Pema ChödronThe only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes.
Going with the flow of events ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWhen, because of external or internal circumstances there comes some sort of a change, we need to be able to go along with that change. So whatever happens, we go with the flow of events. If we are able to do this, then in our own mind we can be more relaxed. We can be more expansive. When we go along with that we can be comfortable, relaxed and spacious in our minds. If we are able to do this then we are able to be happy, and to have a comfortable and content life.
Our true continuation ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhYou are continued by your views and your thinking. Those are the children you give birth to every moment. And that is your true continuation.
Experiencing clarity ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheLike emptiness, the true nature of clarity is impossible to define completely without turning it into some sort of concept that you can tuck away in a mental pocket, thinking. Okay, I get it, my mind is clear, now what? Clarity in its pure form has to be experienced. And when you experience it, there’s no “Now what?” You just get it.
Free of being caught by anything at all ~ Padampa Sangye
Padampa SangyeIn a state of emptiness, whirl the spear of pure awareness;
People of Tingri, the view is free of being caught by anything at all.
A principle of harmony ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronImpermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.
We put lids on ourselves ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIt is as if we were extraordinary children, possessing all sorts of genius, and we were being undermined by the society around us, which was dying to make us normal people. Whenever we would show any mark of genius, our parents would get embarrassed and try to put the lid on. I don’t particularly want to blame our parents alone; we have also been doing this to ourselves. When we see something extraordinary, we are afraid to say so; we are afraid to express ourselves. So we put lids on ourselves — on our potential, our capabilities. But in Buddhism we are liberated from that kind of conventionality.
Do not discuss infirmities ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWe should not discuss the handicaps of others. If they cannot see or walk well, if they are not intelligent or even if they have transgressed their vows, we should not call them blind, cripples, idiots, etc. In brief, we should not say anything that is unpleasant for others to hear.
The possibility of being generous ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaFreedom is the possibility of being generous. You can afford to open yourself and walk on the path easily – without defending yourself or watching yourself be self-conscious all the time. It is the absence of ego, the absense of self-consciousness. That is the ultimate freedom. The absense of self-conciousness brings generosity. You don’t have to watch for dangers or be careful that you are going too far or too slow. It is the confidence which is freedom, rather than breaking free from chains of imprisonment, exactly. Developing confidence and breaking out of psychological, internal imprisonment brings freedom naturally. In other words, it is generosity.
The quintessential point of all spiritual instruction ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThe practice of Dharma should bring you to the point where you can maintain the same constant awareness whether in or out of practice sessions. This is the quintessential point of all spiritual instruction; without it, however many mantras and prayers you recite, however many thousands of prostrations and circumambulations you do, as long as your mind remains distracted none of it will help to get rid of your obscuring emotions. Never forget this most crucial point.
Boxing Love with Our Expectations ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaLove can have this vast, all-encompassing quality. It can be allowed to spread until it permeates the very core of our relationships. Yet often, instead of giving love room to expand, we box it in with our expectations. Expectations make our love conditional on whether or not the relationship fulfills our wishes. How can you expect love to last when you demand that it meet your conditions, and you act as if you own another person?
Tremendous opportunity ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWe all have to recognize the tremendous opportunity that we have. As humans we have this rare intelligence, but there is a real danger that we will waste it. Death is certain, but when we will die is totally unpredictable. We could lose our precious human existence at any moment. With such reflections, we must motivate ourselves to do something meaningful right now. The best way to make your human existence meaningful is to really engage in the practice of dharma. During formal sitting meditation and in between sessions, in different ways, be mindful and introspectively vigilant. Keep constant watch on your mind.
Ignorance ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheIgnorance is a fundamental inability to recognize the infinite potential, clarity, and power of our own minds, as if we were looking at the world through colored glasses: Whatever we see is disguised or distorted by the colors of the glass. On the most essential level, ignorance distorts the basically open experience of awareness into dualistic distinctions between inherently existing categories of “self” and “other”.
Recognizing What’s Going On ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronOur habitual patterns are, of course, well established, seductive, and comforting. Just wishing for them to be ventilated isn’t enough. Mindfulness and awareness are key. Do we see the stories that we’re telling ourselves and question their validity? When we are distracted by a strong emotion, do we remember that it is part of our path? Can we feel the emotion and breathe it into our hearts for ourselves and everyone else? If we can remember to experiment like this even occasionally, we are training as a warrior. And when we can’t practice when distracted but know that we can’t, we are still training well. Never underestimate the power of compassionately recognizing what’s going on.
Mixing the dharma with one’s own mind ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWe cannot simply learn and reflect and then leave out the meditation, because what it boils down to is that one needs to mix the dharma with one’s own mind through meditation. If that does not happen, then one has missed the point.
Same human potential ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaHuman potential is the same for all. Your feeling, “I am of no value”, is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought – so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything. It is usually said that you are your own master.
Maintaining awareness ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheAs long as you maintain awareness or mindfulness, no matter what happens when you practice, your practice is meditation. If you watch thoughts, that is meditation. If you can’t watch your thoughts, that is meditation, too. Any of these experience can be supports for meditation. The essential thing is to maintain awareness, no matter what thoughts, emotions, sensations occur. If you remember that awareness of what occurs is meditation, then meditation becomes much easier than you may think.
Giving without demanding anything in return ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaGenerosity here is not the conventional notion of being charitable. The idea is giving without demanding anything in return. You are willing to receive people into your territory, to offer hospitality and appreciate their existence and their presence – and then make no further demands. It could be very irritating and even terrifying to be a bodhisattva’s guest because of his way of being generous. You might think there is something fishy behind it: “Why should this guy be extremely kind and friendly to me and not demand anything? Maybe it’s a Mafia plot or something.” But if you come across such a thing, you should not be afraid. Usually one finds a genuine act of generosity more terrifying than partial generosity. because there is nothing to hang on to. If it is partial generosity, we can play games with it. We could give half an inch in exchange for the other person’s half an inch-it becomes a kind of bartering. But that element is absent here.
The Two Truth ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaTo understand selflessness, you need to understand that everything that exists is contained in two groups called the two truths: conventional and ultimate. The phenomena that we see and observe around us can go from good to bad, or bad to good, depending on various causes and conditions. Many phenomena cannot be said to be inherently good or bad; they are better or worse, tall or short, beautiful or ugly, only by comparison, not by way of their own nature. Their value is relative. From this you can see that there is a discrepancy between the way things appear and how they actually are. For instance, something may—in terms of how it appears—look good, but, due to its inner nature being different, it can turn bad once it is affected by conditions. Food that looks so good in a restaurant may not sit so well in your stomach. This is a clear sign of a discrepancy between appearance and reality.
These phenomena themselves are called conventional truths: they are known by consciousness that goes no further than appearances. But the same objects have an inner mode of being, called an ultimate truth, that allows for the changes brought about by conditions. A wise consciousness, not satisfied with mere appearances, analyzes to find whether objects inherently exist as they seem to do but discovers their absence of inherent existence. It finds an emptiness of inherent existence beyond appearances.
Let your mind be carried along by devotion ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaNaturally, when you see the qualities of the lama’s presence, or see the way the lama’s activity manifests, your perception could be transformed. That is what devotion does: it carries your mind along. Devotion is the shortest way to quickly realize the ultimate nature. If it could be found in a few words or verbal explanations, then everyone would realize the essence of the dharma nature. But this is not something you can find in words. It is primarily a question of whether you have transformed the deluded appearances in your mind. It depends upon whether your mind has been carried along by devotion. So let your mind be carried! I can only offer my hopes and prayers.