Padampa SangyeOutwardly, relax clinging to objects! Inwardly, give up clinging to the body! Secretly, loosen clinging to mind! Tighten with intensity, and then gently relax! The tightening is the method, and the loosening is the wisdom! Introduction to the nature of mind by the Lama is like that, as well!
What, then, is emptiness ~ 9th Karmapa
9th KarmapaWhat, then, is emptiness? All phenomena from form through omniscience are, from the outset, not established whatsoever as any extreme elaboration such as existent, nonexistent, arisen, ceased, permanent, impermanent, empty, not empty, true, or false. To that lack of establishment, mere conventional terms such as “emptiness” and “suchness” are given. It is nothing more than that. This emptiness — that conventionally all phenomena are empty of their own entities — is the natural being (rang bab/rang babs), the abiding mode, of all knowable objects. Resting in equipoise within it is the antidote to all obscurations. It is the sun that conquers the darkness of wrong views, the supreme medicine that clears away the snake poison of reification, the essential nectar of the Buddha’s teachings. Everyone who sincerely desires liberation and omniscience should engage it through applying great effort in hearing, contemplating, and meditating.
On perception ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaOn the whole, we naturally tend to trust our everyday perceptions; we assume their validity without it even occurring to us to question them. We naïvely believe that the way we perceive things is identical with the way things are. And so, because events and things, including the self, appear to have objective reality, we conclude, tacitly and often without any reflection at all, that they do in fact have an objective reality. Only through the process of careful analysis can we see that this is not so, that our perceptions do not accurately reflect objective reality.
It is unable to be known ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniWhoever sees me as form, whoever knows me as sound, has wrongly engaged by abandoning, those beings do not see me.
The buddhas are dharmatā viewed; the guides are the dharmakāya.
Since dharmatā is not to be known, it is unable to be known.
What is the real way to practice ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaOver the years, we may have done a lot of spiritual practice, performing prostrations, making offerings, and meditating on the yidam deities, and we hope that blessings will come to us from doing all this. Yet we have neither tamed nor transformed our minds. The fundamental reason for our lack of progress is that we do not know the essential point of how to practice the Dharma. What is the real way to practice? How is it that Dharma turns into true Dharma? The key point is that actual practice happens through reversing our attachment to samsara.
No longer being overcome by thoughts ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpocheNo matter what kind of thought arises, simply recognize that in essence it is always intangible, ungraspable; then no matter what kind of thought arises, it will subside and you will no longer be overcome by it.
Empty, luminous, beyond clinging ~ Shabkar
ShabkarThe root of all that exists,
Samsara and nirvana, is one’s own mind.
Primordially, mind is emptiness.Merge into the sky-like absolute expanse,
Empty, luminous, beyond clinging.Outside, inside; eyes open or closed,
Day, night; asleep or awake:
No difference.During practice, after practice,
Mind, appearances:
Blend them.Continuously, without wavering,
Merge completely with this vibrant, sky-like state.
Skillful Guru ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheIt’s not always easy to know what skills a guru has. Some very academic gurus can tell you which page number you should read in which edition of a text, and can remember exact dates. This is impressive if you are a university student, but if you’re following a spiritual path, it may not be what you need. What you need is someone who can actually turn knowledge like that into something useful for your path, someone who can teach you how to learn. A guru must also have the skill to work with your temporary defilements, because even though the defilements are temporary, they have existed since beginningless time, and they will not be easy to eliminate.
Do not desire realization ~ Dogen Zenji
Dogen ZenjiTo actualize the blessedness of meditation you should practice with pure intention and firm determination. Your meditation room should be clean and quiet. Do not dwell in thoughts of good or bad. Just relax and forget that you are meditating. Do not desire realization since that thought will keep you confused.
Honest examination ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheMilarepa said: ‘My religion is to have nothing to be ashamed of when I die.’ But the majority of people do not give any importance to this way of thinking. We pretend to be very calm and subdued and are full of sweet words, so that ordinary people, not knowing our thoughts, say, ‘This is a real Bodhisattva.’ But it is only our outward behaviour that they see. The important thing is not to do anything that we might have to regret later on. Therefore we should examine ourselves honestly.
Only the fool wants more pain ~ 7th Dalai Lama
7th Dalai LamaIf there is a way to become free from misery, one should use each moment to achieve it. Only the fool wants more pain: A melancholy scene, knowingly eating poison.
Be kind to yourself ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Be kind to yourself as you proceed along this journey. This kindness, in itself, is a means of awakening the spark of love within you and helping others to discover that spark within themselves.
As a water bead on a lotus leaf ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniAs a water bead on a lotus leaf,
as water on a red lily,
does not adhere,so the sage
does not adhere
to the seen, the heard, or the sensed.
Naturally pacified ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpocheWhen, in the midst of the emergence of anger, you see and experience its emptiness directly, then it is naturally pacified. This works with any other kind of suffering or with any of the other kleshas as well. It is simply the recognition that there is really no thing there. This is the path of the recognition of the nature of kleshas.
Absence of essence ~ Buddha Shakyamunipalita
BuddhapalitaWhat is the purpose of teaching dependent arising? The master Nagarjuna, whose very nature is compassion, saw that living beings are beset by various sufferings and assumed the task of teaching the reality of things just as it is so that they might be free. He therefore began teaching dependent arising. For, it is said:
“Seeing what is not real, you are bound;
Seeing the real, you are free.”What is the reality of things just as it is? It is the absence of essence. Unskilled persons whose eye of intelligence is obscured by the darkness of delusion conceive of an essence in things and then generate attachment and hostility with regard to them. When the illumination of the knowledge of dependent arising clears away the darkness of delusion and the eye of wisdom sees the absence of essence in things, then there is no foundation for the other afflictions, and attachment and hostility do not develop.
Awakened and blossoming ~ Ringu Tulku
Ringu TulkuOur pure, enlightened mind is limitless. It has the potential to be anything, anywhere, anytime. Nothing can hold it back. The Tibetan word for Buddha is Sangye and this word is very evocative. It means “awakened and blossoming.” What awakens and grows within us is not a new or different intelligence. It is not something that we have never known before. It is the realisation of what we already know, our true nature. Our mind is identical to the Buddha’s enlightened mind. We are no different. He and many others after him escaped from ignorance and suffering. Their example provides the strength, perfect training, and blessings we need for our spiritual journey.
Famous unintentionally ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheThese days, Buddhist lamas and institutions are cultivating fame by blatantly branding themselves with logos and stickers and lapel pins. People have even hinted that in Kathmandu event coordinators hire people to wait in a crowd at the airport arrivals area to create a more impressive greeting when certain lamas are arriving.
In Bhutan and Nepal there is a trend of erecting big gates or archways festooned with banners to welcome lamas. Loyal disciples fastidiously calculate which lama has more gates and who has the largest convoy. It’s so pathetic because many of these displays are not even done elegantly. From a spiritual point of view, it’s odd to create a brand around a teacher. One justification is that publicity could be excused as a skillful means: making a louder noise provides more people with the opportunity to connect with and access the Dharma.
But fame shouldn’t have to be contrived. There are some teachers, like Milarepa, who became famous unintentionally because of who they were and how they taught. It’s almost certain that Milarepa didn’t invest time, energy, or resources in promoting himself.
Limitless aspirations ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaSince the future is limitless and sentient beings are limitless, our aspirations can be limitless too. With this attitude, we can reach the end of any problem, because we can make our aspiration unlimited and project it as far into the future as needed until that problem is solved. This can make our resolve to extend ourselves as much as needed absolutely unwavering. When our aspirations are vast as the sky and extending until the time when all suffering is ended, we will not be disappointed or discouraged if we do not see the results immediately or even in a foreseeable future.
Friendship ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWhen you are young, healthy, and strong, you sometimes can get the feeling that you are totally independent and do not need anyone else. But this is an illusion. Even at that prime age of your life, simply because you are a human being, you need friends, don’t you?
All irritations are crucial ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaAll the things taking place around our world, all the irritations and all the problems, are crucial. Without others we cannot attain enlightenment — in fact, we cannot even tread on the path. If there is no noise outside during our sitting meditation, we cannot develop mindfulness. If we do not have aches and pains in the body, we cannot attain mindfulness; we cannot actually meditate. If everything were lovey-dovey and jellyfishlike, there would be nothing to work with.