Without the personal advice of Buddha, our only option is to rely on the existing generalisations provided by the dharma that are themselves the result of centuries of guesswork. Not very encouraging news in some ways, but do not despair. This guesswork may be hundreds of years old, but it was originally developed by some of the greatest scholars and practitioners ever to have walked this earth. So rest assured that if the answer to the question “What do I do if I want to follow the path of dharma?” turns out to be shamatha meditation or the four foundations, you won’t go far wrong.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices
Read a random quote or see all quotes by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
Further quotes from the book Not for Happiness:
- Mara’s five arrows
- Sadness
- Mind-made illusions
- Nothing genuinely works in samsara
- It cannot be fixed
- Very little time left for practice
- What Is Bodhichitta
- We must also practice it
- Everything we experience is a product of mind
- For the sake of all other beings
- Spiritual practice is like riding a bicycle
- Dawn of wisdom
- Our most important companion
- Practise whichever method works for you
- The merit of maintaining mindfulness
- Right intention
- Obstacles Create Fertile Ground for Practice
- Wealth is contentment
- Where does low self-esteem come from