Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThe attainment of the level of omniscience and liberation depends on realizing the coemergent wisdom of your mind. The birth of this realization depends exclusively on the lama’s blessings, and receiving these blessings depends on the link of devotion alone.
Our Mistaken Feeling of Separateness ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronAt the level of absolute truth, there is no reason to suffer. But at the relative level, we’re all in considerable pain. The cause of our discontent is our mistaken feeling of separateness. This isn’t based on anything tangible. It’s based on beliefs and concepts. The duality of subject and object, self and other, is an illusion imputed by the mind.
This absolute understanding is arrived at through the practice of letting go. Meanwhile, we can work at the level of everyday pain and treat other people’s suffering as our own.
Aspiration to go beyond samsara ~ Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin PalmoMost people feel cozy enough in samsara. They do not really have the genuine aspiration to go beyond samsara; they just want samsara to be a little bit better. It is quite interesting that “samsara” became the name of a perfume. And it is like that. It seduces us into thinking that it is okay: samsara is not so bad; it smells nice! The underlying motivation to go beyond samsara is very rare, even for people who go to Dharma centers. There are many people who learn to meditate and so forth, but with the underlying motive that they hope to make themselves feel better. And if it ends up making them feel worse, instead of realizing that this may be a good sign, they think there is something wrong with Dharma. We are always looking to make ourselves comfortable in the prison house. We might think that if we get the cell wall painted a pretty shade of pale green, and put in a few pictures, it won’t be a prison any more.
Impermanence ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaIt is impossible to be at your best or your worst at all times. Who is always consistent? Everyone changes according to different situations and as they go through life’s different phases. There is no point in feeling great pride or great shame simply because of temporary circumstances.
The immeasurable space of love ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThere is no fear of leaping into the immeasurable space of love.
Fall in love?
Or, are you in love?
Such questions cannot be answered,
Because in this peace of an all-pervading presence,
No one is in and no one is falling in.
No one is possessed by another.
Recognizing our real nature ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheAs long as we don’t recognize our real nature, we suffer. When we recognize our nature, we become free from suffering. Whether you recognize it or not, though, its qualities remain unchanged. But when you begin to recognize it in yourself, you change, and the quality of your life changes as well. Things you never dreamed possible begin to happen.
No regrets ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWe must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion, to do as much as we can. Then, whatever happens, we will have no regrets.
Insecurity ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheThe cause of all these sufferings is our fundamental insecurity. We are always wondering whether we exist or not. Our ego, or rather our attachment to the idea of self, is completely insecure about its own existence. Our ego may seem strong but it is actually quite shaky. Of course, we do not ask such questions consciously, but we always have a subconscious feeling of insecurity about whether we exist.
We try to use things such as friends, money, position and power, and all the everyday things that we do, like watching television or going shopping, to somehow prove and confirm our existence. Try sitting alone in a house and doing absolutely nothing. Sooner or later your hands will reach for the remote control or the newspaper. We need to be occupied. We need to be busy. If we are not busy, we feel insecure.
But there is something very strange in all this. The ego searches constantly for distraction, and then the distraction itself becomes a problem. Instead of helping us to feel reassured, it actually increases our insecurity. We get obsessed with the distraction and it develops into another habit. Once it becomes a habit, it is difficult to get rid of. So in order to get rid of this new habit, we have to adopt yet another habit. This is how things go on and on.
Nothing to gain and nothing to lose ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheLook at the actual nature of harm itself: it is ungraspable. Like a drawing made on the water´s surface. When you truly experience that, resentment vanishes of its own accord. As soon as the fiery waves of thoughts subside, everything becomes like empty sky, which has nothing to gain and nothing to lose.
Our capacity to love ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronBodhicitta is particularly available to us when we feel good heart; when we feel gratitude, appreciation or love in any form whatsoever. In any moment of tenderness or happiness, bodhicitta is always here. If we begin to acknowledge these moments and cherish them, if we begin to realize how precious they are, then no matter how fleeting and tiny this good heart may seem, it will gradually, at its own speed, expand. Our capacity to love is an unstoppable essence that when nurtured can expand without limit.
Walking ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhWalk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.
Being content with what we have ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaHappiness is always there; we do not have to bring it in from the outside, but simply recognize it within and allow ourselves to feel it. For example, we can be content with what we have, whatever it is. If we have a lot, it doesn’t mean we have to get rid of things. We are simply satisfied with what is there, be it large or small. With this contentment comes happiness. So we have to learn how to satisfy ourselves. This is extremely important as our endless greed is using up the limited resources of the world. We must think about future generations and our future lives.
Right there ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahIf you want to understand suffering you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there. Where suffering lies is right where non-suffering will arise, it ceases at the place where it arises. If suffering arises you must contemplate right there, you don’t have to run away. You should settle the issue right there. One who runs away from suffering out of fear is the most foolish person of all. He will simply increases his stupidity endlessly.
Embracing the conditions that trouble us ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheThe teachings and practices laid out by the Buddha twenty-five hundred years ago do not in any way involve conquering problems or getting rid of the sense of loneliness, discomfort, or fear that haunts our daily lives. On the contrary, the Buddha taught that we can find our freedom only through embracing the conditions that trouble us.
If love is lost ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaIf the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue.
The Four Authentics ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheSetting out on a spiritual path is a little like planning a trip — to Machu Picchu, for example. Some travellers will approach the project by investing a lot of time in reading travel books or Googling Internet sites about the best route to take and where to stay — a method that works, but only to a certain extent. Other travellers prefer a much simpler and safer method: to ask someone they know and trust who has already been to Machu Picchu to go with them and show them the way. Similarly, those wishing to follow the Buddhist path to enlightenment should rely on what are called in the teachings the “four authentics”: the authentic words of the Buddha (his teachings); the authentic clarification of the teachings that can be found in the shastras (commentaries) written by great masters of the past; the further clarification that is the result of authentic personal experience; and for this experience to find expression, an authentic guru.
Well rewarded ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheTo use our human lives to accomplish the Buddha dharma, is like crossing the ocean in search of costly jewels and afterwards returning home with every kind of precious thing; the difficulties of the trip will have been well rewarded.
Three bite practice ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronYou can do this anytime you eat a meal. Before taking the first bite, just pause and think of those men and women of wisdom and mentally offer them your food. In this way, you connect with the virtue of devotion.
Before taking the second bite, pause and offer your food to all those who’ve been kind to you. This nurtures the virtues of gratitude and appreciation.
The third bite is offered to those who are suffering: all the people and animals who are starving, or being tortured or neglected, without comfort or friends. Think, too, of all of us who suffer from aggression, craving, and indifference. This simple gesture awakens the virtue of compassion.
In this way—by relying on our teachers, our benefactors, and those in need—we gather the virtues of devotion, gratitude, and kindness.
Pleasing all the buddhas and bodhisattvas ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpocheWhat really pleases all the buddhas and bodhisattvas is compassion.
Simple But Deep ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhBuddhism in its original form was simple — simple but deep. Many scholars have made Buddhism too complicated, into a kind of metaphysics or philosophy. Some students of Buddhism spend a lot of time learning these systems of thought and do not have the time to practice. It is like Master Linji [Japanese: Rinzai], who learned a lot of Buddhism but found that learning Buddhism was not enough. So he abandoned the learning and began to practice.