17th KarmapaDo not let anyone tell you how you must look or act just because you are a man or a woman. You have boundless potential that can only be limited when you believe that your social identity is really who you are. Who you are is not a perfectly measured object. There is tremendous elasticity in who you can be. It is up to you to decide the shape you give yourself.
Practice and Enlightenment ~ Dogen Zenji
Dogen ZenjiThinking that practice and enlightenment are not one is no more than a view that is outside the Way [that is, deluded]. In the buddha-dharma, practice and enlightenment are one and the same. Because it is the practice of enlightenment, a beginner’s wholehearted practice of the Way is exactly the totality of original enlightenment. For this reason, in conveying the essential attitude for practice, it is taught not to wait for enlightenment outside practice.
Living beings and Victorious Ones alike ~ Atisha
AtishaThe qualities of Buddhahood are gained
Through living beings and Victorious Ones alike,
Why then do we respect the Victorious Ones
And not living beings in the same way?
Just like me ~ Ribur Rinpoche
Ribur RinpocheJust like me, others don’t want even the slightest suffering and they want to experience happiness, but that happiness is never enough. Therefore, myself and others are just the same.
However, the way we think of ourselves and the way we think of others is actually quite different. We think of ourselves as extremely important, and we are constantly concerned about ourselves. We are the very focal object of our own concern. For instance, we think, “I’m hot, I’m cold, I’m not very comfortable, I need this, I don’t need that, I wish for this, I wish for that, my health, and this and that.” We are the main focus of our mind, and our thoughts revolve around ourselves, and whether we are well and happy or not.
If we compare the strength of the thoughts we have about ourselves with the thoughts we have about others, others fall into a dismissible category. We think, “I myself am very important, I need to get this and that,” but others are dismissible and we’re not very concentrated on them. Is this true or not? We are not very concentrated on others, right? We are the main focus of our life. This is a clear indication that we don’t have the thought that equalizes ourselves with others. This is the difference between equalizing ourselves with others and not equalizing ourselves with others. This is the main focus of our meditation.
Preparing food ~ Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu SuzukiPreparing food is not just about yourself and others. It is about everything!
Beyond nonviolence and meditation ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse RinpocheOver time I have come to realize that people often associate Buddhism and Buddhists with peace, meditation, and nonviolence. In fact many seem to think that saffron or maroon robes and a peaceful smile are all it takes to be a Buddhist. As a fanatical Buddhist myself, I must take pride in this reputation, particularly the nonviolent aspect of it, which is so rare in this age of war and violence, and especially religious violence. Throughout the history of humankind, religion seems to beget brutality. Even today religious-extremist violence dominates the news. Yet I think I can say with confidence that so far we Buddhists have not disgraced ourselves. Violence has never played a part in propagating Buddhism. However, as a trained Buddhist, I also feel a little discontented when Buddhism is associated with nothing beyond vegetarianism, nonviolence, peace, and meditation. Prince Siddhartha, who sacrificed all the comforts and luxuries of palace life, must have been searching for more than passivity and shrubbery when he set out to discover enlightenment.
Recognizing the mind as it is ~ Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu RinpocheIt is said that we must recognize the mind as it is, in other words as completely naked. “Naked” here means that the mind is not covered or obscured by anything. If we can really immerse our self within this original, bare state of mind, we will automatically understand the right view, and everything that is not part of the mind will automatically disappear.
Courages life ~ Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom RinpocheAt all times, do not lose courage in your inner awareness; uplift yourself, while assuming a humble position in your outer demeanor. Follow the example of the life and complete liberation of previous accomplished masters (siddha). Do not blame your past karma; instead, be someone who purely and flawlessly practices the dharma. Do not blame temporary negative circumstances; instead, be someone who remains steadfast in the face of whatever circumstances may arise.
Practice Joyfully ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche
Tai Situ RinpocheWe shouldn’t get carried away. We shouldn’t get lost when things happen to us. Getting lost in good things is as bad as getting lost in bad things. We should not get lost in anything. We should always be aware and mindful. We should always follow the path no matter whether we are taking baby steps, elephant steps or kangaroo steps. Kangaroo steps are pretty big. Elephants cannot jump because their knees bend backward not forward, but Kangaroos can. Anyway, whether our steps are big or small we will get there. Our destiny is nothing more and nothing less than our potential, and our ultimate potential is no less and no more than Prince Siddhartha’s. Whatever he was able to attain, we will attain. Do not worry too much about your life. Enjoy it. Just do not be too indulgent. Practice diligence but do not let your practice become a burden for you. That is not very good karma. You may find yourself thinking, “Oh no, I have to do my practice. I have to do this hard work. I don’t like it but I have taken vows so I have to do it.” This is very negative. Do not let it happen. Instead practice comfortably, happily, joyfully with honor and gratitude. It may be bad karma for me to speak like this but if it helps you to understand more clearly then that is okay.
The need to look at the mind ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheIf we want to cut through all the varieties and levels of pain, suffering, and discomfort we experience in daily life and grasp the full significance of having a mind, we have to make some attempt to look at the mind and distinguish its main features.
Pilgrimage ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa RinpochePilgrimage needs faith. The more faith, the more happiness. Otherwise, you are just like a tourist looking at ruins.
Maintaining pure discipline ~ Milarepa
MilarepaTo maintain pure discipline,
Is to do away with pretense and concealment.
Ego is a filter ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIn Buddhist psychology, ego is seen as a kind of filter, a network through which energy is constantly being channeled and manipulated rather than being able to flow freely in unrestricted space. It is not a solid entity but a moment-to-moment process of birth, evolution, and death.
The best way to find yourself ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma GandhiThe best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Do not try ~ Ajahn Chah
Ajahn ChahDo not try to become anything.
Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator.
Do not become enlightened.
When you sit, let it be.
What you walk, let it be.
Grasp at nothing.
Resist nothing.
Practice in daily life ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaThe most important thing is practice in daily life; then you can know gradually the true value of religion. Doctrine is not meant for mere knowledge, but for the improvement of our minds. In order to do that, it must be part of our life. If you put religious doctrine in a building and when you leave the building depart from the practices, you cannot gain its value.
Rejoicing ~ Longchenpa
LongchenpaRejoicing is habituating yourself to feeling happy about all the constructive acts of the Triumphant Ones, their spiritual offspring, and all wandering beings. This is a supreme method for transforming fathomless masses of positive force into something immeasurably great.
Hallucinating mind ~ Lama Yeshe
Lama YesheBuddhism is not saying that objects have no beauty whatsoever. They do have beauty. The craving mind, however, projects onto an object something that is beyond the relative level, which has nothing to do with that object. That mind is hallucinating, deluded and holding the wrong entity.
The choice is clear ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThrough the unfailing process of cause and effect, our acts, our words and our thoughts determine the happiness or the suffering that we will later experience. If the balance of the scale of our acts leans to the negative side, we will suffer in the lower states of existence of samsara. If it leans towards the positive, we will be able to liberate ourselves from samsara and attain Buddhahoood in a single lifetime. The choice is clear: avoid the causes of sorrow and thus be sure of happiness.
Life is available only in the present ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhLife is available only in the present. That is why we should walk in such a way that every step can bring us to the here and the now.