NagarjunaIf the present and the future
Depend on the past,
Then the present and the future
Would have existed in the past.If the present and future
Did not exist there,
How could the present and the
Future be dependent on it?Without depending on the past,
Neither of the two could be established.
Therefore neither the present nor
The future could exist.By this very method, without substitution,
The remaining two; as well as …
Superior, inferior, average, etc.; and
Unity, etc., should be understood.A nonenduring time is not grasped
Nothing one could grasp as time
Could exist as enduring.
If time is not grasped, how it is known?If time depends on a entity
Then without an entity how could time exist?
Since there are no entities at all,
How could time exist?
No overnight change ~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Chagdud Tulku RinpocheDesire and attachment won’t change overnight, but desire becomes less ordinary as we redirect our worldly yearning toward the aspiration to become enlightened for the benefit of others. At the same time, we don’t abandon the ordinary objects of our desires – relationships, wealth, fame – but our attachment to them lessens as we contemplate their impermanence. Not rejecting them, rejoicing in our fortune when they arise, yet recognizing that they won’t last, we begin to build qualities of spiritual maturity. As our attachment slowly decreases, harmful actions that would normally result from attachment are reduced. We create less negative karma, more fortunate karma, and the mind’s positive qualities gradually increase.
Here, Now, Always ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronThis is a work in progress, a process of uncovering our natural openness, uncovering our natural intelligence and warmth. I have discovered, just as my teachers always told me, that we already have what we need. The wisdom, the strength, the confidence, the awakened heart and mind are always accessible, here, now, always. We are just uncovering them. We are rediscovering them. We’re not inventing them or importing them from somewhere else. They’re here. That’s why when we feel caught in darkness, suddenly the clouds can part. Out of nowhere we cheer up or relax or experience the vastness of our minds. No one else gives this to you. People will support you and help you with teachings and practices, as they have supported and helped me, but you yourself experience your unlimited potential.
Concern for our whole environment ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaI feel that we should not only maintain gentle, peaceful relations with our fellow human beings but also that is very important to extend the same kind of attitude toward the natural environment. Morally speaking, we should be concerned for our whole environment.
The true source of all fear ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThe true source of fear is this: the clinging to self, to identity. Because I see self as something separate, something whole, something that is solid and independent, therefore, I fear losing that independent self; I fear being sick, I fear something bad happening to “me”. This is the true source of all fear.
Intimacy with all things ~ Dogen Zenji
Dogen ZenjiEnlightenment is intimacy with all things.
Preconceptions ~ Milarepa
MilarepaJust as fog is dispelled by the strength of the sun and is dispelled no other way, preconception is cleared by the strength of realization.
There’s no other way of clearing preconceptions.
Experience them as baseless dreams.
Experience them as ephemeral bubbles.
Experience them as insubstantial rainbows.
Experience them as indivisible space.
Now that is happening ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaMind functions singly. Once. And once. One thing at a time. The practice of mindfulness of mind is to be there with that one-shot perception, constantly… that is happening, now that is happening, now that is happening.
The violence within ourselves ~ Ayya Khema
Ayya KhemaIf we divide into two camps; even into violent and the nonviolent; and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence within ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact.
Perception is artificial and personal ~ Bhante Gunaratana
Perception is artificial and personal ~ Bhante Gunaratana
Bhante GunaratanaWe can prove to ourselves that perception is artificial and personal by remembering how often people disagree about the beauty or ugliness, deliciousness or distastefulness, pleasantness or unpleasantness, of a particular work of art, architectural style, item of clothing, type of food, or musical composition. Moreover, opinions often vary over time and space, from decade to decade, from country to country, and from earlier points in our life to later ones. For instance, we might have disliked classical music when we were younger, but now it is our favorite. Our perceptions also change according to circumstances. Yellow roses might look very beautiful when we see them in a summer garden, but seem unpleasant or even cause us pain when we see them at the funeral of a friend. In the same way, when we are ill, foods that we enjoyed on many occasions might seem disgusting or repulsive.
Doing Things Completely ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche
Tai Situ RinpocheThat way our practice has to be complete. And it doesn’t matter how much time you have, it is very important before you start your practice to just sit down for at least half a minute and sit quietly. If one minute, two minutes, five minutes, then wonderful, but at least for half a minute and then you are ready, you are calm. Then you say refuge and bodhichitta and then you do the actual practice. Then when you finish your practice – after your dedication – then again, just sit for as long as possible. If you are very busy with things waiting or the phone is ringing or something, then half a minute. Otherwise it becomes like you are obliged – you are obliged to do this practice, now I’m finished, okay, I’ll get up. It’s like an obligation, obliged. I hope that makes sense.
My understanding of obliged is that you are not doing it from your heart, but somehow you have to do it because it is your duty or something, you have to do it because you say you will do it. But it should not be like that. It should be from your heart, you want to do it and you are happy to do it, therefore you do it completely. One example is that in our everyday behavior, it is very important to be mindful, it is very important to be thoughtful, it is very important to be polite, and it is very important to be nice. Don’t behave like a monkey caught from a forest and put in a house. Everything has its own way of doing things. For example, you start a conversation nicely, and you end a conversation nicely.
Selflessness ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahThe real foundation of the teaching is to see the self as being empty. But people come to study the Dhamma to increase their self-view, so they don’t want to experience suffering or difficulty. They want everything to be cozy. They may want to transcend suffering, but if there is still a self, how can they ever do so?
Our own direct experience of reality ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhWhen our beliefs are based on our own direct experience of reality and not on notions offered by others, no one can remove these beliefs from us.
Winning a battle hard to win ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniWhoever doesn’t flare up
at someone who’s angry
wins a battle
hard to win.
The first mark of existence ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronThat nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence.
Bringing all our experiences onto the path ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWhen we have enough food and clothes, enjoy good health, have whatever we need and are without troubles of any sort, we should not become attached to these benefits nor dependent on them. Conversely, when we do not enjoy such good conditions, and when everything is going badly, we should use such a situation as a trigger for our courage and take them as the Bodhisattva path. We should not give up when conditions are difficult; on the contrary, that is precisely when we should practice the twofold Bodhicitta, bringing all our experiences onto the path.
When the mind becomes the practices ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaReligion does not mean just precepts, a temple, monastery, or other external signs, for these as well as hearing and thinking are subsidiary factors in taming the mind. When the mind becomes the practices, one is a practitioner of religion, and when the mind does not become the practices one is not.
The quintessence of bodhichitta ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheIf we are missing nonduality, our every act will lead to disappointment. How far do you go if you are a therapist trying to help an alcoholic or drug addict? If this person has somehow decided to become a drug addict for the next five thousand lifetimes, you, as a bodhisattva, must have the determination to be reborn wherever they are going to be reborn. You might, for instance, aspire to be reborn at the right time and place to be nearby him or her. Say for example, you are a bodhisattva and have been trying to help this drug addict for over two thousand lifetimes. Now, somewhere in an obscure place, their 2,042nd rebirth is going to happen. Although you need to appear for only half a day, in order to do that you actually have to be reborn there. It is almost a waste of a complete whole life, to be reborn there just to do something that will take only half an hour, or half a day, but as a bodhisattva you must do it. That is what we call the strength and quality of relative compassion.
Now we come to the real quintessence of bodhichitta. Why does a bodhisattva have this degree of compassion? Why don’t they give up? What is the real basis of their confidence? The bodhisattva realizes that the notion of “drug addict,” “problem,” “healing,” and “being healed” are all in their own mind. The bodhisattva knows that none of this exists “out there” somewhere, externally and truly. Based on this wisdom, the bodhisattva can develop compassion.
This understanding can really help. My own experience is like being a firefly in front of the sun. Even so, when I try to help people and things don’t work according to plan, I say to myself, “How can I get frustrated?” In the first place, I myself have set up a certain goal based on my own interpretation. In helping a person, I imagine that he or she should reach a certain level, but this is my own idea. After becoming obsessed with the idea of success, when the person is not there, I might lose hope and confidence in this person. Sometimes we do realize that it is all our own projection, but most of the time we don’t. Instead, we think: “This is how it should be. This is real success!” We don’t realize that it is all our own interpretation. This is where we go blind. When you are helping, if you know that your so-called “help,” “success,” and “failure” are all in your own mind, you won’t get worn out. Because you realize that it is all your mind’s doing, you won’t get tired. This is a very general and somewhat coarse example of ultimate bodhichitta. If you have this understanding, you have a complete picture of bodhichitta.
To reiterate, ultimate bodhichitta is an understanding of emptiness. Only when this is included is there a complete picture of bodhichitta. When we talk about bodhichitta, usually we make reference to something simple, such as a kind, compassionate heart, but that’s not all. This is something many people have. It does not necessarily make you a bodhisattva. Of course this is not to deny that there are very kind and compassionate people. There are people who may even sacrifice their lives for others, but still they may not be bodhisattvas. In fact, they are in danger of acting out their obsession and could end up being victimized by their goal-oriented mind. Being too obsessed with a goal can produce a lot of side effects, such as thinking, “This is how it should work!” With this approach, a bodhisattva can lose hope and determination when things do not work out; they may even stop being a bodhisattva. Having said this, a bodhisattva should not just do things aimlessly.
Distraction ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheUse every distraction as an object of meditation and they cease to be distractions.
Importance of Calm Abiding ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWe cannot immediately grasp the more advanced practices, such as the Great Seal (mahamudra) or the Great Completion (mahasandhi), both of which lead to the result of primordial wisdom. For all of these higher-level practices, we need a steady basis, which is none other than the correct practice of calm abiding. If the untamed mind is filled with concepts and afflictions, these higher practices are not possible. In the beginning, a tree needs strong roots. Similarly, what is most important for meditation is calm abiding.