Tag Archives: awareness

The shining essence of our true nature ~ Mingyur Rinpoche

If we continue to simply allow ourselves to be aware of the activity of our minds, we’ll gradually come to recognize the transparent nature of our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and perceptions we once considered solid and real. It’s as though layers of dust and dirt were slowly being wiped away from the surface of a mirror. As we grow accustomed to looking at the clear surface of our minds, we can see through all the gossip about who and what we think we are, and recognize the shining essence of our true nature.

Mingyur Rinpoche

Experiencing the present moment of awareness ~ 3rd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche

If one looks into the nature of thoughts, then these dissolve into themselves and luminosity arises, the inherent luminosity and awareness of mind itself. These two aspects of mind, emptiness and luminosity are inseparable from each other and are actually one. This is the nature of mind. Looking into the nature of mind is nothing other than experiencing the present moment of awareness and seeing that there is no mind outside this present moment of awareness.

3rd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche

The wisdom mind of all the buddhas ~ Padmasambhava

Unstained by objective clinging,
Unspoilt by the grasping mind,
Sustaining the naked and empty awareness
Is the wisdom mind of all the buddhas!

Padmasambhava

Clear Awareness ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The moon’s reﬂection on water appears without obstruction and seems to shine very brightly, yet it is simply the appearance of something that does not exist. There is no such thing as a moon in the water. Likewise, when one recognizes that thoughts have no true existence, one recognizes awareness, and this is dharmakaya.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Mind and brain ~ Thrangu Rinpoche

The instruction that we need to identify our body, speech, and mind is a particularly important instruction for our time. The reason is that today, many people think that our mind is our brain, or that the brain and the mind are the same thing. The brain is something that can cause thoughts to happen but if we examine it, we see that the brain is just matter and the mind is awareness. Their characteristics are dissimilar. The brain functions as a support for thoughts, but that does not mean that it is the mind. For example, if you pinch your arm, the arm is a support for thought, even though it is not mind itself. It is the same with the brain. The Dalai Lama gives another example: crying out of a strong feeling of compassion and crying out of grief or sadness are very different in terms of motivation, but the brain activity is the same for both, despite the difference in emotion. If one occurred on the right side of the brain and the other on the left for example, we could say there is a distinction the brain, but we do not see any such difference. It is important that we recognize that our mind and brain are different—we should not confuse them. The mind is different from the body and the body is different from the mind. It is easy to see that speech is something different from the mind, but it is harder to recognize that body and mind are distinct.

Diligence ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Some people have the habit of thinking that something is bound to happen after practicing meditation a while – like going through school – that after ten or fifteen years you end up with a degree. That’s the idea in the back of people’s minds: “I can make it happen! I can do enlightenment!” Not in this case, though. You cannot make enlightenment, because enlightenment is unconstructed. Realizing the awakened state is a matter of being diligent in allowing nondual awareness to regain its natural stability. It is difficult to reach enlightenment without such diligence, without undertaking any hardship.

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The moment there is devotion ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

It may sound as if you must have devotion first in order to have an understanding of the view, that devotion ignites the practice of the Dharma. But as you become more seasoned in practicing the Dharma, especially the Vajrayana, the gap between devotion and the goal of the devotion becomes very small.
As you become more skilled in practicing, you will see that devotion is the awareness of impermanence, devotion is the renunciation mind, devotion is compassion for all sentient beings, devotion is none other than the experience of dependent arising. Most important, the moment there is devotion, you have the view, and there is the awareness of shunyata.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Guru ~ Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche

From the relative perspective the guru appears in human form, turns the wheel of Dharma, and shows the path. Develop unchanging faith in your teacher and then mingle your mind with his. By remaining in that state and maintaining the natural flow of awareness — perfect simplicity without any fabrication — you will realize the true nature of mind. Your mind will become one with your teacher’s mind. At that point, from the absolute point of view you will see him as the dharmakaya, the state of great evenness.

Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche

Free of fixation ~ Thrangu Rinpoche

Pure awareness, the empty essence, the union of clarity and wisdom, the essence of clarity and wisdom — all these can be synonyms for wisdom or awareness. This is the essence that is present with in all sentient beings, yet we do not recognize it. We have the instructions to recognize it, and if we do, we should not fixate on it. Pure awareness is without fixation. We should not cling or fixate on it in any way. It is like a rainbow in the sky above, and when we are free of this fixation, experiences arise unimpeded, meaning without any blockages.

Thrangu Rinpoche

The ground of being ~ Alan Wallace

How can one know whether it is possible through practice to transcend the sense of duality, to transcend language, to transcend experience mediated by concepts? The only way to know is to do it, and that is the challenge. The Buddha declared it is possible. You are not locked into your own personal history, your own conceptual and cultural framework. You have your own personal history but it’s not the whole story. There is also a transcendent element to your being that can be accessed experimentally, and it goes beyond all concepts. The experience is frequently described as pure awareness, but it’s not awareness as part of a duality, such as mind and matter. It does not fit into the Cartesian game plan. If you access that experience by delving into the nature of awareness, then, coming out of it, you might describe it as unborn, spontaneous, nondual, uncontrived, unfabricated awareness. Moreover, when people come out of this experience, they tend to speak of the entire world, with all of its myriad diversity, arising from this primordial awareness. Such nonduality is the ground of being.

Alan Wallace

Recognizing pride ~ Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

When pride arises, do not be controlled by it; return to the recognition of the fundamental awareness. Pride can be very gross, as one can see in arrogant people, or it can take a subtle form that is felt inwardly but does not have a strong outward manifestation. It is important to recognize pride at the moment of its arising. When one has recognized it, one should neither follow nor control it, but return to the condition of awareness. Pride will suddenly disappear together with its object — some knowledge or skill with which one identifies — and what will be left will be the wisdom of equanimity.

Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

Crush the eggshell of the mind ~ Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

Crush the eggshell of the mind and unfold your wings in the open sky. Destroy the hut of duality and inhabit the expansive mansion of pure awareness. There are no other enemies or obstacles to overcome and vanquish. Ignorance – dualistic thinking – is the great demon obstructing your path. Slay it right now and be free!

Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

Scattered Mind ~ Alan Wallace

When you first try stabilizing the attention, it seems that mental agitation is worse than before you made any effort at all. But the mind was always scattered. You were just not aware of it. If you acknowledge that one of the goals of meditating is to witness the condition of the mind and realize that stability develops gradually, you will not be disappointed.

Alan Wallace

How amazing ~ Dudjom Rinpoche

One’s own awareness, fresh and uncontrived,
Is the primordially present ultimate Lama
From whom you have not been separated for even an instant.
This meeting with the original abiding nature — how amazing!

Dudjom Rinpoche

Uncreated ~ Padmasambhava

It is the naturally originating pristine cognition, uncreated by anyone – how amazing!
This radiant awareness has never been born and will never die – how amazing!

Padmasambhava

Integrating awareness in all daily actions ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

If one does not know how to integrate the presence of awareness with all one’s daily actions, such as eating, walking, sleeping, sitting, and so on, then it is not possible to make the state of contemplation last beyond the limited duration of a session of sitting meditation.
If this is so, not having been able to establish true present awareness, one creates a separation between one’s sessions of sitting practice and one’s daily life. So it is very important to continue in present awareness without distraction, integrating it with all the actions of one’s daily life.

Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

We are awareness ~ Tenzin Palmo

Our minds are usually half asleep, and even though it seems as though we’re always thinking a lot and we’re very vital and present, in fact we are almost somnolent and robotic in our reactions. The whole point of meditation is to learn how to wake up, to develop greater clarity, to be more aware and more absolutely in the moment. It is to be conscious in the moment without all our usual projections, opinions, ideas and mental chatter going on. At a fundamental level, we are awareness.

Tenzin Palmo

Transforming anger ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Any peace talks should begin with making peace with ourselves. First we need to recognize our anger, embrace it, and make peace with it. You don’t fight your anger, because your anger is you. Your anger is the wounded child in you. Why should you fight your anger? The method is entirely nonviolent: awareness, mindfulness, and tenderly holding your anger within you. Like this, your anger will transform naturally.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Genuine compassion ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

Until pure compassion arises, there is no way to overcome limitations and sectarianism. However, there are many practitioners who reach a point after a while where they consider themselves like deities and treat others as opposing evil spirits, thereby strengthening their limitations and further accentuating attachment and hatred. Though they talk a lot about Mahamudra and Dzogchen, at the level of behavior, they are only becoming more expert and refined in acting according to the “eight worldly concerns”. This is a concrete sign that genuine compassion has not arisen and that, at the most fundamental level, the true and only root of compassion, the presence of awareness, has never arisen.