GampopaJust like an arrow shot by a skillful archer as soon as the string is released it does not stay but quickly reaches its target, so also is the life of humans.
The joy of bodhicitta ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche
Tai Situ RinpocheWhen you have compassion, a bodhisattva’s compassion for all sentient beings, why you have bodhicitta for all sentient beings is because of your joy, not because of your sorrow. When you see that all sentient beings are suffering, you see that they don’t have to suffer, they can get out of that suffering, but not from somewhere else, the means of getting out of suffering is in them. Buddha-nature is in them, primordial wisdom is in them. When you see that then you get the natural aspiration, “May I reach liberation so that I can liberate all mother sentient beings who are suffering absolutely unnecessarily.” You have aspiration, confidence and a destination; it is more than just hope. So that is joy, it is not sorrow. It is not like, “These poor sentient beings are suffering. I have to do something for them.” It is, “These future Buddhas are unnecessarily suffering. They are having a nightmare. Their essence is perfect so they have all the means in them to overcome this suffering. So may I be the aspiration and guide for them. May I have that honor to be the guide and example and giver of that great realization for them, to make them realize who they are,” that’s all. You are not bringing something from somewhere and giving it to them, or cutting something from yourself and sewing it on to them. It is just making them realize who they are. That is what bodhicitta is. And it is joy, confidence, and an honor. It is not suffering, it is not pain and it is not misery.
Bottomless heart ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronWhen you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it’s bottomless, that it doesn’t have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space.
Through karma ~ Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha ShakyamuniBeings evolve through karma, take birth because of karma, enjoy and (function) through karma.
Signs of Practice ~ Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom RinpocheCalm and self-control are signs of listening to the Dharma;
Few passions, signs of meditation;
Harmony with everyone is the sign of a practitioner;
Your mind at ease, the sign of accomplishment.
Self-pity ~ Lama Yeshe
Lama YesheBy eliminating the self-pitying imagination of ego, you go beyond fear. All fear and other self-pitying emotions come from holding a self-pitying image of yourself.
Suffering is the dance of what is ~ Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro ThayeAdverse conditions are spiritual friends.
Devils and demons are emanations of the victorious ones.
Illness is the broom for evil and obscurations.
Suffering is the dance of what is.
Take a walk ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaMeditation is getting into the natural situation, the organic natural situation of what we are, directly, thoroughly, properly. In order to do this, we cannot just rent a helicopter and fly to the heart of the matter without any inconvenience. We do not have the money to buy such a fantastic machine. So what shall we do? The obvious thing to do is walk, just to walk on our own feet, just walk. We have to get into the countryside of this intimate natural beauty and walk. That is exactly what the first step of meditation is, going into our natural psychological situation without trying to find some fancy touristic vehicle. It is a very pleasant thing, to begin with, to just walk.
Virtue, concentration, and wisdom ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahVirtue, concentration, and wisdom together make up the Path. But this Path is not yet the true teaching, not what the teacher actually wanted, but merely the Path that will take you there. For example, say you traveled the road from Bangkok to Wat Pah Pong; the road was necessary for your journey, but you were seeking Wat Pah Pong, the monastery, not the road. In the same way, we can say that virtue, concentration, and wisdom are outside the truth of the Buddha but are the road that leads to truth. When you have developed these three factors, the result is the most wonderful peace.
Just avoid clinging to thought ~ Dogen Zenji
Dogen ZenjiAbove all, don’t wish to become a future Buddha;
Your only concern should be,
As thought follows thought,
To avoid clinging to any of them.
The spontaneous wisdom of the heart ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheCompassion is the spontaneous wisdom of the heart. It’s always with us. It always has been, and always will be. When it arises in us, we’ve simply learned to see how strong and safe we really are.
Empty Essence ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Tsoknyi RinpocheEmpty essence means very, very open
And very spacious, like a totally open sky.
Space has no center or edge.
Nothing is prevented, it is completely unimpeded.
Empty essence, like space, is not made out of anything whatsoever.
At the same time there is a sense of knowing,
An awake quality, a cognizant nature,
Not separate from the openness of this space.
Like the sun shining in daytime,
The daylight and space are not separate.
It’s all sunlit space.
Nothing is confined, nothing is blocked out.
All the doors and windows are wide open.
Like a total welcome – of all possibilities –
Which doesn’t get caught up in whatever happens.
It is wide open,
The unity of empty essence and cognizant nature.
This is the third quality, that of unconfined capacity.
The principle of dependent origination ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWe learn from the principle of dependent origination that things and events do not come into being without causes. Suffering and unsatisfactory conditions are caused by our own delusions and the contaminated actions induced by them.
The wisdom that realizes not-self ~ Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche
Khenpo Tsultrim RinpocheClinging to the idea of self is like clinging to the idea that a piece of rope in the dark is a snake. When the light is turned on and one sees that there is no snake there, one’s fear and suffering that arose from clinging to it as real dissolve. The snake never existed in the first place, so it was simply one’s clinging to that idea that caused the suffering and nothing else. The wisdom that realizes not-self is like the light that revealed the rope was not a snake.
Just like the wind moving through the empty sky ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThere is no emotion that you cannot be rid of, because emotions are simply thoughts, and thoughts are just like the wind moving through the empty sky. There is nothing to them.
Remembering the guru ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheThe great Jigme Lingpa said that when a yogi pursues the path of enlightenment, he could spend years and years accumulating merit through all kinds of methods, but meditation that lasts the duration of a cup of tea is more penetrating to this solid hard wrapping of ours. Spending years and years in meditation is excellent, but it is nothing compared to a single moment of remembering the guru. Even just remembering the guru’s name will dispel confusion and accumulate countless oceans of merit.
Recognizing Who We Are ~ 17th Karmapa
17th KarmapaWhen it comes to the true nature of mind, this isn’t something that we get from a spiritual tradition or religion. It’s not something that we need to seek from a guru or that we need to find by going to a sacred place, but it’s a matter of recognizing who we are, whatever that it is. When we see this completely clearly, when who we actually are becomes completely evident and obvious to us, and we recognize it and appreciate it in a completely perfect way, then that I think is what is called recognizing the true nature of mind. Then we fully make this a reality for ourselves.
The habit of happiness ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhSuppose someone says something that angers you. Your old pathway wants to say something to punish him. But that makes us victims of our habit energy. Instead, you can breathe in and say, “Unhappiness is in me, suffering is in me, anger is in me, irritation is in me.” That is already helpful, recognizing your feelings and helping you not to respond right away. So you accept that anger and irritation in you, and smile to it. With mindfulness, you look at the other person and become aware of the suffering in him or in her. He may have spoken like that to try to get relief from his suffering. He may think that speaking out like that will help him suffer less, but in fact he will suffer more.
With just one or two seconds of looking and seeing the suf-fering in him, compassion is born. When compassion is born, you don’t suffer any more, and you may find something to say that will help him. With the practice, we can always open new neural pathways like that. When they become a habit, we call it the habit of happiness.
Doing our little bit of good where we are ~ Desmond Tutu
Desmond TutuDo your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Samsara and Nirvana ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen RinpocheSamsara is mind turned outwardly, lost in its projections.
Nirvana is mind turned inwardly, recognizing its nature.