Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThe Buddha is not going to project you to buddhahood, as if throwing a stone. He is not going to purify you, as if washing a dirty cloth, nor is he going to cure you of ignorance, like a doctor administering medicine to a passive patient. Having attained full enlightenment himself, he is showing you the path, and it is up to you to follow it or not. It is up to you now to practice these teachings and experience their results.
The state of complete purification ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaOur teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha, is one among the thousand Buddhas of this aeon. These Buddhas were not Buddhas from the beginning, but were once sentient beings like ourselves. How they came to be Buddhas is this.
Of body and mind, mind is predominant, for body and speech are under the influence of the mind. Afflictions such as desire do not contaminate the nature of the mind, for the nature of the mind is pure, uncontaminated by any taint. Afflictions are peripheral factors of a mind, and through gradually transforming all types of defects, such as these afflictions, the adventitious taints can be completely removed. This state of complete purification is Buddhahood; therefore, Buddhists do not assert that there is any Buddha who has been enlightened from the beginning.
Making healthy relationships possible ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaIt is clear that faults never lie exclusively on one side of a relationship. For this reason, if we are serious about forging relationships that work, we must also recognize our own faulty attitudes, and work on them. When we commit to identifying our own faults and transforming our own mind, then and only then are healthy relationships possible.
The spiritual path is a temporary solution ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheHowever, the path itself must eventually be abandoned, just as you abandon a boat when you reach the other shore. You must disembark once you have arrived. At the point of total realization, you must abandon Buddhism. The spiritual path is a temporary solution, a placebo to be used until emptiness is understood.
The most dangerous thing in the world ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaA lack of love can cause people to have no help when they need help, no friends when they need a friend. So, in a sense, the most dangerous thing in the world is apathy. We think of weapons, violence, warfare, disease as terrible dangers, and indeed they are, but we can take measures to avoid them. But once our apathy takes hold of us, we can no longer avoid it.
The intention to work for others ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThe fact that you have the intention to work for others is important. Act on your wholesome intentions and altruistic impulses. If you have the thought of benefiting society, that is significant. Nurture and treasure that thought, and act on it as best you can. Doing so will certainly change you, and that in itself can be the start of the change you want to see in your world.
Learning, reflection and meditation ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheSuch is the strength of delusion and habitual tendencies that practicing Dharma might initially seem very hard; but these difficulties will gradually subside. Once you have understood the essential point of the teachings, you will experience no hardship or difficulty with the practice. Your efforts will bring you joy. It is like developing any skill – as you master the important points, it becomes progressively easier, you gain increasing confidence, and your capacity and endeavor keep on growing.
Whatever meditation or reflection you have done, it will never be wasted. The benefit it brings will be present in your mindstream at the time of your death, and will help you be reborn in a place where the Dharma flourishes, near an authentic spiritual teacher. Life after life, you will evolve from a mediocre into an average practitioner into an excellent one. The essence of learning is reflection, and the essence of reflection is meditation. As you go deeper into the meaning of the teachings, the wondrous qualities of the Dharma will become ever clearer, like the sun appearing ever brighter the higher you fly.
The sign that you have fully assimilated your learning of the Dharma is that you become peaceful by nature. The sign that you have assimilated your meditation is that you are free of obscuring emotions. As learning leads to reflection and reflection transforms into meditation, your eagerness for the deluded activities of this life will relax, and you will yearn for the Dharma instead.
Anything you do that is in accord with the Dharma, however small or trivial it may seem, will be beneficial. As the ‘Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish’ says:
Do not take lightly small good deeds,
Believing they can hardly help;
For drops of water one by one
In time can fill a giant pot.
Following thoughts ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheOnce you begin following after a thought, you lose touch with what’s happening in the here and now, and you begin imagining all sorts of fantasizes, judgments, memories, and hoer scenarios that may have nothing to do with he reality of present moment. And the more you allow yourself to get caught up in this type of mental wandering, the easier it becomes to drift away from the openness of the present moment.
The Remedy Is Meditation ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaMost living beings seek mental happiness and want to eliminate suffering, but just wishing will not bring this about. We may even create the opposite. So we must search for the cause of suffering and the cause of happiness. The afflictions are the cause of samsara, of all mental discomfort and suffering. The remedy is meditation.
No need to fight ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIn order to make yourself a person of the world, you have had to fight for every inch. Even when you are pressing your clothes or busy organizing a cocktail party, there is always an undercurrent of trying to prove something, trying to achieve something. Whatever you do involves some kind of chauvinism, which in fact could be one definition of ego. However, individual chauvinism can be overcome. The achievement of mindfulness and awareness gives you tremendous freedom: that is the idea of individual salvation. You realize that there is no need to fight or wage warfare. In this way, the development of awareness leads to tremendous relaxation, gentleness, and peace.
Disappointment ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronWhen there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if it’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.
Discovering your sense of humor ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIt is impossible to overcome passion, aggression, and ignorance with a long face. We have to cheer up. When you begin to see yourself fully and thoroughly, then you discover your sense of humor. It is not the same as telling bad jokes. Humor here is natural joy, the joy of reality.
Courage to be as we are ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheBuddhanature can be summed up in a single word: courage – specifically the courage to be just as we are, right here, right now, with all our doubts and uncertainties.
Conduct and Emptiness ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWhen your realization of emptiness becomes as vast as the sky, you will gain an even greater conviction about the law of cause and effect, and you will see just how important your conduct really is. Relative truth functions inexorably within absolute truth.
The warrior is also an artist ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIf the warrior does not feel alone and sad, then he or she can be corrupted very easily. In fact, such a person may not be a warrior at all. To be a good warrior, one has to feel sad and lonely, but rich and resourceful at the same time. This makes the warrior sensitive to every aspect of phenomena: to sights, smells, sounds, and feelings. In that sense, the warrior is also an artist, appreciating whatever goes on in the world. Everything is extremely vivid. The rustling of your armor or the sound of rain drops falling on your coat is very loud. The fluttering of occasional butterflies around you is almost an insult, because you are so sensitive.
Boxed limitless potential ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaAlthough we have limitless potential, we can end up feeling boxed in to a particular role in life or a particular understanding of who we are. How does this happen? We limit ourselves when we adopt specific identities, and then believe that this is truly who we are and must be.
Observation of thoughts, emotions, and sensations ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheThrough the patient observation of the thoughts, emotions, and sensations we experience in any given moment, from which comes a gradual recognition that they are not inherently real things.
Causing genuine bodhicitta to grow within ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpochePray that your mind may be filled with boundless equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion and joy –as boundless as a bodhisattva‘s. If you do so, genuine bodhicitta will certainly grow within you.
Free Perception ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheTo be attached to the reality of phenomena, tormented by attraction and repulsion, and obsessed by the eight worldly preoccupations is what causes the mind to freeze. Melt the ice of your concepts so that the fluid water of free perception can flow.
No Control, No Fun ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheThe frustrating thing about our life is that there is no control over our emotions. That’s why there’s no fun. The whole purpose of Buddhism is to have fun, isn’t it? And in order to have fun you have to have control. If someone else has control over you, that’s it: there’s no fun.