KrishnamurtiTo be free of all authority, of your own and that of another, is to die to everything of yesterday, so that your mind is always fresh, always young, innocent, full of vigour and passion. It is only in that state that one learns and observes. And for this, a great deal of awareness is required, actual awareness of what is going on inside yourself, without correcting it or telling it what it should or should not be, because the moment you correct it you have established another authority, a censor.
Tag Archives: awareness
Recognizing awareness ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheThe 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.
The key point of the entire path ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheYou may have heard me say this before, but it is the key point of the entire path, so it bears repeating: All that we are looking for in life — all the happiness, contentment, and peace of mind — is right here in the present moment. Our very own awareness is itself fundamentally pure and good. The only problem is that we get so caught up in the ups and downs of life that we don’t take the time to pause and notice what we already have.
The moment there is accumulation ~ Krishnamurti
KrishnamurtiTo understand conflict, we must understand relationship, and the understanding of relationship does not depend on memory, on habit, on what has been or what should be. It depends on choiceless awareness from moment to moment, and if we go into it deeply, we shall see that in that awareness there is no accumulative process at all. The moment there is accumulation, there is a point from which to examine, and that point is conditioned; and hence, when we regard relationship from a fixed point, there must be pain, there must be conflict.
The truth which is natural to awareness ~ Tilopa
TilopaObsessive use of meditative disciplines or perennial study of scripture and philosophy will never bring forth this wonderful realization, this truth which is natural to awareness, because the mind that desperately desires to reach another realm or level of experience inadvertently ignores the basic light that constitutes all experience.
Panoramic vision ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaIn awareness, all happenings are seen at once. This could also be called panoramic vision.
Awareness of Feelings ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama“That which is seen and that which is touched are of a dream-like and illusion-like nature.
Because feeling arises together with the mind, it is not [ultimately] perceived.”
~ShantidevaThere is nothing whatever that has a true mode of existence. Nevertheless, this does not suggest that a person who experiences feelings and the feelings themselves — pleasant and unpleasant — are utterly non-existent. They do exist, but in an untrue fashion. Thus, the things that we see and touch have a dream-like and illusion-like quality.
In the second line the author refutes the true existence of the mind that experiences feelings. Since feelings arise in conjunction with the mind, feelings are not perceived by the mind that is simultaneous with them. There must be a causal relationship between the experienced object and the experiencing subject. If two entities are substantially distinct and exist simultaneously, there could be neither a causal relationship nor an identity relationship between them.
For this reason the author denies that either [intrinsic] relationship could hold for the feelings and the awareness that is simultaneous with them. Two mental events that arise in conjunction with each other are not able to apprehend one another. This holds true for all states of awareness. Thus, feelings are not observed by the awareness that arises in conjunction with them and that exists simultaneously with them.
Confidence, integrity, and dignity ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaGaining mastery over our destructive propensities, through the exercise of awareness and self-discipline with regard to our body, speech, and mind, frees us from the inner turmoil that naturally arises when our behaviour is at odds with our ideals. In place of this turmoil come confidence, integrity, and dignity – heroic qualities all human beings naturally aspire to.
Present in yourself ~ Padmasambhava
PadmasambhavaThis awakened mind of awareness is not made out of any material substance; it is self-existing and inherent in yourself. This is the nature of things that is easy to realize because it is not to be sought for elsewhere. This is the nature of mind that does not consist of a concrete perceiver and something perceived to fixate on. It defies the limitations of permanence and annihilation. In it there is no thing to awaken; the awakened state of enlightenment is your own awareness that is naturally awake. In it there is no thing that goes to the hells; awareness is naturally pure. In it there is no practice to carry out; its nature is naturally cognizant. This great view of the natural state is present in yourself: resolve that it is not to be sought for elsewhere.
A moment of direct pristine awareness ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheThe Buddha’s plan went far beyond learning to become “okay.” His aim was for us to become buddhas: to awaken our capacity to approach every experience — grief, shame, jealousy, frustration, illness, and even death —with the innocent perspective we experience when looking for the first time, for example, at the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, or the views from the top of Taipei 101. Before fear, judgment, anxiety, or opinion intervenes, there’s a moment of direct pristine awareness that transcends any distinction between experience and the experiencer.
Like a knot that is untied ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Tsoknyi RinpocheThere is only one mind; it is not that there are two minds, one recognizing the other. In the very moment of recognizing, it is like a knot that is untied. We don’t have to do anything further than that, leave it untied. In the moment of looking, it is already seen. It is not that later on we come to see. Why? Because mind and mind essence are very close. The second reason is that it is not that mind essence is something that we have to get our sights on; it’s not like that. It is not that we need to hold the awareness on it for a while, like one or two minutes and slowly it will appear within our experience. Since there is only one mind, the moment you recognize, it is simply a matter of letting go. The thinker or knower of that moment is just like a new knot, like a new thought. The moment you abandon it, it unties. We are already arrived at where we need to arrive at, we are already in the nature of mind.
Spacious meditation ~ Kalu Rinpoche
Kalu RinpocheIn real meditation, a bare state of awareness is necessary, so that the meditation has a spacious quality, a clarity and transparency of experience.
Clarity 24/7 ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheAwareness in itself is always clear, capable of reflecting anything, even misconceptions about itself.
Remaining in the nakedness of ultimate reality ~ Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom RinpocheTake your stand on the ultimate practice of the heart essence — samsara and nirvana are the display of awareness. Without distraction, without meditation, in a state of natural relaxation, constantly remain in the pure, all-penetrating nakedness of ultimate reality.
Insignificant details are significant ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaAttempts are made to develop awareness through awareness of body, awareness of surroundings, and also through group work of various kinds. But there’s a problem if we are unable to relate with and appreciate the insignificant details of our everyday life. Doing special body awareness practices might seem extraordinarily fruitful and liberating. Nevertheless, there’s still a dichotomy in your life. You feel the importance and the seriousness of the awareness practice in which you’re involved, but in fact, the more you feel that the whole thing is important and serious, the more your development of awareness is going to be destroyed. Real awareness cannot develop if you are trying to chop your experience into categories and put it into pigeonholes.
Just that awareness that engages in all these activities ~ Garchen Rinpoche
Garchen RinpocheWe must understand that Buddha nature and its wisdom are inherent in our minds. It is extensively explained by many great scholars and masters, but it is very simple. It is just that awareness that engages in all these activities, worldly or dharmic. It is the one who thinks “I must do this, do that, go here or there,” or the scientists building planes and improving the world doing this and that. It is just that awareness engaging in all these activities and doing all these things that we must recognize.
If we ride the horse of self-grasping and merge the mind with self-grasping, we will only go down further and further into samsara — we will have to continue wandering in samsara. But if we ride the horse of loving-kindness and compassion we will go more and more through the enlightened qualities of the Buddha; the nirmanakaya, then the sambhogakaya, then the dharmakaya — we will go up to complete enlightenment.
Another example is like a big tree. The lower part, the roots, represents the lower realms and self-grasping, the pain of self-grasping. If there is self-grasping we will always abide at the lower part of the tree. But if we give rise to the altruistic mind then we go up to the higher parts of the tree — the branches, the foliage, the leaves, the flowers and fruits and so on. There is still just one tree, one single ground, but if we abide at the bottom we experience great suffering and great difficulty from the self-grasping mind, but if we go up we bring about the benefit of others and our own happiness. The basis, the ground, is a single one — buddha nature.
Naked radiant awareness itself ~ Jigme Lingpa
Jigme LingpaThe location of the truth of the Great Perfection is the unfabricated mind of the present moment, this naked radiant awareness itself, not a hair of which has been forced into relaxation. Maintaining this at all times, just through not forgetting it even in the states of eating, sleeping, walking, and sitting, is called meditation. However, until you are free from the obscurations of cognition, it is impossible for this not to be mixed with the experiences of bliss, clarity, and nonconceptualization. Nevertheless, just by not forgetting the nature of one’s own awareness — the kind that is not a tangled mindfulness that gets more tangled in order to be mindful — at some point the unelaborated ultimate truth, transcending terms and examples, will appear.
Befriending the monkey mind ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheIn private interviews, I hear about problems with family members, partners, and employers. When you listen, the problems sound so small. But if you think about that problem again and again, it gets bigger and bigger. Making a mountain out of a molehill is the monkey’s specialty. This is the nature of the restless monkey-mind. Generally we do not observe the mind itself, so this encounter with the monkey can be confusing. But actually we are beginning to recognize awareness and all the thoughts, feelings, and impulses that are constantly moving through it. If people come to meditation in order to get rid of thoughts, this encounter with the monkey-mind might be disheartening. But we do not have to get rid of the monkey-mind. Ignoring this thought-factory never works, and suppressing it is impossible. But we can befriend it. How do we do this? By hanging around. We’re not aggressive. We do not try to conquer or control our new friend, but if we want to get to know its qualities, we have to stay present for the encounter. When we begin to meditate, no matter what style or tradition we follow, we will surely meet the monkey. But with awareness meditation, we give the monkey a constructive job to do.
Cut off from the present moment ~ Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin PalmoOur society is very result-oriented, that’s why we are so competitive. That’s why we are always stressed, because we are always looking at something in the distance. If you are always looking at the top of the mountain you are climbing, you cannot be aware of the grass and flowers growing at your feet. We are always looking ahead, aren’t we? And then the actual thing, the actual living, passes us by. We are locked inside our brains, cut off from the present moment, always centered on something beyond our reach. We are imagining this mirage of happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment which will magically appear once this and this and this happens. But what’s happening right now is “it” and it’s the only “it” we have. The rest is just fabrication.
Allowing Space ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Tsoknyi RinpocheIf we can allow some space within our awareness and rest there, we can respect our troubling thoughts and emotions, allow them to come, and let them go. Our lives may be complicated on the outside, but we remain simple, easy, and open on the inside.