RyokanSee and realize that this world is not permanent. Neither late nor early flowers will remain.
Two truths ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaThe Buddha’s teaching of the Dharma
is based on two truths:
a truth of worldly convention
and an ultimate truth.Those who do not understand
the distinction drawn between these two truths
do not understand
the Buddha’s profound truth.Without a foundation in the conventional truth
the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught.
Without understanding the significance of the ultimate,
liberation is not achieved.
Unlocking the treasury of altruism ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaUnless we make pure prayers of aspiration with unceasing compassion and bodhicitta, in the knowledge that there is not a single being among the three realms or the six classes who has not been our mother or father in the past, we will not unlock the treasury of altruism.
Of single essence ~ Sengcan
SengcanIf the eye never sleeps,
all dreams will naturally cease.
If the mind makes no discriminations,
the ten thousand things
are as they are, of single essence.
No preferences ~ Sengcan
SengcanThe Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
Deep and difficult to understand ~ Nagarjuna
NagarjunaBy a misperception of emptiness
A person of little intelligence is destroyed.
Like a snake incorrectly seized
Or like a spell incorrectly cast.For that reason — that the Dharma is
Deep and difficult to understand and to learn —
The Buddha’s mind despaired of
Being able to teach it.
Mara’s five arrows ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheThe sutras tell us that Mara (Buddhism’s “devil”) is a tricky character and an expert archer. To avoid straying into the sights of one of his five arrows requires tremendous effort because each one is trained on our most vulnerable spots.
The first of Mara’s arrows is aimed at those who feel great pride in their accomplishments or in their material or spiritual wealth.
The second is aimed at those who are ignorant because they have no idea which activities and attitudes need to be abandoned and which adopted.
The third is directed at those with wrong views, such as not believing in cause, condition and effect.
The fourth is fixed on those whose forgetfulness continually distracts them from mindfulness.
The fifth strikes those distracted by the eight worldly dharmas.
Scripture and realization ~ Vasubandhu
VasubandhuThe teaching of the Buddha has two aspects:
The elements of scripture and realization.
These are maintained only through teaching
And through practice.
Restricting ourselves ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaRestricting ourselves to only basic sustenance and shelter, let us regard everything else as unnecessary.
Lighten up ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWho knows what you will see, hear, or experience in these chaotic and turbulent times? Try to protect yourself from becoming too overwhelmed by pain and suffering. Lighten up! Don’t take things so seriously. With a broad and accommodating mind, you can keep a sense of perspective.
Freedom ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaFreedom is a powerful idea. But I am not sure we are always very clear what we have in mind when we speak of it. Does freedom mean doing whatever we feel like in any given moment? Does it mean having the power and liberty to exercise our will with no obstruction? Does it evoke a state in which we have shed ourselves of all obligations to others?
Many of our notions of freedom are based implicitly on the idea that we are utterly self-sustaining and separate entities. This model leads us to feel that others’ claims on us undercut our freedom. We experience our relationships as ties that bind us and limit our freedom. Based on this, we assume that we cannot all be free, because the freedom of one person comes at the cost of another’s. If we believe that, it is small wonder that people so often seek to dominate and oppress others. This is an idea that slips into discussions of freedom — the idea that freedom is in some fundamental way a limited resource, such that one person exercising his freedom detracts from another person’s ability to be free. But this is not the case. Freedom is not a zero-sum game.
It is possible and realistic for every person to experience real freedom. The reason we have not managed to do so is we lack an understanding of what real freedom is and how it can be achieved. We need the wisdom to distinguish the egocentric pursuit of self-interest from the pursuit of authentic freedom.
When I hear what people say about freedom sometimes, it sounds to me like longing to live out the fantasy of being independent and absolutely autonomous individuals, of being free of consequences and responsibilities—that is to say, exempt from the principle of interdependence. But there is no such thing. We cannot exist outside causality or outside the connections of interdependence, and so freedom cannot be a matter of escaping from those connections.
Only freedom developed on the basis of a realistic view of who we are and how we relate to others can be authentic — and extended universally to all. If we acknowledge our interdependence, and take into account the vast networks of interconnections in which our lives and actions are embedded, we will find that our own freedom is inseparable from the freedom of all other people. When we truly appreciate this fact, we experience interdependent freedom — a freedom that does not detract from others’ freedom. This is the freedom that we can all enjoy together without conflict.
The nature of mind is clear light ~ Dharmakirti
DharmakirtiThe nature of mind is clear light,
Defilements are only adventitious.
Attuned to the Dharma ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaThere are infinite categories of teaching and countless are the ways to enter the vehicles. Explanations can involve a great many words and expressions. Unless we can take to heart the essence of the genuine meaning, then even committing many hundreds of thousands of volumes to memory will not decidedly bring benefit at the moment of death.
Seemingly, we might have boundless knowledge, all derived from study and reflection, but if our fundamental character is not attuned to the Dharma, we will not tame the enemy, the destructive emotions.
The great treasure ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpocheThe root of all happiness is the mind; the root of all suffering is the mind. The root of all afflictions and the root of all faith, devotion, love and compassion come down to the mind. If we know the nature of our mind, we can make use of the great treasure and eventually gain perfect happiness and the ultimate result of liberation and omniscience.
Adopting an attitude of not needing anything ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaUnless we limit our desires from within by adopting an attitude of not needing anything at all, then even mastery over a thousand worlds will bring no real satisfaction.
The moonlight comes and goes ~ Ryokan
RyokanThe moon appears in every season, it is true,
But surely it’s best in fall.
In autumn, mountains loom and water runs clear.
A brilliant disk floats across the infinite sky,
And there is no sense of light and darkness,
For everything is permeated with its presence.
The boundless sky above, the autumn chill on my face.
I take my precious staff and wander about the hills.
Not a speck of the world’s dust anywhere,
Just the brilliant beams of moonlight.
I hope others, too, are gazing on this moon tonight,
And that it’s illuminating all kinds of people.
Autumn after autumn, the moonlight comes and goes;
Human beings will gaze upon it for eternity.
The sermons of Buddha, the preaching of Eno,
Surely occurred under the same kind of moon.
I contemplate the moon through the night,
As the stream settles, and white dew descends.
Which wayfarer will bask in the moonlight longest?
Whose home will drink up the most moonbeams?
Too lazy ~ Ryokan
RyokanToo lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days’ worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.
Never opt for the easy way out ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheDoing prostrations, letting go of comforts, and going against principles all aim at the same result: dismantling the perfectly engineered machine of illusion.
All these methods work. Don’t get fixated on the idea that all Vajrayana students who aspire to raze the walls of duality must follow the Tibetan tradition of doing one hundred thousand prostrations. That would be like thinking that every driver must drink a cup of coffee before they get in the car. Then again, if you avoid doing prostrations because you think they are just for Tibetans or because the very idea of lying down and standing up one hundred thousands times exhausts you, you are deceiving yourself. In that case, you shouldn’t do one hundred thousand prostrations – you should do two hundred thousand.
Never opt for the easy way out. Be ruthless toward the desires of mind.
The most basic kind of peace work ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhIf in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.
No change ~ Ryokan
RyokanLast year, a foolish monk;
This year, no change!