of working for others first. You begin to give up your own personal struggle to survive and maintain yourself. Beyond that, you can expand further and develop into an ultimately genuine and good person. You do not put your own situation first; you put others first. Therefore, you become more reasonable.
Death is part of life ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaIf you accept that death is part of life, then when it actually does come, you may face it more easily.
What precisely is bodhicitta ~ Ling Rinpoche
Ling RinpocheWhat precisely is bodhicitta? It is the mind strongly characterized by the aspiration, “For the sake of all sentient beings I must attain the state of full enlightenment.” While it’s easy to repeat these words to ourselves, bodhicitta is much deeper than that. It is a quality we cultivate systematically within our mind. Merely holding the thought “I must attain enlightenment for the sake of benefiting others” in mind without first cultivating its prerequisite causes, stages and basic foundations will not give birth to bodhicitta. For this reason, the venerable Atisha once asked, “Do you know anybody with bodhicitta not born from meditation on love and compassion?”
Samatha and vipassana ~ Pa-Auk Sayadaw
Pa-Auk SayadawThere are two types of meditation, namely, samatha and vipassana. Samatha is the development of concentration. Vipassana is the development of wisdom. Of these two, samatha is the important foundation of vipassana. Therefore, in the Khandha Vagga Samyutta and Sacca Samyutta, the Buddha said: ‘Samadhim bhikkhave bhavetha, samahito bhikkhave bhikkhu yathabhutam pajanati.’ The meaning is: ‘Bhikkhus, you should cultivate concentration. Bhikkhus, if you have enough concentration, you can understand phenomena as they really are.’ So beginners are encouraged to first practise samatha to develop deep and powerful concentration. Then they can practise vipassana and see phenomena in their real essence.
Improving Our Relationships ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaOne powerful way to improve our relationships is to learn to recognize and drop our own unhelpful projections. We need to do this so we can see the other person more clearly, and accept them more fully as they are. In other words, healthy relationships involve an element of acceptance, or what we can call patience.
The Skill of Happiness ~ Matthieu Ricard
Matthieu RicardBy happiness I mean here a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind. This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, a fleeting emotion, or a mood, but an optimal state of being. Happiness is also a way of interpreting the world, since while it may be difficult to change the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it.
Following self-cherishing thoughts ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpocheIf you follow self-cherishing thoughts, those thoughts become your identity. Then anger, pride, the jealous mind – all this negative emotional stuff arises. When you let go of the I and cherish others, negative emotional thoughts do not arise. That’s very clear. Anger does not arise at those you cherish.
Resolutely train yourself ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniResolutely train yourself to attain peace.
Remember death ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheJust as every single thing is always moving inexorably closer to its ultimate dissolution, so also your own life, like a burning butter-lamp, will soon be consumed. It would be foolish to think that you can first finish all your work and then retire to spend the later stages of your life practicing the Dharma. Can you be certain that you will live that long? Does death not strike the young as well as the old? No matter what you are doing, therefore, remember death and keep your mind focused on the Dharma.
Degenerate age ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaWhen the degenerate age of this aeon arrives,
people are their own deceivers, their own bad counsel,
the makers of their own stupidity, lying to and fooling themselves.
How sad that these people have human forms but possess no more sense than an ox!
Nonjudgmental awareness ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheMeditation is really a process of nonjudgmental awareness.
Only in the realm of appearances ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahActually, in truth, there isn’t anything to human beings. Whatever we may be, it’s only in the realm of appearances. However, if we go beyond appearances and see the truth, we will see that there isn’t anything there but the universal characteristics – birth in the beginning, change in the middle, and cessation in the end. This is all there is. If we see that all things are like this, then no problems arise. If we understand this, we will have contentment and peace.
Good morning thought ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWhen I wake up in the morning I make a wish to be useful to others.
Finding the intrinsic cheerfulness which exists in you ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThere is always something in a situation that can cheer you up, but you have to discover and understand it yourself. There is no point in me telling you how to cheer up. It is up to you to find the intrinsic cheerfulness which exists in you. You have to actually experience it. If somebody simply puts an idea in your head, it is not good enough. You can cheer yourself up much better than somebody talking you into something.
Connect with Groundlessness ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronNone of us wants to be miserable; we all want to be happy. But we can’t achieve this aim is we stay stuck in biased, narrow-minded thinking. No matter how much we long for joy, it will elude us if we continue buying into concepts of right and wrong, good and bad, acceptance and rejection. What ultimately frees us from these constricting patterns is to stop reifying our experience, and to connect with the ineffable, groundless nature of all phenomena.