Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi LodröHonestly, it’s not like there is a good buddha nature in Samantabhadra and a bad one in an insect. The minds of every single one of us possess the same quality of buddha nature. It is so close and easy that we don’t believe it. It is so close and it is so easy that most people find it impossible to trust that simply letting be is sufficient!
But the difference between samsara and nirvana is simply a matter of either recognizing or not recognizing. The very moment you recognize, there is nothing simpler than that. In the moment of seeing mind essence, it is already recognized; there is nothing more that needs to be done. At that very moment it is not necessary to meditate even a speck.
Tag Archives: nirvana
The teaching of transiency ~ Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu SuzukiThe basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change. That everything changes is the basic truth for each existence. No one can deny this truth, and all the teaching of Buddhism is condensed within it. This is the teaching for all of us. Wherever we go this teaching is true. This teaching is also understood as the teaching of selflessness. Because each existence is in constant change, there is no abiding self. In fact, the self-nature of each existence is nothing but change itself, the self-nature of all existence. There is no special, separate self-nature for each existence. This is also called the teaching of Nirvana. When we realize the everlasting truth of “everything changes” and find our composure in it, we find ourselves in Nirvana.
Learning to leap into open space ~ Pema Chödron
Pema ChödronThe Buddha is the awakened one, and we too are buddhas. We are the awakened one — the one who continually leaps, who continually opens, who continually goes forward. Being a buddha isn’t easy. It’s accompanied by fear, resentment, and doubt. But learning to leap into open space with our fear, resentment, and doubt is how we become fully human beings. There isn’t any separation between samsara and nirvana, between the sadness and pain of the setting sun and the vision and power of the Great Eastern Sun, as the Shambhala teachings put it. One can hold them both in one’s heart, which is actually the purpose of practice.
At your feet I bow ~ Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul RinpocheUnderstanding that samsaric activities are empty of meaning,
With great compassion, you strive only for the benefit of others.
Without attachment to samsara or nirvana, you act according to the Great Vehicle.
Peerless Teacher, at your feet I bow.
Three Types of People ~ Atisha
AtishaKnow that there are three types of people:
Inferior, mediocre, and superior.
The inferior are said to be those
Who by any of the various means
Strive for their own benefit
To merely attain the pleasures of samsara.The mediocre are said to be those
Who turn their back on samsara’s pleasures
And also refrain from evil deeds,
Yet pursue a personal peace.The superior are said to be those
Who through understanding their own suffering
Deeply desire to completely end
The sufferings of all other beings.
The root of all dharmas ~ Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi LodröThe root of all dharmas is one’s own mind:
Convincing when unexamined, ingenious in its deception;
Yet, when investigated, without basis or origin;
In essence, free of coming, staying or going.
All the phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
Are but pure or impure projections of one’s own mind.
In reality, neither saṃsāra nor nirvāṇa exists.Empty from the very beginning, pure from the first —
Still, this emptiness is not a nihilistic void,
For there is spontaneous presence in the nature of clear light.
Responsive pure awareness is the basis for all that unfolds.
Rigpa is beyond designation and verbalization.
From its potential saṃsāra and nirvāṇa arise in all their multiplicity.
The manifestation and the one that brings it about are not two:
In the experience of this non-duality, remain—unaltered.
Look into the mirror of your mind ~ Tilopa
TilopaNaropa, you should strive
For Samsara and Nirvana’s unity.
Look into the mirror of your mind, which is delight eternal,
The mysterious home of the Dakini.
Mind’s reflections ~ Saraha
SarahaThe mind is the sole creator of everything that exists.
The samsaric and nirvanic conditions
Are reflected in the mind
The root of samsara and nirvana ~ Saraha
SarahaRealize the nature of mind,
Because it is at the root of both samsaric suffering
And nirvanic bliss.
When you realize this,
Rest the mind without meditating,
Because only deluded people seek enlightenment
By abandoning their own minds.
Your own mind ~ Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro ThayeAll of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are your own mind;
They don’t arise from anything else in the slightest.
Everything, such as joy and suffering, good and bad,
High and low, are the conceptual constructs of mind.If your mind is pure, you are buddha:
Wherever you reside is a pure realm;
Whatever you do is from the state of the dharmatā;
Whatever appears is the jewel display of wisdom.If your mind is of an impure nature,
You’ll see faults even in the buddhas,
You’ll get angry even at your parents,
Most things will appear as if they were your enemies.
Unconstructed self -knowing ~ Naropa
NaropaMind is neither existent nor nonexistent,
Since each of these [constructs] is negated.
It is also not both,
Since existing and not existing are a contradiction.
It is not a living being
Nor other than living beings.Therefore, it is free from all constructs.
This is how I have established the ultimate:
“Mind is based on space,” as it is said.This unconstructed self-knowing
Perceives while empty, and while empty it perceives.
Experience and emptiness are therefore indivisible,
Like the analogy of the moon in water.
This is how I have established nonduality:
“Space is not based on anything,” as it is said.This unconstructed self-knowing
Is itself the very basis of samsara.
Nirvana as well is also just this.
The Great Middle Way is also just this.
That to be seen is also just this.
That to train in is also just this.
That to attain is also just this.
The valid truth is also just this.The renowned threefold tantras
Of basic cause, method, and result,
And what is known as ground, path, and fruition,
Are just different situations of this.The basic consciousness, the all-ground,
And all possible aggregates in samsara,
Are known as the ‘dependent,’ and so forth.
A state of total presence ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
Namkhai Norbu RinpocheEnlightenment, or Nirvana, is nothing other than the state beyond all obstacles, in the same way that from the peak of a very high mountain one always sees the sun. Nirvana is not a paradise or some special place of happiness, but is in fact the condition beyond all dualistic concepts, including those of happiness and suffering.
When all our obstacles have been overcome, and we find ourselves in a state of total presence, the wisdom of enlightenment manifests spontaneously without limits, just like the infinite rays of the sun. The clouds have dissolved, and the sun is finally free to shine once again.
Putting down the heavy burden once and for all ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheOur endless wandering in samsara is the result of our negative emotions. But take the trouble to examine the nature of these emotions with which we are so obsessed and which are the very cause of the round of existence, and you will find that they do not have the least trace of reality. You will discover nothing but emptiness. True nirvana comprises the infinite, inexpressible qualities of primordial wisdom. These qualities are innate in the mind; there is no need to invent or create them. Realization uncovers them in the course of the path. Even these qualities, from an ultimate point of view, are simply emptiness.
Both samsara and nirvana are thus emptiness. It follows that neither one of them can be said to be bad or good. When you realize the nature of the mind you are liberated from the need to reject samsara and pursue nirvana. Seeing the world with all the unspoiled simplicity of a young child, you are free from concepts of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, and no longer fall prey to conflicting tendencies driven by desire or repulsion. Why trouble yourself about all the ups and downs of daily life, like a child who delights in building a sandcastle but cries when it collapses? To get what they want and be rid of what they dislike, look how people throw themselves into torments, like moths plunging into the flame of a lamp! Would it not be better to put down your heavy burden of dreamlike obsessions, once and for all?
Complete absence of doubt ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheWithin our own buddha nature we naturally have all the qualities of nirvana, so we do not need to look for them and take possession of them outside. Neither do we need to get rid of anything, because the obscurations that are temporarily veiling our realization of the absolute nature are not inherent to that absolute nature. So with this third wisdom, doubts are completely absent: there is no wondering, “Will I be able to achieve all those qualities?” or “Will I succeed in getting rid of all these defects?”
You can touch nirvana right now ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhNirvana means extinction, the extinction of all notions and concepts, including the concepts of birth, death, being, nonbeing, coming, and going. Nirvana is the ultimate dimension of life, a state of coolness, peace, and joy. It is not a state to be attained after death. You can touch nirvana right now by breathing, walking, and drinking your tea in mindfulness.
Empty, luminous, beyond clinging ~ Shabkar
ShabkarThe root of all that exists,
Samsara and nirvana, is one’s own mind.
Primordially, mind is emptiness.Merge into the sky-like absolute expanse,
Empty, luminous, beyond clinging.Outside, inside; eyes open or closed,
Day, night; asleep or awake:
No difference.During practice, after practice,
Mind, appearances:
Blend them.Continuously, without wavering,
Merge completely with this vibrant, sky-like state.
Becoming the slave of illusions and distractions ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
Namkhai Norbu RinpocheOur mind is the basis of everything, and from our mind everything arises, Samsara and nirvana, ordinary sentient beings and enlightened ones. Consider the way beings transmigrate in the impure vision of samsara: even though the essence of the mind, the true nature of our mind, is totally pure right from the beginning, nevertheless, because pure mind is temporarily obscured by the impurity of ignorance, there is no self-recognition of our own state. Through this lack of self-recognition arise illusory thoughts and actions created by the passions. Thus various negative karmic causes are accumulated and since their maturation as effects is inevitable, one suffers bitterly, transmigrating in the six states of existence. Thus, not recognizing one’s own state is the cause of transmigration, and through this cause one becomes the slave of illusions and distractions.
The root of samsara ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
Namkhai Norbu RinpocheJust as a person who has a ‘bile’ disease sees a shell as being yellow even if one can see objectively that that is not its true color, so in just the same way, as a result of the particular karmic causes of sentient beings, the various illusory visions manifest. Thus, if one were to meet a being of each of the six states of existence on the bank of the same river, they would not see that river in the same way, since they each would have different karmic causes. The beings of the hot hells would see the river as fire; those of the cold hells would see it as ice; beings of the hungry ghost realm would see the river as blood and pus; aquatic animals would see it as an environment to live in; human beings would see the river as water to drink; while the demi-gods would see it as weapons, and the gods as nectar. This shows that in reality nothing exists as concrete and objective. Therefore, understanding that the root of Samsara is truly the mind, one should set out to pull up the root. Recognizing that the mind itself is the essence of Enlightenment one attains liberation. Thus, being aware that the basis of Samsara and Nirvana is only the mind, one takes the decision to practice.
Get out of the construction business ~ Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche
Nyoshul Khen RinpocheGet out of the construction business! Stop building bridges across the raging waters of samsaric existence, attempting to reach the “far shore,” nirvana. Better to simply relax, at ease and carefree, in total naturalness, and just go with the primordial flow, however it occurs and happens. And remember this: whether or not you go with the flow, it always goes with you.
The mind is free of any true reality ~ Padampa Sangye
Padampa SangyeThe root of both samsara and nirvana is to be found within your mind;
People of Tingri, the mind is free of any true reality.