Letting the mind to become peaceful and staying in meditation state of stillness free from many thoughts is called shamata or sustained calm. Recognizing the empty nature of the mind within that state of calm is called vipashyana or profound insight. Uniting shamata and vipashyana is the essence of meditation practice. It is said:
Look at the mind,
There is nothing to see.
Seeing nothing, we see the dharma,
The source of all buddhas.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva
translated by Padmakara Translation Group
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Further quotes from the book The Heart of Compassion:
- Accepting short-term sufferings
- Phenomena adorn emptiness
- Practice day and night
- Two types of friends
- Seeing clearly how deceiving the ways of the world are
- Cutting through subtler misconceptions
- Just projections of the mind
- Protecting ourselves from future suffering
- Impermanence dawning in your mind
- A practice based on your mind
- The three aspects of diligence
- The children of the buddhas
- Opportunity
- The magnifying glass of your faith and devotion
- I like suffering
- The best opportunity to put the teachings into practice
- Meaningless activities without end
- Nothing to be grasped
- No greater obstacle to Dharma practice
- Start observing your mind