14th Dalai LamaEvery individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.
Little symbols of happiness ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaSometimes we develop grand concepts of what happiness might look like for us, but if we pay attention, we can see that there are little symbols of happiness in every breath that we take.
Peace and religious harmony ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaPeace and religious harmony come about through taking action, not necessarily through making prayers and good wishes. In order to carry action out, enthusiasm is very important, and enthusiasm comes from being clear about our goal and the possibility of our fulfilling it. Here, we need educate young people about our ultimate goal, peace in the world, and how to fulfil it by cultivating inner peace within themselves.
The utterly visionary quality of love ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaLove is very noble, elegant, beautiful, resourceful and utterly visionary. Being utterly visionary has a touch of humor and a lot of fearlessness. It is the foundation of mahayana. You are willing to jump in, and you are entirely free from panic. You have long-lasting vision and effort. Bodhisattvas, mahayana practitioners committed to helping others, are known as warriors because they are visionary. They are not confused, and they do not shy away from others.
All-pervasive brilliance ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe sun has a sense of all-pervasive brilliance, which does not discriminate in the slightest. It is the goodness that exists in a situation, in oneself, and in one’s world, which is expressed without doubt, hesitation, or regret. The sun principle also includes the notion of blessings descending upon us and creating sacred world. It also represents clarity, without doubt.
Benefit of love ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWhen we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.
Emotions are part of you ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIs anger part of you or something separate? You have to make a greater connection with the anger and yourself. Even just sitting with it is not enough. It could still be like a bad marriage where there is no relationship. Emotions are part of you, your limbs. If you don’t have energy or emotion, there is no movement, no way to put things into effect. You have to regard emotions as part of you.
Unmasking hypocrisy ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIn the beginning, we must develop a confidence in our understanding, clearing out all preconceptions. Nihilism, eternalism, all beliefs have to be cut through, transcended. When the basic, absolute, ultimate hypocrisy has been unmasked, then one really begins to see the jewel shining in its brightness: the energetic, living quality of openness, the living quality of surrender, the living quality of renunciation.
Meditation as a way of life ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaTo benefit from meditation, you need more than just a glimpse. You need to make a commitment to training yourself in meditation. Otherwise, there will be a lot of gaps and missing the point, and you will experience unnecessary confusion. So it’s important to stick with the practice and follow the instructions that you receive. It might be best to look at meditation as a way of life. If you stick with the practice and go along with exertion and patience, you will have a chance to realize yourself, to understand yourself.
Intelligence ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaHuman beings are the most intelligent and resourceful species on earth. If we use our intelligence to cause more suffering, rather than to bring some real benefit to others and ourselves, we are no better than beasts.
Realizing chaos ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaNo one can save us from the state of chaos or samsara unless we understand the meaning of chaos and confusion, unless we have experienced it and suffered from it. Otherwise, although we may be in the midst of chaos, we don’t notice it. You don’t begin to notice chaos until you are already on the path. Then you begin to feel uncomfortable. You feel that something is a nuisance. Something’s bugging you constantly. You realize the chaos when you are already making the journey.
A long journey through the six realms of samsara ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWe have a long journey to make through the six realms of samsara. We should approach the Dharma like a sailor making his meticulous preparations for a voyage around the world, and prepare ourselves properly for our far longer journey, through death and rebirth.
The enemy within ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaWe tend to think that the threats to our society or to ourselves are outside of us. We fear that some enemy will destroy us. But a society is destroyed from the inside, not from an attack by outsiders. We imagine an enemy coming with spears and machine guns to kill us, massacre us. In reality, the only thing that can destroy us is within ourselves. If we have too much arrogance, we will destroy the possibility of being awake, and then we cannot use our intuitive openness to extend ourselves in situations properly. Instead, we generate tremendous aggression.
Genuine smiles ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaI love smiles. Because of this I have the problem of knowing how to make more friends and how to get more smiles, in particular, genuine smiles. For there are many kinds of smile, such as sarcastic, artificial or diplomatic smiles. Many smiles produce no feeling of satisfaction, and sometimes they can even create suspicion or fear, can’t they? But a genuine smile really gives us a feeling of freshness and is, I believe, unique to human beings. If these are the smiles we want, then we ourselves must create the reasons for them to appear.
Relationships in the absence of attachment ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaThe wish to pull in or push away what we perceive around us is a big force in our relationships. Rather than relaxing and appreciating the other person, we engage in a constant struggle to get what we want from them, and to avoid getting what we do not want. For that reason, in order to build healthy relationships we need to deal with our attachment as well as our aversion.
It might be useful to start by looking at our assumptions about attachment and also about non attachment. Conventional wisdom leads many people to question whether or not relationships are even possible without attachment. I have heard people say that if there were no attachment, they would have no close relationships. People try to induce attachment in others as a basis for starting a relationship with them. They wield a attachment like a hook, trying to pull people towards them and literally get them hooked.
If you find it hard to imagine how a warm and healthy relationship could exist in the absence of attachment, this indicates confusion between being detached and being free of attachment. Detachment is very different from non attachment. Detachment suggests an unfeeling indifference. By contrast, when there is an absence of attachment, healthy feelings have ample room to blossom. This is because attachment causes you to be totally consumed by something or someone.
Perceiving all sounds as empty echoes ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheIf you are the target of some harsh criticism or insulting talk, for example, the harder you try to avoid being exposed to it, the more of it you seem to hear. The best thing would be to be like the great sages of the past, who felt neither upset when criticised, nor pleased when praised, because they were able to perceive all sounds as empty echoes, and to hear all criticism and praise about themselves just as though people were speaking about a person who had died long ago.
The value of having a good heart ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaI try always to express the value of having a good heart. This simple aspect of human nature can be nourished to great power. With a good heart and wisdom you have right motivation and will automatically do what needs to be done. If people begin to act with genuine compassion for every one, we can still protect each other and the natural environment. This is much easier than having to adapt to the severe and incomprehensible environmental conditions projected for the future.
Recognizing our shared humanity ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronCompassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others.
Giving and Receiving ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWe may talk about the equality of ourselves and others, or exchanging ourselves with others, but we do not understand that this happens in everyday life. We think that it is something special or extraordinary, yet it is happening in our lives on a daily basis. We give something, and that opens the possibility of receiving: we naturally receive something when we give. This is how we live, whether it is in the business world, in our social lives, or in any other context. Giving and taking is happening all the time. Living is dependent on giving: we give and therefore we receive. This interdependence is natural; however, it takes a special effort to train our mind to know this well enough so that our understanding is clear and strong.
Please keep this in mind ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaIn short, at all times and in all situations, let whatever you do accord with the sacred Dharma and dedicate all virtue towards enlightenment. If you do so, you will fulfill the vision of your lamas and be of service to the teachings. You will repay the kindness of your parents and spontaneously benefit yourself and others. Please keep this in mind.