Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheSo if you really wish to benefit others, the first step is to attain realization yourself. You must first mature your own mind; otherwise you will be incapable of helping others. Giving other people water is impossible unless you have a jug with water in it. If it is empty, you might make the gesture of pouring, but no water will come out.
Being present yet not manipulative ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaOne can define meditation as a process of letting go, of giving up conflict, not in a passive, spineless sense, but in the sense of being present yet not manipulative. So we are faced with the moment-to-moment alternative of either opening to space, of being in harmony with it, or of solidifying and fixating it
Seeing clearly what is genuine and what is false ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaAll we really need to do for practice is to study, reflect, and meditate. However, these days it is common in the East and West that desire for honor and gain creates problems. Imitation monks, phony lamas, fake tulkus, and false gods turn up, and because of this, it is difficult to find the right kind of study, reflection, and meditation. It is very important for everyone to be careful about this and try to see clearly what is genuine and what is false. If someone says, “I am a lama,” or “I am a tulku,” or “I am a god,” we do not have to immediately follow them. First, investigate to see whether they are genuine or not and whether we should make a connection with them. It is important to use our critical faculties along with giving up attachments.
Nothing else ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheIf we have ambitions, we have fixations toward whatever we are aiming for—even if our aim is enlightenment. Then there is no meditation because we are thinking about it, we are craving for it, we are fantasizing about it, imagining things. That is not meditation.
This is why a very, very important characteristic of shamatha meditation is to let go of any goal and simply sit for the sake of sitting. Here we breathe in and out and we just watch that. Nothing else. It doesn’t matter if we get enlightenment or not, or if our friends gets enlightened faster than us. Who cares? We are just breathing. We just sit straight and watch the breath in and out. Nothing else.
We let go of obsessions toward aims and ambitions. This is a very important aspect. This includes even the perfection of the shamatha meditation, trying to do a perfect shamatha meditation. Even that we should get rid of. Just sit.
Knowing within ourselves ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahIt’s of great importance that we practise the Dhamma. If we don’t practise, then all our knowledge is only superficial knowledge, just the outer shell of it. It’s as if we have some sort of fruit but we haven’t eaten it yet. Even though we have that fruit in our hand we get no benefit from it. Only through the actual eating of the fruit will we really know its taste.
The Buddha didn’t praise those who merely believe others, he praised the person who knows within himself. Just as with that fruit, if we have tasted it already, we don’t have to ask anyone else if it’s sweet or sour. Our problems are over. Why are they over? Because we see according to the truth. One who has realized the Dhamma is like one who has realized the sweetness or sourness of the fruit. All doubts are ended right here.
The magnifying glass of your faith and devotion ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWithout being concentrated by a magnifying glass, dry grass cannot be set alight by the rays of the sun, even though they bathe the whole earth evenly in their warmth. In the same way, it is only when focussed through the magnifying glass of your faith and devotion that the all-pervading warm rays of the buddhas’ compassion can make blessings blaze up in your being, like dry grass on fire.
True peace ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaTrue peace cannot be achieved by force or by merely invoking the word “peace.” It can only be attained by training the mind and learning to cultivate inner peace. Peace is a calm and gentle state of mind.
The bliss of freedom ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaWhen you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice, so airy and fresh. You can stretch your wings and breathe the air. You can do anything you want. You have experienced cheerfulness and joy, and finally the bliss of freedom occurs in you. You are like an eagle without its hat, coat, and boots.
Dissolving our fear ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronTo the extent that we stop struggling against uncertainty and ambiguity, to that extent we dissolve our fear.
Using Distractions ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheIf you find yourself struggling with a lot of distractions, you can use every distraction as an object of meditation. Then they cease to be distractions and become supports for your meditation practice.
Compassionate world ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThe most exalted example Buddhists use to explain compassion is motherhood. Consider all that your mother probably has done for you since the time you were conceived — carrying you for 9 months, experiencing the hardship of labor and birth, feeding and clothing you, taking care of all your needs, and worrying about you long after you reach adulthood. Most mothers never stop caring unconditionally for their children. Regardless of whether one believes in reincarnation or not, one can suppose that all living beings are like mothers to us. The food that appears in front of us at dinner was grown, packaged, and prepared by people we probably do not know. The clothes we are wearing were produced by people we probably will never meet. Yet we are benefiting from their hopes, dreams, and labor. Plants, animals, and raw materials have all been used to provide us these things. This is the interdependence that characterizes life — no one thing exists by itself alone, or can survive alone. We are all part of one world ecology and the world is extremely compassionate to us.
Relationships ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpochePersonal relationships are the most volatile and perfect examples of assembled phenomena and impermanence. Some couples believe that they can manage their relationship ‘until death do us part’ by reading books or consulting with a relationship doctor. Knowing that men are from Mars and women are from Venus provides the key to only a few obvious causes and conditions of disharmony, however. To a certain extent these small understandings may help create temporary peace, but they don’t address the many hidden factors that are part of the relationship’s assembly. If we could see the unseen, then maybe we could enjoy the perfect relationship – or maybe we would never start one in the first place.
Glimpse of Enlightenment ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe terms enlightenment or buddha or awakened imply tremendous sharpness and precision along with a sense of spaciousness. We can experience this; it is not a myth. We experience a glimpse of it. The point is to start from the glimpse and gradually, as you become more familiar with that glimpse and the possibilities of reigniting it, it happens naturally. A flash occurs, maybe a fraction of a second. These flashes happen constantly, all the time. Faith is realizing that there is some open space and sharpness in your everyday life.
Compassionate countermeasures ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaSometimes, you may encounter situations that require strong countermeasures. I believe, however, that you can take a strong stand and even take strong countermeasures out of a feeling of compassion, or a sense of concern for the other, rather than out of anger. One of the reasons why there is a need to adopt a very strong countermeasure against someone is that if you let it pass – whatever the harm or the crime that is being perpetrated against you – then there is a danger of that persons habituating in a very negative way, which, in reality, will cause that individuals own downfall and is very destructive in the long run for the individual himself or herself. Therefore a strong countermeasure is necessary, but with this thought in mind, you can do it out of compassion and concern for that individual.
The view ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheOnce you have the view, although the delusory perceptions of samsara may arise in your mind, you will be like the sky; when a rainbow appears in front of it, it’s not particularly flattered, and when the clouds appear, it’s not particularly disappointed either. There is a deep sense of contentment. You chuckle from inside as you see the facade of samsara and nirvana; the View will keep you constantly amused, with a little inner smile bubbling away all the time.
Transient precious human body ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThis precious human body, supreme instrument though it is for the attainment of enlightenment, is itself a transient phenomenon. No one knows when, or how, death will come. Bubbles form on the surface of the water, but the next instant they are gone; they do not stay. It is just the same with this precious human body that we have managed to find. We take all the time in the world before engaging in spiritual practice, but who knows when this life of ours will simply cease to be? And once our precious human body is lost, our mind stream, continuing its existence, will take birth perhaps among the animals, or in one of the hells or god realms where spiritual development is impossible.
The merit of maintaining mindfulness ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheThe great masters have pointed out, that to maintain mindfulness for as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea accumulates more merit than years of practising generosity, discipline and ascetism.
Ground Zero Prayer ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThrough peaceful hearts,
Peaceful feelings,
And peaceful intelligence,
May this world truly move
From darkness to light.
Thinking of yourself as limited ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheIf you’re determined to think of yourself as limited, fearful, vulnerable, or scarred by past experience, know only that you have chosen to do so.
Protective Inner Wisdom ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThere are many forces surrounding us that encourage us to follow along unthinkingly wherever our greed leads us. We are bombarded by advertising designed to convince us that our happiness depends on material goods. Today’s global culture tells us that having more of these goods is a measure of our success in life, and even of our value as a person. This message comes at us in many forms and from many directions, so we need a clear awareness of how greed works in order to protect ourselves from being deceived by these forces. We can then counteract them with inner wisdom about where real success and personal value come from.