ARCHIVE OF WEEKLY DHARMA TEACHINGS Below is an archive of quotes that have been sent out so far.      2012

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• January 26
      Merely understanding the mind is not good enough. Recognizing it as the source of happiness and suffering is good, but great results come only from looking inward and meditating on the nature of the mind. Once you recognize its nature, then you need to meditate with joyful effort. Joyful meditation will actualize the true nature of the mind, and maintaining the mind in this natural state will bring enlightenment. This type of meditation reveals the innermost, profound wisdom that is inherent in the mind.
      Meditation can transform your body into wisdom light, into what is known as the rainbow body of wisdom. Many masters in the history of the Nyingma lineage have achieved this, as can anyone who practices these methods of meditation. The wisdom aspect of our nature exists at all times in each of us. You have always had this nature and it can be revealed through meditation. When you maintain the mind in its natural state, wonderful qualities shine out like light from the sun. Among these qualities are limitless compassion, limitless loving-kindness, and limitless wisdom.
  --from The Buddhist Path: A Practical Guide from the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• January 19
      Buddha means one who is fully enlightened. In other words, a buddha has fully awakened from the sleep of delusion. He is free from all obscurations, both gross and subtle, and has revealed the two intrinsic wisdom awarenesses. Buddhahood is the spontaneously established, uncompounded nature that does not depend on any other conditions. A buddha has perfect wisdom, has perfectly accomplished the nature of compassion, and has every ability to manifest all excellent activities.
      There are many buddhas in the past, present, and future. In fact, there are as many buddhas as there are particles of dust. Basically, the term buddha refers to anyone whose mind is fully awakened and who is free from all suffering and its causes. When we point to Buddha Shakyamuni as a buddha, he is an example of this. A buddha has four forms, all of which emanate from the dharmakaya:
  
  1. Nirmanakaya is a buddha who has emanated in a physical form. A nirmanakaya can emanate anywhere as anything animate or inanimate--as a human being, an animal, or even a bridge, if necessary...
  2. Sambhogakaya is the expression of the complete, perfect manifestation of the Buddha's excellent, infinite qualities, called the enjoyment body--splendid and glorious. All the buddhas appear and manifest in the limitless buddha fields in this form...
  3. Dharmakaya is one's own perfection, fully free from all delusion and suffering. It is infinite and transcends all boundaries...
  4. Svabhavikakaya is the indivisible nature of the other three forms.(p.165)
  --from A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron

 

• January 12
      The many tantras of both the Ancient and New traditions unanimously agree that these, and others, are the consequences of violating the pledges.
  Means of Restoration
  The proclaimers' vows, like a clay pot, once broken cannot be repaired;
  The awakening mind commitments, like gold or silver, can be restored;
  The tantric pledges, like a dented vessel, are restored by the practitioner's strength.
  --Jamgon Kongtrul
      When is it possible to restore a vow that has been transgressed? All the tantras and transmissions state that if a monk has incurred a defeat with concealment, the transgressed vow, like a broken clay pot, cannot be repaired. An awakening mind commitment that has been transgressed is like a cracked gold or silver vase which can still be soldered by a blacksmith. A violated vow or pledge in this Secret Mantra system is likened to a dented golden vessel, which can be straightened out by the practitioner's own strength.
  Pledges are restored through action, precious substances, earnest desire, contemplation, and reality.
  The Great Cleansing can purify all transgressions.(p.296)
  --from Treasury of Knowledge- Book Five: Buddhist Ethics by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, trans. by the Kalu Rinpoche Translation Group, under the direction of Ven. Bokar Rinpoche

 

• January 5
      When doing lamrim meditations, it is important to know clearly the state of mind you want to reach as a conclusion to the meditation. Lamrim texts describe the purpose of each meditation, and we want to make sure that our mind arrives at that conclusion and not at an incorrect or irrelevant conclusion. For example, when meditating on the disadvantages of the self-centered thought, our mind may twist that meditation and conclude, "I'm a horrible person because I'm so selfish." This is the wrong conclusion to reach from that meditation. The Buddha didn't teach the disadvantages of self-centeredness so that we would deride ourselves.
      If you meditate on a lam rim topic and arrive at an incorrect conclusion, the meditation hasn't been done correctly. In the above case, thinking, "I'm a bad person because I'm so selfish," indicates that we have misunderstood the purpose of the meditation and probably have fallen into an old pattern of putting ourselves down. Stop and ask yourself,
      "What conclusion does the Buddha want me to reach from this meditation? He wants me to ascertain that the self-centered mind is the actual 'enemy' that destroys my happiness. Self-centeredness is not an intrinsic part of me; it is not who I am. It's an incorrect, but deeply entrenched, thought that creates problems for me. I can free myself from it. Since I want to be happy, I will realize this selfish attitude for what it is and will stop following it! Instead, I will cultivate love and compassion for all beings."
      This is the conclusion you want to reach.(p.58)
  --from Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

2011

• December 29
  The famous nineteenth-century dzogchen master Paltrul Rinpoche explained self-liberation concretely and precisely:
      "The practitioner of self-liberation is like an ordinary person as far as the way in which the thoughts of pleasure and pain, hope and fear, manifest themselves as creative energy. However, the ordinary person, taking these really seriously and judging them as acceptable or rejecting them, continues to get caught up in situations and becomes conditioned by attachment and aversion.
      "Not doing this, a practitioner, when such thoughts arise, experiences freedom: initially, by recognizing the thought for what it is, it is freed just like meeting a previous acquaintance; then it is freed in and of itself, like a snake shedding its skin; and finally, thought is freed in being unable to be of benefit or harm, like a thief entering an empty house."
      ...Freeing or liberating thought does not mean ignoring, letting go of, being indifferent to, observing, or even not having thoughts. It means being present in hope and fear, pain and pleasure, not as objects before us, but as the radiant clarity of our natural state. Thus anger, for example, when experienced dualistically, is an irritation which we may indulge in or reject, depending on our conditioning. Either way we are caught up in it and act out of it. But when aware of anger as a manifestation of clarity, its energy is a very fresh awareness of the particulars of the situation. However, these particulars are no longer irritating.(p.77)
  --from You Are the Eyes of the World by Longchenpa, translated by Kennard Lipman and Merrill Peterson, introduction by Namkhai Norbu

 

• December 22
      Speech that is not harmful is the meaning of "right speech." It is wise speech. Wise people can still be quite firm and decisive when that is what is needed. It means finding generous and productive ways of saying things. There are times when we need to be strict, but we do not have to denigrate or harm the person or child who is out of line. Firm speech can also be wise speech.
      Wise speech is another tool that can be practiced. We can begin by practicing wise speech to ourselves--replacing the inner voice of guilt that is putting us down and opening a space to listen to our deeper needs.
      What can I say which will be helpful to someone? What tone of voice will I use? And when is it wise to say nothing? Imagine yourself actually saying something helpful and supportive. Imagine the difference it would make in your life if you could say just one helpful thing to one person. Imagine your life if your speech always came from wisdom.(p.136)
  --from Enough! A Buddhist Approach to Finding Release from Addictive Patterns by Chonyi Taylor

 

• December 15
      The practice of Dharma is to pacify the afflictions and concepts that fill our minds. When we blend the teachings with our minds, the power of the Dharma can act upon and pacify afflictions and concepts. If on the outside we look like Dharma practitioners while on the inside our Dharma practice has not diminished our afflictions or concepts, we merely call ourselves practitioners without actually being one. This is not to say that outer behavior, our reflection in the world, is not important, but what is crucial is to train in taming our minds.
      What we tame are the three main afflictions: ignorance, attachment, and aversion. Ignorance, the root of the two others, is defined as the continual fixation on our self that we assume to be permanent and independent. This ego-clinging is the main cause for our cycling in samsara. We wish to be in paradise for our own advantage; we wish to erase all suffering for our own advantage. We cling to this "I" of ours, thinking that it is so special that we should not be bothered with problems but enjoy wealth, power, and charisma. If we honestly look into our minds, it is quite easy to see this kind of coarse and obvious grasping to a self.
      There are also subtle forms of fixating on the self ("I") and what belongs to it ("mine"), like the quick thought of ourselves before another one comes. When practicing Dharma, we are taming this coarse and subtle clinging to an ego. If this does not happen, we will merely be able to suppress the afflictions temporarily, distancing ourselves for the time being. To cut through them completely, we must steadily apply ourselves to practice.(p.187)
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• December 8
      Developing a sense of good cheer in the face of adversity, you can specifically use adversity as the support for refuge and true spiritual development. I am discussing how you relate to your suffering, how you relate to your adversity, as it affects you in life and on the path.
      Now, as you know, whenever you are suffering by way of the body, speech, and mind, be it physical illness or a mental affliction, this is a very big deal to you. Usually it appears as something major. Even if it's minor, you make it into some great distress. If you lose a little money or if someone speaks nastily to you, it invokes a strong reaction. This is called "appearances arising as the enemy." When your habituation to adversity reaches such a point that you actually fall prey to appearances arising as the enemy, it means that you no longer have patience for suffering.
      ...If you can't bear the minor aspects of adversity in this, the best rebirth in cyclic existence, the precious human rebirth, what will you do when you're reborn in the three lower realms? Samsara is so vast, so deep and limitless, and the number of sentient beings within samsara are equal to that. All of them want to be free; all of them desire liberation. You should consider then how unnecessary or pointless it is to think that your small problems in this fortunate life are so great, when in fact they really are not.
      Any rebirth in this ocean of cyclic existence will by nature bring this type of discontent or suffering. Since you've been in this cycle of rebirths from beginningless time until now and you are still not free, it points out the fact that help is needed. Refuge is necessary. Adversity then becomes the support for training in refuge, which demonstrates that adversity is used to your advantage.(p.44)
  --from Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga by Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, trans. by B. Alan Wallace and Sangye Khandro

 

• December 1
      We all have a certain style for doing things--how we drive, how we cook, how we dress. Some of us are shy or cautious, others assertive or flamboyant. We've refined that style over the years based on how successful it is, but it's not usually something of which we're completely aware. As long as it gets the job done, as long as we get the appropriate feedback from others, our style goes unnoticed, and when questioned we'll say, "That's just the way I am."
      When we begin meditation, it is inevitable that we will meditate with the same style with which we do everything else, because it's who we think we are. Furthermore, this style has proven to be reasonably successful in our other activities. However, in this case, it is not at all appropriate. If there is any style, there is a hidden agenda and an implicit judgment of the various phenomena of meditation. There is not the true detachment or choiceless awareness of real meditation. Our style contains our unacknowledged attitudes toward meditation.
      ...What's the problem in meditating with an attitude? First, a large amount of energy goes into maintaining the attitude. To make this clearer, if we are trying to be aware of our breathing, 100 percent of our attention should be on our breathing. If we're thinking, "I'm a shy person and I'm a little afraid of what's going on here," even if we're not consciously aware of that thought, it will be taking our energy away from the breathing and keeping it tied up in the world of ego. Consequently, this energy is not available for our practice. And your evaluation of your practice and progress will be based on your agenda rather than on the Buddha's teaching.
      Of course, no one is a perfect meditator. It's not like we have to wait until we have a perfect attitude before we begin. If that were the case, we would never start..With time, the purity of your attitude will grow...refining one's approach is a lifetime's work and is at the same time the practice itself.(p.72)
  --from A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism by Bruce Newman

 

• November 23
      Recalling our interconnectedness, we begin to recognize our total interdependence and that whatever we enjoy in our life comes through others--through their efforts, their work, their hardships.
      It does not necessarily require that others had a specific intention to enable us to enjoy the things of our life. If we think of this in terms of the obvious examples like food and clothing, we can immediately see the global meaning of this contemplation. Our food comes from all over the world and if we consider the people and other creatures involved in its production, picking, packaging, transportation, and selling so that we can enjoy it, the numbers are vast. It is through their labor, their efforts, their struggles that we enjoy what we eat. Often their lives are terribly hard, and to feed a family they must work for very little--yet we enjoy the fruits of their labor. This is something to feel a huge gratitude for.
      If we begin to look more closely at our Western life, we can see how much we are dependent upon people in considerably poorer circumstances all over the world for what we consume. What we often don't consider is the impact of this consumption on those who produce it. In this meditation, it can be very useful to spend some time dwelling upon this so that we really feel the profound depth of appreciation for our interdependence upon others for our lives. This can counter the tendency to take our good fortune for granted and can open up a sense of gratitude for the kindness of those around. If guilt arises, it can be used to increase our awareness of the responsibility we have globally.
      Gradually, we may begin to see the complete interdependent nature of our relationship with the countless other beings around us. We cannot overlook this connectedness to others and the kindness and benefit we have gained through them. When we come to feel this deeply, we will be able to hold others dear and automatically respond to others with a greater sense of care and concern.(p.80)
  --from The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others by Rob Preece

 

• November 17
      All attachment and aversion come from what we have mentally created. We have made an image and that is our mind as we normally experience it. In order to solve this problem in a more profound and permanent way, we have to look at our mind and see its true nature. In our innate, unfabricated nature, which is the basic state of our mind, there is no problem. We make all our problems by creating concepts and all kinds of mental conditioning.
      Seeing the true nature of mind means experiencing the way the mind is when we do not fabricate and contrive anything. We need to look at our mind when it is devoid of our creations and free from mental elaborations. If we can see this state of mind, there is no grasping, no grasped object, and no subject doing the grasping. There is simply perception or seeing, which in itself does not cause a problem.
      When the true nature of mind is seen, there are just appearances without any evaluation. One thing arises in the mind and then another thing arises. The arising that is pleasant is no better than the one that is unpleasant. They are simply different manifestations of the mind. There is no need to grasp one and reject the other. Once this is seen clearly, we see the true nature of mind. This is something that we need to experience directly. When we see the truth, we become liberated from our struggle within the nets of aversion and attachment.(p.97)
  --from Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha by Ringu Tulku, edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs

 

• November 10
  Awareness as virtue.
       Beyond choosing more virtuous forms of speech, you can also try to cultivate awareness of the subtle vibration underlying your speech and of how your speech manifests from there. Is your voice creating the right energy field?
      In dzogchen the concept of virtuous speech is taken to its highest level. For example, the A-Tri system of dzogchen offers a group of successive practices in which one learns to maintain awareness while engaging in various virtuous, neutral, and nonvirtuous activities.
      One initially tries to stay present amid virtuous activity such as praying or chanting mantras. Once that experience is stabilized, one integrates presence with neutral speech, such as conversing casually with a friend about cooking or gardening. Finally, one tries to integrate with negative speech such as lying, arguing, or giving insults. It is easier if you can establish your intent for self-awareness before you get drawn into an angry argument. For example, think of how courtroom lawyers argue a case: although they may use strong, sharp language, they are never driven by their emotions--every word is carefully chosen for its impact and is guided by intent, if not awareness.
      From this perspective "nonvirtuous speech" might be defined as speech that is driven and not guided and through which you lose connection with your self. In dzogchen practice you aim to arrive at a place where all activity of body, speech, and mind becomes an expression of contemplative awareness and an aid to spiritual development--therefore virtuous in the truest sense of the word.(p.85)
  --from Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech, and Mind by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, edited by Polly Turner

 

• November 3
      In general, most non-Buddhist religions meditate on the deity as being outside the physical body. In these cases the deity takes the form of a refuge, or of a protector or messenger. Thus do they meditate, and of course this is fine. In the Buddhist tradition, however, the deity is not meditated on as being outside the physical body. One meditates on the deity as being one's own essence expressing itself through oneself arising as the deity. One therefore thinks, "I am the deity," and with this conviction one meditates.
      Why is it justifiable to meditate in this manner? As previously seen, the five afflictions are actually self-expressions of the five kinds of primordial awareness; thus our own mind is in essence exactly the same as the mind of a Buddha. In the philosophical treatises this is sometimes referred to as 'sugatagarbha' or 'buddha-nature'.
      Because all beings possess this innately pure buddha-nature, they are pure by nature and not at all impure. Being pure by nature it is perfectly justified to meditate that you are the deity, because this is exactly how it is!(p.95)
  --from Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, translated and edited by Susanne Schefczyk

 

• October 27
      The root of all qualities of the Bodhisattva vehicle is caring for sentient beings. We admire and respect the Buddha because he has reached the state free of all faults and possessing all good qualities, knows the method to reach that state, and teaches it to us. If we do as the Buddha did, by meditating on love and compassion for all sentient beings, not harming or getting angry with them, we too can become a Buddha.
      Our enlightenment depends on the Buddhas and on sentient beings, and from this point of view, they are equally important to us. Thus when we look at any sentient being, we should recognize that she is indispensable to our attainment of enlightenment. Our enlightenment comes from cherishing sentient beings; it does not come from cherishing only ourselves. Understanding this, whenever we encounter people in our lives, it becomes easy to feel, "May this person be happy and free from suffering."
      Caring for sentient beings means freeing them from the suffering of unfortunate rebirths and of cyclic existence in general, teaching the Dharma to those who want to hear it, providing the means for them to eliminate the causes which bring suffering temporarily and ultimately, not harming them, not lying to them, not creating discord among them, not speaking harshly to them, and so on. Through caring about them now, excellent results will follow, for us and for them.(p.179)
  --from Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage: An Explanation of the Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Jampa Tegchok, edited by Thubten Chodron

 

• October 20
      Focusing the mind on the object of meditation is like planting a seed for the arisal of the realization.... Even in the beginning stages one might become impatient, thinking, "I really want to get this done quickly." One might think that by exerting more effort, by adding more and more stuff, by changing things this way or that way the process can be made to go faster.
      The good gardener knows that too much water or fertilizer is harmful, not helpful. The mature meditator must understand this as well. The Kadampa masters of old gave this counsel: First, pay great heed to getting the proper causes and conditions together. Next, engage in the practice without agitation and without anxiety. Then, with the mind at ease, carry on to the end.(p.20)
  --from How to Practice Shamatha Meditation: The Cultivation of Meditative Quiescence by Gen Lamrimpa, translated by B. Alan Wallace

 

• October 13
      Blame everything on one thing. It simplifies life incredibly, and yet it truly is not simplistic. If we believe from our hearts that all of our misfortunes can be attributed to self-centeredness, this must radically transform our lives.
      Do we have reservations? Isn't there some part of the mind that says, "Self-centeredness is not such a bad idea. It got me my job, a good salary, my house and car. How can this be my enemy?" On the surface self-centeredness may seem like an aide who looks after our interests. There is one powerful answer to this: insofar as self-centeredness dominates our lives, it brings us into conflict with virtually everyone else. Because most people are dominated by self-centeredness, their interests are at odds with our own. There is bound to be conflict, and conflict gives rise to suffering.
      Imagine what life would be like without self-centeredness. Would we give away all our possessions, waste away from malnutrition, and die prematurely of disease? No. This would be a partial lack of self-centeredness combined with a large part of stupidity. If we are to serve others effectively, we must take care of ourselves. A bodhisattva has no self-centeredness, but there have been people in all stations of life, including kings, who are bodhisattvas. If we free ourselves of self-centeredness and really concern ourselves with the cherishing of others, then our own welfare comes as a kind of echo.(p.67)
  --from The Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Zara Houshmand

 

• October 6
      Hundreds of people may be more popular, powerful, and wealthy than we are, but from the point of view of the Dharma, no one is more fortunate. We have a very precious opportunity to make the best of our lives by working toward the attainment of buddhahood. We have obtained this precious human birth and have come in contact with the teachings and spiritual friends. All the favorable conditions are available--we could not ask for more. Yet this is only for a very short period of time. Within this very short time, the best thing we can do for ourselves is commit ourselves fully and wholeheartedly to practicing the disciplines, which are an essential part of the practice of the teachings.
      ...The practice of discipline is very profound. In terms of the effectiveness of the practice of the Dharma, there is a hundredfold difference between someone who follows some level of discipline and someone who does not. Whether visualizing a deity, practicing basic meditation, or reciting mantras, the benefit is a hundredfold greater when we have the ground of discipline.
      The teachings of the Buddha say that if we take dust from the footprint of a person who embodies discipline and put it on our heads, it is a blessing. Even the king of the devas would do that, because of the sacredness of discipline. There is a tradition, followed to this day in India, of touching the feet of a holy person or touching the doorstep before entering his or her door, and then touching our foreheads. This is not merely a cultural tradition, but is acknowledging something very profound.(p.73)
  --from Dharma Paths 2nd Edition by Khenpo Karthar, translated by Ngödup Burkhar and Chöjor Radha, edited by Laura M. Roth

 

• September 29
      Buddhism was extremely helpful to me during the process of my sister's lingering death two years ago. She was forty-five years old and had very few spiritual aspirations. She was actually fearful and closed to any suggestions that she might find comfort in expanding her degree of awareness and understanding. At first I was extremely upset by her attitude, but then I realized it was not for me to decide what she should or should not do with the last few months of her life. I was with her for support and comfort and not to force her to view her life in a way which was foreign and threatening to her.
      Enabling a person to accomplish a sense of having lived purposefully and with significance is a major goal of caregivers and loved ones. Being able to support someone during their dying trajectory, regardless of what they are thinking or feeling is probably one of the most valuable services one person can offer to another. But, it is difficult to stay close to someone who is dying. Not trying to evade an open encounter with the intense psychic pain that usually accompanies the recognition of impending death is one of the most valuable contributions that a nurse or any other caregiver or loved one can make to the patient who wishes to discuss his or her circumstances. Facing forthrightly the situation of dying, however, requires feeling comfortable with one's own feelings about death and the frailty of being human.
      Buddhism has taught me that death need not be approached only as a tragedy; it is also an event from which a profound understanding can unfold. (p.44)
  --from Buddhism through American Women's Eyes edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo

 

• September 22
      There are many different forms of bodywork that can purify and heal in the context of preparing for tantric practice. Trauma held in the body from early experiences is cleared only when we are able to work therapeutically in the body. Whether it is body-centered therapy or the various practices of acupuncture, osteopathy, homeopathy, and so on, if the practice releases and transforms trauma, then it is beneficial as a preliminary to any further tantric practice. I often suggest to people I teach that they follow some form of body-energy healing in order to further their release of trauma. Also, after trauma has been released, it is often extremely useful to then explore some form of psychotherapy.
      We should not assume that the traditional practices will do it all for us. It is simply idealistic and naive to think that all our ills can be resolved by doing the traditional preliminary practices or, indeed, by classical "dharma practice" alone. We should consider a healthy body-mind-life relationship as a necessary part of our practice. When we get this balance right, we create the basis for a sound dharma practice.
      The practice of tantra in particular needs this healthy, balanced basis because when we work with tantric practices, we stimulate processes in the body that are often very powerful. If we have a sound base for practice and have a level of emotional and energetic maturity, then the effects of tantra can be held and grounded without creating the potential for problems to arise. Without a sound relationship to the body, the practice of tantra has no real base from which to unfold.(p.53)
  --from Preparing for Tantra: Creating the Psychological Ground for Practice by Rob Preece

 

• September 15
      At all times, do not lose courage in your inner awareness; uplift yourself, while assuming a humble position in your outer demeanor. Follow the example of the life and complete liberation of previous accomplished masters (siddha). Do not blame your past karma; instead, be someone who purely and flawlessly practices the Dharma. Do not blame temporary negative circumstances; instead, be someone who remains steadfast in the face of whatever circumstances may arise.
      In brief, taking your own mind as witness, make your life and practice one, and at the time of death, with no thought of anything left undone, do not be ashamed of yourself. This itself is the pith instruction of all practices.
      Eventually, when the time of death arrives, completely give up whatever wealth you possess, and do not cling to even one needle. Moreover, at death, practitioners of highest faculty will be joyful; practitioners of middling faculty will be without apprehension; and practitioners of the lowest faculty will have no regrets. When realization's clear light becomes continuous day and night, there is no intermediate state (bardo): death is just breaking the enclosure of the body.
      If this is not the case, but if you have confidence that you will be liberated in the intermediate state, whatever you have done in preparation for death will suffice. Without such confidence, when death arrives, you can send your consciousness to whichever pure land you wish and there traverse the remaining paths and stages to become enlightened. (p.58)
  --from Wisdom Nectar: Dudjom Rinpoche's Heart Advice trans. by Ron Garry, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• September 8
      It is very difficult to help somebody overcome his or her problems when the problems are unstructured, when in a certain way this person does not have any problems, though deep inside all the problems are there. It is very difficult for a human being whose problem is confused, whose ego is ill-defined and without foundation, to really purify, clarify, and develop anything.
      The same principle applies to praying. As long as we have our self, our ego, we pray to the Buddha: "Please bless me so that my prayers for the benefit of all sentient beings be fulfilled." Otherwise our prayer does not follow any line or direction. It would be like going to a big five-star hotel with five hundred rooms and not knowing your room number, or taking an elevator without knowing which floor to go to--this would be a big problem.
      This is the reason for calling upon the great compassion of the Buddha and asking him to consider our prayers. The reason is not that the Buddha only listens to someone who prays to him; rather, without praying to the Buddha we are not developed enough to have the condition necessary to receive his blessing. Rain might be falling for ten thousand years, yet if our cup is upside down it will remain empty. Through praying we open up, we turn our cup to let the water get inside. (p.48)
  --from The Third Karmapa's Mahamudra Prayer by the XII Khentin Tai Situpa Rinpoche, translated and edited by Rosemarie Fuchs

 

• September 1
      "Accumulating merit" can be approached from a psychological perspective that lends itself to experiential verification or from a spiritual dimension that requires some faith. "Merit" can be understood as "spiritual power" that manifests in day-to-day experience. When merit, or spiritual power, is strong, there is little resistance to practicing Dharma and practice itself is empowered.
      Tibetans explain that people who make rapid progress in Dharma, gaining one insight after another, enter practice already having a lot of merit. By the same theory, it is possible to strive diligently and make little progress. Tibetans explain this problem as being due to too little merit. Merit is the fuel that empowers spiritual practice.
      How do you accumulate merit? Engaging in virtue of any sort, with your mind, your speech, or your body results in merit. Just as merit can be accumulated, it can also be dissipated by doing harm. In general, mental afflictions dissipate merit. The mental affliction that is like a black hole sucking up merit, worse than all the others, is anger. Attachment or sensual craving can get you in a lot of trouble, but it doesn't have the debilitating impact upon spiritual practice that anger does. Remember the warrior metaphor--standing at the gateway of the mind, vigilant, spear ready. The spear is for mental afflictions, especially anger. Nip anger in the bud. (p.208)
  --from Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace

 

• August 25
      Do you understand who the enemy is? You do not need to beat anyone up, and you do not need a weapon to kill your enemy. You do not need money to buy a weapon. It is all very easy.
      How is liberation accomplished? The offering of liberation is accomplished by abandoning the dualistic mind of discursive thoughts. The sharp weapon of primordial wisdom, which completely annihilates the dualistic mind, is the means for achieving this separation. This "weapon" has been part of your continuum for a long time now. With this weapon you can completely devastate the dualistic mind, leaving not even a trace behind, thus liberating the mind into the sphere of unborn truth. The enemy will never return. This is called great liberation.
      I must emphasize that primordial wisdom is not something you can buy, get from your best friend or have handed to you by a buddha in heaven. It is not something that someone else has but you do not. Abandon such concepts. Primordial wisdom does not come from an external source. It is simply your true nature. It is something that you and everyone else have as the very essence of your mind.
      You should know what your qualities and capabilities are. (p.79)
  --from The Generation Stage in Buddhist Tantra by Gyatrul Rinpoche

 

• August 18
      Why should we want to help our enemies or to give them happiness? Here are various useful ideas to consider. One approach is to think that the harm they have done us is, in fact, the result of our own past negative actions through which we have set ourselves up as a target for their harm. We could also consider how those who harm us are totally driven by their disturbing emotions.
      If someone in our family, someone we love dearly, becomes insane and tries to harm us, we wouldn't think of taking revenge but would try to help them regain a normal state of mind. Living beings, our mothers, are crazed by their disturbing emotions. Those who harm us are in particular need of our love and compassion. (p.52)
  --from The Bodhisattva Vow by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• August 11
  Is Anger Beneficial?
      We generally consider something beneficial if it promotes happiness. But when we ask ourselves, "Am I happy when I'm angry?" the answer is undoubtedly no. We may feel a surge of physical energy due to physiological reasons, but emotionally we feel miserable. Thus, from our own experience, we can see that anger does not promote happiness.
      In addition, we don't communicate well when we're angry. We may speak loudly as if the other person were hard of hearing or repeat what we say as if he had a bad memory, but this is not communication. Good communication involves expressing ourselves in a way that the other person understands. It is not simply dumping our feelings on the other. Good communication also includes expressing our feelings and thoughts with words, gestures, and examples that make sense to the other person. Under the sway of anger, however, we neither express ourselves as calmly nor think as clearly as usual.
      Under the influence of anger, we also say and do things that we later regret. Years of trust built with great effort can be quickly damaged by a few moments of uncontrolled anger.... If we could tame our anger, such painful consequences could be avoided.(p.23)
  --from Working with Anger by Thubten Chodron

 

• August 4
      A common [Tibetan Buddhist] motif is the "Wheel of Life," symbolizing the workings of cyclic existence. This is frequently found at the doorway to a main assembly hall and serves to remind the inhabitants of the dangers of mundane existence. This striking image has a large central circle divided into two halves. The top half has three sections, representing the three "happy transmigrations"--humans, demi-gods, and gods. The lower half also has three sections, indicative of the three bad transmigrations--animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. A pigeon symbolizes the mental affliction of desire, a snake represents hatred, and a pig--symbol of ignorance--holds the tails of the first two in its mouth. These three afflictions are the primary factors that bind people to cyclic existence, causing them to transmigrate helplessly from birth to birth.
      The theme of cause and effect is further illustrated by twelve sections around the rim of the wheel, symbolizing the twelve links of dependent arising (a summary of the process of transmigration). The whole wheel is held in the jaws of the Lord of Death, indicating that death is inevitable for those who are caught up in this cycle. Outside of the wheel are buddhas and bodhisattvas, often shown teaching the dharma, which provides an avenue of escape for those who are perceptive enough to recognize this and follow their instructions. (p.239)
  --from Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• July 28
      When the root of duality--dualistic clinging, dualistic perceptions, deluded perceptions--is severed, all the leaves, the branches, and even the tree trunk of samsara and nirvana naturally wither on their own and topple in their own time. Then this great spreading tree of samsara and nirvana, of duality, of worldliness, of conditioned being, does not need to be chopped down: it is already as if dead. We can relax; done is what had to be done, as the Buddha sang.
      This is the whole point of the Dharma, of spiritual awakening, of Buddhahood; this is its ultimate evolution or unfolding. If we aspire to experience such an awakening, there is nothing else to do except recognize the true nature of our primordial awareness, our own essential being, our own birthright, which is within. This is the intrinsic nature of our own heart-mind, also known as bodhicitta or bodhi-mind. It is our own being, our own nature, this renowned buddha-nature. It is not a Buddha anywhere else. (p.103)
  --from Natural Great Perfection: Dzogchen Teachings and Vajra Songs by Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche and Lama Surya Das

 

• July 21
      Suppose there is this religious group building thousands of childcare facilities and hospices.... Although these religious workers are doing a lot of caring work, there is no wish to enlighten sentient beings. Their aim is just to provide food and education. At the same time, imagine there is one hermit living somewhere in the mountains of the Himalayas who is doing none of this. In fact, within close range of him, there are a lot of babies dying, yet outwardly he is doing nothing about it. Inwardly, however, he is actually meditating, "May all sentient beings be enlightened!" and he continues to do this every day. Purely because of the enlightenment aspect, this person is worthier of homage than the first group. Why? Because it is so difficult to truly and genuinely wish for the enlightenment of others. It is much easier to give people food and educate them.
      Most of us don't really appreciate this fact. We have never before genuinely wished for someone else to achieve enlightenment. Likewise, if someone were to come over and say to us: "Here you go, you have a ticket for enlightenment. There is only one ticket." I don't think we would even think about giving it to someone else! We'd grab it and go for it. Enlightenment is such a valuable thing.
      Actually, enlightenment is much too large a subject, so let's not take that as an example. Instead, let's say someone comes along with a potion that promises you clairvoyance or omniscience. We would drink it ourselves, not even sharing half of it with others!
      Just think how often we are jealous when someone is a better practitioner. How often do we get jealous when someone receives a better or a higher teaching than we do? If you have genuine bodhichitta, you should be happy, shouldn't you? After all, isn't that what you wished for? Their getting enlightenment means your wish is at last coming true. Their receiving higher teachings, or becoming better practitioners, means that your aspiration is finally being fulfilled! But we don't feel this way, instead we feel jealous or envious. Some of us may be so-so Dharma practitioners, so we don't really feel jealous or envious, but we still feel left behind. Who cares? If you are a genuine bodhisattva, you shouldn't care about these things. (p.123)
  --from Entrance to the Great Perfection: A Guide to the Dzogchen Preliminary Practices compiled, translated, and introduced by Cortland Dahl

 

• July 14
      "Through analytical meditation, you come to a point of clarity and decisive insight, and at this point it is beneficial to abide in that revelation. Your insight will grow gradually like a sprout. Simply be present and settle your mind in the absolute nature of reality. Remain in a state of meditative equipoise, and do not think of this as a waste of your time. If you think you should rather be actively engaged in such practices as circumambulations or the stage of generation, it is the time for you to be simply present in meditative equipoise. But do not just sit and space out."--Karma Chagme
      In some scholarly discursive meditations in the sutra tradition, one continually seeks out the mind, and there is a tradition in which investigation is needed. Here, in the tradition of Mahamudra and Atiyoga, it is enough to seek and investigate during this phase of Dharma practice, but afterwards it is not necessary to continue the search. In the Katok tradition, the investigation of the mind is said to takes months, for one examines for three days each of the points of the mind's color and shape as well as the exterior and the interior of the body. Our tradition does not take so long, so it is important for you to seek out the mind without even a moment's distraction. (p.100)
  --from A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga by Karma Chagme, commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche, trans. by B. Alan Wallace

 

• July 7
  On Practice Space
      I encourage you to conduct your own research on the results of practicing in various environments. Tibetan yogis are especially attracted to places with an enormous amount of open space and distant vistas. I have greatly enjoyed meditating in the high desert of the eastern Sierra Nevada range, where the views extend to peaks sixty miles away. The ability to direct the attention to such distant points gives a very expansive feeling to the intervening space.
      In such a spacious environment, allow your awareness to come out, with your eyes open and your gaze resting vacantly in the space in front of you. The experience in a vast space is very different from that in a tiny room. Gazing up at a clear night sky studded with stars is a wonderful way to experience the sheer enormity of space.
      It is important to distinguish between the contents of a space and the space itself. Colors and shapes constitute the contents of visual space. These are aspects or representations of ordinary phenomena in the visual field. Attending to the space of the mind means attending to that space from which all such contents emerge, in which they are present, and into which they dissolve; it is the space that lingers in between discrete events. (p.220)
  --from Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness by B. Alan Wallace

 

• June 30
  All is neither real nor delusive--
  Held to be like [a reflection of] the moon on water by the learned.
  Just this ordinary mind
  Is called "dharmadhatu" and "Heart of the victors."
          --Venerable Rangjung Dorje
      ...Thus, seeming reality consists of the adventitious stains that are like [mistakenly seeing] a [white] conch as being yellow. Ultimate reality is the tathagata heart, which is like the [natural] white of the conch. Except for the mere appearances from the perspective of a mistaken [perceiving] subject, within the object--the conch--there is nothing white or yellow to be added or to be removed. Therefore, the pith instruction is to rest naturally and uncontrived.
      In brief, what are called "samsara" and "nirvana" are set up from the point of view of mere seeming appearances, while the nature of both--luminosity free from reference points--is called tathagata heart. Consequently, in terms of the definitive meaning, mere appearances and their nature cannot be separated, just like fire and its heat. For this reason, the mother [sutras] say:
      "Form is emptiness. Emptiness is form. Emptiness is nothing other than form. Form is nothing other than emptiness." (p.165)
  --from Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyu Tradition, Volume One translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• June 23
  The Buddha's teachings can be divided into two main categories: the scriptures and realization. A verse states:
          The teachings of the Teacher have two aspects:
          Scripture and realization presented as they truly are.
          There is nothing else to do but
          Sustain them, speak of them, and practice them.
  When we practice listening, reflecting, and meditating, the teachings will free us from the heavy darkness of suffering. They are like a never-setting sun whose luminous rays reach to the farthest corners of this world. Among the eighty-four thousand teachings of the Buddha are those found in Tibet that maintain the unity of the sutra and mantra traditions. These teachings are like a tree trunk with numerous branches: a variety of lamas hold lineages within diverse traditions.
       ...In showing how to cut through the delusion of duality, these teachings open up to every living being the possibility of attaining true mastery over the immense and profound gates to the eighty-four thousand teachings. They are precious because they make nonconceptual wisdom manifest and bring forth the amrita of all-pervading emptiness. Like placing a perfect fruit in the palm of our hand, these teachings bring about two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom that sees the multitude of all phenomena distinctly and the wisdom that sees clearly into their nature.
      Relying on an appropriate path allows the fruition of practice to manifest. This result is possible because buddha nature is found in the mindstream of all living beings. (p.160)
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• June 16
      When you meditate with concentration, there are three particular experiences that arise: bliss, clarity, and nonthought.
       The experience of meditative bliss is greater than ordinary worldly happiness. Sometimes when you are meditating, a feeling of blissfulness suddenly arises from the subtle state of your mind and pervades your entire body. This bliss is healthy and brings out your inner qualities. Some people use drugs to induce blissfulness and visions, but drugs are external supports that cannot bring lasting happiness. The bliss experienced in meditation can last for many days, according to your ability to meditate. When you experience this kind of bliss, on the outside you might look very poor, but inside you remain very joyful.
       The second main experience in meditation is clarity. Sometimes while meditating you can suddenly feel that your mind is very clear and bright. Even if you are meditating in the dark, you do not feel heavy or tired. Sometimes your body feels very light and your mind is very clear, and many kinds of reflections appear. Clarity brings great wisdom and the ability to read other people’s minds, as well as to see your own past and future lives.
      The third main experience is nonthought, or a state of equanimity without distractions. Beginners can also experience this. Nonthought is more settled than the experiences of bliss and clarity. If you have thoughts, they suddenly dissolve and you can remain continuously in meditation. As your ability to meditate develops, your mind becomes more and more settled, so that you can meditate for one hour or one week or one month without being distracted by thoughts. You simply remain in the natural state for as long as you want.
      Bliss, clarity, and nonthought are the main qualities of concentration. However, it is important not to be attached to them or concerned about whether they arise or not; one should simply continue to practice. (p.29)
  --from The Buddhist Path: A Practical Guide from the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• June 9
  30.
  Since the five perfections without wisdom
  Cannot bring perfect enlightenment,
  Along with skillful means cultivate the wisdom
  Which does not conceive the three spheres [as real]
  This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.
          --Gyelsay Togmay Sangpo
      Practice of the five perfections without the understanding of reality remains contaminated, and though it may yield boundless happiness, it doesn't lead to omniscience. Love and compassion without the understanding of reality cannot help us to escape from worldly existence.
      On the other hand, we may easily remain trapped in a state of personal peace if we have understood reality but lack enough love and compassion. It is therefore the practice of Bodhisattvas to combine the two--skillful means and wisdom. Which of us can say we don't want to possess knowledge, kindness and pure conduct? Our text is a manual of instruction on how to gain these qualities and become a fully developed human being. (p.70)
  --from The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• June 2
      Suffering is something very concrete, which everyone knows and wants to avoid if possible, and the Buddha therefore began his teaching by talking about it in his famous formulation of the Four Noble Truths.
       The first truth draws our attention to the fact that we suffer, pointing out the existence of the basic dissatisfaction inherent in our condition; the second truth explains the cause of dissatisfaction, which is the dualistic state and the unquenchable thirst (or desire) inherent in it: the subject reifies its objects and tries to grasp them by any means, and this thirst (or desire) in turn affirms and sustains the illusory existence of the subject as an entity separate from the integrated wholeness of the universe.
       The third truth teaches that suffering will cease if dualism is overcome and reintegration achieved, so that we no longer feel separate from the plenitude of the universe. Finally, the fourth truth explains that there is a Path that leads to the cessation of suffering, which is the one described by the rest of the Buddhist teachings.
      All the various traditions are agreed that this basic problem of suffering exists, but they have different methods of dealing with it to bring the individual back to the experience of primordial unity. (p.47)
  --from The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, compiled and edited by John Shane

 

• May 27
  The Yolmo Valley has many different aspects that are beneficial to practitioners. Ian Baker writes:
      Chatral Rinpoche said that specific [places] in Yolmo are conducive to particular kinds of practice. Places with waterfalls inspire reflection on impermanence. Places with steep cliffs where the rocks are dark and jagged are good for meditating on wrathful deities. Places with rolling hills and flowering meadows support meditation on peaceful deities....
       Chatral Rinpoche clarified that the beyul [hidden lands] that Padmasambhava established in Tibet are not literal arcadias, but paradises for Buddhist practice, with multiple dimensions corresponding to increasingly subtle levels of perception. Beyond Yolmo's visible terrain of mountains, streams, and forests, he said, lies an inner level, corresponding to the flow of intangible energies in the physical body. Deeper still, the subtle elements animating the environment merge with the elements present within the practitioner--the secret level.
       Finally, at the beyul's innermost level--yangsang--lies a paradisiacal, or unitary dimension revealed through an auspicious conjunction of person, place, and time.... Chatral Rinpoche contended that yangsang is not merely a metaphor for the enlightened state, but an ever-present, if hidden, reality. (p.62)
  --from Compassionate Action by Chatral Rinpoche, ed., intro. and annotated by Zach Larson

 

• May 19
      When we understand the empty nature of our own mind, then the consequences of merit and sin will not be realized. In the state of emptiness, there exists no objective merit or sin.
       ...The nature of the mind is like a mirror; merits and sins are like the reflections in this mirror; and reflections in no way affect or modify the nature of the mirror. When we are in a state of contemplation, we are living in the condition of the mirror. At the time when all phenomena are exhausted and pass into the nature of reality, then our virtuous and vicious deeds will cause no benefit or harm to us. There is no basis for effect--all limitations, all frames of reference, all solid ground having been eliminated. But if we do not understand the nature of the mind and intrinsic awareness through direct personal experience, it will be a very dangerous situation for us.
       Indeed, it is not sufficient merely to understand these teachings intellectually; one must first practice and attain realization from this practice. Otherwise the virtuous and the vicious acts we commit in this life will create and accumulate karma, leading us again inevitably into transmigration. From the present time until we realize the ultimate exhausting of all phenomena into the nature of reality, our behavior must be refined; it must be heedful and scrupulous. Otherwise our view is only so much empty intellectual talk. (p.66)
  --from Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness translation and commentary by John Myrdhin Reynolds, foreword by Namkhai Norbu

 

• May 12
      Most people feel cozy enough in samsara. They do not really have the genuine aspiration to go beyond samsara; they just want samsara to be a little bit better. It is quite interesting that "samsara" became the name of a perfume. And it is like that. It seduces us into thinking that it is okay: samsara is not so bad; it smells nice! The underlying motivation to go beyond samsara is very rare, even for people who go to Dharma centers. There are many people who learn to meditate and so forth, but with the underlying motive that they hope to make themselves feel better. And if it ends up making them feel worse, instead of realizing that this may be a good sign, they think there is something wrong with Dharma. We are always looking to make ourselves comfortable in the prison house. We might think that if we get the cell wall painted a pretty shade of pale green, and put in a few pictures, it won't be a prison any more.
      ...There are two basic reasons we follow a spiritual path and look for liberation. One reason is that we want to be free. Let's take the traditional example of a burning house: your whole house is on fire, and you run out from it. But all your family--your partner, your children, your parents, even your pet dog--are all still inside. What are you going to do? You don't just say, "Well, I'm out. So too bad. Do your best to get out, too." Naturally this leads to the second basic reason for following a spiritual path: we will try to pull them out as well. (p.71)
  --from Into the Heart of Life by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, foreword by H.H. the Gyalwang Drukpa

 

• May 5
      A kind heart is the essential cause of happiness. Being kind to others is the nicest thing we can do for ourselves. When we respect others and are considerate of their needs, opinions and wishes, hostility evaporates. It takes two people to fight, and if we refuse to be one of them, there is no quarrel.
      ...A kind heart is the root of harmony and mutual respect. It prevents us from feeling estranged or fearful of others. It also protects us from becoming angry, attached, closed-minded, proud or jealous. When opportunities arise to help others we won't lack courage or compassion. If political leaders had impartial minds and kind hearts, how different our world would be!
      As all problems arise from the self-cherishing attitude, it would be wise for each of us, as individuals, to exert ourselves to subdue it. World peace doesn't come from winning a war, nor can it be legislated. Peace comes through each person eliminating his or her own selfishness and developing a kind heart...we can each do our part beginning today. The beneficial result in our own lives will immediately be evident. (p.76)
  --from Open Heart, Clear Mind by Thubten Chodron, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• April 28
      As we become aware of the working of our mind, we'll find ourselves grappling with an inner trickster. Pay attention! The mind in which anger arises is also the mind that holds it, hides it, fans it, justifies it, or suppresses it. That's why this first step is crucial--before we can understand, befriend, tame, and transform our anger, we have to recognize it clearly and acknowledge it frankly. This is no small task.
      Self-awareness is a precondition for understanding and healing our anger. If we become aware of the workings of our mind we can discover the means by which we create our anger and the key to healing it. If we become aware that we are harboring irrational beliefs, ideas with false premises, mistaken assumptions or flawed logic, we can examine them and correct them. If we discover that we cherish ideas which are not in harmony with the realities of life and nature we can learn to relax into existence. If we find that we harbor desires, hopes, and expectations which cannot be achieved we have the option of letting them go.
      ...To develop awareness is to take a journey within--into the heart of our being. (p.33)
  --from Vinegar into Honey: Seven Steps to Understanding and Transforming Anger, Aggression, and Violence by Ron Leifer, M.D.

 

• April 21
      The basic principles and precepts of all true religions are very pure. What you see as impure is simply the inability of those who adhere to them. So as Buddhists, for instance, if you fail to embrace and internalize the basic principles and precepts of the practice, then your mind is always going to be overrun by the five mental afflictions. These negative afflictions are desire, hatred, jealousy, pride, and ignorance. They are the basic obstacles which impede you from making any true progress on the path. It is, in fact, the function of the preliminary training to prepare the field of the mind so that you are actually able to put to rest the gross delusions and give rise to your innermost qualities. This allows you to actualize your true bodhicitta nature, the mind which cares about others more than self.
      Leaving aside the idea of the so-called spiritual path, or religion, if you are able to uproot these delusions, the stones and boulders, from the field of your mind, then you will become an honorable person, respected in the world, with an easier, flexible attitude toward yourself and others. If you are able, through your development of wisdom and skillful means, to unite the teachings with your life, then true results will be achieved. (p.96)
  --from Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga by Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, trans. by B. Alan Wallace and Sangye Khandro

 

• April 14
      The spiritual path is truly simple. It is simple because it is not about acquiring, accumulating, or achieving anything. It is all about giving up what we don't need. It's about giving up what isn't useful instead of acquiring things with the idea of going somewhere or achieving something. That was the old game. That game which we have been playing for a long time is like a vicious circle. It has no end.
      Sometimes the spiritual search itself prevents us from seeing the truth that is always one with us. We have to know when to stop the search. There are people who die while they are searching for the highest truth with philosophical formulas and esoteric techniques. For them spiritual practice becomes another egoic plot which simply maintains and feeds delusions. Amazing! Buddha, God, truth, the divine, the great mystery, whatever you have been searching for, is here right now. (p.37)
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• April 7
      Complete spiritual fulfillment requires the ability to act compassionately, and that involves making practical distinctions. Therefore, Tsong-kha-pa insists upon the clarifying power of analysis that is not ultimate, analysis that operates within the constraints and boundaries of conventional fact and language so as to illuminate what does and what does not exist, what is and what is not helpful.
      Not all useful analysis need immediately reduce everything to emptiness. In other words, we can learn valuable, practical things by analyzing which car is good to drive, which action is good to do, which seed is good to plant, without at each step interrogating the final ontological status of the car, action, or seed.
      ...A pervasive sense that things are real and solid and exist just as they appear is woven right into the fabric of the world as we experience it. While tables do exist, we have yet to see them just as they are. Our very perception of them--while a valid source of information--is at the same time contaminated with a layer of distortion. That distortion is the appearance of the table as something that is able to be there on its own power, something that exists in and of itself.
      Thus when we begin to see, or even to suspect, that things lack essence and are not at all as we had supposed, we may feel terrified, as though our world is coming apart at the seams or evaporating beneath our feet. We calm those fears by again remembering that it is not that there is nothing. There is dependent arising, just as there has always been. Analysis threatens nothing but the false overlay, the distorting superimposition, which has caused us and others so much misery. (p.43)
  --from Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path by Guy Newland

 

• March 31
      With regard to awareness of the present moment, our mind is utterly insubstantial and yet has this characteristic of luminosity (Tib. salwa). "Luminosity" here simply means the cognitive capacity, the fact that our mind can know, experience, feel, and so on. This awareness always occurs in the present. When we are not thinking of the past or thinking of the future, when we're letting our mind simply rest in the direct experience of the present moment, then this awareness or lucidity emerges as an unfabricated intelligence.
      Initially we do this very briefly, for one moment, two moments, and so on, but as we work with this, it starts to take on a momentum. However, it's important not to interfere with the naturalness of this awareness by appraising what is occurring, which means that we shouldn't think, "Well, this is happening, that is happening, I'm aware of this, I'm aware of that." Nor should we judge what's happening by thinking, "Well, this is good, this is what's supposed to be happening," or, "This is bad, this isn't what's supposed to be happening."
      On the other hand, we do need to "plant the watchman of mindfulness and alertness," which means that we maintain some intentional awareness of what is occurring. Here, mindfulness means a simple, direct recollection of what we're trying to do. In other words, mindfulness is recollecting that we are trying to rest in a direct experience of the present moment. Alertness then is that faculty of mind that becomes aware when we become distracted from this present experience. However, this watchfulness or, this watchman, has to be very relaxed and gentle. It can't be too heavy-handed, otherwise the whole thing becomes a conceptual judgement. The technique of mind is to rest in this awareness of the present moment with a gentle watchman of mindfulness and alertness. (p.36)
  --from Pointing Out the Dharmakaya by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, foreword by the Dalai Lama, introduction by Lama Tashi Namgyal

 

• March 24
      We are duped by maya. The whole display of our senses has tricked us into believing it and thus seduces us into the world of suffering. And the illusionist is that old trickster, one's own mind. But when this illusory nature is recognized to be just that, one is released from the bondage of the magic show, at which time it becomes a wonderful spectacle, even a display of the unimpeded creativity and freedom of mind. Then maya itself is both the medium for this realization and the expression of it.
  This conscious and intentional method of relating to all phenomena as illusion is thus cast in a totally positive light on the spiritual path, a complete turn-around from the original negative valuation of it as deceit. Now illusion is seen as illumination and opportunity. The nature of our relationship with it is the salient point, rather than its own nature, which certainly does not exist anyway, in any way.
      Aryadeva says:
          Since everything is an illusory display,
          it is possible to attain enlightenment.
      The transformation of the maya concept from something to escape to something to engage may be loosely correlated with the shift of emphasis on understanding emptiness that emerged in the mahayana teachings. A further development may be seen in the vajrayana teachings with the esoteric instruction known as Illusory Body ('sgyu lus'). This occurs as one of the Six Dharmas of Niguma and in other configurations of completion stage practices in many lineages. (p.40)
  --from Niguma, Lady of Illusion by by Sarah Harding, a Tsadra Foundation Series book, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• March 17
      In the history of the Nyungne tradition, many practitioners have been able to overcome incurable disease through the practice of Nyungne. We could say miracles like this literally do take place, although in the Buddhist understanding, overcoming great obstacles and disease would be considered blessings. A miracle is something else. It is the enlightened power that is demonstrated by enlightened masters. A true miracle in the Buddhist sense would be like the miracle of Milarepa entering into a little horn while his student, Rechungpa, sees him in his usual size yet he is inside the horn. Or like the miracle of Milarepa sitting on a lake and people seeing that he hasn't become any larger nor has the lake shrunk in size, yet he is completely covering it. These are real, enlightened miracles.(p.13)
  --from Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig by Wangchen Rinpoche

 

• March 10
      While the great adept [Tangtong Gyalpo] did not stray from vajralike meditative concentration on the peak of glorious Riwoche, the ornamental wheel of his inexhaustible enlightened body, speech, and mind manifested in three great regions of Kham.
      At Gyalmorong, a person who had received the Path with the Result at Sakya, and who meditated single-mindedly on the Time of the Path during four sessions and on the Profound Path Guruyoga, saw the great adept to be Vajradhara, the lord of all spiritual families, and made countless prostrations.
      ...A person who recited a thousand of the heart-mantra of Tara every day, declared, "This isn't Avalokiteshvara. It's Tara."
      Also, a person said, "This is the Great Adept of Iron Bridges. O great adept, why do different visual manifestations appear to us?" The great adept replied:
  By bringing the vital winds
  and mind under control,
  taking control of how things appear to myself,
  overwhelming how things appear to others,
  and positioning magical bodies,
  I display whatever will tame sentient beings
  according to their various inclinations.
  (p.410)
  --from King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron Bridge Builder Tangtong Gyalpo by Cyrus Stearns, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• March 3
      The real source of my suffering is self-centeredness: my car, my possession, my well-being. Without the self-centeredness, the suffering would not arise. What would happen instead? It is important to imagine this fully and to focus on examples of your own. Think of some misfortune that makes you want to lash out, that gives rise to anger or misery. Then imagine how you might respond without suffering. Recognize that we need not experience the misery, let alone the anger, resentment, and hostility. The choice is ours.
      Let's continue with an example. You see that there is a dent in the car. What needs to be done? Get the other driver's license number, notify the police, contact the insurance agency, deal with all the details. Simply do it and accept it. Accept it gladly as a way to strengthen your mind further, to develop patience and the armor of forbearance. There is no way to become a Buddha and remain a vulnerable wimp.
      Patience does not suddenly appear as a bonus after full enlightenment. Part of the whole process of awakening is to develop greater forbearance and equanimity in adversity. Santideva, in the sixth chapter of his Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, eloquently points out that there is no way to develop patience without encountering adversity, and patience is indispensable for our own growth on the path to awakening. (p.66)
  --from The Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Zara Houshmand

 

• February 24
      The position of the body [during meditation] is very important because the channels within the body will follow the external disposition of the body. The way the body is placed will set the channels; and the winds, of course, flow inside the channels, so if they are properly set, the winds will flow properly. Mind follows the wind. To focus the mind properly, the winds must also be functioning properly. (p.39) --from The Practice of Mahamudra by Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche, trans. by Robert Clark, ed. by Ani K. Trinlay Chodron

 

• February 17
      If one could attain the state of perfect buddhahood that is free from all faults, that sees directly all aspects of the qualities to be cultivated and faults overcome in the quest for enlightenment, and that is physically adorned with the marks and signs of perfection, the mere perception of which is beneficial, then one would be beyond the distinction of feeling attraction or aversion toward the infinite sentient beings. One would regard all beings with an equal compassion, and would have the ability to really benefit them. Think, "I should make every effort to attain this all-beneficial state."
      In brief, the motivation should be, "For the ultimate benefit of the sentient beings, who are as infinite as the sky is vast, I must attain the state of a peerless, perfect, pure buddha." This is the aspirational aspect of the bodhimind. (p.203)
  --from The Practice of Kalachakra by Glenn Mullin, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• February 10
      The bardo* of this life does not last forever. We know that, like a guest in a hotel, our mind is only temporarily sheltered in this body. As we face the challenges of this life and the impending challenges of the bardos to come, how does engaging in the three-stage process of study, contemplation and meditation help us? By applying ourselves to these three, we acquire the skills to stabilize our mind and we develop actual insight into how our mind functions. First we gain an understanding of the nature of mind; then, we experience that nature; and finally, we arrive at the ultimate benefit, which is fully realizing that nature.
      When we practice these stages of the path, it is like accumulating the exact things we will need to take with us on our trip. When we are ready to pack our suitcase, we will have what we need without looking further. We will not have to go out at the last minute and buy a map or a guidebook. We will not have to worry about whether we are forgetting something crucial.
      We have knowledge and experience that has blossomed into realization; therefore we can handle any situation. We have confidence in ourselves, in the teachings, and the guidance of our lineage teachers. At this point, we can let go of all our doubt and hesitation. We can simply relax and be who we are, wherever we are. (p.58)
  * in-between state, interval
  --from Mind Beyond Death by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

 

• February 3
  How Purification Works
      During Nyungne [fasting] practice, true purification is possible primarily because of the power of Chenrezig's compassion and blessing, as well as our faith, devotion, and correct motivation to do the practice. When such causes and conditions come together, a result inevitably occurs, and this result is understood as the interdependently-arising nature of all phenomena.
      For the most part, enlightened and unenlightened phenomena all arise due to this interdependently-arising nature. As a spiritual practitioner, the basic qualities one must bring to the practice are faith, devotion, and a trust in the power of the practice and Chenrezig. These qualities stem from our own pure nature of mind, a purity that is identical to Chenrezig's heart, that is, unceasing love and compassion. When these two things are combined together, our devotion and faith and Chenrezig's love and compassion, one could say miracles happen; a true purification takes place.
      It has been said that when one is sitting before the mandala of Chenrezig, one should believe that although Chenrezig is not physically visible to us, in fact he is really there in front of us. Just as we would be very careful of our thoughts and behavior if we were in the presence of a powerful and clairvoyant enlightened guru, in the same way we must generate vigilance so that we don't act shamefully in front of this great being. If we develop such vigilance and noble habit, then our negativities will automatically decrease. (p.11)
  --from Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig by Wangchen Rinpoche

 

• January 27
      Buddhas and Bodhisattvas see clearly that our neglect of others, our self-preoccupation and our disregard for the connection between actions and their effects are responsible for all our miseries. The feeling that it doesn't matter what we do as long as we can get away with it kills our chances of liberation and enlightenment. Our selfishness robs us of worldly and supramundane good qualities, leaving us naked and empty-handed. It separates us from happiness now and in the future and fetters us to suffering.
      Resolve never again to let yourself be dominated by this mean and selfish way of thinking and do everything in your power to combat it. Your happiness begins the moment you recognize self-cherishing as your chief foe. There are many good reasons why cherishing others makes sense. Shantideva says:
          The state of Buddhahood is accomplished
          Equally through living beings and Victorious Ones.
          What kind of behavior then is it to revere
          Victorious Ones but not living beings?
      ...If we truly want to please Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and all those noble beings in the world whom we admire and whose sole guiding principles are their affection, love and compassion for others, we can do nothing better than to cherish living beings. (p. 100)
  --from The Three Principal Aspects of the Path an oral teaching by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• January 20
      In his closing discussion on loving-kindness, Buddhaghosa asks: "What is the proximate cause of loving-kindness?" The answer is the observation of lovableness in the person to whom you are attending.
      Bring to mind right now someone whom you find lovable. It could be a person you have a romance with, or a child, or a dear friend, or a great teachersomeone to whom your heart would leap like a deer in the forest if this person were to walk through the door, someone whose presence is so lovable that a gladness arises on seeing him or her. If you can sense that in a dear friend, then try to seek out the lovableness of a neutral person. Then, finally, when you break down all the barriers, see it in a person who has done you injury.
      It's a great key if you can seek out something to love, even in the enemy. Bear clearly in mind that this does not endorse or embrace evil. The crucial point here is to be able to slice through like a very skilled surgeon, recognizing vicious behavior that we would love to see annihilated as separate from the person who is participating in it. The doctor can be optimistic. A cure is possible: the person is not equivalent to the action or the disposition. Moreover there is something there that we can hold in affection, with warmth. That really seems to be a master key that can break down the final barrier and complete the practice.
      One way of approaching this is to look at the person you hold in contempt, and try to find any quality he might share with someone you deeply admire and respect. Is there anything at all noble to be seen, any thing that would be akin to what a truly great spiritual being would display? Focus on that: There is something there that you can love. The rest is chaff, that hopefully will be blown away quickly, to everyone's benefit. It is as if you could see a little ray of light from within, knowing that its source is much deeper than the despicable qualities on the outside. That light is what you attend to. (p. 112)
  --from The Four Immeasurables: Practices to Open the Heart by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Zara Houshmand

 

• January 13
  Sutras, tantras, esoteric instructions, and experiences teach
  The vital point of deathlessness, awakening without meditating:
  How this body of karma fully ripening
  Arises as a naturally pure awareness body.
  Visualize the fully ripening karmic body as the deity's form
  And meditate without fixation on it.
  It is itself inseparable from mind.
  No essence of mind is established,
  So where is something that dies?
  "Death" is just a concept.
  The hosts of concepts are nonexistent phenomena of samsara and nirvana.
  --Mokchokpa
      According to this and other statements, since one's own mind in essence has no real existence whatsoever, it was always unborn. Therefore the great natural liberation of deathlessness is attained. As for this body of fully ripening karma, since it is a conglomeration of inert matter, it is not a basis on which to attribute the designations of birth or death. In fact, the body even arises as a mere appearance of mind.
      When one gains confidence in the realization that the mind is unborn and undying, then the body appears as the deity's form in mahamudra and one becomes bound to basic space without erring into the path of deluded appearance. By this kind of instruction one discovers the kaya of union in this lifetime. Even just hearing it can cause one to get enlightened in the intermediate state as the sambhogakaya of the victors. Of the Five Golden Dharmas, it is said to be like the ripened fruit. (p. 248)
  --from The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Eight, Part Four: Esoteric Instructions, A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajrayana by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, translated by Sarah Harding

 

• January 6
      The object of meditation this time is emotion. In other words, we specifically focus on the emotions that arise from our feelings of good, bad, and indifferent. In the first of the equanimity meditations, we made the choice to not follow up these emotions. This time we make the choice to meditate on them. We might choose to meditate on sensations and feelings that arise in our immediate, present environment. We might also choose to meditate on an event or person that sets off strong sensations, feelings, and emotions.
      Let's say you choose to base your meditation on an event such as a family argument. This time you contemplate an aspect of that event and try to disentangle the sensations, feelings, and emotions. Sensations are what you feel with your body. Feelings assess whether that sensation is nice, nasty, or neutral. What emotions arise as a result of those sensations and feelings?
      As we now know, equanimity means not getting caught in further exaggerations: "Oh, I am so bad because this is what I did," "Look how good I am," "How could anyone love someone like me?" and so on. In this meditation, equanimity means not judging whether we are good or bad people, but just noting what happened.
  --from Enough! A Buddhist Approach to Finding Release from Addictive Patterns by Chonyi Taylor

 

     2010

• December 30
      Attaining realization is not such a long path once we become able to integrate all our movements of energy in our practice, because then every action is governed by presence and becomes a step on the path and an expression of virtue.
      Practice is not only sitting in meditation, reciting mantras, or chanting. It is the application of practice in daily life that is most difficult, working with our energy in every life situation, with every sense perception, with every person we meet, whether we want to encounter that person or not.
  --from Wonders of the Natural Mind: The Essence of Dzogchen in the Native Bon Tradition of Tibet by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, fore. by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• December 23
      It is important to note that we should make sure that our meditation suits our mind. If we feel comfortable doing analytical meditation on the various topics in a progressive way, we should go ahead with it. If, on the other hand, we find it difficult and it is not compatible with our mind, we should meditate on whatever topic we like.
       If we enjoy meditation on emptiness, we should go ahead with this. If it suits us and we derive pleasure from meditating principally on the altruistic intention, we can emphasize this. At some point if we find that we cannot really get into whatever analytical meditation we have been doing, but doing prostrations, chanting mantra, visualizing a meditation deity, or reciting aspirational prayers brings peace and pleasure to our mind, we should do that practice.
  --from Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage: An Explanation of the Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Jampa Tegchok, edited by Thubten Chodron

 

• December 16
      From a Buddhist perspective, busying ourselves with worldly activities is a form of laziness, because we're lax in self-cultivation. Our lives are so busy in modern society: Our appointment books are completely full and we're always running here and there. We often complain there isn't enough time for the Dharma.
       However, whenever we have a spare moment, we work overtime or call some friends to fill in the gap. We always have time to eat, but we hardly ever have time to nourish ourselves spiritually by attending Dharma classes or meditating. When the temple has entertainment and free meals, we go; but when there is meditation or lessons, we're busy.
      This hindrance to spiritual progress comes because we're attached to worldly pleasures: food, money, reputation, amusement, and friends. The harm comes from our inappropriate way of relating to them. Attached, we selfishly indulge in them. However, these things in and of themselves aren't bad. Through pacifying our afflictions, we can enjoy these things with a good motivation--to improve ourselves for the benefit of others.
  --from Taming the Mind by Ven. Thubten Chodron

 

• December 9
  Cultivating Memory and Joyful Effort
      [This] foundational practice is engaged upon awaking in the morning. It further cultivates strong intention and also strengthens the capacity to remember the events of the night.
      Begin by reviewing the night. The Tibetan term for this preparation is literally "remembering." Did you dream? Were you aware that you were in a dream? If you dreamt but did not attain lucidity, you should reflect, "I dreamt but did not recognize the dream as a dream. But it was a dream." Resolve that next time you enter a dream you will become aware of its true nature while still in the dream.
      If you find it difficult to remember dreams, it can be helpful, throughout the day and particularly before sleep, to generate a strong intention to remember dreams. You can also record dreams in a notepad or with a tape recorder, as this will reinforce the habit of treating your dreams as something valuable. The very act of preparing the notebook or recorder at night serves to support the intention to recall the dream upon waking. It is not difficult for anyone to remember dreams once the intention to do so is generated and sustained, even over just a few days.
      If you did have a lucid dream, feel joy at the accomplishment. Develop happiness relative to the practice and resolve to continue to develop the lucidity the following night. Keep building intention, using both successes and failures as occasions to develop ever stronger intent to accomplish the practice. And know that even your intention is a dream.
  --from The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

 

• December 2
      Many of the methods of practicing Dharma that are learned during waking can, upon development of dream awareness, be applied in the dream condition. In fact, one may develop these practices more easily and speedily within the Dream State if one has the capacity to dream lucidly. There are even some books that say that if a person applies a practice within a dream, the practice is nine times more effective than when it is applied during the waking hours.
      The dream condition is unreal. When we discover this for ourselves within the dream, the immense power of this realization can eliminate obstacles related to conditioned vision. For this reason, dream practice is very important for liberating us from habits. We need this powerful assistance in particular because the emotional attachments, conditioning, and ego enhancement which compose our normal life have been strengthened over our many, many years.
      In a real sense, all the visions that we see in our lifetime are like the images of a dream. If we examine them well, the big dream of life and the smaller dreams of one night are not very different. If we truly see the essential nature of both, we will find that there really is no difference between them. If we can finally liberate ourselves from the chains of emotions, attachments, and ego by this realization, we have the possibility of ultimately becoming enlightened.
  --from Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, ed. & intro. by Michael Katz

 

• November 24
  ...beginning with an attitude
  Of love for all living creatures,
  Consider beings, excluding none,
  Suffering in the three bad rebirths,
  Suffering birth, death and so forth.
  
      The" attitude of love" to which the text refers is the affection which sees all living beings as lovable. The stronger our affection the more easily compassion arises and the more intense and steadfast it is. Compassion can arise without it, but it will not be consistent. Unless we see all living beings as near, dear, appealing and beloved, we won't care what happens to them. On the contrary, we may even wish more suffering on those we dislike. That affection is what a doting mother feels for the apple of her eye, what a dog-owner feels for a beloved pet--a warm feeling that makes you want to hug and pat and say, "Adorable!"
      At present our feelings of affection are restricted to those we like and, even then, vanish quite quickly if they do something that goes against our wishes. It's a tall order to ask us to feel affection toward all living beings. It doesn't come naturally, which is why we need to train ourselves to see them in a new way.
  --from Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment commentary by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• November 18
      There is both a reason and a purpose for cultivating the meditative stabilization observing exhalation and inhalation of the breath. The reason is mainly to purify impure motivations. What exactly is to be purified? The main of these are the three poisons--desire, hatred, and obscuration. Even though we have these at all times and even though the meditator will still retain them, she or he is seeking to suppress their manifest functioning at that time. The specific purpose for cleansing impure motivations before meditation is to dispel bad motivations connected with this lifetime, such as having hatred toward enemies, attachment to friends, and so forth.
      In terms of the practice I am explaining here, even the thought of a religious practitioner of small capacity is included within impure motivations; such a person engages in practice mainly for the sake of a good future lifetime. Similarly, if on this occasion one has the motivation of a religious practitioner of middling capacity--that of only oneself escaping from cyclic existence, this is also impure.
      What is a pure motivation? To take as one's aim the welfare of all sentient beings. This is the motivation of a religious practitioner of great capacity. Meditators should imagine or manifest their own impure motivation in the form of smoke, and with the exhalation of breath should expel all bad motivation. When inhaling, they should imagine that all the blessings and good qualities of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, in the form of bright light, are inhaled into them. This practice is called purification by way of the descent of ambrosia. There are many forms of this purification, but the essence of the practice is as just indicated.
  --from Calm Abiding and Special Insight: Achieving Spiritual Transformation Through Meditation by Geshe Gedun Lodro

 

• November 11
  Fear and Fearlessness.
      Perhaps the first reaction we have to our own suffering is fear. Fear arises in us almost automatically when we experience strong emotions or pain. We don't have to sit there and generate fear--it just arises. When we experience a disturbing emotion such as jealousy we think, "No, I don't want this." We would rather not experience it. However, if we examine fear closely, we see that it is a thought to which we have been habituating our mind for a very long time. We have repeated this thought pattern of fear for many years, and from a Buddhist point of view, many lifetimes.
      In just the same way, when we habituate our minds to being fearless, to being brave and open towards our emotions, fearlessness will also arise naturally. In order for this to happen, we must train in applying antidotes to our thought patterns that are caught up in fear. In this way, we transcend fear first through a conceptual process, which later becomes nonconceptual, a natural fearlessness. In order to become fearless in this way, we need determination and the willingness to face our emotions. With that strong determination and courage, fearlessness will arise effortlessly.
  --from Trainings in Compassion: Manuals on the Meditation of Avalokiteshvara by trans. by Tyler Dewar under the guidance of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

 

• November 4
  Avoid Sidetracks
      As practitioners we will face many obstacles and sidetracks on our path to liberation, and these will provide us with many challenges along the way. We shouldn't allow our practice to become interrupted due to these obstacles and sidetracks, such as the appearance and disappearance of the many friends we will have over the course of our lives.
      We also shouldn't allow our practice to become interrupted by a change in the availability or quality of food and shelter. And we shouldn't allow our practice to become interrupted by the obstacles and sidetracks presented by the many distractions of mind that are readily available in the mundane world of our external environment. We shouldn't allow our practice to be interrupted by obstacles and sidetracks that arise due to the desire and attachment we feel for loved ones, or our aversion to enemies, or our indifference towards others. Finally, we should not allow our practice to become interrupted by our desire to accumulate wealth, or by our attachment to our material possessions. Only an advanced practitioner, motivated by deep bodhichitta, can get through these obstacles and avoid these sidetracks to reach their goal of liberation from samsara.
  --from Heartfelt Advice by Lama Dudjom Dorjee

 

• October 28
      As human beings we are deeply insecure and we do not know who we truly are. Of course this problem does not show on the surface of our lives. We are always telling ourselves who we are, based on this notion that we are separate from everything else. This sense that "I am separate" is the ground of our sense of self. It is reinforced by various false identities that we cling to, notions that "I am this" or "I am that." Whatever beliefs we have about ourselves are just another extension. Most of the time when we look around, we immediately see that our surroundings are validating these false identities. For this very reason, it is a challenging endeavor to deconstruct this illusion of self.
      Every time we look into our mirror we might have some thought about ourselves. Each of these thoughts adds up. They become the conceptual bricks we use to keep building this illusory castle of self. Yet, there is a suspicion that this notion of self might be very fragile and transient, and this thought is silently lurking somewhere in our consciousness. Most of the time this suspicion is not brought into the light of awareness, but if it is, some deep, inner wisdom will arise without choice.
      Our suspicion of the fragility of this false notion of self can go in one of two directions. In general it becomes a source of fear, anxiety, and insecurity. We often see people who are fearful and overly defensive when it comes to their own identity. We ourselves tend to become fearful if our identity is threatened. But at other times the suspicion can go another way. When that happens, it can be a life-changing revelation that can lead us to the realization of the highest level of truth. This idea is not some new, lofty theory. It is timeless wisdom that has been realized by many people in human history. Buddha taught this wisdom, and in his tradition it is called anatman or "no self." Anatman, or "no self," is the term used to mean that one has seen through this false sense of self. One has seen that this false sense of self is merely an identification with one's roles in life. It is just a mask, not the truth.
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• October 21
      Understanding the power of the path provides the inspiration that keeps us going forward; exploring its pain provides the understanding of what holds us back. It doesn't take long to discover the power, nor to feel the pain. Waking up hurts. And if we don't understand why, we will run from the pain and abandon the path. There are countless people who have become spiritual dropouts, or who are lost in detours because they have not understood hardship.
      When your arm falls asleep, it prickles and burns as it returns to life. Frozen fingers sting when they thaw; we jolt awake when the alarm clock rings. But physical instances of anesthesia are mild compared to the anesthesia born of ignorance, and so is the level of discomfort upon awakening. The longer something has been asleep, the more painful it is to wake it up. If your fingers are merely cold, it is easy to warm them up. But if your fingers are frozen solid, it hurts like hell when they thaw. According to the traditions, unless one is already a buddha, an "awakened one," on has been snoring from beginningless time, and it can really hurt before we completely wake up. Mingyur Rinpoche writes,
      "I'd like to say that everything got better once I was safely settled among the other participants in the three-year retreat.... On the contrary, however, my first year in retreat was one of the worst in my life. All the symptoms of anxiety I'd ever experienced--physical tension, tightness in the throat, dizziness, and waves of panic--attacked in full force. In Western terms, I was having a nervous breakdown. In hindsight, I can say that what I was actually going through was what I like to call a 'nervous breakthrough'."
  --from The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy by Dr. Andrew Holecek

 

• October 14
      Following the Vajrayana teachings, we do not give up or reject anything; rather we make use of whatever is there. We look at our negative emotions and accept them for what they are. Then we relax in this state of acceptance. Using the emotion itself, it is transformed or transmuted into the positive, into its true face. When, for instance, strong anger or desire arises, a Vajrayana practitioner is not afraid of it. Instead he or she would follow advice along the following lines: Have the courage to expose yourself to your emotions. Do not reject or suppress them, but do not follow them either. Just look your emotion directly in the eye and then try to relax within the very emotion itself. There is no confrontation involved. You don't do anything. Remaining detached, you are neither carried away by emotion nor do you reject it as something negative. Then, you can look at your emotions almost casually and be rather amused.
      When our usual habit of magnifying our feelings and our fascination resulting from that are gone, there will be no negativity and no fuel. We can relax within them. What we are trying to do, therefore, is to skillfully and subtly deal with our emotions. This is largely equivalent to the ability of exerting discipline.
  --from Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha by Ringu Tulku, edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs

 

• October 7
      One night I dreamed that I came to a remote mountain wilderness where I had never been, an exceedingly pleasant place like a celestial land. Sitting there, at ease, I sang many spiritual songs by Jetsun Milarepa and other exalted beings. My mind became filled with the thought of Jetsun Milarepa and his spiritual sons, and, as I prayed to them with great yearning, they appeared before me, smiling and laughing. With great tenderness, Mila placed his two hands upon my head, and, spat, as a blessing.
      At that moment, all my deluded perceptions ceased, and I rested serenely in the vivid state of Mahamudra, free of discursive thoughts and adorned with bliss, clarity, and nonthought.
      The next day, I sang this Laughter of Milarepa and his Spiritual Sons:
  If having met your teachers--oho!
  You train in the teachings of Buddha--aha!
  Milarepa and his spiritual sons will laugh in delight--ko re!
  And, like fathers, will care for you always--ya! Ya yi! Ya yi!
  --from The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin translated by Matthieu Ricard, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• October 1
      The person witnessing another person's suffering has only one appropriate response: "How can I help?" When karma comes to fruition and causes suffering, the response should never be, "This is your karma. It's your destiny, so I can't help." Your own karma may very well present itself as an opportunity to help a suffering person. Misunderstanding actions and their consequences can be disastrous.
      From the Buddhist perspective, the type of fortune we encounter, happiness or sorrow, is not due to somebody doing something to us. If I win the lottery, it is not because Buddha selected me for a bonus. No god or buddha is responsible for what happens to us....This does not imply that a suffering person is morally degenerate any more than suffering the consequences of eating contaminated food does. The suffering we experience is due to karma accumulated under the influence of delusion and mental afflictions. This is true for all sentient beings.
      The Buddhist response to the non-virtues we all commit while strapped to the wheel of samsara can be inspiring and encouraging. The Buddhist teaching is that it is possible to neutralize negative karmic seeds embedded in the stream of consciousness. Deeds cannot be undone, but it is possible to purify one's mind-stream so that the impact of karmic seeds will be nullified.
      The method used to purify the mind-stream is the "four remedial powers" [remorse, reliance, resolve, and purification]. The metaphor for the effectiveness of the four remedial powers is that of burning a seed. Karma, like a seed, can be scorched in the fire of purification so that it will not sprout. The seed won't vanish, but it will not sprout.
  --from Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace

 

• September 23
      If you continue to practice meditation, then your experience will gradually increase and there will be greater and greater stability and greater and greater lucidity. However, the experiences that can arise in meditation can take various different forms. And in spite of the fact that the person has a real recognition of the mind's nature, there is still the possibility or probability of fluctuation in experience even after that.
      Sometimes you may feel that you have amazing, tremendous meditation, and at other times you may feel that you have no meditation at all. This characterizes meditation experience, which fluctuates a great deal. Realization, which is distinct from experience, does not change, but experiences can fluctuate a great deal or alternate between good and bad. There will still be times when you will have what you regard as good experiences and, in contrast, what you regard as bad experiences. When that occurs, just keep on looking. Don't get distracted or sidetracked by the experience. Whatever meditation experience arises, you should recognize that it is transitory. As is said, "meditation experience is like mist, it will surely vanish."
      Experiences are different from the actual fact of the recognition itself. Because they are ephemeral experiences, they aren't worth investing in. So if you have a bad meditation experience, do not be alarmed, because it too will vanish. If you have a good meditation experience, you need to continue; if you have a bad meditation experience, you need to continue. In either case, you simply need to continue to rest in this recognition of the mind's nature.
  --from Pointing Out the Dharmakaya by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, foreword by the Dalai Lama, introduction by Lama Tashi Namgyal

 

• September 16
      People harm others only when they are unhappy. No one wakes up in the morning and says, "I feel so great today! I think I'll go out and harm someone!" When we can allow ourselves to know the depth of the pain and confusion felt by those who have harmed us, compassion--the wish that they be free from such suffering--can easily arise. Thinking in this way does not mean whitewashing or denying harm that was done. Rather, we acknowledge it, but go beyond amassing resentment, because we know that grudges help neither ourselves nor others.
  --from Working with Anger by Thubten Chodron

 

• September 9
      Life is a party on death row. Recognizing mortality means we are willing to see what is true. Seeing what is true is grounding. It brings us into the present and, eventually, into presence. It also brings us into our bodies, especially if we combine meditation on impermanence with an energetic awareness at the base of the spine. At first, the important thing about impermanence seems to be the limited time we have in this precious life. This is crucial and foundational, and yet it is not the whole story.
      The teachings on impermanence concern the death of a self that never existed. Our sense of such a false and finite self, which initially is inseparable from our wish to practice, can dissolve. Understanding impermanence, Khetsun Rinpoche says, will lead you into the natural clarity of your own mind. To know impermanence is thus not only a path leading to what Dzogchen traditions speak of as "unbounded wholeness" (thigle nyag cig), it is also integral to that wholeness.
  --from Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse: A Story of Transmission by Anne C. Klein, foreword by Adzom Paylo Rinpoche, preface by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

 

• September 2
      When we understand the evolution of our unsatisfactory experiences in cyclic existence, we will see that meditating on emptiness is their antidote. All knowable things--people and phenomena--appear to our minds to be inherently existent. We then grasp at them as existing inherently. Our inappropriate attention focuses on them, and that gives rise to the various disturbing attitudes of anger, attachment, and so on. These disturbing attitudes motivate our actions, which in turn leave karmic imprints on our mindstreams. When these imprints ripen, we meet with suffering.
  --from Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage: An Explanation of the Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Jampa Tegchok, edited by Thubten Chodron

 

• August 27
      We've been discussing in a deeper sense the kindness of adversity and obstacles. I have my own experience with my mother of this life who was a very good example for me. She was always preoccupied with negative habits. Later in her life she became blind. She used to say the vows of refuge on a regular basis, but otherwise her mind was preoccupied with worldly concerns. After I was taken from her, then her suffering increased.
      Later she began praying constantly to Chenrezig and reciting OM MANI PADME HUM. She was able to repeat several million recitations of the Mani mantra. Eventually before her death, her sight returned. Her white hair began turning black, and she even grew some new teeth in her mouth. There were some very amazing signs at the time of her death. I feel that, based on knowing her nature, if she hadn't become blind, this would never have happened.
  --from Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga by Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, trans. by B. Alan Wallace and Sangye Khandro

 

• August 20
      "If you fear you are running after the objects of the six senses, hold yourself with the hook:"
      'Employ the watchman that is mindfulness.'
      Someone who has been captured with a hook has no option but to go wherever he is led. In the same way, if we catch hold of our mind--which risks being distracted by the objects of the six senses--with the hook of mindfulness, and with vigilance and carefulness, this will be of enormous benefit. We should use this watchman to constantly check how many positive or negative thoughts and actions we produce during the day. When we are able to control our minds through mindfulness, everything that appears in samsara and nirvana becomes an aid in our practice and serves to confirm the meaning of the teachings. All appearances are understood as being dharmakaya. We perceive everything in its natural purity, and there is nothing we can call impure.
  --from Zurchungpa's Testament: A Commentary on Zurchung Sherab Trakpa's 'Eighty Chapters of Personal Advice' by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, based on Shechen Gyaltsap's Annotated Edition, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group

 

• August 13
      A bodhisattva, having generated a sincere and spontaneous desire to attain full enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, enters the Mahayana path of accumulation. Here the bodhisattva cultivates the four mindfulnesses and develops mental quiescence, then passes on to the path of application, where she or he strives for a conceptual insight into emptiness. When quiescence and insight are combined in examining emptiness, the bodhisattva attains a direct, non-conceptual realization of emptiness, and thus becomes an arya, on the path of seeing.
      The path of seeing corresponds to the first of the ten bhumis, i.e. stages, levels, or grounds said to be traversed by a bodhisattva. The other nine bodhisattva stages are coextensive with the path of development, during the course of which the disciple completely eliminates not only the defilements that are obstacles to liberation but even the traces of defilement, which are obstacles to full enlightenment.
      When the path of development is completed, the disciple is ready to enter the path of no-more-training; this marks the attainment of full enlightenment, the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya of an omniscient, compassionate, and powerful buddha.
  --from The Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context by Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Roger Jackson, John Newman, edited by Beth Simon

 

• August 6
      The Tibetan controversies about instantaneous enlightenment through recognition of the nature of the mind have been studied by David Jackson. As he shows, it is mainly members of the Kagyu traditions in Tibet who have maintained this doctrine, although it is certainly common in Chinese Ch'an Buddhism and in the teachings of the Great Perfection in Tibet. Dolpopa quotes the position that is the object of his refutation: "Recognizing the very essence naturally purifies them, without rejection." This expresses the view that through recognition of the essence of the thoughts as the dharmakaya they are purified or dissolved into the dharmakaya, and also the idea that any affliction that arises is actually a manifestation or self-presencing of primordial awareness itself. Thus there is no need to reject thoughts or afflictions, which are naturally purified by means of the recognition. This type of viewpoint is widespread in Tibetan Buddhism.
      In contrast to these views, Dolpopa claims that the definition of an ordinary sentient being or a buddha, and of samsara or nirvana, is determined by the presence or absence of the incidental and temporary obscurations that veil the true nature of reality. It is not determined solely by recognition of the nature of the mind or the thoughts.
      ...While the ground buddhahood of the dharmakaya and the resultant buddhahood of the dharmakaya have not the slightest difference in essence, they are distinguished as ground and result by means of the presence or absence of incidental stains.
  --from The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen by Cyrus Stearns; a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• July 30
      If our practice does not diminish self-grasping, or perhaps even enhances it, then no matter how austere and determined we are, no matter how many hours a day we devote to learning, reflection, and meditation, our spiritual practice is in vain.
      A close derivative of self-grasping is the feeling of self-importance. Such arrogance or pride is a very dangerous pitfall for people practicing Dharma. Especially in Tibetan Buddhism, with its many levels of practice, the exalted aspirations of the bodhisattva path, and the mystery surrounding initiation into tantra, we may easily feel part of an elite. Moreover, the philosophy of Buddhism is so subtly refined and so penetrating that, as we gain an understanding of it, this also can give rise to intellectual pride.
      But if these are the results of the practice, then something has gone awry. Recall the well-known saying among Tibetan Buddhists that a pot with a little water in it makes a loud noise when shaken, but a pot full of water makes no noise at all.
      People with very little realization often want to tell everyone about the insights they have experienced, the bliss and subtleties of their meditation, and how it has radically transformed their life. But those who are truly steeped in realization do not feel compelled to advertise it, and instead simply dwell in that realization. They are concerned not to describe their own progress, but to direct the awareness of others to ways in which their own hearts and minds can be awakened.
  --from The Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Zara Houshmand

 

• July 23
      We have to admit impermanence into our lives. It's important to live with impermanence as a frame of reference so that we can approach each moment or each day with a sense of humility about what we are able to do and what we are not able to do and relinquish control over things we cannot have control over. It is important to live as if things are as permanent as stone.
      You have to invest yourself in love and concern for people, accept people's love as if that's the only thing that exists. The commitment to living as if everything is always there forever with the acceptance that nothing is going to survive.
  --from Impermanence: Embracing Change by David Hodge and Hi-Jin Kang Hodge, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• July 16
  6. Meditation on the Buddha
  (Click here to listen to the audio version of this meditation.)
      Begin by observing your breath for a few minutes to calm the mind.
      Think of the qualities of infinite love, compassion, wisdom, skillful means, and other wonderful qualities you aspire to develop. What would it feel like to have those qualities? Get a sense of the expansiveness and peace of having a wise and kind heart that reaches out impartially to work for the benefit of all beings.
      Those qualities of love, compassion, wisdom, skillful means, and so on now appear in the physical form of the Buddha, in the space in front of you. He sits on an open lotus flower, and flat sun and moon disks. His body is made of radiant, transparent light, as is the entire visualization. His body is golden and he wears the robes of a monk. His right palm rests on his right knee and his left is in his lap, holding a bowl of nectar, which is medicine to cure our afflictions and other hindrances. The Buddha's face is very beautiful. His smiling, compassionate gaze looks at you with total acceptance and simultaneously encompasses all sentient beings. His eyes are long, narrow, and peaceful. His lips are red and his earlobes long.
      Rays of light emanate from each pore of the Buddha's body and reach every part of the universe. These rays carry countless miniature Buddhas, some going out to help beings, others dissolving back into the Buddha after having finished their work.
      The Buddha is surrounded by the entire lineage of spiritual teachers, all meditational deities, innumerable other Buddhas, bodhisattvas, arhats, dakas, dakinis, and Dharma protectors. To the side of each spiritual master is an elegant table upon which are arranged volumes of Dharma teachings.
      Surrounding you are all sentient beings appearing in human form, with your mother on your left and your father on your right. The people you do not get along with are in front of you. All of you are looking to the Buddha for guidance.
  --from Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• July 9
      Sometimes our life can feel devoid of meaning even though we may try in different ways to put meaning into it.... Meaning comes when we go deeply within, wait, listen, and open. It begins to come when we genuinely open to the suffering of those around us with a compassionate heart. Equally, it comes as we respond to the environment within which we live with care and concern.
      The meaning or purpose to be found in bodhichitta is less associated with what we do than with the quality we bring to what we engage in. Small, simple aspects of our life can be profoundly meaningful and have deep impact both for ourselves and others. Meaning lies in the quality of heart that we put into what we do.
      It is not, therefore, the outer manifestation of what we can achieve that is the root of meaning. It is the undercurrent of bodhichitta's intention or purpose and meaning that flows within. What bodhichitta implies is that in attuning to our buddha nature or buddha potential, we touch a source of meaning in ourselves that will come through whatever we do.
      This root of meaning gives the bodhisattva the capacity to live a relatively ordinary life and transform adverse circumstances into the path. Even small things become meaningful, like the way we respond to someone's distress or a gesture of friendliness that lifts someone's day. This deeper sense of purpose is reflected in the care we give to our relationships and the environment.
      Realizations come only if we practice joyfully, with confidence and courage. Realization doesn't grow within a timid or weak state of mind--it blossoms in the mind free of doubt and hesitation. Realization is fearless. When we see the true nature of reality, there's nothing hidden, nothing left to fear. At last we're seeing reality as it is, full of joy and peace.
      Being present and responsive to what arises may mean that the eventual goal of our sense of purpose is less crucial. We are seldom, if ever, able to see fully where our path will take us, and once we are open to the meaning present in bodhichitta, the ego must surrender ambitions and allow the journey to unfold.
  --from The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others by Rob Preece

 

• July 2
      Realizations come only if we practice joyfully, with confidence and courage. Realization doesn't grow within a timid or weak state of mind--it blossoms in the mind free of doubt and hesitation. Realization is fearless. When we see the true nature of reality, there's nothing hidden, nothing left to fear. At last we're seeing reality as it is, full of joy and peace.
      ...Thinking of Tara will bring total calm, peace, and protection from all fears and all frightening situations. Tara's practice removes the two obscurations: negative emotions and subtle conceptual thinking. It will increase the two merits: accumulation merit and wisdom merit. From the moment you start praying to and practicing Tara, your life will be always under the protection of the Great Mother. From then on rebirth in the lower realms will be prevented. If you do this prayer for others, it will bring them the same benefits; it will protect them in their lifetimes as well as uproot future births in the lower realms. So there is great benefit.
  --from Tara's Enlightened Activity: An Oral Commentary on "The Twenty-one Praises to Tara" by Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal

 

• June 25
      If we can attain nondual, nonconceptual awareness in meditation, we are engaged in profound political activity, even though we may lose this awareness during the times we are not formally meditating (the buddha's awareness in post-meditation is the same as during meditation). Meditating in nondual, nonconceptual awareness, which is meditating on the dharmadhatu, immediately begins systematically to destroy in ourselves the structure of dualistic consciousness with all its attendant cognitive obscurations and emotional affiictions. From the standpoint of duality, since this dualistic consciousness also involves other sentient beings as the other pole of our duality, our activity in dissolving this consciousness has a profound impact on them as well.
      While our nondualistic, nonconceptual meditation is purifying our own obscurations and afflictions and thereby transforming our personal experience of others, it is also becoming a spark of buddha activity in those others. As our meditation becomes effective, the attitude of others towards us begins to change, and they themselves begin to turn inward and to search with greater conscientiousness through the stuff of their own minds and lives for spiritual solutions to their own problems. And as the power of our meditation increases, this effect reaches ever-widening concentric circles of sentient beings with whom we have karmic interdependence, which in this day and age includes not only our immediate family and friends, working associates, and local communities, but also everyone with whom we are connected through all the media of our lives.
  --from The Ninth Karmapa's Ocean of Definitive Meaning by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, edited, introduced and annotated by Lama Tashi Namgyal

 

• June 18
      [Understanding through the merging of sound and meaning takes place when one immediately understands the meaning of a teaching through hearing the sound of the words.]
      One might ask what these words are in the key instructions on the Three Words That Strike the Vital Point. The sound and the word are the same. For example, the word "mother" can be understood as indicating someone who is very kind. If one says "mother," the meaning of what that word expresses is pointed out. What is known as "the three words" is like that.
      What are the three words? "View," "meditation," and "action." What does it mean to "strike the vital point" with these three words? If one wants to kill a man and strikes his heart with a weapon, the man will not live another hour. He will die immediately. What vital point do these three words strike? Just as oil is present in a mustard seed, all of us, all sentient beings, have buddha nature. Though it is present, we do not recognize it, because our minds are obscured by delusions. When, as a result of the view, meditation, and action, we come to recognize these delusions, we can get rid of them in a moment. In one day sentient beings can be transformed into buddhas--that is the ultimate view, meditation, and action of dzogchen. Such a power of transformation is called "striking the vital point."
  --from The Collected Works of Dilgo Khyentse by Dilgo Khyentse, edited by Matthieu Ricard and Vivian Kurz, excerpt from Volume 3: Primordial Purity

 

• June 11
      A tenth-century Bengali pandita named Palden Atisha reintroduced Buddhism into Tibet. He had a servant who was really awful. He was abusive to Atisha, disobedient, and generally a big problem. The Tibetans asked Atisha what he was doing with such an awful guy who was so completely obnoxious. They said, "Send him back. We'll take care of you." Atisha replied, "What are you talking about? He is my greatest teacher of patience. He is the most precious person around me!"
      Patience does not mean suppression, and it doesn't mean bottling up our anger or turning it in on ourselves in the form of self-blame. It means having a mind which sees everything that happens as the result of causes and conditions we have set in motion at some time in this or past lives. Who knows what our relationship has been with someone who is causing us difficulties now? Who knows what we have have done to him in another life! If we respond to such people with retaliation, we are just locking ourselves into that same cycle. We are going to have to keep replaying this part of the movie again and again in this and future lifetimes. The only way to break out of the cycle is by changing our attitude.
  --from Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism by Venerable Tenzin Palmo

 

• June 3
      Many spiritual seekers are not yet ready to become the disciples of spiritual mentors. Their present levels of commitment may suit working only with Buddhism professors, Dharma instructors, or meditation or ritual trainers. Even if they are ready to commit themselves to the Buddhist path and to spiritual mentors, they may not yet have found properly qualified mentors. Alternatively, the spiritual teachers available to them may be properly qualified and may even have shown them great kindness. Yet, none seem right to be their mentors. They feel they can relate to them only as their Buddhism professors. Nevertheless, the Kadam style of guru-meditation may still help such seekers to gain inspiration from these teachers at the present stages of their spiritual paths.
      Unless our spiritual teachers are total charlatans or complete scoundrels, all of them have at least some good qualities and exhibit at least some level of kindness. Our Buddhism professors, Dharma instructors, or meditation or ritual trainers may lack the qualities of great spiritual mentors. Still, they have some knowledge of the Dharma, some insight from applying the Dharma to life, or some technical expertise in the practice. Our teachers are kind to instruct us, even if their motivations contain the wish to earn a living. If we correctly discern and acknowledge whatever qualities and levels of kindness that our professors, instructors, or trainers in fact possess, we may derive inspiration, through guru-meditation, by focusing on them with conviction and appreciation.
  --from Wise Teacher, Wise Student: Tibetan Approaches to a Healthy Relationship by Dr. Alexander Berzin

 

• May 28
      Even in this world, and even now, there are said to be many hidden yogis or discreet yogis, called bepay naljor in Tibetan. It means those realized ones who are not generally recognized as great spiritual sages or saints, but have deeply tasted the fruit of enlightenment, and are living it. Perhaps they are anonymously doing their good works here among us right now!
      The infinite vast expanse is one's own inconceivable nature. Who can say who has realized it and who hasn't? When we travel around the world or experience other dimensions, there are so many beings who have tasted it. We can see it in their behavior, in their countenance, and in stories that are told--not just in the Dzogchen tradition or the Buddhist tradition, but in any tradition, and in our Western world too.
      This true nature is so vast and inconceivable that even some birds and animals and beings in other unseen dimensions can be said to have realized it, as in some of the ancient Indian Jataka stories and other teaching tales. It is always said that everything is the self-radiant display of the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra. There are infinite numbers of Buddhas and infinite numbers of beings. Who can say who is excluded from it?
  --from Natural Great Perfection: Dzogchen Teachings and Vajra Songs by Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche and Lama Surya Das

 

• May 21
      [At the time of Buddha, a farmer asked to be ordained as a monk. Shariputra did not see his merit. But, with a great, compassionate mind, the Buddha took his hand and said, "I will give you ordination. You do have a seed to attain arhatship...."]
      The Buddha explained, "Thousands and thousands of kalpas ago, this man was born as a fly. He was sitting on a pile of cow dung when a sudden rush of water caught the cow dung, along with the fly, and sent them into the river. Downstream, someone had placed a prayer wheel in the water, and that cow dung and fly swirled around and around it. Because of that circumambulation, this man now has a seed to attain arhatship in this lifetime."
      Cause and result are so subtle that only omniscient wisdom can perceive every detail. That is why we must be very careful that our actions are truly beneficial.
      Reciting just one mantra, protecting the life of even one small bug, giving a small thing--we should not ignore such actions by saying, "This is nothing; it makes no difference if I do it or not." Many small actions will gather and swell like the ocean. These are not merely Buddhist beliefs; these are the causes that create our world no matter who we are. Our study and practice give us the opportunity to understand this and to be sincere with ourselves even in small things.
  --from A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron

 

• May 14
      ...in Dzogchen, one applies specific practices in order to create a variety of sensations, so that the practitioner is more clearly enabled to distinguish the state of presence--which always remains the same--from the sensations which change according to the practice being carried out. This obviously enables one to 'no longer remain in doubt' as to what the state of pure presence is. The practices known as the twenty-one Semdzin found in the Dzogchen Mennagde, or Upadesha, series, have this particular function, enabling the practitioner to separate the ordinary, reasoning mind from the nature of the mind.
  --from The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, compiled and edited by John Shane

 

• May 7
      People often wonder how to reconcile the Buddha's teachings on non-attachment with those on love. How can we love others without being attached to them? Non-attachment is a balanced state of mind in which we cease overestimating others' qualities. By having a more accurate view of others, our unrealistic expectations fall away, as does our clinging. This leaves us open to loving others for who they are, instead of for what they do for us. Our hearts can open to care for everyone impartially, wishing everyone to be happy simply because he or she is a living being. The feeling of warmth that was previously reserved for a select few can now be expanded to a great number of people.
  --from Taming the Mind by Ven. Thubten Chodron

 

• April 30
      Sometimes we put our glasses in our pockets or on our heads and later we ask, "Where are my glasses?" This is quite common. We look everywhere else without finding our glasses. That is why we need the guru, who can say to us, "There are your glasses." That is all that the Mahamudra and Dzogchen teachers do: they simply point out. What they are pointing out is something that you already have. It is not something that they give you. They do not give you new glasses. They cannot afford to give you new glasses, but they can afford to point out where you can find your own glasses.
      When we receive pointing-out instructions from our root teacher, we are being introduced directly and nakedly to the reality of mind's nature. These instructions become very effective if we have prepared ourselves to receive them.
      ...Pointing-out is similar to pointing to the sky when it is very cloudy and saying to someone, "There is the blue sky." The person will look up and say, "Where?" You may reply, "It is there--behind the clouds." The person to whom you are pointing out the blue sky will not see it at first. However, if even a patch of blue sky appears, then you can say, "Look--the blue sky is like that." The person then gets a direct experience. He or she knows experientially that there is blue sky, which will be fully visible when the clouds are gone.
  --from Mind Beyond Death by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
  
        "In general, clear light is of two types--the objective clear light that is the subtle emptiness [of inherent existence], and the subjective clear light that is the wisdom consciousness realizing this emptiness."
  --from Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth by Lati Rinbochay and Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (in honor of the passing of Lati Rinpoche)

 

• April 23
  Q: Does every kind of desire lead to pain?
  A: Not all desire leads directly to pain. However, the very word expresses the sense of sticking to something. It does not permit freedom. It binds. When attached and fastened to something, we cannot move far away. It is as if the desired object pulls us back, and we cannot free ourselves from it. For this kind of desire we use a term meaning attachment. So long as we are attached, we stick there and cannot achieve liberation. However, this does not necessarily entail chaos and pain.
  Q: Does that mean that some desire is actually beneficial?
  A: In the Tibetan language, desire names an attachment that harms ourselves and others. The source of benefit for ourselves and others receives a different name; we call that "longing."
  --from Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashila's Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, translated and introduced by Jules B. Levinson

 

• April 16
      Every time we begin to practice, it helps not to plunge in right away. Instead, take a few moments to stop your ordinary chain of thoughts. This is especially relevant if you are very busy and have only five minutes for your daily practice, but even ordinarily we have this constant stream of thoughts. Suppose that just before practice you have a fight with your fiancé. This will probably trigger a chain of thoughts about what you want to say to your partner. If you start your practice in the midst of all this, it is not going to go so well. This is why it helps to put a stop to this chain of thoughts for just a few moments.
      I have found this to be very, very useful. There are actually countless methods for stopping the chain of thoughts, but for me, before I practice, I just sit for a while. Every time a thought comes along, I try to stop it by cultivating a sense of renunciation, and I do this over and over again. I think about how I am now forty-years-old and, even if I live to be eighty, I only have half of my life left. I think that out of this forty years, I am going to sleep the equivalent of twenty years. So now there are only twelve hours a day that could actually be termed living. If we then factor in watching at least one movie a day, eating, and gossip, we have maybe five hours or so left. Out of forty years that means eight years remain, and most of that will go to indulging our paranoia, anxiety, and all that.... There is actually very little time for practice!
      This should give you an idea of how to stop the chain of thoughts. Don't immediately throw yourself into the practice; instead, just watch yourself, watch your life, and watch what you are doing. If you are doing ten minutes of practice every day, you should try to stop the chain of thoughts for at least two to three minutes. We do this to transform the mind by invoking a sense of renunciation. When we think, "I am dying. I am coming closer to death" and other such thoughts, it really helps.
  --from the commentary by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in Entrance to the Great Perfection: A Guide to the Dzogchen Preliminary Practices compiled, translated, and introduced by Cortland Dahl

 

• April 8
  Unbroken practice is like a watchful guard.
  It is simply unscattered and is free from acceptance or rejection.
  There is no duality of things to be abandoned and their antidotes.
  This is my heart's advice.
      This verse and the following instructions concern how to continue with Mahamudra practice. Once we have received instructions, we have to accomplish them and perfect the practice. Continuity of practice is essential for the perfection of enlightenment.
      Unbroken practice means that one is mindful all the time, like a watchful guard. Thieves and robbers may come at any time, so the guard of a mansion containing great treasure must be alert twenty-four hours a day. In the same way, it is important to watch our mind since the thieves of attachment, desire, anger, and forgetfulness can come at any time and steal the wealth of our compassion and wisdom, along with our realization of Mahamudra.
      Once mindfulness is continuously established, an unscattered mind is "just there," on the spot, whether we are walking, eating, driving, or performing other activities. We can watch the mind and see how our mental state shapes our world. But when we watch it, we should just relax. Milarepa advises us in a vajra song:
  Rest naturally, like a small child.
  Rest like an ocean without waves.
  Rest with clarity, like a candle flame.
  Rest without self-concern, like a corpse.
  Rest unmoving like a mountain.
  --from A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron

 

• April 2
      We must learn to trust ourselves when we practice the doctrines of the Buddha. In time, we come to trust the infallibility of karmic cause and effect and of the interdependence of all actions. We must come to know and trust the importance of the accumulation of merit and wisdom, in the same way we know and trust that even the smallest drops of water falling into a bucket will eventually fill it.
      We must learn to trust that our own dharma practice will remove our entire jungle of kleshas [unwholesome qualities], much like knowing a raging wildfire can clear an entire forest from the earth. All of our negativities can be swept away by the firestorm of our compassionate wisdom. We must trust that all of our happiness and sadness is completely dependent on, and a result of, our previous karma; when we trust this process we can begin the accumulation of virtuous actions immediately.
      No one achieves perfection in anything meaningful the very first time they try; however, we've heard the phrase over and over again that "practice makes perfect." It is true that with multiple repetitions and patience everyone can achieve perfection over time. I don't know of anyone who has sat down to meditate for the very first time and immediately attained enlightenment, but just like the drops of water that we trust will eventually fill our bucket, consistent dharma practice will eventually lead us to liberation.
  --from Heartfelt Advice by Lama Dudjom Dorjee

 

• March 25
  Lochen Gyurme Dechen, nephew of the great accomplished master Tangtong Gyalpo, sang this song, a prayer of the Six Doctrines, called The Rain of Great Bliss:
  Nama Shri Jnana Daki Nigupta-ye!
           Lady of the celestial realms, compassionate one,
           Chief of wisdom dakinis, Niguma,
           When I, your child, pray fervently to you,
           In your expanse free from formulations, please think of me.
           Lady who reveals the sacred circle of great secrets,
           Bestow now the empowerment of the four joys!
           Lady who opens the door to the unborn state,
           Clear away now my negative acts and obscurations with the purification practice!
           Lady who emits fire from the short Ah,
           Burn now my soiled aggregates and sense elements!
           Lady who draws great bliss from the syllable Ham,
           Bestow now coemergent wisdom!
           Lady who reveals the natural experience of illusion,
           Destroy now my attachment to the reality of anger and desire!
           Lady who emanates and transforms during lucid dreams,
           Lady who makes spontaneous luminosity arise,
           Dispel now the darkness of my stupidity!
           Lady who leads above at the time of departure,
           Guide me now to the celestial realms!
           Lady who overcomes the appearances of delusion in the intermediate state,
           Grant me now the invincible body of enlightenment's perfect rapture.
  This prayer was sung by the religious teacher Gyurme Dechen.
  --from Timeless Rapture: Inspired Verse of the Shangpa Masters compiled by Jamgon Kongtrul, trans. & ed. by Ngawang Zangpo, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• March 18
  Yang Gonpa says:
      The essence of thoughts that suddenly arise is without any nature. Do not inhibit their appearance in any way, and without thinking of any essence, let them arise clearly, nakedly, and vividly. Likewise, if one thought arises, observe its nature, and if two arise, observe their nature. Thus, whatever thoughts arise, let them go without holding onto them. Let them remain as fragments. Release them unimpededly. Be naked without an object. Release them without grasping. This is close to becoming a Buddha. This is the self-extinction of samsara, samsara is overwhelmed, samsara is disempowered, and samsara is exhausted. Knowledge of the path of method and wisdom, appearances and emptiness, the gradual stages, the common and special paths, and the 84,000 entrances to the Dharma is made perfectly complete and fulfilled in an instant. This is self-arisen, for it is present like that in the very nature [of awareness]. Natural liberation is the essence of all the stainless paths, and it bears the essence of emptiness and compassion.
  --from A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga by Karma Chagme, commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche, trans. by B. Alan Wallace

 

• March 12
      Under the heading of the great way's [Mahayana's] perspective, we read of how the Buddha merely demonstrates the process of enlightenment in this world, something he has done and will do repeatedly. Kongtrul quotes the Buddha in an important discourse:
      "In the past, countless ages ago, in a world-system that united as many realms as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, I attained enlightenment as Transcendent Buddha Crown of the Powerful One, aided beings, and transcended sorrow. Then once again, from that point until the present age, I have repeatedly demonstrated the inconceivable process of enlightenment.
      "I will continue, until cyclic existence is empty, to demonstrate [this process of] enlightenment beginning with the initial development of the mind of awakening as an ordinary being."
      While such statements do not help us grasp the nature of the Buddha's enlightenment, they do underline the fact that enlightenment is a specific experience, the result of a known and knowable process that the Buddha deliberately demonstrates time and again so that we might follow his example, no guesswork involved.
  --from Treasury of Knowledge, Books Two, Three, and Four: Buddhism's Journey to Tibet by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, translated and introduced by Ngawang Zangpo

 

• March 4
  The activities of this degenerate age are like a madman's performance of dance.
  No matter what we do, there is no way to please others.
  Think about what is essential.
  This is my heart's advice.
      --Bhande Dharmaradza
  
      In any group of people, there is always some misunderstanding. You cannot satisfy everyone, no matter what you do. The Bodhicaryavatara says that every individual has a different way of thinking. Thus, it is very difficult to please everyone. Even the Buddha could not do it, so how can we? Instead of trying to please others, please yourself by applying yourself fully to bodhicitta.
      Investigate your situation carefully, according to the Dharma. For us, it is more important to know what is best than to know how to please everyone. Know what is right, and on the basis of your own wisdom and skill, just do it. Don't expect that other people will be pleased with you or that they will be happy about what you do. Rather, do what's best, what's helpful for yourself and for others. If they are happy about it, that's fine. If they are not happy, what can you do?
  --from A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron

 

• February 25
  Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, addressing those who have or will undertake a retreat, gives this advice:
      "You will fall sick, experience pain, and encounter many adverse circumstances. At such times do not think, 'Although I am practicing the Dharma, I have nothing but trouble. The Dharma cannot be so great. I have followed a teacher and done so much practice, and yet hard times still befall me.' Such thoughts are wrong views. You should realize that through the blessing and power of the practice, by experiencing sickness and other difficulties now, you are purifying and ridding yourself of negative actions.... By purifying them while you have the chance, you will later go from bliss to bliss. So do not think, 'I don't deserve this illness, these obstacles, these negative influences.' Experience your difficulties as blessings...when you do experience such difficulties, you should be very happy and avoid having adverse thoughts like, 'Why are such terrible things happening to me.'"
      As Rinpoche advises, relating to hardship properly depends on the strength of one's view. In general, having a view is knowing exactly where you want to go and how to get there. It is the vision of knowing what you want. For example, if you have the view to become a doctor, your vision guides you through financial burdens, physical and emotional difficulties, and obstacles that get in your way. You know it will be difficult and involve sacrifice, but with a strong view, you forge to the finish line.
      Similarly, if you want to become spiritually awakened, it is the power of your view that gets you there. If you are having a hard time getting to the meditation cushion, or engaging in the necessary study, it is because your view is not strong enough or is incomplete. A partial view, in this case, is one that doesn't include hardship. You can strengthen your view and accelerate progress by understanding how you lose your view in the fog of hardship, and therefore lose sight of your path.
  --from The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy by Dr. Andrew Holecek

 

• February 18
  1.18 Fruition of the Seed of Enlightenment
      When we engage in virtuous actions, we realize they are beneficial not only for others, but also for ourselves. Our good deeds can earn the praise and appreciation of others, and the benefits of our work come back to us through others. When we are involved with virtuous works, people respect us and hold us in high esteem. And we know we must be doing something good, because we experience a wholesome, pleasant feeling about our life's work. We quickly begin to see the short-term benefits of our involvement in virtuous action as our bodies and minds become more peaceful in our daily lives.
      This serenity in turn increases our longevity as our body and mind become more harmonized. Even after our death, we will be reincarnated in higher realms of existence as a result of our involvement with virtuous works during this life. Yet a higher rebirth is merely a short-term benefit, a temporary relief from the sufferings of samsara, for until we achieve liberation from samsara we remain trapped in the cycle of suffering, and "whatever goes up, must come down!"
      Within the mundane world, when our evil deeds are common knowledge, no one sings their praises. If such deeds are remembered at all, it is in infamy. However, when a being lives with a mind of true bodhichitta and does great works of pure altruism, their deeds are remembered for centuries. Of such cases we have many examples within the Kagyu lineage alone: the historical Buddha, Guru Rinpoche, Milarepa, the Karmapas, and countless others. Yet it is also important to remember that virtuous action eventually leads us to the liberation of buddhahood; this is the ultimate long-term benefit of planting the seed of enlightenment of which we speak. Hence, as we make this journey towards liberation, it is extremely important for us to learn to recognize which of our actions are virtuous and which are not.
  --from Heartfelt Advice by Lama Dudjom Dorjee

 

• February 11
      ...ngondro, the foundational practices, are ways to bring body, speech, or energy, and all aspects of mind into increasingly effortless harmony with the oceanic expanse central to Dzogchen teachings. This expanse is another name for reality, the heart of our being, and thus for mind-nature. Its vastness challenges the cramped and reified self-images that temporarily obstruct our view of the whole. Finitudes of any kind--the sense of being small and contained, the familiar urgent rush of business, passions, or plans--are simply conceptions. These conceptions are both cause and effect of energetic holdings in the body. The foundational practices illuminate these holdings and, in the end, lead to their dissolution into the expanse. As Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche has said, "Like a fire that burns fuel, the mind consumes thought by working with it."
      In the Tibetan traditions, teaching and practice sessions typically open with a reference, brief or extensive, to the foundational practices. Every lineage has its own variations, but the basic structure and principles of these practices are virtually identical. After an acknowledgment of one's guru or lineage and the intention to benefit all beings, the sequence usually begins with the four thoughts. These are reflections on (1) the preciousness of one's own life, (2) the fragility of life and the uncertainty of death's timing, (3) the inexorable nature of karma, and (4) the impossibility of avoiding suffering so long as ignorance holds one in samsara. In addition, there are two other contemplations: (5) the benefits of liberation compared to life in samsara and (6) the importance of a spiritual guide. These six are known as the outer foundational practices.
      These six are combined with five inner practices, each of which is repeated one hundred thousand times. The first inner foundational practice is refuge. Refuge, writes Adzom Drukpa, is the cornerstone of all paths. Without it, he adds, quoting Candrakirti, all vows come to nothing. Most succinctly, refuge helps us cultivate a quality vital to the path and to human interaction in general: this is the quality of trust, the ability to fruitfully rely on someone or something other than oneself. Adzom Paylo Rinpoche once said that whereas relying on others in the context of samsara generally leads us astray, relying on the Dharma increases our good qualities.
  --from Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse: A Story of Transmission by Anne C. Klein, foreword by Adzom Paylo Rinpoche, preface by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

 

• February 5
  41. One's own awareness, fresh and uncontrived
  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!
  (I, Jnana, wrote this in response to Changchub Palmo's request.)
  --from Wisdom Nectar: Dudjom Rinpoche's Heart Advice trans. by Ron Garry, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• January 30
      ...according to such authors as the second buddha, Rangjung Dorje, and the realized master, Kacho Wongpo...
      You should accompany pilgrimage with three qualities of your bearing: physical, verbal, and mental restraint, as instructed in the Buddha's teachings on discipline; the development of the mind of awakening, as instructed in the teachings on the transcendent perfections; and the pure tantric commitments, as instructed in the teachings of Secret Mantra. Purify the obscuring effects of past negative physical acts by giving up such things as riding horses or wearing hats. Purify the obscuring effects of negative verbal acts by reciting prayers and singing praises. Purify the obscuring effects of negative mental acts by maintaining devotion, respect, and pure vision. In summation, while on pilgrimage give up all activity detrimental to spiritual life and be consistently attentive, mindful, and faithful.
      On pilgrimage, renounce playful jokes and jests, raucous laughter, and idle conversation. Leave far behind any worldly concern, such as for food, drink, and fashion. In particular, scrupulously avoid such acts as intoxication, arguments, and loud shouting.
      ...Don't place imaginary limits on the miraculous manifestations of spiritual heroes and dakinis in this place: regard everything you see, good or bad--human beings, animals, birds, mice, deer, or carnivorous animals--with faith and pure vision.
  --from Sacred Ground: Jamgon Kongtrul on "Pilgrimage and Sacred Geography" by Ngawang Zangpo, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• January 22
      Ego is the problem. Sometimes ego is very spoiled, like a child who is constantly throwing tantrums. Sometimes ego doesn't accept where we are. Sometimes ego doesn't accept who we are. Sometimes ego doesn't accept the way things are without any real complaint. So what do we do? There is nothing that we can do. Sometimes ego doesn't accept the fact that the sky is blue but there is nothing that we can do. You see. Sometimes ego doesn't accept that we are living on a planet that is permeated with natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, and other catastrophes. All we can do is accept that and learn how to surrender to the flow of all events.
      When we accept the way things are we are able to love everything and everybody. When we are not able to accept even one thing in this world right now, then how could we ever develop boundless love? Lack of acceptance is conflict. Conflict is pain. It is psychological pain. It is a spiritual illness. As long as our hearts are tormented by that pain, we do not have the strength to give our heart to anything and because of that it is impossible to bring about inner awakening. Enlightenment, you see, is just another name for boundless love.
      It is almost impossible to practice loving-kindness towards all living beings without addressing, in a meaningful way, the innumerable problems arising in our own lives. It is a contradiction, you see. It does not work. If our heart is tormented because we are not able to accept things the way they are, then it is impossible to open our heart. It is impossible to let go of all of our defenses and embrace others. Therefore we have to constantly practice and deepen our awareness. We have to remind ourselves to accept things as they are. This is pretty much what the teachings called Mind Training are all about. Mind Training in Buddhism is about carrying those perspectives and even reciting slogans, phrases like "I shall accept the way things are."
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• January 15
      The whole point here is to destroy impure perception. So what do we mean by impure perception? Impure perception is basically everything that we see, perceive, and label at the moment. It is not that something is wrong out there and that's why everything is impure. Instead, it is because, at the moment, whenever we perceive something, it is always filtered through our emotions, our desire, jealousy, pride, ignorance, and aggression. When we look at a person, we may see him or her through the filter of our passion, and will therefore see him or her as very desirable. We may look at another person through the lens of aggression, which will cause us to see him or her as very ugly and hideous. When perceiving others through our own insecurity, we make judgements, refer, and compare, and end up trying to defend or boost our pride, which all stems from ignorance. The list goes on and on.
      All the different perceptions we have arise from our very own minds and are coming through these emotions. That is why everything we experience ends up being a disappointment. Regardless of whether it is felt in a big or a small way, the point is that there is always a little bit of disappointment. This is what we are trying to purify.
      This all comes down to training the mind. In the Shravakayana tradition, one trains the mind through physical and verbal discipline; by shaving the head, begging for alms, wearing saffron robes, and refraining from worldly activities, such as getting married. In the Mahayana, on top of that one trains the mind by meditating on compassion, bodhichitta, and so forth. In the Vajrayana, over and above these two, we try to transform our impure vision into something pure.
      We learn to do this by going step-by-step through the ngondro. Our very first step is to stop the chain of thoughts. We then expel the stale breath along with a bit of visualization. Finally, we cultivate the notion that the very place where we are is no longer an ordinary place. With these steps, we have begun to transform this impure vision.
  --from Entrance to the Great Perfection: A Guide to the Dzogchen Preliminary Practices compiled, translated, and introduced by Cortland Dahl

 

• January 3
      ...there are some sceptical persons who may think that when the mind is not moved by many thoughts, it will be in a stupid state. But stupidity does not arise just because the mind relaxes a little. On the contrary, the mind usually thinks too much. We are used to thinking uninterruptedly and continuously. If we look at these thoughts more closely, however, we discover that we seldom think meaningfully at all, and that most of our thinking is rather senseless. Such senseless thinking happens frequently and repeats itself over and over. In this way our many endlessly occurring thoughts are continuously going around and around in circles. If we are able to decrease this senseless thinking, meaningful thoughts will naturally increase all by themselves. And this is exactly the reason for the meditation on calm abiding: when the mind relaxes, senseless thinking will effortlessly diminish.
      The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and when I awoke at dawn, I found that my fists were still tightly clenched one around the other. When I opened my hands, I found that there really was a small scroll in the palm of one hand. I at once went in great excitement to knock on the door of my uncle's cave. It was not normally permitted to disturb him at such an early hour, as he would be engaged in his morning session of practice, but I was too excited to wait. He came to the door, and I explained what had happened and showed him the scroll. He looked at it for a moment, quite calmly, and said, 'Thank you. I was expecting this.' Then he went back to his practice as if nothing extraordinary had happened at all.
  --from Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, translated and edited by Susanne Schefczyk

 

     2009

• December 25
      Strange things frequently happened around Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug connected with his capacity as a terton. On one occasion, when I was still quite young, I went to stay in a cave close to, but a little below, my uncle's. While there, I had a dream one night, in which a dakini appeared to me and gave me a small scroll of paper on which there was written a sacred text. She explained that the text was very important, and that on waking I should give it to my uncle. By this time my practice had already developed to the extent that I could maintain awareness throughout my sleep and dreams, and in this dream I knew that I was dreaming. I remember closing one of my fists around the scroll, and then closing the other fist tightly around the first.
      The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and when I awoke at dawn, I found that my fists were still tightly clenched one around the other. When I opened my hands, I found that there really was a small scroll in the palm of one hand. I at once went in great excitement to knock on the door of my uncle's cave. It was not normally permitted to disturb him at such an early hour, as he would be engaged in his morning session of practice, but I was too excited to wait. He came to the door, and I explained what had happened and showed him the scroll. He looked at it for a moment, quite calmly, and said, 'Thank you. I was expecting this.' Then he went back to his practice as if nothing extraordinary had happened at all.
  --from The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, compiled and ed. by John Shane

 

• December 19
      The fourth precept is never to give up living beings, not even a single one. If we do so, we at once lose the altruistic intention to attain enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. How can we learn never to abandon them? If we know how to transform all adverse circumstances into conditions which help us towards enlightenment, we will never be tempted to abandon anyone.
      ...Special care is required in our relationships with those who are close to us, those towards whom we feel an instant dislike and those to whom we have been kind and who respond ungratefully. We honor, respect and make offerings to the enlightened ones but neglect and abandon living beings although our attainment of Buddhahood depends as much on them as it does on Buddhas. In the sixth chapter of "Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds" Shantideva says:
  The qualities of Buddhahood are gained
  Through living beings and Victorious Ones alike,
  Why then do we respect the Victorious Ones
  And not living beings in the same way?
  --from Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment commentary by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• December 12
      In the Uttaratantra by Maitreya, it is said that our recognizing our buddha potential is like a man living in poverty discovering that buried beneath his home is a priceless treasure. It is like discovering a jewel buried in the mud. If our buddha potential is like a golden statue wrapped in filthy rags, the golden image can never be tarnished by the rags--it is merely obscured by them. When I was younger and my understanding of Buddhism was relatively poor, the images that came from this text had a profound effect on me.
      They gave me an intuitive sense of my intrinsic value in a way that I had never felt previously. The influence of religion in my early years had left me with the belief that I was essentially a sinner and that at the root of my being was an innate badness that I had to overcome. It left me fundamentally unable to trust myself because to let go would be to open up my innate badness. When I met my Tibetan teachers and they spoke of my buddha nature, I felt a huge sense of relief. Perhaps I was not so bad after all, and perhaps when I allowed myself to relax a little and open up, I would find my true nature as something whole and wonderful rather than something to be feared and suppressed.
  --from The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others by Rob Preece

 

• December 5
      If we are still wondering how to awaken, I suggest that we meditate now and then and focus on the following question: "What is holding me back from realizing my true nature, my Buddha Nature?" This is a very powerful inquiry. I am sharing this based on my own meditation practice. This is one of my favorite meditations because it always takes me to the place where I cannot blame anybody or anything for my lack of awakening.
      When we open our hearts and let go of all of our theories and speculations, when we are not distracted even by spiritual fantasies, when we simply wholeheartedly and courageously inquire into what is holding us back, that is all that we need to do. Sometimes it is good when we are by ourselves to.. shout loudly to the sky, "Who is holding me back from awakening right now?" Or we can just ask the truth, "What is holding me back from awakening right now?" Either way we can't find any answer because there is nobody there. There is nothing holding us back and that's why we never really find any answers.
      If anybody tells us that they have the answer, they are obviously lying because there isn't any answer. Next we might ask, "If there are no obstacles holding me back, then why am I not awakened right now?" And when we look we realize that we are attached to our thoughts. That's all that is happening. Samsara is nothing more than our identification with thoughts. That's all there is. There is nothing there except thoughts.
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• November 28
  Yang Gonpa says:
      The essence of thoughts that suddenly arise is without any nature. Do not inhibit their appearance in any way, and without thinking of any essence, let them arise clearly, nakedly, and vividly. Likewise, if one thought arises, observe its nature, and if two arise, observe their nature. Thus, whatever thoughts arise, let them go without holding onto them. Let them remain as fragments. Release them unimpededly. Be naked without an object. Release them without grasping. This is close to becoming a Buddha. This is the self-extinction of samsara, samsara is overwhelmed, samsara is disempowered, and samsara is exhausted. Knowledge of the path of method and wisdom, appearances and emptiness, the gradual stages, the common and special paths, and the 84,000 entrances to the Dharma is made perfectly complete and fulfilled in an instant. This is self-arisen, for it is present like that in the very nature [of awareness]. Natural liberation is the essence of all the stainless paths, and it bears the essence of emptiness and compassion.
  --from A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga by Karma Chagme, commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche, trans. by B. Alan Wallace

 

• November 21
  The Doha [contemplative song] of the glorious recluse Saraha states:
  Oh, let the mind observe itself without distraction!
  If you realize your own thatness,
  Even the distracted mind will arise as Mahamudra.
  This is the state of great bliss, in which signs are self-releasing.
  
      Do nothing else, attend to nothing external, simply be aware of your own mind. By realizing your own essential nature, even the distracted mind arises as Mahamudra. This state of great bliss is free of all faults, including the fault of ignorance, so it is equivalent to the omniscient state of spiritual awakening. This is closely related to the assertion that by liberating one thought all are liberated; by gaining insight into one thought there is insight into all. Insofar as one dwells in that state of awareness, there are no thoughts, no discrimination. Through realizing the nature of your own mind, you realize the one taste of samsara and nirvana.
  --from Naked Awareness: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen by Karma Chagme, commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche, translated by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Lindy Steele & B. Alan Wallace

 

• November 15
      Most of the time it is suffering that makes us cry; our tears are salty and not very pleasant to taste. If we consider the whole world, the oceans are salty, too, and it is mainly the solid land where people live and work that is most useful and pleasant. It is also true that the salty oceans are bigger than the land-masses, and in the same way, beings know more suffering than happiness. Perhaps this is a child's view, but I think that the four great oceans of our planet are like the four main sufferings of sentient beings: birth, old age, sickness, and death. Every living being in the world wishes happiness and wants to avoid suffering. How can they attain this happiness? Through the practice of genuine Dharma in all its various forms: meditation on the yidam deities and the nature of mind, the recitation of mantras, and the development of bodhichitta, the awakened mind. Developing faith and devotion is the preliminary for genuine Dharma practice. If these two are strong and uncontrived, we will ultimately attain the level of awakening, or buddhahood. This is my genuine wish for all of you.
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• November 7
  Agitation, remorse and regret, lassitude and
  sleepiness, longing for the desirable, doubt--
  these five are thieves who steal the riches
  of virtuous dhyana--so the Muni has said.
  
      The impediments are agitation, regret and remorse, sleepiness and lassitude, longing for the desirable, and doubt--five in all. The agitation caused by thoughts scattering towards various objects and regret for inappropriate actions one has done prevent the mind from abiding serenely. Remorse prevents it from abiding happily. Torpor that occludes the mind, dullness (which is a more overwhelming form of torpor), and compulsion to sleep prevent the mind from resting lucidly. Longing, which is desire for material goods or sentient beings, prevents the mind from resting in an effective way. Doubt about whether or not this is leading to samadhi prevents the mind from resting with sharp focus.
      These five can also be condensed into two. Torpor, lassitude and sleep are included in torpor, while the rest are included within agitation, so there are just the two, torpor and agitation. The method for eliminating them is reliance on the individual remedies given in the guidance manuals, or else,
  This has nothing whatsoever to be removed;
  there isn't the slightest thing to be added on.
  Look at perfection perfectly.
  When you see the perfect you are totally liberated.
  
      So the main thing is to look at the very essence of torpor and agitation and just rest in that essence without contrivance. That is the most profound [remedy]. This is also absolutely necessary as a basis for higher insight. As Santideva says:
  Once you know that serene abiding
  with full measure of higher insight
  completely destroys afflictive patterns,
  then first strive for serene abiding that,
  with no attachment to the world,
  is accomplished with evident joy.
  --from The Eighth Situpa on the Third Karmapa's Mahamudra Prayer translated by Lama Sherab Dorje

 

• October 31
      When we have a poor sense of self we can easily become formless in the sense that we do not express our boundaries or our "shape" and may then be taken advantage of to our detriment. I have known a number of Buddhist friends who had a disposition to be self-effacing and self-negating in a particularly unhealthy and detrimental way. They would often find themselves being taken advantage of and feeling powerless to do anything about it. They would tell themselves that they had to give up "self-cherishing" and so let what was happening continue. I found this very sad and frustrating to watch because it became increasingly clear that they were struggling inside with something they had been told was a taboo--looking after themselves. In the case of these friends, it was clear that their lack of self-assertion was actually a cause of more suffering. In many ways, it was actually reinforcing their wounding. It also meant that those who took advantage were being quite abusive in what they were doing.
      We should not confuse a healthy self-regard and self-assertion with [selfish concern, or self-preoccupation, in which the mind becomes disturbed and tight, reacting to conflicting or challenging situations with defensiveness, anger, jealousy, greed, embarrassment, or worry, contracting into oneself.]
      ...Learning to let go of the disposition to be self-preoccupied is not an easy step to take because it will challenge us where we defensively still hold on. Once we become aware of the disposition, we will see it time and again in relatively insignificant as well as in major ways. I saw this in a small way as I walked to work one morning. I saw a worm struggling to cross the footpath and in danger of drying up and dying. I had a moment of choice in which I could have picked up the worm and placed it in the grass, potentially saving its life. I didn't, I regret to say, because there were some people coming towards me and I suddenly felt embarrassed about what they would think about me.
      ...Letting go is not the same as doing nothing or letting everyone walk over you. But when we go into the contracted space [of obsessive thinking and self-preoccupation], it hurts. When we let go, there is the possibility of doing something about our situation, but not from the same emotional place.... When we have let go of the contracted self-preoccupation, we begin to have a choice.
      ...Letting go of self-preoccupation does not imply passivity. It means recognizing that the cause of suffering is the contraction into ourselves in a way that actually increases the pain. When we stay open, we can still assert what is important for us. It requires a certain kind of inner strength to keep our heart open.
  --from The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others by Rob Preece

 

• October 24
      Among the highlights of the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing were the remarkable performances of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, who respectively dominated the swimming and sprint running events. Each competed with a field of world-class athletes who had the best training facilities, coaching, and support networks, but the two comprehensively bested all rivals in their respective fields. Every athlete in the final heats had trained hard and prepared mentally and physically for the contest, but Phelps and Bolt won over and over, often by significant margins. Anyone watching their performances would have to conclude that they enjoyed physical advantages over their competitors; they also had to train to reach such a high level of performance, but no matter how hard their opponents worked, they could not beat them. Genetic factors that began at birth were ultimately decisive.
      A similar notion pervades the stories of the Buddha's past births, in which he is depicted as engaging in extraordinary acts of virtue. These result in pleasant births as a god or in prosperous human families, and even when he is born as an animal because of an anomalous moral transgression, he has a large, beautiful body, which is commonly described as possessing extraordinary strength that inspires others through its physical beauty and bespeaks the inner virtues of the Bodhisattva. [A golden exterior is a pervasive motif in Indian Buddhist literature that indicates moral excellence.]
      ...An example of the close association of a golden exterior with spiritual excellence is a story in the Mulasarvastivada Monastic Discipline in which Devadatta importunes king Ajatasattu, who has recently murdered his father Bimbisara, to repay him for his help in seizing the throne. Devadatta asks the king to depose the Buddha as head of the monastic order and declare him a buddha. The king is willing to assist Devadatta in his evil schemes, but declares that he is unable to name him a buddha because he lacks golden skin, which is an essential marker of buddhahood. Devadatta is depicted as relentless in his efforts to kill or displace the Buddha, and he responds by hiring a goldsmith to gild him. Unfortunately for the would-be buddha, the process is unsuccessful and only results in excruciating pain. The lesson of the story is that the physical signs of moral perfection cannot be faked: one is either born with them or not, and those who lack them can acquire them only through a long process of moral cultivation and meditative practice.
  --from Destroying Mara Forever: Buddhist Ethics Essays in Honor of Damien Keown edited by John Powers and Charles S. Prebish

 

• October 18
  [Amy and Gully had observed Prince David in different situations in the past, from his imprisonment to his profound revelations into the nature of life, through a special screen. He is now an old man, and boys are taunting him.]
      The dogs snapped at David's legs. The boys, shouting and laughing, threw more stones. David raised his arms to shield his head.
      Amy jumped to her feet. She ran right up to the screen. "Stop!" she shouted. "You'll hurt him! Stop!"
      Gully blinked in amazement. Amy had gone right into the screen! That couldn't be! But there she was, standing between David and the boys.
      "Hey! Wait!" Holding out his arm, Gully rushed to the screen. It wasn't solid at all! It felt like warm, misty air, and it seemed to be sucking him in. "Hey!"
      He found himself beside Amy, facing the boys.
      Gully turned and saw the dogs, barking and snarling. We're caught in the middle! flashed through his mind. He wondered what to do when the boys started throwing stones again.
      But the boys just gaped with open mouths. They seemed frozen with fear. One of them dropped to his knees. So did the others. "We're sorry," said the first boy. "Have you come to punish us?"
      Gully took a deep breath. "No," he said.
      "Aren't you a young god and goddess?"
      "What?" said Amy, laughing.
      "Only gods could appear like that. . .out of the air. Have you come from a distant star?"
      "No," said Amy. "We were just watching you, and--"
      "Oh! You are celestial observers!" A murmur of awe passed through the crowd of boys. "We meant no harm! We promise to be good! Please do not punish us, all-powerful observers!"
      Amy giggled. "We were just watching you on a screen."
      Gully elbowed her sharply in the ribs. "Yes!" he bellowed in a deep, important voice. "We have been watching you on our observing screen. We do not usually reveal ourselves to. . .ordinary mortals. But you were being very, very bad! Goddess Amy and I were not pleased by what we saw. But we will not punish you. . .if you will never do it again."
      "Yes, all-powerful observers! Thank you, all-powerful observer-gods!"
      "And take those dogs with you," Gully yelled. "Before we change our all-powerful minds!"
      "Yes! Yes, at once!" Calling the dogs after them, the boys ran away as fast as they could.
      Gully and Amy stood facing David. The old man was calm and radiant. "Thank you," he said. "The dogs were biting."
      "Your legs!" cried Amy. "They're bleeding!"
      "The wounds are not deep. You arrived in good time." He made a low bow.
      "No, don't!" said Amy. "You're the one who. . ." Her voice faded away. She and Gully stared at the old man in wonder.
      His face seemed to radiate a soft, loving warmth. His eyes shone with quiet happiness. Amy and Gully felt a joy they had never known before.
      "It's like being in a circle of magic!" Amy thought."I feel so free and happy!"
      Gully rubbed his eyes and looked at David. "You found the treasure. . .a way to end suffering, didn't you?"
      "Yes!" cried Amy. "You found it!" Her eyes were shining. "Will you tell us?"
      "I think you already know," said David. "You are able to travel through space, so you must have learned--"
      "Oh, no," Amy interrupted. "We're just kids. . .like the ones we scared away."
      "Yeah," said Gully. "So will you please tell us?"
      David smiled. "This is what I have learned. The treasure is within us. It is a kind of knowing that cannot be put into words. Think deeply about loving-kindness. You must always wish to help other beings. But you must do so with a pure heart. Never become proud of yourself."
  --from Amy and Gully with Aliens by W.W. Rowe

 

• October 10
        The story is told that when Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of compassion, was looking at the lives of human beings upon this planet, he saw how much pain and suffering we inflict upon each other, and for a moment his compassion faltered. He almost abandoned his vow to liberate us from suffering. At that instant, his body exploded into a thousand pieces, represented in the image of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara. If this can happen to the figure who, in Buddhism, most exemplifies compassion, then perhaps we can be forgiven for not always finding it easy to sustain a compassionate heart in the face of so much suffering in the world.
        We may live in times when material, economic, and scientific progress is moving at a rate never before seen, yet our capacity to live peacefully alongside each other seems to remain elusive. When confronted with the constant evidence of so much brutality and corruption present in the world, whether this is seen on the news or experienced closer to home, it is common to feel a sense of anger and outrage, and to feel powerless to do anything to change the ignorance, greed, and hatred that motivate most of the atrocities our fellow humans inflict upon each other. Are we, individually or collectively, able to go beyond the dominance of our instinctual selfishness that reaps so much harm?
        ...Whatever spiritual tradition we may be part of, if we wish to live our lives with greater openness to others, and with the courage and heart to cope with adverse conditions, we have much to learn from the path of the bodhisattva. The bodhisattva, sometimes translated as "the awakening warrior," dedicates his or her life to the welfare of others and is willing to face the challenges of life to do so. The bodhisattva's way of life does not lead to a spiritual escape from the reality of the world. Rather, the bodhisattva cultivates the capacity to live within the raw reality of suffering on the ground and transform life's adverse circumstances into a path of awakening. A bodhisattva makes a clear decision to remain embodied and in relationship to life even while reaching states of awareness that go far beyond our normal reality. Such a person is said to renounce the peace of nirvana and overcome the fear of samsara. What gives this attitude to life a particular significance is that it recognizes that only through fully awakening our innate wholeness can we achieve the greatest benefit to others.
        Central to this approach to life is a quality of intention called bodhichitta, often translated as "the awakening mind." The awakening mind is most often described as the clear, compassionate intention to attain the state of buddhahood for the welfare of all sentient beings. While "the awakening mind" may seem like a relatively simple phrase, its actual psychological, emotional, and social implications are huge. It is a reorientation of the whole of an individual's direction and meaning in life, rooted in a deep sense of compassion and responsibility towards the welfare of the world.
  --from The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others by Rob Preece

 

• October 3
  The Hangover of Dualistic Appearance
        Nirvana is the actual antidote or "active ingredient" in the medicine of the Dharma. A single, direct, nondualistic realization of emptiness eradicates permanently some portion of the desire, hatred, and ignorance that have bound one in misery for infinite cycles of time up until that moment. Repeated realizations over many lifetimes are still needed before all of the ancient roots of ignorance can be eradicated. During this training, the bodhisattva alternates between periods of meditation on emptiness and periods of compassionate action in the world. Even after the bodhisattva escapes samsara altogether, she must still practice for a long time to overcome the "hangover" of dualistic appearances, the aftereffects of having been ignorant for so long. Finally, these last limitations are cleared away and the bodhisattva becomes a buddha. A buddha continuously knows emptiness directly while also simultaneously acting compassionately in the world of persons and forms.
  --from Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path by Guy Newland

 

• September 26
        As practitioners, we are taught to think about the gift of the precious human body. We have been born in places where the dharma is taught, at a time when teachers are accessible and where transmission is obtainable. We live where there is the political freedom to follow our spiritual paths. Our living conditions are good and we have the leisure to practice.
        What we often lack is the recognition of the gifts we have already received. Sometimes we remember how good our lives are when we are brushed by tragedy, but then, caught up again in our normal lives, we forget. We are driven away from gratitude and appreciation by dark and negative forces, by habitual dissatisfaction and constant stimulation. When others have more than us, we feel envy, but in a world where so many people have less than us, we often don't recognize how fortunate we are.
        The teachings often focus on view, meditation, and behavior. What this means is that the way we see determines how we feel and think. And how we feel and think determines how we act. When we look from a dualistic viewpoint, we see an imperfect world and we live as troubled, imperfect beings in that imperfect world. When we see the world in its perfection, just as it is, we are buddhas, living in a pure land, surrounded by other buddhas.
        Until we have pure vision and realize the perfection of the world and the beings in it, it is helpful if we can accept the imperfections of the world as a natural part of life, as the material with which we can work. When we turn away from any aspect of the world, we turn away from parts of ourselves. By opening to the world and accepting it as it is, we open to deeper dimensions of our own being. Complete acceptance is the end of hope and fear, the end of fantasies of the past and future. It is living entirely in the present, in what actually is.
  --from Healing with Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra and Dzogchen by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, edited by Mark Dahlby

 

• September 19
        ...one should think, "If physical illness or mental suffering did not occur to me, then I would be distracted only by the busy activities of this life. Having become intoxicated with pride and arrogance, I would never produce sadness for this world and would never be mindful of the acceptance and rejection of virtue and nonvirtue. So this disease or suffering has caused me to be mindful of the objects of refuge and the Dharma. It has evoked within me strong renunciation and sadness (for this world), and many deeds (karma) that would have caused me to experience the hells in future lives are being settled through ripening here (in this life)." If one practices in this manner, one's illness and suffering will be transformed into the path of enlightenment. As it was said in the "Bodhicaryavatara," .
        Moreover, the good qualities of suffering are
        that one dispels pride by sadness, generates
        compassion for worldlings, produces an aversion
        for nonvirtue, and a fondness for virtue.
  --from The Three Visions: Fundamental Teachings of the Sakya Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism by Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub, fore. by H.H. Sakya Trizin, trans. by Lobsang Dagpa and Jay Goldberg

 

• September 12
        You may feel that it is a waste of time to ask for help in cognizing emptiness rather than just cognizing emptiness. But this is not so. A cognition of emptiness is extremely important, and asking for help in meditating on emptiness establishes predispositions in the mind which, even if they do not ripen into an actual cognition in this lifetime, will do so quickly in a future lifetime. A thousand Buddhas will appear in this eon, and it is definite that at the time of one of those Buddhas you will cognize emptiness directly and attain the state of a Buddha. This is very clear in scripture.
        Today you are beginning by establishing predispositions. Then with a subtle portion of mind, watch your own sense of "I" as if from a corner, without overpowering your consciousness through watchfulness such that the "I" does not appear. You may remember an incident in which you were falsely accused and had a clear sense of an "I" who was falsely accused, or you may remember being helped by another person and at that time having a clear sense of the "I" who was helped. Cultivate this sense of "I." Watch it. See what it is like. See if it seems to cover a certain area that is its basis of designation. This is extremely important. Without a clear sense of the inherent existence negated in the view of selflessness, talk about emptiness and meditation on emptiness is like shooting an arrow without knowing where the target is.
        Please meditate.
  --from Meditations of a Tibetan Tantric Abbot: The Main Practices of the Mahayana Buddhist Path by Kensur Lekden, trans. and ed. by Jeffrey Hopkins

 

• September 5
        I would like to say a few words about rousing the mind of awakening, the mind that is directed toward supreme awakening. This is the Tibetan way of practicing the excellent dharma. What is the reason for this tradition? Generally, in the Buddhist way, if we repair our motivation at the start, our conduct can become pure and correct. If we do not repair our motivation at the start, our conduct cannot become pure and correct. For that reason, we need pure motivation. What pure motivation do we need? Generally, we should undertake activity that benefits ourselves and others rather than activity that harms ourselves and others. If we cherish others more than ourselves, that will serve as a cause of what benefits both others and ourselves. Therefore, let us exert ourselves at activity that benefits others.
  --from Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashila's Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, translated and introduced by Jules B. Levinson

 

• August 29
        [Yeshe Tsogyel's] tantric accomplishments have been publicly praised by the Guru [Rinpoche, Padmasambhava] in words like the following:
  
  Wonderful yogini, practitioner of the secret teachings!
  The basis for realizing enlightenment is a human body.
  Male or female--there is no great difference.
  But if she develops the mind bent on enlightenment, the woman's body is better.
  From beginningless time,
  you have accumulated merit and wisdom,
  Now your good qualities are flawless--
  what an excellent woman you have become, a true Bodhisattma!
  Are you not the embodiment of bliss?
  Now that you have achieved what you wanted for yourself,
  strive for the benefit of others.
  
        Recently a number of studies have begun to appear which address the issue of women as religious practitioners in both Western and non-Western cultures. Women's place within Buddhism has proven to be a fertile area of investigation and several treatments have appeared which discuss the various portrayals of women in Buddhist literature.
        ...Though there are fewer sacred biographies of women tantric adepts than of their male counterparts, such biographies do nevertheless exist and they evidence that the Tantras were, and remain, effective for producing enlightened beings regardless of sex. But these women are the rare and fabulous examples. They are all tantric masters, having left society's constraints to follow the treacherous path conducive only for a chosen few. And, all these women are mudra-s, or "consorts." Some are referred to simply as yogini-s; others are called human dakini-s, i.e., incarnations of the feminine principle of insight and wisdom itself. They are not your ordinary everyday Tibetan women practitioners. On the other end of the spectrum there are the Tibetan Buddhist nuns, women who have quietly, and often with great difficulties, continued to practice in accordance with the monastic rules laid down at Buddhism's very inception in India. About this type of enrobed female practitioner the texts do not speak and very little information is presently available.
  --from Feminine Ground: Essays on Women and Tibet, edited by Janice D. Willis

 

• August 23
        The union of emptiness and interdependence is to be understood as follows. As long as we have not realized the nature of our mind we are subject to the normal course of the twelve links of interdependent origination. Absence of realization is ignorance and from this starting point the subsequent eleven links will form one after the other, each giving rise to the next. Thus everything continues in one way. However, once we realize the nature of our mind, the links of interdependent origination are traced back to their source and in this way dissolved: when there is no ignorance the other links cannot come about. This is emptiness. Once emptiness is realized, this is enlightenment. Emptiness is limitless and therefore beyond any definition in terms of "It is this," "It is not this," and so forth; it cannot be restricted to such limitations. When the nature of mind is realized, this proves to be the nature of all phenomena, the essence of everything. This is what is meant here by the term "basis-consciousness". The secret of the essence of everything is the fact that everything is buddha and thus beyond any limitation. In my view this is quite easy to understand once the proper connection is made. Without this it could be quite complicated.
  --from The Third Karmapa's Mahamudra Prayer, by Tai Situ Rinpoche, trans. and ed. by Rosemarie Fuchs

 

• August 15
        In short, the Madhyamika theory of ultimate truth is not one that completely discards such teachings as the five heaps, the Four Noble Truths, the Three Jewels, or virtuous and nonvirtuous karma and their results; rather, it assigns them the status of relative truth. The task of identifying the precise nature of ultimate truth and of explaining the degree of falsity present in conventional truth lies at the heart of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Moreover, one cannot rely only on canonical scripture to resolve these issues, as Je Tsongkapa notes in the opening passage from his "Essence of Eloquence":
        As a verse from the "Sutra of Questions Posed by Rastrapala" declares:

  The world is forced to wander by failing to know
  This empty, tranquil, and unoriginated nature.
  The Compassionate One enables beings to understand it
  Through hundreds of expedient means and reasons.

        Seeing that the suchness of entities is extremely difficult to realize and that one cannot become liberated from samsara without realizing it, the Compassionate Master [Buddha Sakyamuni] caused it to be understood using many different forms of reasoning and expedient means. Therefore, those who possess intelligence must apply themselves to the methods by which the nature of that reality can be understood. Moreover, that depends upon being able to distinguish between the Conqueror's scriptures whose meaning requires interpretation and those that are of definitive meaning.
  --from The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice: Vasubhandu's Summary of the Five Heaps with Commentary by Sthiramati, intro. and trans. by Artemus B. Engle, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• August 8
  Question: What are some of the positive qualities of a childlike mind?
  Tenzin Palmo: An example of a childlike quality is when children are in the midst of intense grief and then someone gives them a lollipop. The tears disappear and they giggle and smile. They have completely forgotten that a few minutes ago they had been grief-stricken. A childlike quality of the mind really means a mind which is fresh, which sees things as if for the first time.
        Once someone did a test on meditators'...brainwaves. They tested someone who was doing a formal Hindu style meditation and a Zen master. This was to find out what the difference was, because they both said they were meditating, but each was doing a very different kind of meditation. They also tested a non-meditator. Every three minutes, they made a sudden loud noise. It was regular. The first person they tested was the one who didn't know how to meditate. The first time this person heard the loud noise, he became very agitated. The second time he was less agitated. The third time there was some vague agitation, and then the fourth time he more or less ignored it. The person doing the Hindu meditation didn't react to the noise at all. He didn't hear it. When the person doing the Zen meditation heard the noise, the mind went outwards, noted the noise and then went back in. The next time, the mind noted the noise and went back in. His reaction was unchanged. Each time, the mind noted the noise and went back in.
        That tells us a lot about the quality of mind we are talking about. This is a mind which responds to something with attention and then returns to its own natural state. It doesn't elaborate on it, doesn't get caught up in it, doesn't get excited about it. It just notes that this is what is happening. Every time it happens, it notes it. It doesn't get blasé. It doesn't become conditioned. In this way, it is like a child's mind. When something interesting happens, it will note it and then let it go and move onto the next thing. This is what is meant by a childlike mind. It sees everything as if for the first time. It doesn't have this whole backlog of preconditioned ideas about things. You see a glass and you see it as it is, rather than seeing all the other glasses you have seen in your life, together with your ideas and theories about glasses and whether you like glasses in this or that shape, or the kind of glass you drank out of yesterday. We are talking about a mind which sees the thing freshly in the moment. That's the quality we are aiming for. We lose this as we become adults. We are trying to reproduce this fresh mind, which sees things without all this conditioning. But we do not want a mind which is swept away by its emotions.
  --from Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism by Venerable Tenzin Palmo

 

• August 1
        It's interesting how we freeze our view of particular people. We exaggerate certain aspects we see in others, thereby freezing them into narrow, unproductive categories of relationships and limiting our ability to feel close and act out of a sense of intimacy. We lock them into certain patterns of behavior, and then, because we see these attitudes as solid, influence others to stay in those patterns: "This person is just..." But when you think and feel, "Two lifetimes ago this person was my best friend," the possibilities with that person now in this life open up. Consider a coworker, a colleague, a fellow student; you don't have to think about her in just the limited way that you have been. "She was a great friend in the past. I doubt she's going to be my best friend in this lifetime, but there's no reason to have frozen her into the particular mind-set I found myself in yesterday." All sorts of possibilities open up.
        Here in this meditation of recognizing others as having been our best friend, we are loosening that process by superimposing the "best friend" feeling on lesser ones. We're becoming much more flexible. The practice reveals a plenitude of possibilities with others. What would it be like for these people if we acted this way with them, not externally but internally? If, when we saw them, we had an internal feeling of such strong intimacy--if we had an internal feeling of, "Oh, I'm meeting with my best of friends"--how do you think this would affect others? What would happen if we inwardly treated strangers in stores as best of friends? There would be a greater warmth and a considerable amount of extra, flexible energy available both to us and the world.
  --from A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• July 26
        ...the Mother Tantra chod emphasizes the importance of abiding in the natural state and understanding the illusory nature of things and oneself.
        ...Chod cuts the root of that illusion by eliminating the fear that attaches one to one's body after mistaking the body for oneself. By focusing on frightening objects, confronting them, cornering them, and being comfortable in or with them, fear leads to liberation from deluded awareness. It also brings, as a secondary benefit, the ability to repel physical and mental illnesses and energetic disturbances by meditating on what and who is being frightened by them. Being able to sustain that comprehension of the illusory nature of phenomena (including oneself) as one's view helps one recognize one's accomplishments in meditation, conduct, and result. This protects one from returning to the usual delusion and establishes instead a clear awareness (rigpa).
  --from Chöd Practice in the Bön Tradition by Alejandro Chaoul, forewords by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak

 

• July 17
        Unenlightened beings are unable to experience real, pure body, speech, and mind because of many levels of obscuration, all the way from obstruction to omniscience to latent conditioning, afflictive emotions, and the most gross of all, karmic obscurations. This means that due to these obstacles we, as ordinary beings, cannot experience pure manifestations of the Buddha, either physically or mentally. At this point we are experiencing our form as a human body, but an impure human body. We are stuck with this form body because of the karmic obstacles and so forth. This experience is considered a relatively fortunate one, considering other possible form body experiences such as hell beings, hungry ghost beings, and animal beings. These are all form body experiences as well that are absolutely due to karmic obstacles and defilements. Sometimes the term "veil" is used to describe these obstacles. The understanding here is that the levels of obscurations are like layers, or veils, covering our pure nature of mind, which is buddha nature, with one obscuration after another. When the layers of obscuration are purified, we are able to experience our true nature, which is manifesting our own pure buddha nature completely.
  --from Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig by Wangchen Rinpoche

 

• July 11
  Like the illusory face of this appearing world,
  The movement of mind is not touched by artifice;
  It is not altered by action, freedom, or realization.
  To remain in the depths of mind free of reference
  Is known as mahamudra.
  
  Notes
        The Karmapa gave this verse to Lama Tenam to use in his meditation practice. Within the Kagyu lineage, the practice of mahamudra is the deepest form of meditation. It is deceptively simple to describe and quite difficult to practice. Mahamudra practice could be described as remaining settled into the nature of mind, immersed in its nature that is awareness and emptiness inseparable, not touched by artifice, which means that there is no effort to do anything, and free of reference, which means that the mind is not grasping at anything at all. If you were working with this verse, you would first memorize it and reflect on its meaning until it became very clear. Then resting in meditation, you would float the verse in your mindstream, keeping a gentle focus, much as a koan is held. Then, after a while, you would let it go and rest in the space it has opened out, free of referent or mental activity. When thoughts arose again, you would fold them into the verse, which would become your referent again, and so you would continue, naturally shifting between resting in meditation and reflecting on the verse.
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• July 4
        ...Tilopa said that Mahamudra is not simple, not something that can be pointed out. It's not this thing or that thing or some other thing. It is reality itself. This is again illustrated with the example of empty space. Empty space is non-composite; it's not made up of anything; it doesn't have parts. And so, when we speak of empty space, we can use various examples but can't really point to something and make someone understand empty space in its entirety. That is not the nature of space. Likewise, the clear light of mind can be compared to the light of the sun, but that also is not an accurate comparison and it is not very enlightening. The clear light of mind or of reality itself--this is what must be experienced directly, not understood through analogies or similes. Ultimately, it cannot be understood through these things, but must be directly perceived. If we think about the nature of empty space and how we might point to it or describe it, we can see how imprecise this method is. We can only describe individual objects. Even then, our descriptions are always going to be mere indicators and not the objects themselves. When we really try to define or point out something as subtle and difficult to grasp as empty space, we can only do it in a rough way. So there has to be a leap of cognition in which we leave the conceptual level to experience the actual thing.
  --from The Practice of Mahamudra by Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche, trans. by Robert Clark, ed. by Ani K. Trinlay Chodron

 

• June 27
        The Mind-Training says, "Regard all events as if they were dreams." How do dreams appear? The most productive method to explore dreams is by being aware of dreaming while dreaming. Start by reflecting on how things appear in dreams. Let's take as a working hypothesis, as Buddhists do, that dreams emerge from your unique psyche and past and are not part of a big generic dream that belongs to everybody. In Buddhist theory, dreams are a flowering of mental propensities, or seeds, an idea that corresponds roughly to the Western theory of the contents of the subconscious. Suppose I dream that I am speaking before a group of people. From a waking perspective, I would say that the people in this dream don't exist independently from the dream. Yet when I am dreaming, people appear to be just as objective and separate from me as people seem during the waking state. In a dream, if somebody insults me, I get angry just as though this person exists objectively. In non-lucid dreams, demarcations between subjects and objects appear very real. When I get happy in a dream, that happiness is not significantly different from the happiness I experience in the waking state. If someone punches me in a dream, it seems very real. While there seems to be an objective environment, in a dream objects and environments actually exist in relationship to me, the dreamer. Dream and dreamer are interdependent.
        In the Buddhist analysis, there is an analogy between the non-lucid dream state and our usual waking state. What we assume to be absolutely real in a dream and in the waking state is not as it appears. The Buddhist analysis of our deluded waking state goes deep into the analogy between waking and dreaming. From the perspective of the waking state, it is easy to agree that what appears real and concrete in the dream is illusory, despite the fact that from within the dream it can be proved to be "real." In my dream, I can touch Jack or ask him if he is real and he will say yes. Within the context of a dream, that is good proof. From the perspective of the waking state, I see that objects in the dream have no objective existence, but are dependent on me, the dreamer. Within a dream you can be absolutely positive you are not dreaming. The exception to the delusion of mistaking the dream-state to be real is to be aware, within the dream, that you are dreaming.
        From the relative state of being awake, it is possible to reflect upon the dream-state as being a state of delusion. The Buddhists push past the state of relative wakefulness to actual wakefulness. The word "buddha" means "one who is awake." From the perspective of a buddha, the normal "awake" state is a relative dream state and, additionally, the dream is deluded. Those of us who have not yet become buddhas can begin to appreciate the relationship between dream and dreamer by practicing lucid dreaming.
  --from Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace

 

• June 19
        So what is meditation all about? Actually meditation begins with a true aspiration to just let go of everything. Remember that the definition of Dharma, the purpose of following the spiritual path, is nonattachment. There is a line in Buddhist literature:

  There WAS no attachment.
  There IS no attachment.
  There WILL BE no attachment.

        Seen from this view, meditation is very profound and yet very simple.
        Have you ever ridden a bicycle? The bicycle does not run on its own. The bicycle only runs when somebody is pedaling it. The moment we stop pedaling the bicycle, it falls over. Unenlightened consciousness works in the same way. It doesn't perpetuate itself. The moment we stop perpetuating it, it dies. Like everything else, it dies on its own. Meditation is not so much like doing something or going somewhere or acquiring this and that. Meditation is actually a way to stop feeding this unenlightened consciousness.
        ...When we sit in silence, being in the present moment, what happens? Nothing happens. But sometimes there is a moment so liberating, so illuminating, that everything is gone. The self is gone. All of the story lines are gone and universal oneness is dancing in front of us.
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• June 13
  My guru used to quote a famous Tibetan saying:

  Words do not have sharp points like arrows or spears,
  But they shatter the heart into many pieces.

        This illustrates that there definitely is a power behind words and the question is, how do we tap into real, spiritually powerful, and beneficial words? That's where the benefits of mantra come in. My precious Lord Guru used to explain it in very simple terms. He said that when we recite the mantra OM MANI PEME HUNG, through Chenrezig we are praying to the body, speech, and mind of all the buddhas and invoking the power of loving-kindness and compassion.
        He also spoke about how it is that we human beings are able to utter such words as mantras and all kinds of other sophisticated speech. It mainly has to do with some seventy-two thousand channels that exist in the body, and how they are in the form of letters: the Sanskrit vowels and consonants. Energy flowing through these channels gives us the ability to produce many varied sounds.
        ...My guru also said no ordinary person can make mantra, nor can they completely comprehend the depth of the meaning of mantra from the point of view of exactly how it works and so on. He said that one has to be at least on the level of an eighth-bhumi bodhisattva or higher to completely comprehend the effects of the mantra and to create a mantra. Although eighth-bhumi bodhisattvas and higher have the ability to create mantras, the mantras are always naturally present, and when and if there is a need, such beings can make them available.
  --from Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig by Wangchen Rinpoche

 

• June 6
        Imagine you are in the midst of your emerging problem and thousands of thoughts are racing through your head. You're alarmed, maybe even frightened. Somehow in this infinite universe there is this little you having a meltdown, just like a small insect being swept away on a leaf in the river. This is the situation we find ourselves in all too often. And yet all of this is just taking place in our head. Our thoughts are taking us for a ride without our permission. Basically, we're either seduced or overpowered by them. So, what to do? Surprisingly, we don't do anything. Just by watching and being in the present moment we find ourselves in a calm and peaceful space where nothing has ever happened. When we end up believing our thoughts and acting on them, then we're creating karma and we will be stuck with it. Usually when we believe our thoughts we tend to act on them. But by maintaining this nondoing awareness, all of our internal issues dating back lifetimes will vanish. How simple it is. It does not require any learning. So this is the secret to a free and joyous life. In the Buddhist tradition, this is the meditation that many monks and nuns practice all of their lives.
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• May 30
        In brief, the chief benefit of cultivating calm abiding is stability, and the chief benefit of cultivating special insight is wisdom. According to Lati Rinpoche, the stability attained with calm abiding allows the meditator to achieve other good qualities, such as clairvoyance, and ensures that his or her good qualities do not degenerate. Because the mind is set on an internal object of observation and thereby tamed, calm abiding also renders external sources of harm ineffective. The wisdom attained through special insight is the wisdom necessary for uprooting afflictive emotions, the chief of which is ignorance. Gedun Lodro notes, more technically, that
        "The first of the actual antidotes of any vehicle is an uninterrupted path (bar chad med lam, anantaryamarga). The uncommon direct cause of an uninterrupted path is a meditative stabilization which is a union of calm abiding and special insight (zhi lhag zung 'brel). Therefore, it is definite that one must cultivate special insight."
        He also remarks that the achievement of special insight leads to clear perception not only of the meditator's object of observation but also of any other object to which the meditator's mind may be directed.
  --from Study and Practice of Meditation: Tibetan Interpretations of the Concentrations and Formless Absorptions by Leah Zahler

 

• May 23
       There are stories about people who have been struggling with life's problems for a very long time without resolution. Once they sat down in meditation and asked, "Who is struggling?" they realized that from the beginning there was never really any problem. In a true sense this is the only solution that helps us. Everything else is just a band-aid that gives us a false sense of liberation for a short while. How many times have we tried these temporary fixes and solutions? Are we exhausted yet? If everybody on the planet, including the politicians, businessmen, and religious leaders, started working toward this realization, then the world would immediately be a peaceful place. People would be much more generous and kinder toward each other.
       When all the layers of false identity have been stripped off, there is no longer any version of that old self. What is left behind is pure consciousness. That is our original being. That is our true identity. Our true nature is indestructible. No matter whether we are sick or healthy, poor or wealthy, it always remains divine and perfect as it is. When we realize our true nature, our life is transformed in a way we could not have imagined before. We realize the very meaning of our life and it puts an end to all searching right there.
  --from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe

 

• May 16
       From the first bhumi to the sixth bhumi (stage on the bodhisattva path), the individual develops what is known as the seven branches of enlightenment. The first branch of enlightenment is a perfect memory, such a strong memory that there is no chance for us to forget anything, even if someone tries to make us forget. We remember not only what is happening now, but what we have to do later and what we did earlier, very clearly and precisely.
       The second branch is the wisdom of seeing all phenomena as they are. When we see things as they are instead of the way they appear to be, we have no confusion about whether they are right or wrong. The third branch of enlightenment is diligence, and especially diligence in working ceaselessly to benefit sentient beings. The fourth branch is developing not only diligence, but also perfect joy in working for beings. Laziness never overcomes us; we can work twenty-four hours a day to benefit all sentient beings, because of the strength that comes from joy.
       The fifth branch of enlightenment is blissfulness and peacefulness of mind and body, as well as mental clarity. Having developed peacefulness, clarity, and blissfulness, there is nothing that can disturb or agitate our minds, and thus we can work continuously to benefit sentient beings. The sixth branch is samadhi, the profound meditative state, in which nothing can distract our minds. No matter what we are doing--walking, sitting, sleeping, or talking--we are able to maintain the state of samadhi.
       The seventh branch of enlightenment is the perfect state of equanimity. We work to benefit all sentient beings equally, without any discrimination.... We do not discriminate between beings who are good to us and those who are trying to harm us. Having developed a perfect state of equanimity, we can always work spontaneously to benefit sentient beings, whether they praise us or blame us. When we have fully developed these seven branches of enlightenment, we have fully developed compassion as well. Since we have profound, sincere compassion, nothing can hinder us in benefiting sentient beings.
  --from Dharma Paths by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, trans. by Ngodup Burkhar and Chojor Radha, ed. by Laura M. Roth

 

• May 8
       Can one be attached to Buddhism? What should we do if someone attacks our beliefs and criticizes the Dharma?
       Each situation must be regarded individually. In general, if we feel, "They are criticizing my beliefs. They think I am stupid for believing that," we are clinging to our beliefs because we think, "These beliefs are good because they are mine. If someone criticizes them, they are criticizing me." Such an attitude isn't very productive and we'll be more peaceful if we abandon it. We are not our beliefs. If others disagree with our beliefs, it does not mean we are stupid.
       Being open to what others say is useful. Let's not be attached to the name and label of our religion. We are seeking truth and happiness, not promotion of a religion because it happens to be ours. In addition, questioning the teachings is reasonable. The Buddha himself said we should check his teachings and not just believe in them blindly.
       On the other hand, we should not automatically agree with everything someone else says. We should not abandon our beliefs and adopt theirs indiscriminately. If someone asks a question we cannot answer, it doesn't mean the Buddha's teachings are wrong. It simply means we don't know the answer and need to learn and contemplate more. We can then take the question to knowledgeable Buddhists and think about their answers. When others question our beliefs, they are actually helping us deepen our understanding of the Buddha's teachings by showing us what we do not yet understand. This inspires us to study the Dharma and reflect on its meaning.
  --from Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron

 

• May 2
       Spiritual practice often brings to the surface aspects of ourselves that are extremely painful. We have a deep reservoir of emotional wounds and patterns that may be hard to accept in ourselves, and which we have consequently often ignored or denied. This forms a powerful "Shadow," to use Jung's term. As we begin to develop some aspects of tantric practice, these repressed emotions will be resurrected from the underworld of our psyche. This enables the energy bound up in them to then be addressed and potentially transformed. This can sometimes be an uncomfortable process, and it is important to accept and value ourselves even though we feel dreadful, or are frightened of or disgusted with what we see. When we practice Tantra, the dark aspects of our Shadow will almost certainly be evoked, and it requires great courage, honesty, and humility to face and transform them.
       Definite emergence, therefore, is the willingness to wake up and face ourselves as we embark on the tantric path. In this willingness to face unconscious habits we also need compassion towards ourselves as we pass through periods of struggle and discomfort in our practice. Through a genuine love, self-acceptance, and sense of humor about ourselves we can potentially uncover even the darkest inner monsters. Healthy self-value and self-worth gives us a solid basis from which to explore the tantric path.
       While traditional teachings speak of insights and realizations experienced on the spiritual path, it is seldom made clear that these often come through pain and turmoil. Tantra aims at transforming our most basic emotional nature, and to hold this process we must cultivate compassion for ourselves. This compassion is the recognition that we are human, that we have our qualities and failings, and that we need to value ourselves with them. Compassion towards others begins when we are able to love ourselves through our pain, and in doing so empathize with the pain of others.
  --from The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra by Rob Preece

 

• April 25
       Power pathology may have some crucial consequences for those involved in Buddhist practice, both personally and collectively. Disciples often have unaddressed power issues in relation to their teachers. When we endow traditions and their spiritual leaders with power and authority, we unwittingly give away a vital aspect of our individual responsibility, at great cost. Organizations often have underlying patterns of power and control that make some disciples remain relatively disempowered and dependent, while others actually become the agents of the teacher's parental authority. Denying and disowning personal responsibility for our power is welcomed in charismatic religions where devotion to the teacher is paramount. The dangers of this process, however, are that we leave ourselves open to abuse, exploitation, and dependency.
       Reclaiming responsibility for personal power is vital if we are to grow and individuate, but the path is fraught with confusion. Many of us fear our power because we think it will be destructive and dangerous if released.... When someone asserts her own wishes and needs or firmly stands by her own "truth," this assertiveness can easily be viewed disapprovingly as selfish and ego-centered. This in turn can lead to intolerable feelings of guilt. Those who suffer the sense of disempowerment that results from a failure to express their truth often find that their assertiveness lies buried in anger and resentment...there is also some confusion about how those engaged in spiritual practice should relate to anger.
       Some Buddhist teachers accuse the therapy world of promoting and cultivating anger. They will often deny any validity to anger, viewing all anger merely as a cause of suffering to be overcome and controlled.... As long as we live with the view that anger is to be condemned, we can easily fall into the habit of repression. We will also fail to hear what truth lies behind it that is not being voiced. When we ask questions such as, "What do you really want to say?" or "What are you really wanting that is not being heard?" we will begin to hear what is at its root. This becomes a healthier way of living with anger, rather than creating a regime that fears it and tries to disown or suppress it. If our capacity to be assertive or to feel heard has become blocked and distorted, when we listen more deeply to what lies beneath or behind the anger, we will often discover some inner truth that needs to be asserted more clearly and creatively.
  --from The Wisdom of Imperfection: The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life by Rob Preece

 

• April 18
       It's very easy to sit back and have compassionate and loving thoughts toward the world, all humans, nature, or something like that. This doesn't really threaten us; in fact, we feel good and a little high from that kind of thinking. But I don't feel that this kind of thinking actually changes anything. You can check for yourself: Do those expansive feelings really change how you relate to others in your everyday life, or do old patterns return? If you're like me, the old thought patterns return.
       The reason is, those feelings are not really connected to the structure of the ego, which is about pushing away pain while accumulating happiness. You must be very precise in your observation of that process before it can truly be changed. Because of that, the lo-jong teachings recommend that you begin the exchange with yourself.
       Many students who are somewhat familiar with the teachings have ignored this advice, but I feel it is the real key. We must learn to see our strategy of denying pain before we can truly generate the strong wish for beings to be free of it. By pain, I primarily mean mental pain, even the mental pain of having physical discomfort. If you try to do tong-len for others while denying your own pain, your practice becomes a technique for perpetuating avoidance and will never yield any meaningful results. So first, simply be aware of your pain at the moment. Notice your awkwardness, your wish to squirm away from it somehow. Allow yourself merely to feel it.
       Now you are ready to begin tong-len. You might want to imagine an unhappy version of yourself standing in front of you; this can make the visualization flow better. Take in your suffering; give yourself healing, white light. It is advised to link these with the breath: Breathe in the suffering as black gunk; breathe out the goodness as healing white light.
       Do it until it works! You should "get it," have some definite sense of healing, acceptance, and transformation. You should develop the insight that blocking out or denying pain is actually what keeps you in a place of pain, that it is entirely within your power and ability to do something very simple and effective to change this. Your ego mechanisms developed when you were younger and had no other defenses for dealing with difficulties; now you're older and have had the great good fortune to meet the Dharma. Thus, although it is everyone's habit to push away discomfort, there's no practical or logical reason to continue to do so.
  --from A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism by Bruce Newman

 

• April 11
       Calm abiding is a powerful tool to be used in the service of enhancing the force of the wisdom realizing the emptiness of inherent existence so that it can overcome intellectually acquired and innate conceptions of inherent existence. The aim is to undo the ideational process behind afflictive emotions and then to remove even the appearance of inherent existence that prevents Buddhahood.
       The details of the process of achieving calm abiding yield a picture of how the human condition is viewed in these traditions. Humans are trapped in a situation of repeated suffering not just by false assent to the seeming solidity of objects but also by a mind that is so mired in the extremes of either being too loose or too tight that attempts at correction push the mind between these two extremes. Also, the very structure of the ordinary mind prevents manifestation of certain chronic psychic problems, such that when this structure is disturbed by attempting to focus it and develop powers of concentration, deeply seated problems appear with greater force and others newly manifest.
       Also, the mere fact that mindfulness and introspection need to be developed means that even though at present we have small versions of these, we have little idea of their potential--we are in a state of deprivation, sometimes arrogantly convinced of our wholeness and sometimes disparagingly reluctant to take cognizance of our potential. The system points to attainable states of mind that dramatically enhance the quality of life and that, of themselves, eliminate a host of problems, but whose attainment requires exposure to psychological pressures fraught with danger.
       In one way, the systematic layout of stages gives the impression that mere application of the prescribed techniques would yield definite incremental results, but, in another way, examination of the complex techniques prescribed in the process of training yields a far different view of a mind that balks at improvement and enhancement, erects barriers, and places pitfalls in one's path. In such a context, we can appreciate the plethora of techniques employed in the tantric systems to attempt to counteract and undermine these forces. Whether they could be successful is no easy matter to determine; a claim that they definitely are would be superficial and do disservice to the complex vision of the human situation that a system such as that found in Action Tantra evinces.
  --from Tantric Techniques by Jeffrey Hopkins

 

• April 4
       Not so long ago I asked a medical friend why a mutual acquaintance had been struck with cancer. He immediately launched into a detailed account of cancer cell growth, free radicals, the failure of the immune system, and other such factors. "That's not so much what I was after, Terry," I said, when he paused for breath. "That's more how she got cancer. I was thinking more along the lines of why?" "Why?" He seemed taken aback I should even be asking such a question, as though it was one of life's great imponderables.
       Why is it that someone develops cancer at the age of sixty-five--why not three years before, ten years later, or, better still, not at all? Why is it that someone can be exposed to exactly the same virus on several occasions without any ill effect, but another time with deadly consequences?
        "Why me?" is a question anyone suffering from a serious illness will naturally ask themselves. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken on so many responsibilities at work. Maybe I'm being punished for something I did in a previous lifetime. Is it because of the electricity pole running down the side of the house?
       Some readers may believe, like my medical friend, that the "why?" question is a matter of pure conjecture: fate, karma, God, or plain bad luck--take your pick. Why does anything happen? And anyway, do the whys and wherefores really matter when we're stuck with an illness for which we urgently need help? But the "why" of disease is not a subject we should dismiss so easily. And far from being irrelevant, if we can go some way towards answering why something arose, perhaps that will also provide some useful suggestions on how to stop it getting worse, if not help us make a full recovery.
  --from Hurry Up and Meditate: Your Starter Kit for Inner Peace and Better Health by David Michie

 

• March 28
  Just as the perfect Buddhas know
  The ill deeds that I have committed,
  I make individual disclosure.
  Henceforth I will not do such.
  
       The meaning of the last stanza is that, not being omniscient, one does not know all the ill deeds that one has done over the beginningless course of lifetimes, and thus one also makes a general disclosure of all the ill deeds that omniscient beings know one has done. Implicitly, the important message is communicated that it is impossible to hide ill deeds.
       Given that one of the most pernicious defenses against inner forces is denial, the general Buddhist notion that over the course of lifetimes we have committed every possible misdeed and have, in our mental continuums, forces predisposed to committing these again provides a healthy perspective, certainly not preventing denial on all levels (since the depths of our own depravity are not easy to recognize) but opening the way to conscious recognition of what lies beneath the surface. To disclose, to confess all of these ill deeds is to affirm their presence, thereby weakening the force of denial and strengthening the ego as the arbiter, rather than the victim, of these forces.
  --from Tantric Techniques by Jeffrey Hopkins

 

• March 21
       Knowing Tara's purpose [to help all living beings], we will develop strong feelings of joy, happiness, and closeness at the prospect of connecting to Mother Tara. It is said that Mother Tara's "hook of compassion" is always ready; we must have our mind and heart in the state of readiness, which is the "ring of devotion." We will aspire to follow Tara's example ourselves by working for all living beings with love, compassion, courage, and commitment.
       Because Tara abides beyond boundaries and limitations, we cannot exactly say where Tara is and where she is not. Tara is readily available to every living being everywhere. Her sambhogakaya emanations include Vajravarahi, Vajrayogini, the five Mother Dhyani Buddhas, and the five wisdom dakinis. Her nirmanakaya emanations include the Twenty-one Emanations of Tara praised in this homage, plus many more in all the different colors. Red Tara, for example, is special for activating our realization and overpowering our ego-clinging and neurotic states. With her help we are freed from the confinement of our egos so we are able to reach out to all living beings with bodhichitta.
  --from Tara's Enlightened Activity: An Oral Commentary on 'The Twenty-one Praises to Tara' by Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal

 

• March 14
       When we practice bodhicitta prayers or meditations, it may look like we are alone, like we are practicing for ourselves, but we are not practicing for ourselves, and we are not alone. All beings are interconnected, and in that sense they are present or affected. Milarepa sang, "When I am alone, meditating in the mountains, all the Buddhas past, present, and future are with me. Guru Marpa is always with me. All beings are here."
       We are not practicing for ourselves alone, since everybody is involved and included in the great scope of our prayers and meditations on this perfectly pure motivation. The natural outflow of so-called "solitary meditation or prayer" is spontaneous benefit for others; it's like the rays of the sun, rays which spontaneously reach out. This good heart, pure heart, vast and open mind, is called in Tibetan sem karpo, white mind. It means pure, vast, and open heart. This is innate bodhicitta. It is not something foreign to us, as we well know, yet it is something we could relate to more, cultivate, generate, and embody. We talk about vast and profound teachings of Dharma, such as Dzogchen, but without this goodness of heart, this unselfishness, it is mere chatter, gossip, and rationalization.
  --from Natural Great Perfection: Dzogchen Teachings and Vajra Songs by Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche and Lama Surya Das

 

• March 7
       The practice of equanimity is particularly helpful for nightmares. Of all the practices you could apply, it is most helpful and comforting, after you have awakened, to generate a sense of equanimity--the similarity of aim--between yourself and the dream-monster. In meditation, contemplate: "Just as I want happiness and don't want suffering, so that monster wants happiness and doesn't want suffering."
       It might seem weird to reify your own dream objects into sentient beings, since they really do not exist except as figments of the imagination, but try to see the being as wanting happiness and not wanting suffering, as having been a friend, and, when a friend, having extended great kindness. Don't turn this into a test of the meditation. Don't think, "It's got to work on this, and if it doesn't, then the system doesn't work." Just try it, play with it a little. Experience is needed before these meditations will work across boundaries of feeling. But when they do work, you will feel the fear dissipate. We are seeking to disempower a complex that appears as a dream-monster, and the power of equanimity dissolves the fear that empowers the monster. Even when you don't believe it, this technique works. In meditation, contemplate: "This nightmare-spider, like me, wants happiness and does not want suffering; so may this nightmare-spider have happiness and be free from suffering."
       Let's consider nightmarish figures such as Hitler and Stalin who have appeared in the world.... It helps to think that such powerfully bad persons--or ourselves when we get angry and do nasty things--have fallen out of recognition that other people want happiness and don't want suffering. From this understanding there arises a closeness with those under the influence of strong afflictive emotions.
       If you familiarize yourself for a considerable period with these meditations that utilize horrific situations for increasing equanimity, reflecting on many individual people, gradually your sense of equanimity, an even-mindedness, will extend to anyone who appears.
  --from A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• February 28
       For the meditation on the nature of your own mind it is customary to ask your teacher for pointing-out instructions. Some practitioners are lucky enough to realize their true nature of mind straight away, whereas others merely perceive a sensation of it, a certain experience of the true nature of mind. But if they don't know exactly how mind and the consciousnesses function, their experience will dissolve after a few days. The understanding of mind and the eight kinds of consciousness is obtained through the highest understanding (Skt. "prajna") of listening and reflecting. When we really meditate on this basis and glimpse the true nature of mind, we will be able to steadily increase our experience of it through all subsequent meditation. That's why it is extremely useful to know about the eight kinds of consciousness.
  --from Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl

 

• February 21
       As His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches, "until you realize that the basic, innate mind of clear light is your true nature, you remain a sentient being; but when you understand your ultimate nature, you become a Buddha." Although clear light tallies with mind's natural state, it does not appear in ordinary states of consciousness because they are darkened by ignorance and obscured by emotions. The Kalacakratantra analyzes the nature of those obscurations at the level of life's source motion, i.e., breathing. Each one of our breaths holds immensity within itself and is related to the universe because the very same energy that makes us breathe also sets celestial bodies into motion. In this context, energy is to be understood as some physical magnitude quantified by the calculation of the revolutions of the planets or the number of breaths. However, this physical energy also has its subtle spiritual dimension which is experienced while meditating.
       Such subtle energy (or life-breath) manifests itself in two states; one is called "dual" or "polarized," the other "nondual" or "nonpolarized." Dual or polarized states are borne by life-breath's motion in our subtle side-channels, i.e., the right subtle channel which is solar by nature, and the left subtle channel of lunar nature. Those subtle channels are our inner sun and moon. They are related to the dual states of consciousness of discursive thought, to binary logic, and to the mind that clings to a notion of separate and intrinsic reality of the self and phenomena. In its polarized form, energy bears the karmic imprints of ignorance, emotions, and other mental afflictions.
       Still, such breaths or winds (which are depicted as the "mount" for samsaric mind) get depolarized naturally six hundred and seventy-five times a day. Indeed, six hundred seventy-five breaths called "wisdom winds" occur daily when lifebreath transits through the twelve constellation-petals of the navel's lotus. When each of the twelve transits takes place, the side winds enter the central channel for fifty-six and one-fourth breaths. Wisdom winds tally with nondual, nonconceptual, or unobscured states of consciousness; they bear clear light.
       Training in the practice of Kalacakra yogas' meditation aims entirely at intentionally directing the side-winds into the central channel.—Sofia Stril-Rever
  --from As Long As Space Endures: Essays on the Kalacakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama edited by Edward A. Arnold on behalf of Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, foreword by Robert A. F. Thurman

 

• February 14
       Sometimes it is difficult to find time to meditate each day. But we always have time to watch TV. We always have time to go shopping. We always have time to get a snack from the refrigerator. Why is it that the twenty-four hours run out when it is time to meditate? When we understand the value and effect of spiritual practice, it will become a high priority in our life, and when something is important, we find time for it. It's good to set up a daily meditation practice of fifteen, thirty, or sixty minutes in the morning. To do that, we may have to sacrifice fifteen or thirty minutes of television the previous evening in order to go to bed a little earlier. But compared to the benefit of practicing the Dharma, missing a little TV is not a big thing. In the same way that we always find time to eat because food nourishes our body, we will find time to meditate and recite prayers because they nourish us spiritually. When we respect ourselves spiritually, we respect ourselves as human beings. Nourishing ourselves spiritually then becomes a very important priority, and having time for it is easy.
  --from Taming the Mind by Ven. Thubten Chodron

 

• February 7
       When we do not have a profound understanding of reality, in the ordinary world the five wisdoms appear as the five aggregates, the five elements, the five colors, and the five poisons. Those conceptions arise because they suit our deluded thinking. In reality they are none other than the five wisdoms or the five dhyani buddhas.
       Whether they appear as the five wisdoms and the five buddhas, or as the five poisons and the five aggregates, the five wisdoms are based upon the same primordial nature--the great dharmakaya. In whatever form, place, or time they arise, there is not one atom that goes beyond the primordial state. This is the essence of the profound true nature. However, because we are deluded by dualistic perceptions, we make distinctions between subject and object, and when we hold on to those notions, we create many different things around us.
       To protect beings from this kind of delusion, the buddhas appear in many different forms. For example, among the various emanations are the buddha families of the five directions. The eastern buddha is Vajrasattva, the southern buddha is Ratnasambhava, the western buddha is Amitabha, the northern buddha is Amoghasiddhi, and the central buddha is Vairochana. On the absolute level, there is just one emanation of primordial wisdom; ultimately, there are no different levels. But in order to help remove our dualistic concepts or to dispel our ignorance, they appear as different buddhas. These buddha families are not separate families who exist in the various directions, such as the vajra family, the rich family who lives in the east, and the padma family, the aristocratic family in the west; that is not the point. They appear this way in order to lead sentient beings to nondual wisdom.
       These symbols of wisdom are used to illustrate profound meaning. For example, the buddhas appear as peaceful, wrathful, or semiwrathful, and as male or female. In terms of symbolism, the eight great male bodhisattvas represent the transmutation of the eight consciousnesses. The eight great female bodhisattvas represent the transformation of the objects of the eight consciousnesses. The four gatekeepers are the transmutation of the four extreme views about existence and nonexistence. They all have symbolic meanings.
  --from The Dark Red Amulet: Oral Instructions on the Practice of Vajrakilay by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• January 31
       "There is often a big disparity between the way we perceive things and the way things really are. For instance, when we see an object we think, 'Oh, this is the very same object which I saw two days ago.' This is a very crude way of talking about reality. What is actually happening here is a kind of a conflation between an image or a concept of an entity and the actual reality of the moment. In reality, the object or entity that we are perceiving has already gone through a lot of stages. It is dynamic, it is transient, it is momentary, so the object that we are perceiving now is not the same as the one we perceived a day ago or two days ago, but we have the impression that we are perceiving the very same thing because what we are doing is conflating our concept of that object and the actual object. By grasping for permanence, we cause things to appear to us differently than how they actually exist.
       "It is vital to leave a lot of room for change in one's relations to another person. Change comes about in times of transition, allowing love actually to ripen and expand. Then one is able to really know the other one—to see that person with their faults and weaknesses and going through change, a human being like oneself. Only at this stage can there be true love."—The Dalai Lama
  --from Impermanence: Embracing Change by David Hodge and Hi-Jin Kang Hodge

 

• January 24
       Even though supreme awareness is the basic nature of reality, because we do not realize this, as sentient beings we develop dualistic thinking. We start making distinctions between subject and object, near and far, and so forth, and then we cling to those as real. The twelve links of interdependence arise, and, beginning with ignorance, we develop the notions of "me" and "mine," and all sorts of deluded thinking. The great master Chandrakirti taught that you begin by clinging to the ego, then you cling to "what is mine," then to "what is other," such that there is an ongoing state of delusion. Due to clinging, our habitual patterns become stronger and stronger, and all our conceptions become regimented and solid.
       In order to dispel ignorance and dualistic thinking, Vajrakilaya arises in a wrathful form. The wrath of Vajrakilaya is not the wrath of anger or jealousy; it is the wrath that destroys anger and jealousy. It is not like being angry with enemies and being attached to friends. This wrath is totally based upon great compassion. Directed toward duality, ego-clinging, grasping, and ignorance, Vajrakilaya's anger demolishes the causes of delusion throughout the six realms. Since it is based on immeasurable loving-kindness and immeasurable compassion, it is known as the phurba of immeasurable compassion.
       To apply this phurba in a practical way, rather than becoming angry toward external situations, we begin by feeling great compassion for sentient beings. Then we start working with our own emotions to demolish ignorance, attachment, anger, jealousy, pride, fear, and doubts. We remove these emotions according to the way we interact with the world. At the same time, we expand our compassion for all beings in the six realms.
  --from The Dark Red Amulet: Oral Instructions on the Practice of Vajrakilaya by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• January 17
       Kisa Gotami has led a sheltered life, according to the Dhammapada. Married to the son of a rich merchant, she feels immune from death. But then her son dies before he can walk. Deep in shock and denial, she refuses to let the body be burnt. Slinging the tiny corpse on her hip, she rages through the neighborhood, asking if anyone knows where she might find medicine to bring him back to life. Most people think she's crazy, but a wise man recognizes a spiritual crisis when he sees it, and sends her to the Buddha.
       The Buddha tells her he knows where to find the medicine she needs. To create it, he will require a pinch of white mustard seed from a household where no one has ever died. Kisa Gotami begins knocking on doors. The Dhammapada observes: "At every house she is told, 'The living are few, but the dead are many.'" We can imagine the heads shaking back and forth. Realization slowly penetrates her grief, and light dawns. Without so much as a single mustard seed in hand, she returns to the Buddha and tells him that she now knows that every living thing must die. Although the Dhammapada doesn't say it, we recognize the horizon that she now glimpses--the ring of light circling her suffering. Through the power of this teaching, she becomes a nun. One day she notices that the flickering of a lamp is like the life of all of us. She takes the leap of liberation and becomes an arhat--one who has "laid down the burden."
       What did the Buddha offer her? Only awareness. Yet what a tool.
  --from Impermanence: Embracing Change by David Hodge and Hi-Jin Kang Hodge

 

• January 10
  Voidness is the unsurpassed protection;
  Thereby illusory appearance is seen as the four kayas.
  
       Sufferings related to the universe and its inhabitants are the result of false perceptions, the nature of which it is important to understand. Emotions, such as attachment, anger and ignorance are all creations of the mind. We think, for instance, of our body as a precious possession of which we must take special care, protecting it from illness and every kind of mishap. We get into this habit of thinking and, as a consequence, begin to suffer mentally as well as physically. This is an example of perception which, since it is devoid of any basis in reality, is called deluded; it depends upon the belief in the existence of something which does not exist at all. It is just as when we dream and think that we are being burned or drowned, only to discover, when we wake up, that nothing has happened.
       ...Although everything is by nature empty, this emptiness is not the mere vacuity of empty space or an empty vessel. Happiness, sufferings, all sorts of feelings and perceptions appear endlessly like reflected images in the mind. This reflection-like appearance of phenomena is called the Nirmanakaya.
  --from Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the Seven-Point Mind Training by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by The Padmakara Translation Group

 

• January 3
  [after hearing of Milarepa, Gampopa set out with a fevered pace to find him, stopping hardly at all. Finally he discovered where Milarepa could be found.]
       Now with great confidence, Gampopa set off toward Chuwar in Orin. After walking many miles, he came to the center of a great plain. It was there that his grueling pace finally caught up with him. Exhausted, he sat down to rest on a rock. He was overcome by hunger and fatigue, and his entire energy system had become unbalanced and disordered. He fainted, and fell from the rock to the ground. There he lay unconscious for half a day.
       When at last he came to, every inch of his body from head to toe was throbbing with pain. He was parched with thirst, but so great was his pain that he was unable to move. No one passed by to help him as he lay in agonizing pain, without food or water, for two long days and two long nights.
       On the third day, feeling as if death might be near, Gampopa spoke these words with utter conviction, through parched cracked lips and with tears streaming down his dusty face:
       "If I cannot see the Jetsun in this life, then in the three bardos after my death I will look only to him as my sole refuge. I swear I will be born near him in the next life, and that my mind will then be united with his." Then he lay back and wept, awaiting his fate.
       Before long, a Kadampa monk from Cha Yul came walking along the road. Seeing Gampopa lying by the side of the road, the monk approached him and said, "Auspicious blessings. Where are you going?" Gampopa was so weak and his mouth and throat were so dry that he could barely speak. He strained to reply, and said in a rasping whisper,      "Nowhere at the moment."
       "What is your destination?"
       "I am going to Orin, to visit Jetsun Milarepa."
       "Ah. I am also going in that direction. Are you sick?"
  "Yes, indeed, and I am also very thirsty," said Gampopa. "Could you give me a drink of water?"
       "Of course, my brother," the monk replied, and produced a bowl from his purse, which he filled from his water bag and offered to Gampopa.
       After drinking it, Gampopa felt much relieved. His pain abated and his strength began to return. The monk offered him some food as well, and soon Gampopa felt completely refreshed and invigorated. Then, in the company of the kind monk, he set off again on his journey.
       Meanwhile, Jetsun Milarepa, in a very happy spirit, was teaching the Dharma at Joyful Fortune Peak. In the midst of the discourse, he would sometimes stop and remain silent for a while, and then suddenly laugh heartily.
       One of his disciples, a gifted lady patron from Orin, known as Tsese, asked him, "Dear Jetsun, what is it? Why are you suddenly remaining silent and then suddenly bursting into laughter? Are you laughing because you are happy with the progress of some gifted disciple, and silent when you see the confusion and wrong thoughts of one of your slow students?" "Neither," replied Milarepa.
       "Then why did you smile and laugh today?" asked Tsese.
       "Because now, my son, the monk from Ü, has arrived at Dingri. There he fainted and fell and lay in great pain beside a rock. In his agony he cried out to me for help, in tears and with great faith and sincerity. I felt pity for him, and in my samadhi I sent him blessings, whereupon help quickly came to him. Seeing that, I felt very moved and joyful, and laughed out loud." As he told this story, tears welled up in Milarepa's eyes.
       "When will he arrive here?" "Sometime between tomorrow and the day after." "Will we have the good karma of seeing this man?" "Oh, yes! And whoever has the privilege of preparing his seat when he arrives will be nourished by the food of samadhi. Whoever has the blessing of first seeing him will be guided to the blissful pure land of liberation!"
  --from The Life of Gampopa by Jampa Mackenzie Stewart, intro. by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, illust. by Eva van Dam

 

     2008

• December 27
  Noble Lady Tara Wangdu Rigje Lhamo
       The fifth Tara is known as Wangdu Rigje Lhamo. She is Kurukulle in Sanskrit and Rigjema or Rigje Lhamo in Tibetan. Wangdu means power of "gathering, summoning," or "magnetizing." We can think of it as attracting everything beneficial, to benefit all beings. Rigjema means "she who precisely understands everything" and Lhamo is "divine lady." So she is known as the Tara who precisely understands the power of magnetizing.
       Kurukulle's practice is very extensively taught throughout Tibetan Buddhism. She is often named the "Red Tara" because of her color. Her Praise is:
  

  CHAG TSHAL TUT TA RA HUNG YI GE
  Homage, Mother, filling all regions, sky, and the realm of desire

  DO DANG CHOG DANG NAM KHA GANG MA
  With the sounds of TUTTARA and HUNG,

  JIG TEN DUN PO ZHAB CHI NEN TE
  Trampling the seven worlds with her feet,

  LU PA ME PAR GUG PAR NU MA
  Able to summon all before her.
  --from Tara's Enlightened Activity: An Oral Commentary on 'The Twenty-one Praises to Tara' by Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal

 

• December 20
       A person who is liberated, who has freed his or her mind of all mental afflictions, still experiences physical suffering. The difference between us and an arhat, a person who has freed the mind from mental affliction, is that an arhat doesn't identify with pain. Arhats experience physical pain vividly but don't grasp onto it; they can take action to avoid or alleviate pain, but whether they do so or not, the physical pain doesn't come inside. What an arhat does not experience is mental suffering. A buddha, one who is perfectly spiritually awakened, has gone a further step. A buddha has no mental suffering of his or her own, but is vividly and non-dually aware of the suffering of others.
       Superficially, the arhat who is free from mental suffering can seem to us who lack this realization as numb and detached, in a state of existential anesthesia. A buddha, one who is fully awakened, presents the paradox of being free from suffering and also non-dually present with other people's joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. A buddha taps into immutable bliss, the ultimate ground state of awareness beyond the dichotomy of stimulus-driven pain and pleasure. The mind of a buddha has been purified of all obscuration and from its own nature there naturally arises immutable bliss, like a spring welling up from the earth. With the unveiling of the buddha-nature of unconditioned bliss, there is also a complete erosion of an absolute demarcation between self and other. The barrier is gone. This is why buddhas are vividly and non-dually aware of the suffering of others, their hopes and fears, the whole situation, and at the same time are not disengaged from the purity and bliss of their own awareness. The mind of a buddha doesn't block out anything and nothing is inhibited, and this is why the awareness of an awakened being is frequently described as "unimaginable."
  --from Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Allan Wallace

 

• December 10

  I take refuge until I am enlightened in the Buddhas, the Dharma, and the Sangha. By the positive potential I create by practicing generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes (ethical discipline, patience, joyous effort, meditative stabilization, and wisdom), may I attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings.

       It takes only a few moments to think in this way and to recite the prayer, yet doing so has a significant effect on the rest of our day. We'll be more cheerful and will be sure of our direction in life. Especially if we don't do a regular meditation practice, starting the day in this way is extremely beneficial. In the evening, after reviewing the day's activities and freeing our minds from any remaining afflictions that may have arisen during the day, we again take refuge and generate the altruistic intention.
       Before going to sleep, we can envision the Buddha, made of light, on our pillow. Placing our head in his lap, we fall asleep amidst the gentle glow of his wisdom and compassion. Instead, we can learn the guidelines and try to implement them as much as we can, reviewing them periodically to refresh our minds. We may choose one guideline to emphasize this week in our daily lives. Next week, we can add another, and so on. In that way, we'll slowly build up the good habits of practicing all of them.
  --from Taming the Mind by Ven. Thubten Chodron

 

• December 6
  From "The Prayer Requested by Namke Nyingbo"
       by Padmasambhava
  All these things of the outer environment and the beings therein
  That come into sight as the objects of your eyes like this,
  They may appear, but leave them in the sphere free from clinging to a self.
  Since they are pure of perceiver and perceived, they are the
  luminous-empty body of the deity.
  I pray to the guru in whom attachment is self-liberated,
  I pray to Padmasambhava from Uddiyana.

  All these sounds, taken as pleasant or unpleasant,
  That resound as the objects of your ears like this,
  Leave them in the sphere of inconceivable, empty resonance.
  Empty resonance, unborn and unceasing, is the Victor's speech.
  I pray to the words of the Victor that resound and yet are empty,
  I pray to Padmasambhava from Uddiyana.

  However these thoughts of afflictions' five poisons,
  Which stir as objects in your mind like this, may appear,
  Do not mess around with them through a mind that rushes ahead into the future or lingers in the past.
  Through leaving their movement in its own place, they uncoil as the dharmakaya.
  I pray to the guru whose awareness is self-liberated, I pray to Padmasambhava from Uddiyana.
  
  Grant your blessings that the mind stream of someone like me is liberated
  Through the compassion of the Tathagatas of the three times,
  So that objects, appearing as if perceived outside, become pure,
  That my very mind, perceiving as if inside, becomes liberated,
  And that, in between, luminosity will recognize its own face.
  --from Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl

 

• November 27
       Creation in four vajra steps entails meditation on emptiness; generating a moon, sun, and seed-syllable from which light emanates and then converges; the full manifestation of the deity resulting from the convergence of the light and transformation of the seed-syllable; and visualization of three syllables at the deity's three places [The syllables om, ah, and hum are imagined at the forehead, throat, and heart, respectively.]
       ...Kongtrul explains that all the varieties of the creation phase incorporate the four key elements of form, imagination, result, and transformative power. "Form" means meditating on forms that represent the aspects of awakening and generating clear images of these forms, thereby stopping impure appearances. "Imagination" means using the force of creative imagination to convert the visualized forms of awakening into reality. "Result" means meditating on the result, that is, the very goal to be attained, and thereby achieving that goal. "Transformative power" means turning the ordinary body and mind into pristine awareness by relying on the transformative powers of awakened beings. Among these, Kongtrul points out, the most important element for realization of the path is the transformative power of the vajra master combined with one's own devotion to that master.
  --from The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Eight, Part Three: The Elements of Tantric Practice by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, translated by Ingrid Loken McLeod and Elio Guarisco

 

• November 22
       On the tenth night of the twelfth month, Gyal Dawa, the girl, came again. She said, "Don't neglect my request for a prayer. It is very important." That's the dream she had. I thought, "I'll write it on the full moon day." So on the night of the fourteenth I prayed with single-pointed devotion to Guru Rinpoche to grant blessing that the prayer would be beneficial and then fell asleep. Early in the morning of the fifteenth I dreamed I was sitting in front of the shrine in a very large building that looked like a temple. Suddenly a young white man dressed in white with his hair falling loosely over his shoulder appeared at the entrance. He was playing the cymbals melodiously and dancing the swirling, joyous dance of the Ging. He came closer and closer, singing:

  If you want to establish the dharma,
  Establish it in your mind.
  In the depth of mind, you will find Buddha.
  If you wish to visit the buddha fields,
  Purify ordinary deluded attachment.
  The perfectly comfortable buddha field is close by.
  Develop the joyful effort to practice,
  That is the essence of the teaching.
  Without practice, who can gain the siddhis?
  It is hard to see one's faults,
  But to see them nakedly is powerful advice.
  In the end when faults have been cleared away,
  The enlightened qualities increase and shine forth.

       At the end of this he rolled his cymbals. Then he crashed them together, and I awoke. After I woke up, I did not forget what he had said. I understood it to have been advice on practicing what to accept and what to reject. I was sad that although I had actually seen the face of my only father, Guru Padmasambhava, I had not recognized him.
  --I, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, old father of the Nyingma, wrote this from my own experience. Sarva Mangalam.[May all be auspicious.]
  --from Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom: The Life and Legacy of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• November 14
       Channels and cakras represent the inner structure of the human body, referred to in the tantric teachings as the 'vajra body'. 'Vajra' means 'indestructible', and 'vajra body' refers to the dimension of the three fundamental components: the channels and cakras, the prana that flows through them, and the bindu or thigle, the white and red seed-essences of the physical body that form the basis for practices such as the Tummo.
       In the tantras of the Upadesa section of Dzogchen, it is explained that after the conception of a human being the first thing to develop is the navel cakra. Then from this, through a channel, the head cakra develops followed by the other main cakras of the throat and the heart. This channel or meridian, known as the life-channel, develops into the spinal cord and spine. At the same time it remains as the fundamental energy of the central channel.
       The central channel, known as Uma in Tibetan, is connected with the two lateral channels called Roma and Kyangma. The Roma channel, which is white and corresponds to lunar energy, is on the right side in men and on the left in women. Ro means 'taste', and the main function of this channel is to give the sensation of pleasure. The Kyangma channel, red and corresponding to solar energy, is on the left side in men and on the right in women. Kyang means 'sole', and unlike the Roma, this channel is not connected with many secondary channels. Control of this channel is fundamental in order to cultivate the experience of emptiness. These are the characteristic features of the two channels, which are related to the two principles of upaya or method, and of prajna or energy. Method denotes everything pertaining to the visible or material dimension; while 'prajna', which generally means discriminating wisdom, in this context denotes the energy of emptiness that is the base of any manifestation.
  --from Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, trans. by Adriano Clemente

 

• November 8
       No quote sent this week.

 

• November 1
       What is wisdom? It is as explained in the perfection of supreme knowledge teachings: all phenomena are free from elaborations, and when the perceiving subject as well becomes equally free from elaborations, that is wisdom. In particular, the wisdom of the buddha consists in the pacification of the elaborations and their habitual tendencies in relation to suchness. It is the inseparability of the expanse and wisdom. It is free from singularity and multiplicity, quality and qualified. It realizes the nonduality of subjects and objects. In it all phenomena--samsara and nirvana, faults and qualities, and so on--are always undifferentiable and equal. Outside of that, there is no way to posit wisdom.
       In a nonanalytical context of repeating what others accept, we Followers of the Middle Way describe knowable objects as existing. The wisdom of the buddhas is the same. Since we speak of all phenomena as existing from the perspective of others (even though from our own perspective they are free of the elaborations of existence and nonexistence), it is unreasonable to debate solely about the existence or nonexistence of the wisdom of buddhas.
  --from The Karmapa's Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate by the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje, trans. by Tyler Dewar

 

• October 25
       We are aiming to develop a strong feeling of love and compassion with respect to everyone, but this cannot be done without first seeing an equality of all beings throught meditatively cultivating equanimity. Otherwise, you'll easily be able to generate love and compassion for friends and may be able to extend a little of this to neutral people, but even minor enemies will remain a huge problem. Thus at first it is necessary to recognize how friends, neutral persons, and enemies are equal.
       This is done in two ways. One way to break down rigid classifications of people is by reflecting first with respect to friends, then neutral persons, and then enemies:
  

  Just as I want happiness and don't want suffering, so this friend wants happiness and doesn't want suffering. And equally, this neutral person wants happiness and doesn't want suffering. And equally, this enemy wants happiness and doesn't want suffering.

       Another way is to reflect on what your relationships have been with others over the course of lifetimes, beginning with neutral persons, then friends, and finally enemies. An enemy in this lifetime wants to do you in, but over the course of lifetimes was this person just an enemy? No. If you do not believe in rebirth, utilize the rebirth game, the rebirth perspective, as a technique for making your mind more flexible.
       Either of these techniques will work:
       - Reflecting on the similarity of yourself and others in the basic aspiration to gain happiness and be rid of suffering.
       - Reflecting on the changeability of relationships over the course of lifetimes.
  --from A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• October 18
       Puba Supoche asked, "Dampa, tell me what it's like when you really practice sincerely! I understand neither heads nor tails of it!"
       Dampa said, "View is the destruction of extreme ideas regarding things! Cutting pride of self with confidence is realization! Being without support in luminosity is meditation! In insight, absence of recognition is the innate! Finding nowhere to place the mind among shifting phenomena is subsequent attainment! In their absence, there is no antidote but natural intensity! Naked awareness without grasping is dharmakaya! Disappearance without being anything is experience! Don't you wonder whether all this truly exists?"
  --from Lion of Siddhas: The Life and Teachings of Padampa Sangye by Padampa Sangye, translated by David Molk with Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche

 

• October 12
       Western women emerging from crisis situations often choose to live alone, intuitively knowing that the confrontation with oneself that this brings will lead to a deeper understanding. These women in our society (which sees them as pitiable and unfortunate) can take strength from the stories of Tibetan yoginis.
       These Western women also seek the support of other women or psychotherapists to help them to emerge from their descents, just as the yoginis sought the guidance of their teachers and spiritual friends, and the Greeks needed the help of the therapeutes [helpers] to make sense of the memories they brought back from the oracle cave.
       Speaking of the descent myth in terms of her experiences in controlled therapeutic regressions, Jungian analyst M.L. Von Franz describes the descent process in relation to the story of "The Handless Maiden":
  

  In the Middle Ages there were many hermits, and in Switzerland there were the so-called Wood Brothers and Sisters. People who did not want to live a monastic life but who wanted to live alone in the forest had both a closeness to nature and also a great experience of spiritual inner life. Such Wood Brothers and Sisters could be personalities on a high level who had a spiritual fate and had to renounce active life for a time and isolate themselves to find their own inner relation to God. It is not very different from what the shaman does in the Polar tribes, or what medicine men do all over the world, in order to seek an immediate personal religious experience in isolation.

  ...If we avoid the descent because of fear of what we will discover about ourselves in the "underworld," we block ourselves off from a powerful transformative process. This process has been recognized by modern psychologists and ancient mystery religions alike.
  --from Women of Wisdom by Tsultrim Allione

 

• October 4
       The Prajna Paramita is a very profound philosophical doctrine, and I will just outline the main ideas in it in order to clarify the Chöd. First we start off with the confused egocentric state of mind. This state of mind causes us to suffer, and so, to alleviate the suffering, we start to practice meditation. What happens in meditation is that the speedy mind begins to slow down and things begin to settle, like the mud sinking to the bottom of a puddle of water when it is left undisturbed. When this settling has occurred, a kind of clear understanding of the way things work in the mind takes place. This understanding is prajna, profound cognition.
       Then, according to Buddhist doctrine, through the use of this prajna, we begin to see that, in fact, although we think that we have a separate and unique essence, or self, which we call the "ego," when we look closely, we are a composite of form, sense-perceptions, consciousness, etc., and are merely a sum of these parts. This realization is the understanding of sunyata, usually translated as emptiness, or voidness. It means there is no self-essence, that we are "void of a self." If we are void of a self, there is no reason to be egocentric, since the whole notion of a separate ego is false. Therefore we can afford to be compassionate, and need not continually defend ourselves or force our desires onto others.
  --from Women of Wisdom by Tsultrim Allione

 

• September 27
       There is a film called Groundhog Day, which is really a Buddhist movie because this is exactly what the plot is about. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's about somebody who had to relive the same day again and again until he got it right. He started out with an extremely negative attitude, and so throughout the first day he created a lot of negative causes.
       People related back to him from his own level of negativity, and so he had a very bad day. Then the next day he had to experience the same day all over again. Then again, and again. He became desperate to find a way out. He attempted suicide many times, but the next morning, there he was again in the same room and the same bed. The date hadn't changed, and the same song was playing on the radio. His attitude underwent many, many changes, until in the end he spent most of his time trying to help people. He forestalled tragedies he knew were going to happen because he had lived the day over so many times, and his whole attitude gradually turned around into working out ways to help others. As his inner attitude transformed, the day gradually got better and better. Finally, he was able to break through to a new day.
       The important thing is how we respond to our situation. We can transform anything if we respond in a skillful way. This is precisely what karma is about. If we greet situations with a positive attitude, we will eventually create positive returns.
       If we respond with a negative attitude, negative things will eventually come our way. Unlike the scenario in the movie, it doesn't always happen right away. We can be very nice people but still have lots of problems. On the other hand, we can be awful people and have a wonderful time. But from a Buddhist perspective, it's just a matter of time before we receive the results of our conduct. And usually it is true that people with a positive attitude encounter positive circumstances. Even if the circumstances do not appear positive, they be transformed through a positive view. On the other hand people with negative minds complain even when things are going well. They also transform circumstances, but they transform positive ones into negative ones!
       Both our present and our future depend on us. From moment to moment, we are creating our future. We are not a ball of dust tossed about by the winds of fate. We have full responsibility for our lives. The more aware we become, the more capable we are of making skillful choices.
  --from Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism by Venerable Tenzin Palmo

 

• September 20
       Idle talk is usually considered a destructive action because it wastes our time. But if our friend is depressed and can't listen to wise advice, we can joke, tell silly stories, and use small talk to lighten his mood. Because our motivation is kind, our joking and chatting are positive.
       Laughing and having a good time aren't in opposition to Dharma. The more we leave behind attachment, anger, jealousy, and pride, the more we'll enjoy whatever we're doing. Our hearts will open to others and we can laugh and smile with ease. The holy beings I've been fortunate to meet have a wonderful sense of humor and are very friendly.
       In Buddhist groups, it's important for people to get to know each other and have a sense of fellowship. We can share experiences with our Dharma friends and encourage each other on the path. Buddhism isn't an isolated path, and it's important for Buddhists to cultivate group unity and companionship.
       It's not beneficial to retreat inside ourselves, thinking, "Every time I talk to someone I'm motivated by attachment. Therefore I'll concentrate on meditation and chanting and won't socialize with others." One of the fundamental principles of Buddhism is care and compassion for others. Although at times we may need to distance ourselves from others in order to settle our own minds, whenever possible we should actively develop genuine love for others. To do this, we must be aware of what's happening in others' lives, care about them as we do ourselves, and offer help whenever possible. Our ability to act with love develops with time and practice, and it has to be balanced with our need for private contemplation.
  --from Taming the Mind by Thubten Chodron

 

• September 14
       ...blissful light, with a Chenrezig on the tip of each ray, streams out of you and touches each and every sentient being--those whom you like, those whom you don't, and those you don't know. When this glowing light touches each sentient being, it performs two functions: it purifies them of their negativities, and it inspires them to realize all the stages of the path to enlightenment. We may start imagining the light touching the beings in the room and gradually spreading out to those in the area, the country, the continent, the world, and the universe. Or we can start with our friends and family, then radiate light to strangers, and finally to those who have harmed us or of whom we're afraid. Or, we can first radiate light to human beings, then animals, hungry ghosts, hell beings, demi-gods, and gods. We can use our creativity and imagination when doing this visualization. Each meditation session can have a different emphasis.
       It's very easy to love sentient beings in a general way. But it's more effective to be specific in our visualizations. Send light to the guy who cut you off on the highway. Send light to the IRS employee who questioned your tax return. Send light to the terrorist who thinks that killing others in the name of God will cause him to be reborn in heaven. Send light to government leaders who think that bombing others solves problems. Send light to your teenager who leaves his room a mess and gets mad when you comment on it. Send light to specific people you know and care about, people who are having problems, strangers, and people you don't like. Send it to hospitals, the Middle East, the inner cities, and Beverly Hills. There's suffering everywhere. The light frees sentient beings from their suffering.
  --from Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig by Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• September 7
       In Tibetan drenpa means "mindfulness," and sheshin means "awareness." Drenpa also means "mindfulness and memory." It means that one is mindful of what one is doing and remembers what one has to do whether one is meditating, whether one has lost the power of concentration, and so on. Mindfulness is like a causal condition and awareness is like the result. If one has very concentrated mindfulness, one immediately notices a thought arising and this becomes awareness, which becomes sheshin, and one knows what is occurring. Normally, one does not know what is in one's mind or what one is thinking, so there is no awareness. But if one has mindfulness, then it is said to the extent that mindfulness brings mental stability, one has awareness. So when one has mindfulness, it is through one's awareness of what is happening.
       At this level of pacification we become aware of the negative qualities of distraction. Santideva explains this by saying that when the mind is distracted, it is between the fangs of the wild animal of the kleshas [emotional obscurations], and from mental distractions come all the difficulties and mental hardships of this and future lives. Being in a state of distraction will increase the negative qualities of the mind more and more. However, being aware of the negative qualities motivates us to meditate.
  --from The Practice of Tranquillity and Insight: A Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Meditation by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, translated by Peter Roberts

 

• August 30
       In Chapter 4 we looked at the when and where of meditation. Whatever works best for you, given your personal circumstances and temperament, the important thing is to do it regularly, preferably every day.
       I would also recommend that you keep the session to a length of time that feels comfortable. This is because in the early stages of meditation it's easy to become discouraged and have thoughts along the lines of: "This might work for other people, but I don't have the right personality/mind/lifestyle/ partner for meditation." Or: "I've been doing this for six months and my concentration is no better than when I started." With thoughts like these, you may start to resent the time you spend meditating and consider giving up.
       Much better to keep your practice light and easy to begin with; short sessions, and concentrated attention, especially towards the end of your practice so that you "finish like a winner" and feel encouraged for the next day. Better to end a short session thinking you could have gone on longer than keep glancing at your watch with the thought that has passed through the mind of every meditator at some stage--"My watch must have stopped. It's been longer than two minutes--surely?!"
       Having reviewed the meditation practices outlined in the previous chapter, you may decide you quite like the sound of several of them. On what basis should they be practiced? My own preference is to have a simple calendar of activity so that, for example, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are breath-counting days; Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are visualization days; and Sundays are for whatever I'm in the mood to do.
       On this point, I once asked a high-ranking Tibetan lama which of a number of meditation practices I should focus on. He gave me an indulgent smile and said simply, "Whichever you enjoy the most." D'oh!
  --from Hurry Up and Meditate: Your Starter Kit for Inner Peace and Better Health by David Michie

 

• August 24
  "Always be sustained by cheerfulness."
       The effectiveness of our practice can be measured by looking at our mood. If we are in better spirits, the practice is working. We can take heart because we have a purpose, to exchange whatever sadness we meet for joy. The smallest personal damage can be put to use to dissolve great suffering and do away with negativity. If there is a way, we try to stop unfortunate things from happening, but when unhappy events occur we meet them optimistically. We never let negativity discourage us or injure our ability to help.
       Setting out on any adventure demands determination. We may have to toil and struggle with setbacks along the way but the trials we face are short-lived. We can endure them because we have a great end in mind: to benefit all sentient beings. Remaining good-natured and enthusiastic shows that our efforts are succeeding. Being cheerful is the sign of a good practitioner.
  --from Mind Training by Ringu Tulku

 

• August 16
       The only conclusion that can legitimately be reached is that the self is a fiction, a mere label superimposed onto the aggregates, a concept created and reified by the mind but lacking any substantial reality. This reasoning process alone does not eliminate the idea, however; it merely weakens it. Because it is so deeply ingrained, the idea of self is only eliminated through repeated meditation on the reasonings of no-self, which enable the yogin to become progressively more familiar with the understanding that no self or essence exists. The Dalai Lama concludes that "when such a realization is maintained and reinforced through constant meditation and familiarization, you will be able to develop it into an intuitive or direct experience." (From Path to Bliss.)
       Many Westerners reject this notion, contending that it would be a sort of cognitive suicide. The idea that the self (which is assumed even by people who reject religions that propound the idea) does not exist is profoundly disturbing to many non-Buddhists, but in Buddhist thought the denial of self is not seen as constituting a loss, but rather is viewed as a profoundly liberating insight. Since the innate idea of self implies an autonomous, unchanging essence, if such a thing were in fact the core of one's being, it would mean that change would be impossible, and one would be stuck being just what one is right now. Because there is no such self, however, we are open toward the future. One's nature is never fixed and determined, and so through engaging in Buddhist practice one can exert control over the process of change and progress in wisdom, compassion, patience, and other good qualities. One can even become a buddha, a fully awakened being who is completely liberated from all the frailties, sufferings, and limitations of ordinary beings. But this is only possible because there is no permanent and static self, no soul that exists self-sufficiently, separated from the ongoing process of change.
  --from A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• August 9
       I often encounter people in and our of my office who seem to be lost in thought. I sometimes ask them what they are thinking about. They are usually startled by the question. They look at me blankly and are often surprised to hear themselves admit with embarrassment that they don't know or can't say. Or they describe one small, fleeting fragment of disconnected thought. The "normal" human state of mind is constant, incessant thinking--an enigmatically linked stream of consciousness, sensations, memories, feelings, desires, fears, and chatter. And at the center of the narrative, the star of the show is always--ME! This is why the first leg of the journey requires courage. To become familiar with the chaotic, egotistical, and often nonsensical narrative of our own mind stream is disconcerting and painful. To discover directly that we are literally "lost in thought" can be frightening. But this is where we are and where we must begin.
       It's consoling to remember that everyone is neurotic, each one of us. The "normal" mind suffers from a complex of conflicting desires and aversions. The best we can do is to become aware of our neuroses, to become wiser in our thinking and our conduct of life. In my experience, meditation is the most direct and efficient method for developing self-awareness. Self-awareness is not a steady state because experience is not a steady state. Through the practice of meditation, we can learn to watch our ever-fluctuating mental processes from a more detached, aerial perspective. Without necessarily understanding ourselves in some intellectual way, we can directly discover how the mind works. The mind has its causes and effects, its motivations and intentions, and its awareness and evaluation of their possible consequences.
  --from Vinegar Into Honey: Seven Steps to Understanding and Transforming Anger, Aggression, and Violence by Ron Leifer

 

• August 2
  Whatever appears, nothing has moved from the absolute nature.
  Decide that nothing is extraneous to the absolute nature, taking the example of gold jewelry.
  
       Once we know how to remain in the absolute nature, the manifold thoughts that arise in the mind are no different from gold jewelry. One can make all sorts of things out of gold, such as earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, but although they have a variety of different shapes, they are all made of gold. Likewise, if we are able to not move from the absolute nature, however many thoughts we might have, they never depart from the recognition of the absolute nature. A yogi for whom this is the case never departs from that realization, whatever he does with his body, speech, and mind. All his actions arise as the outer display or ornament of wisdom. All the signs one would expect from meditating on a deity come spontaneously without him actually doing any formal practice. The result of mantra recitation is obtained without his having to do a large number of recitations. In this way everything is included in the recognition that nothing is ever extraneous to the absolute nature.
       In that state one does not become excited at pleasant events or depressed by unpleasant ones.
  --from Zurchungpa's Testament: A Commentary on Zurchung Sherab Trakpa's 'Eighty Chapters of Personal Advice' by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, based on Shechen Gyaltsap's Annotated Edition, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group

 

• July 27
  128.
  Desire is painful because of not getting,
  Anger is painful through lack of might,
  And confusion through not understanding.
  Because of this, these are not recognized.
  
       Desire produces suffering when one does not encounter what one badly wants. Anger produces suffering when one lacks might to crush the strong. Confusion* induces suffering when one fails to understand a subtle matter thoroughly. The inability to recognize these forms of suffering when one is overwhelmed by desire and so forth is great suffering indeed. Therefore, persevere in getting rid of the disturbing emotions. It is like a poor man's son who suffered because he wanted a queen.
       A certain poor man wanted a queen, but kings keep their queens heavily guarded, and because he could not get her, his desire made him suffer. He felt anger toward the king for guarding his queens well, and since he could not do the slightest harm to the king, he suffered acutely on account of his anger. Blinded by desire and anger his confusion grew, and unable to understand the situation properly, he was tormented by the suffering it caused him.
  --from Aryadeva's Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way: with Commentary by Gyel-tsap by Aryadeva and Gyeltsap, additional commentary by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated by Ruth Sonam
            * confusion's function is to feed desire and anger.

 

• July 19
       We usually discriminate strongly between someone who intends to harm us and someone who doesn't. We think, "That's all right; he didn't mean it"; or the person who has harmed us can say, "Why do you blame me so much? I didn't mean to." But we get really angry when we know people mean to harm us. How could we possibly see such people as intimate, close, dear--as dear as our best of friends?
       If you can retain a little compassion when people harm you unintentionally, you have made progress. But if you retain it when someone intends to harm you, you are really successful. It's not that you think, "This person is marvelous; she's trying to rob me," but you don't take these facts as reasons for hating the person. You recognize the intention and put your wallet in your front pocket. You take such measures, but the conditions that prompted them no longer serve as reasons for hatred.
       Our wish to love everyone and the actual attitudes we have under pressure are in constant conflict. That's just the way we are. We've been wandering in cyclic existence since beginningless time, because of desire and hatred, and it's going to take a lot of familiarization to change this. Be relaxed about it. Don't put pressure on yourself, thinking things like, "Oh, I'm a scumbag because I hate so deeply." Rather, try this attitude: "I have to admit it. As much as my ideals say I should love so-and-so--or at least be neutral--I have to face the fact that I don't." Go easy on yourself.
  --from A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• July 12
       Because spirits can be positive or negative in relation to humans, it is wise to be careful with practices that connect the practitioner to a spirit. It is currently popular for people to take drum journeys in their imaginations and to look for guardian spirits and power animals and so on. Although usually this is beneficial, or at least harmless, there really are beings with whom the rare individual will connect. Not all of them are beings anyone should want to connect with. There seems to be little regard for who the being is; this can be a dangerous practice. People are much more careful about choosing a business partner or a roommate than they seem to be about choosing a non-physical being for a guide or guardian.
  --from Healing with Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra and Dzogchen by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

 

• July 5
       According to Tibetan Buddhism, ordinary beings are born into life situations in which they are destined to suffer and die. This is the result of former contaminated actions and afflictions, which have been accumulated since beginningless time. Because of this process, physical and mental afflictions are deeply rooted in sentient beings, and so it is generally considered necessary to prepare oneself for tantric practice by engaging in the "preliminary practices," or ngondro (sngon 'gro, purvagama), in order to begin to reverse one's negative conditioning. These practices combine physical movements with visualization in order to transform the mind from one that is fixated on mundane concerns and desires into one that is primarily oriented toward religious practice for the benefit of others. Some teachers consider these preparatory trainings to be so essential to successful tantric practice that they will not give tantric initiations to those who have not completed them, and even teachers who are willing to waive them generally stress their importance. The preliminary practices are: (1) taking refuge; (2) prostration; (3) Vajrasattva meditation; (4) mandala offering; and (5) guru yoga.
  --from A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• June 28
       ...all apparent phenomena are nothing but delusion and there is, moreover, no freedom from delusion to be achieved by dispelling delusion. Delusion is, by its own essence, completely pure and, hence, enlightened. All phenomena are, in this way, primordially, fully, and completely enlightened. Phenomena appearing as various attributes are, therefore, indeed the mandala of vajra body, speech, and mind. They are like the Buddhas of the three times, never transcending the essence of complete purity. Sentient beings and Buddhas are not differentiated in terms of their essence. Just like distinct causes and results appearing in a dream, they are nothing but perceptions of individual minds brought forth by the power of imputation.
       Here the issue might be raised, "although the scriptures do teach his, there is no certainty whether it is to be taken at face value or requires interpretation. Therefore the essential purity of phenomena may well be established, but it is unreasonable to say that precisely the nature of that which appears as subjects with attributes is primordially enlightened. For, if it were that way, thorough affliction and samsara would be entirely absent. There can't be a reasoning that establishes such a philosophy." The conceptual mind that takes objects that appear in the experience of sentient beings as valid is, since beginningless time, deluded. It accepts or negates with reference to the way things appear to it. With such dialectics it is, indeed, not possible to establish the vast and profound meaning. Nevertheless, since the nature of phenomena is inconceivable, it is not the case that there is no way to realize it by means of discriminating knowledge. Thus it is not in any way a mistake if one, rather than that, is inclined to approach simply by faith, regarding the scriptures and oral instructions as valid. One will then gain access through trust.
       One may object, "Well, if one cannot prove [the primordial mandala] with reasoning, one cannot gain access to it either." We can prove it as follows: That phenomena are fully enlightened as the mandala of vajra body, speech, and mind is proven with the reasoning of the intrinsic nature. Just as it is stated in a sutra, "Form is empty by nature. Why is that? It is so because that is its nature." All phenomena are pure by their intrinsic nature and, therefore, there is not a single phenomenon that is impure. This is the intrinsic nature of phenomena. Complete purity is, therefore, also the intrinsic nature of body, speech, and mind, and their complete purity is enlightenment. Therefore, body, speech, and mind, distinguished by their complete purity, are inseparable, free from mental constructs, and perfectly pervasive. One must in this way understand them to be the mandala of vajra body, speech, and mind.
  --from Establishing Appearances as Divine: Rongzom Chözang on Reasoning, Madhyamaka, and Purity by Heidi I. Köppl

 

• June 22
       Why do we want to be wise and compassionate? If it's because we would simply like to be wise and compassionate, we are off course, because the "I" cannot attain wisdom and compassion. Wisdom and compassion can only be revealed once the "I" has disappeared. When we reach this level, we will be able to benefit others. In the meantime, it is the blind leading the blind. All true religions seek to gain access to that level of consciousness which is not ego-bound. In Buddhism, it is called the unconditioned, the unborn, the deathless. You can call it anything you like. You can call it atman. You can call it anatman. You can call it God. The fact is, there is a subtle level of consciousness which is the core of our being, and it is beyond our ordinary conditioned state of mind. We can all experience this. Some people experience it through service, others through devotion. Some even think they can experience it through analysis and intellectual discipline. Buddhists usually try to access it through meditation. That's what we are doing. Breaking through to the unconditioned in order to help others break through to the unconditioned. But we have to start where we are, from right here. We start with these minds, these bodies, these problems, these weaknesses, and these strengths.
  --from Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism by Venerable Tenzin Palmo

 

• June 14
       Dampa said, "If these practitioners want buddhahood, they must reverse their present behavior!"

       [Kunga] asked, "What is wrong with their present behavior?"

  He said:
  They practice thinking that what are in actuality obstacles are attainments!
  They meet the liberating path, but doubting and striving, they part from it!
  Doubting if they should refrain from their ill-omened actions, they suffer!
  The speech of those without experience has become Dharma--supposedly the view.
  Kunga is never parted from his prayers for the three village girls!
  Now, draw your own conclusions!

  *     *     * Dampa said:
  When I see people clinging to illusions as real, compassion arises with a force.
  If one considers the sufferings of the six realms in terms of oneself, one has no time to remain ordinary.
  When one sees that the characteristic of samsara is suffering, a mind wanting nothing whatsoever is born!
  When one sees the various bases as rootless, self-grasping is not born!
  When impermanence is born in the mind, faith and perseverance will come together!
  Those who grasp at permanence will not destroy persistent grasping at things as real!
  Kunga! Internalize truthlessness and throw the kitchen sauce into the water!

  --from Lion of Siddhas: The Life and Teachings of Padampa Sangye translated by David Molk, with Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche

 

• June 7
       The term "meditation" carries with it a burden of trendy, pseudo-mystical connotations. The biggest mistake people make is to think that they will "get something" out of meditation. It would be more accurate to think they will be getting rid of something. Awareness practice undermines our unwitting subjugation to hypermentation. It cuts through the cascade of thoughts and feelings that distract us from the present moment where life actually happens. The inner newsreel, with its imagined or distorted dramas, becomes less urgent and seductive. The unexamined hopes and fears that have thrown us into automatic or reflexive behavior lose their power to toss us about. What we get rid of, initially, is a great deal of compelling noise with no point or real substance to it. Even by becoming aware of its nature we de-reify it, render it less solid and intractable.
       ...How can we sort out our neuroses when the mind is a wild, chaotic mess of fragmented thought? How can we work with our anger when we experience it as a deluge of highly charged, urgent impulses, all mixed in with fleeting bits of narrative, physical sensations, whispers of memory, rushes of fear, and the visceral press to act? We can't. Every beginning meditator discovers very quickly that the mind has a mind of its own. No beginner sits down, says, "Peace! Be still!" and accomplishes enlightenment. It's enough at the start just to see, discover, and acknowledge the chatter. That, in itself, is a great step towards self-awareness. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche taught that the awareness of our confusion is the first step towards clarity.
       Over time, we can learn to just take note of whatever arises without being pushed and pulled emotionally. We can sit still and not respond reflexively to our hypermentation. We can allow ourselves to rest, to gently release thoughts, to find a quiet space apart from the discursive jumble. We can choose to be simply and quietly aware. In these quiet moments, experiences arise much more clearly and distinctly. Only then can we discover the source of our suffering and our anger.
       I once attended a conference between a highly esteemed Tibetan lama, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and a group of psychiatrists. Someone asked Rinpoche: "What is meditation?" Rinpoche looked playfully puzzled, pretended not to understand, and after a brief consultation with his translator, answered: "Meditation? Meditation? I don't know what that means. We have another word for it which means 'paying attention to.'" Whatever the style, to meditate is to pay attention.
  --from Vinegar into Honey: Seven Steps to Understanding and Transforming Anger, Aggression, and Violence by Ron Leifer, M.D.

 

• May 31
       The recognition that worldly attainments just do not provide enduring happiness, and that we need to work on the internals, rather than the externals, is an important motivation. It is also the basis of achieving nirvana, often represented by the lotus flower. It is no accident that most statues of Buddha have him sitting on cushions resting on a lotus flower--the symbol of renunciation.
       But what if we achieve nirvana? What if, through extreme diligence, we attain its supreme peace and happiness? Would that be enough, or is there a more profound level of motivation still?
       Some years ago a number of tourists were kidnapped by terrorists in the Philippines, and held hostage in the jungle for many months. Finally they were released in small groups. I will never forget the reaction of one hostage who was interviewed at the airport on his way home to join his wife, who had been freed just days earlier.
       You would think that after months of extreme privation and the constant threat of uncertainty and death, returning safely to one's wife, home, and family would be a cause for joyful celebration. But the hostage, while relieved, could only think of the group of hostages he'd left behind. Those who, in the preceding months, had been his fellow prisoners, whom he now knew better than anyone else, and with whom in several cases, he had formed unique and profound bonds of attachment. His overriding concern was to ensure that those still being held captive would be safely released to experience the same freedom he had now. Only then would he really be able to celebrate.
  --from Buddhism for Beginners: Finding Happiness in an Uncertain World by David Michie

 

• May 23
       Advanced meditators develop the ability to create environments of their own choosing, and they are able to transcend the sufferings that seem so real to ordinary beings who are bound by mundane conceptions. According to Tsong Khapa, for one who attains advanced levels of meditation painful cognitions no longer occur, no matter what external experiences one encounters. All of one's cognitions are a union of bliss and emptiness. One recognizes that nothing is inherently what it appears to be. Whatever occurs is perceived by one's unshakably blissful consciousness as the sport of luminosity and emptiness, and so

  "for a Bodhisattva who has attained the meditative stabilisation of bliss pervading all phenomena, only a feeling of pleasure arises with respect to all objects; pain and neutrality do not occur, even though [pieces from his body] the size of a small coin are cut or even though his body is crushed by elephants, only a discrimination of bliss is maintained."
     --Tsong-ka-pa on Ratnarakshita's Commentary

       Tantric texts stress that such bodhisattvas are not creating a delusional system in order to hide from the harsher aspects of reality. Rather, they are transforming reality, making it conform to an ideal archetype. Since all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they have no fixed nature. No one ever apprehends an object as it is in its true nature, because there is no such nature. Even if phenomena had fixed essences, we would still never be able to perceive them, since all we ever experience are our cognitions of objects, which are overlaid with conceptions about them. All our perceptions are ideas about things, and not real things. These ideas are also empty, arising from nothingness and immediately dissolving again into nothingness, leaving nothing behind. Tantric adepts develop the ability to reconstitute "reality," which is completely malleable for those who train in yogas involving blissful consciousnesses realizing emptiness. The sense of bliss pervades all their cognitions, and their understanding of emptiness allows them to generate minds that are manifestations of bliss and emptiness.
  --from A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• May 19
       Why is it that meeting our yidam deity directly and receiving the deity's blessing are so important? If we are studying texts and wish to become great scholars, there are an inconceivable number of the Buddha's teachings along with the treatises that comment on them. All these have to be studied diligently so that we can come to a basic understanding of their meaning; beyond this, it is extremely difficult to enter into the more subtle levels. In all of this practice and study, it is our own mind that is central. Without a great blessing or without awakening the generative power of previous habitual patterns, it will be extremely difficult to realize primordial wisdom.
       Lord Maitreya stated that bodhisattvas abiding on the various levels are not able to attain omniscience immediately, and he also affirmed that we do not need to become expert in all five traditional Buddhist sciences. Among these are all classifications of the inner science that deals with the mind. In the practice of the Secret Mantrayana, it is said that as long as objects continue to arise in our minds, so long will the classifications of the Secret Mantrayana last. As long as we have not realized the simultaneity of concepts and liberation, as long as we have not been blessed with the knowledge that knowing the nature of one phenomenon liberates us into knowing the nature of all, we need to train from lifetime to lifetime in the many aspects of the teachings. If we try to become expert in all five sciences or try to know all the objects of knowledge, our training will be endless. For these reasons, it is extremely important to seek accomplishments and blessings from the yidam deity, for through the blessing of the deity, our positive habitual patterns from the past will be awakened and the doubts that cloud our minds will be cleared away.
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• May 10
  Observing the Mind Itself
  
       The primary meditative technique of great perfection is remaining in the state of pure awareness. This is accomplished by calming the mind and then abiding in comprehension of its basic clear light nature. The meditative practice involves being cognizant of the arising and passing away of feelings, emotions, sensations, etc., but understanding them within the context of pure awareness. The more one does this, the more one realizes that all phenomena arise from mind and remerge into it. They are of the nature of pure awareness and are a projection of luminosity and emptiness. Through cultivating this understanding, mental phenomena of their own accord begin to subside, allowing the clear light nature of mind to become manifest. They appear as reflections on the surface of a mirror and are perceived as illusory, ephemeral, and nonsubstantial.
       Those who succeed in this practice attain a state of radical freedom: there are no boundaries, no presuppositions, and no habits on which to rely. One perceives things as they are in their naked reality. Ordinary beings view phenomena through a lens clouded by concepts and preconceptions, and most of the world is overlooked or ignored. The mind of the great perfection adept, however, is unbounded, and everything is possible. For many beginners, this prospect is profoundly disquieting, because since beginningless time we have been constricted by rules, laws, assumptions, and previous actions. One who is awakened, however, transcends all such limitations; there is no ground on which to stand, no limits, nothing that must be done, and no prohibitions. This awareness is bottomless, unfathomable, immeasurable, permeated by joy, unboundedness, and exhilaration. One is utterly free, and one's state of mind is as expansive as space. Those who attain this level of awareness also transcend physicality and manifest the "rainbow body" ('ja lus), a form comprising pure light that cannot decay, which has no physical aspects, and which is coterminous with the nature of mind.
  --from A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• May 3
       The practice of Dzogchen may begin with doing fixation on an object, in order to calm one's thoughts. Then one relaxes the fixation, dissolving the dependence on the object, and one fixes one's gaze in open space. Then, when one succeeds in making the calm state stable, it is important to work with the movement of one's thoughts and one's energy, integrating this movement with the presence of contemplation. At this point one is ready to apply contemplation in one's daily life. The system of practice just described is characteristic of the Series of the Nature of the Mind, but that is not to say that in Dzogchen one must necessarily begin with fixation and meditation on a calm state. In the Series of Primordial Space, and the Series of Secret Instructions, for example, one enters directly into the practice of contemplation. Particularly in the former, there are very precise instructions on how to find the pure state of contemplation. In the latter, on the other hand, the explanations are mainly concerned with how one continues in contemplation in all circumstances.
       The practice of contemplation is concisely explained in the line that reads, "but vision nevertheless manifests: all is good." Even if the condition of "what is" cannot be grasped with the mind, the whole manifestation of the primordial state, including our karmic vision, does nevertheless exist. All the various aspects of forms, colours, and so on, continue to arise without interruption. When we find ourselves in contemplation, this doesn't mean that our impure vision just disappears and pure vision manifests instead. If we have a physical body, there is a karmic cause for that, so there would be no sense in trying to abandon or deny the situation we find ourselves in. We just need to be aware of it. If we have a vision of the material, physical level of existence, which is the cause of so very many problems, we need to understand that this vision is only the gross aspect of the colours, which are the essence of the elements.
  --from Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, edited by Adriano Clemente, translated by John Shane

 

• April 26
       Emphasizing neither renunciation nor transformation, though incorporating both into its preparatory practices, the Great Completeness privileges a method know as "self-liberation" (rang 'grol), sometimes described as "liberation in its own spot" (rang sar 'grol). Liberation takes place in the situation just as it is, because one's mind and all things are, despite powerful appearances to the contrary, primordially pure. If one has not yet made this essential discovery, the Great Bliss Queen ritual can prepare one for it. If one is familiar with the Great Completeness perspective, one performs the visualization and recitation of the Great Bliss Queen ritual entirely within an experience of innate awareness. In either case, the ritual encompasses the three nondualisms already discussed.
       One way of accessing the primordial purity so important to the Great Completeness tradition is a practice known as "pure vision." This involves visualizing companions, family, surroundings, and so forth as creations of light, the habitat of an enlightened being. From the viewpoint of the Great Completeness, such pure vision is not an imaginative overlay, but a move toward understanding things as they are. As Khetsun Sangpo taught it, this practice allows you to understand that apparently ordinary things and persons have "been [primordially pure] from the beginning" so that "you are identifying their own proper nature. Your senses normally misrepresent what is there, but through this visualization you can come closer to what actually exists." In short, by identifying one's body, companions, and world with those of the Great Bliss Queen, one develops the ability to discover what has always been there. This being so, there is no need to renounce or change anything, only to see it more completely. This is the Great Completeness tradition's special mix of ontological and cognitive nondualisms. Unlike the tantric traditions, in which it is necessary to cease the coarse sense and mental consciousness in order for the most subtle mind of clear light to appear, the Dalai Lama observes that "in the Old [Nyingma] Translation School of the Great Completeness it is possible to be introduced to the clear light without the cessation of the six operative consciousnesses." Hence the possibility of "discovering" what is already in our midst. Such discovery reveals a spontaneous presence (yon dan hlun gyis grub ba) of collateral qualities such as clarity and spontaneous responsiveness. Thus, comments Longchen Rabjam, "primordially pure primordial wisdom is free in the face of thought and the primordial wisdom, with a nature of spontaneity, abides as primordial radiance, and profound clarity."
  --from Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self by Anne Carolyn Klein

 

• April 19
  Who is the supreme friend
  always helpful in times of need?
  Mindfulness of the spiritual instructions
  learned through study and contemplation.
  —The Seventh Dalai Lama
  
       Ordinary friends desert us when we fall on hard times or become an inconvenience in their lives. Others simply disappear into their own destinies. Even our spiritual teachers eventually die and leave us behind.
       Our practice of the Dharma, however, that has been cultivated by means of study, contemplation and meditation, is the one sure anchor that keeps our ship stable when the seas become choppy. In fact, the more difficult the situation we encounter, the more helpful it is to us.
       When the Buddha had become very old and was preparing to pass away, several of his disciples were overcome with grief. They asked him, "What will we do after you are gone?" He replied, "Whenever you rely upon my teachings, at that time I am there with you."
       The Second Dalai Lama wrote, "When we know how to rely on the Dharma, we are able to be happy in every situation. Where could one find a more trustworthy and reliable friend?"
  --from Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama by Glenn H. Mullin

 

• April 12
       ...while walking in a park the body may be in the park while the mind is off working in the office, or at home, or talking to a distant friend, or making a list of groceries. That means the mind has disconnected from the body. Instead, when looking at a flower, really look at it. Be fully present. With the help of the flower, bring the mind back to the part. Appreciation for sensory experience reconnects mind and body. When the experience of the flower is felt throughout the body, a healing occurs; this can be the same when seeing a tree, smelling smoke, feeling the cloth of your shirt, hearing a bird call, or tasting an apple. Train yourself to vividly experience sensory objects without judgment. Try completely to be the eye with form, the nose with smell, the ear with sound, and so on. Try to be complete in experience while remaining in just the bare awareness of the sensory object.
       When this ability is developed, reactions will still occur. Upon seeing the flower, judgements about its beauty will arise, or a smell may be judged to be foul. Even so, with practice the connection the pure sensory experience can be maintained rather than continuing to become lost in the mind's distraction. Being distracted by a cloud of concepts is a habit and it can be replaced with a new habit: using bodily sensual experience to bring us to presence, to connect us to the beauty of the world, to the vivid and nourishing experience of life that lies under our distractions. This is the underpinning of successful dream yoga.
  --from The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, edited by Mark Dahlby

 

• April 5
       ...when you recognize how kind someone has been to you, you are using an ordinary worldly attitude to help keep you from responses of hatred. For instance, if someone gave me a grant with a blank check to form a team of translators of Tibetan thought, I would be more than extremely pleased. Now if the person who gave me the money came by someday and gave me a hard time, I would feel a measure of restraint due to reflecting on the person's kindness. I would seek other means to work things out with the person. When you reflect how kind every person has been, there is that restraint to the point where, believe it or not, trained Buddhists will look at a fly or an ant walking across the table and think, "This is someone who bore me in her womb in a former lifetime, who took care of me."
       If you watch how mothers take precautions for a child in the womb, it is clear that they do a great deal to help it. They eat nourishing foods and avoid harmful substances like coffee, alcohol, nicotine, and drugs. If you reflect on how such a mother takes care of the child in the womb and extend this reflection to all sentient beings, I think that because your field of awareness is no longer just a few sentient beings but is gradually expanding to more and more, you can reflect on the mother's kindness without doing it merely because you were helped. The staggering debt deflates your sense of exaggerated importance. The boil is pricked.
  --from A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• March 29
       Once we realize emptiness, all phenomena are included within this reality, which is not separate from the cause and effect of karma and which is free of mental constructs. On this ultimate level of realization, it is possible to state that there is no wholesome or unwholesome action. When we have realized the nature of all phenomena, negative actions naturally subside and positive ones are spontaneously accomplished. Until this time, however, we would be slipping into nihilism if we said that the phenomena of relative truth, such as positive and negative actions or karma, do not exist.
       Just knowing this authentic view, however, is not enough. For others to be able to experience it, we must also know the scriptures and reasonings so that we can teach. Without the support of this knowledge, it will be difficult for others to trust what we say, and so Milarepa speaks of scripture and reasoning as an adornment to realization.

  Dissolving thoughts into the dharmakaya--
  Is this not meditation naturally arising?
  Join it with experience
  To make it beautifully adorned.

       One way to understand meditation is to see it as a practice of working with the many thoughts that arise in our mind. With realization they arise as mere appearances of the dharmakaya, the natural arising of mind's essential nature. Being clear about this true nature of thought is called "attaining the level of natural arising." At this point, there is no difference in any thought that may arise, because we see the nature of each thought to be emptiness, arising as the dharmakaya. Meditation could be defined as realizing the dharmakaya of the Buddha.
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art & Teachings of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• March 22
  (Each day before breakfast the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, Thubten Chodron, gives a morning motivation for residents and guests. Below is a teaching given during March 2008.)
  
  Quiet Place
  
       Have you ever had this experience? You walk outside, and all of a sudden the silence strikes you--it's in such sharp contrast to the chatter that's going on in the mind.
       We live in a very quiet place. We walk outside and it's pretty quiet--a few birds chirping, sun shining. Then suddenly the chatter in the mind stops because we see that it's just chatter. It's in such stark contrast to the silence that's outside.
       We want to learn to notice that chatter before we even have to walk outside. And we want to be able to find that quiet place inside ourselves and keep it with us, so that even when we're in a place where there is a lot of noise, the mind can be quiet.
       All that mental chatter is basically negative conceptualization. If we were thinking about emptiness or developing compassion with that kind of mental activity, fine! Continue that outside, inside, everywhere. But most of the time what's going on is, "I like this. I don't like this. I want this. I don't want that. Why does this person do this? Why don't they do that?" That kind of mental activity makes the mind quite stressful as well as accumulates negative karma and wastes a great deal of time.
       As soon as we can catch it and be aware of what's going on in our mind, and come back to that silent space inside, the more peaceful we'll be. Our lives will be more productive in terms of having the Dharma grow in our hearts, and we’ll be more focused in whatever daily activities we're doing. We won't be quite so distracted.
  Thubten Chodron is the author of numerous books, including Buddhism for Beginners; Taming the Mind; Open Heart, Clear Mind; and Working with Anger

 

• March 15
  In ascertaining luminous clarity at the time of the path, the general technique is to rest evenly in the very essence of luminous clarity. Telopa said:
  
  Rest relaxed within the uncontrived native state;
  Bonds are released and freedom is sure.
  
       This and other such instructions are expressed unanimously by the mighty adepts. Accordingly, with the body in the seven-point posture of meditative stability, the mind rests without support, relaxed and uncontrived. This will create the unerring yogic direct perception of emptiness. This is the ultimate esoteric instruction of the completion phase found in the profound tantras. The reason is that once the vital points of the vajra body, which is the support, are bound, the mind, eyes, and energy currents remain in a state of nonthought. Because of the special interconnection between body and mind, the movement in the right and left channels is stopped and immobilized within the central channel, causing the direct experience of mahamudra, emptiness with aspects.
       Therefore the luminous mind, which is the supported, is realized as empty appearance arising as the mahamudra of forms of emptiness. This, again, depends on the dissolution of the energy currents of the right and left channels in the central channel, the supreme support. There is no more profound method for affecting this dissolution than resting the mind once it is uncontrived and relaxed. Therefore, in all the esoteric instructions of highest tantra, this is called "the esoteric instruction of withdrawal" in the presentations.
  --from The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Eight, Part Four: Esoteric Instructions, A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajrayana by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, trans. and annot. by Sarah Harding, foreword by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

 

• March 8
       Persons from orally oriented cultures, writes Ong, tend to project their sensibilities, to see them expressed in the world around them. More widely literate cultures create persons who tend to withdraw for insight into their own personal psyches. Orally oriented peoples may thus be more inclined than persons in print-dominated cultures to set their feelings or experiences in the space around them, including the invisible spirits presumed to occupy that space, and less likely to project these feelings and experiences onto individual persons. In Tibet lineages or sects are the most likely targets of negative projections. Western print-oriented persons are more likely to project their feelings onto other individuals, especially people in significant relationships with them. Unlike Tibet, or the premodern West, the contemporary West tends to identify the mind as the exclusive locus of ideas, feelings, and values. With this localization, the mind becomes "psychic" in a new sense, distinct from bodily soma and from the larger world.
       This very different configuration of personhood affects the way Westerners are likely to understand the Great Bliss Queen practice. For example, there is a tendency among Westerners for "visualization" to be a more disembodied practice than it is for Tibetans. The point in imagining oneself as the Great Bliss Queen is not just to replace one visual image of oneself with another, as if observing a changing scene in a movie theater, but to experience a physical as well as mental shift from deep inside the body.
  --from Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self by Anne Carolyn Klein

 

• March 1
       ...Nagarjuna's Fundamental Treatise says, "That which arises dependently we explain as emptiness. This [emptiness] is dependent designation; this is the middle way." His Refutation of Objections says, "I bow down to the Buddha, the unequaled, supreme teacher, who taught that emptiness, dependent arising, and the middle way hold a single meaning."
       For Tsong-kha-pa, the compatibility of emptiness and dependent arising is the very heart of the Madhyamaka view and the key to the path. Dependent arising means that things come into being in dependence upon causes and conditions. Understanding dependent arising correctly refutes the idea that things exist in and of themselves--because they must depend on other things. In the same moment, it also refutes the nihilist extreme--because it shows that things do arise, they do come into existence, and they affect one another. Thus, Tsong-kha-pa advises that if you think that you may have found the profound view of emptiness, you should check to see if you have negated too much. Can this "emptiness" you have discovered be reconciled with the mere existence of things that arise interdependently? If not, then you are certainly mistaken.
       ...The point is that one cannot become a buddha without both compassionate action and nondual wisdom--and one cannot have these two types of path without both of the two truths, conventional and ultimate. If only emptiness existed and there were, in fact, no conventional truths, then there would be no living beings, no suffering to relieve; thus there would be no compassionate action; and thus there would be no buddhahood. Therefore, maintaining the compatibility of the two truths--the compatibility of emptiness and dependent arising--is crucial to the whole of the Dharma.
  --from Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path by Guy Newland

 

• February 22
       What do you think would be the chief obstacle in recognizing that each individual person has been kind to you? In my case, I was afraid of having to return the kindness, because then I'd be under the control of these people. I didn't want to do what my parents wanted me to do, although they gave me a lot of slack--I left college after my first year, went to the woods of Vermont, went to Tahiti, all on my own with whatever cash I earned. I didn't fit into the upper-middle-class community where we lived. I didn't want their control; the lifestyle they were pushing on me was completely unappealing. Therefore, I refused to recognize their kindness.
       However, assuming a debt with respect to every sentient being differs greatly from having a debt to a few. In this meditation, you start with friends, then neutral persons, and then enemies and contemplate: "I will return the debt of kindness that I have with this person through helping her or him achieve happiness." It is easy to determine that the response to all sentient beings' kindness cannot be to do everything they want, since, with so many people, what they want from you would be at cross-purposes. You cannot even do everything your mother of this lifetime wants you to do, though you know her advice is, for the most part, motivated by kindness....
       Those who help us--our parents, for instance--often attain power over us for that very reason: "Do as I say because I have helped you." Thus, for some, it becomes almost a mental habit to refuse to recognize those who have helped us, because they otherwise would attain some power over us. Still, we know we should return their many kindnesses. That is one reason why the practice of reflecting, "This person has helped me in many intimate ways and thus I must do something in return," gets to be uncomfortable, but when it is extended to more and more beings, we have to find a way of intending to return their kindness without coming under their misguided influence.
       ...one cannot do everything all those sentient beings want. There are so many of them, and they want such contradictory things. Besides, to fulfill what they temporarily want may not be the best way to help them. The greatest of all ways to return their kindness is to help them become free from all suffering and to assist in the process of becoming liberated from cyclic existence and attaining the bliss of Buddhahood. It is important to realize here in the step of developing an intention to return others' kindness that acknowledging a debt does not mean that you must do what they say. Otherwise, you might hold back from the truth of their attentive care.
  --from A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

• February 16
       Praising others should be part of our daily life and a component of our Dharma practice. Imagine what our life would be like if we trained our minds to dwell on others' talents and good attributes. We would feel much happier and so would they! We would get along better with others, and our families, work environments, and living situations would be much more harmonious. We plants the seeds from such positive actions on our mindstream, creating the cause for harmonious relationships and success in our spiritual and temporal aims.
       An interesting experiment is to try to say something nice to or about someone every day for a month. Try it. It makes us much more aware of what we say and why. It encourages us to change our perspective so that we notice others' good qualities. Doing so also improves our relationships tremendously.
       A few years ago, I gave this as a homework assignment at a Dharma class, encouraging people to try to praise even someone they didn't like very much. The next week I asked the students how they did. One man said that the first day he had to make something up in order to speak positively to a fellow colleague. But after that, the man was so much nicer to him that it was easy to see his good qualities and speak about them!
  --from Taming the Mind by Thubten Chodron

 

• February 2 and 9 (technical difficulties on 2/2 so quote was repeated)
       Whenever you consider there is bliss, and the objective conditions for bliss occur, if you fall under the control of that by becoming arrogant or conceited, then that will fester as an obstruction to the spiritual path. Rather than thinking about what has caused this happiness, which most probably is the accumulation of merit or the removal of obscurations, as soon as the bliss occurs, you think, ''That's my nature." Based on that, you become arrogant or lazy, thinking, "Well, I've accomplished it." This is the greatest obstacle to the spiritual path. This is what creates the realms of deva-gods. Oftentimes it is said that people can handle only a little bit of felicity, but they can handle a lot of adversity. This is because happiness on the spiritual path is the most difficult thing to handle. Once it arises, that's where the path stops.
       This does not mean that it is necessary to give it all up. Giving up happiness is not the practice. The main point is not to become mesmerized by happiness as the end result. You realize that, "Ah, now, the good quality of this is that I am fortunate, and this is another result of the great fortune of the path and the result of the accumulation of merit and wholesome deeds. Even more than ever, I will carry on with the work at hand to achieve liberation from cyclic existence." So with more diligence and more courage, you continue listening to teachings, contemplating, meditating, and appreciating this precious human rebirth.
  --from Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche, translated by Sangye Khandro and B. Alan Wallace

 

• January 25
       In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the most profound and commonly practiced teachings are those of the Vajrayana. Within this powerful system of skillful means, the supreme view and most potent methods are found in the teachings and practices of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection. These instructions are regarded as the pinnacle of the teachings and as the most direct path to realizing the nature of mind and the reality of the world.
       The instructions of the Dzogchen lineage are used to directly point out the nature of mind and bring the experience of enlightenment into our ordinary life. These teachings are known as "pith instructions," the pure, quintessential knowledge that cuts through all confusion and gets straight to the point. There is a saying, "Don't beat around the bush," meaning, "Get to the point." That is Dzogchen.
       In many ways, these teachings go beyond scripture and the formality of spiritual techniques. These two do have their place, since it is important to study scripture and meditate in a step-by-step manner. Yet, at some point we also must connect directly with the nature of mind. We have to strike the crucial point, the enlightened state, and leap directly into experiencing and realizing the true nature of our mind.
  --from Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, translated by Cortland Dahl, introduction by Dzogchen Ponlop

 

• January 19
  Two Senses of Self
  
       Psychologists talk about people who are co-dependent because they don't have a sense of self. What psychologists mean when they say a person has no sense of self is very different from what the Buddha meant by no-self or selflessness. People with psychological problems actually have a very strong sense of self in the Buddhist sense, although they may not in the psychological sense of the word. Psychologically, they don't see themselves as efficacious individuals in the world, but they still have a very strong sense of "I": "I am worthless." When somebody criticizes them, they don't like it. They get into co-dependent relationships to protect or to please this "I." When they fall into self-pity, their sense of an inherently existent "I" is very strong. Thus they still have self-grasping even though they lack a psychologically healthy sense of self.
       Buddhism recognizes two kinds of sense of self. There's one sense of self that is healthy and necessary to be efficacious on the path. The object of this sense of self is the conventionally existent "I." The other sense of self grasps at an inherently existent self that never has and never will exist. Within Buddhism, when we talk about realizing emptiness, we're negating the false self, this self that appears inherently existent to us.
  --from Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig by Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• January 12
  From "The Prayer Requested by Namke Nyingbo" by Padmasambhava
  
  All these things of the outer environment and the beings therein
  That come into sight as the objects of your eyes like this,
  They may appear, but leave them in the sphere free from clinging to a self.
  Since they are pure of perceiver and perceived, they are the luminous-empty body of the deity.
  I pray to the guru in whom attachment is self-liberated,
  I pray to Padmasambhava from Uddiyana.
  
  All these sounds, taken as pleasant or unpleasant,
  That resound as the objects of your ears like this,
  Leave them in the sphere of inconceivable, empty resonance.
  Empty resonance, unborn and unceasing, is the Victor's speech.
  I pray to the words of the Victor that resound and yet are empty,
  I pray to Padmasambhava from Uddiyana.
  
  However these thoughts of afflictions' five poisons,
  Which stir as objects in your mind like this, may appear,
  Do not mess around with them through a mind that rushes ahead into the future or lingers in the past.
  Through leaving their movement in its own place, they uncoil as the dharmakaya.
  I pray to the guru whose awareness is self-liberated,
  I pray to Padmasambhava from Uddiyana.
  
  Grant your blessings that the mind stream of someone like me is liberated
  Through the compassion of the Tathagatas of the three times,
  So that objects, appearing as if perceived outside, become pure,
  That my very mind, perceiving as if inside, becomes liberated,
  And that, in between, luminosity will recognize its own face.
  --from Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl

 

• January 4
       Unlike the Lesser Vehicle tenet systems, which teach only a selflessness of persons, the Great Vehicle tenet systems teach that the most profound reality, the most subtle and important type of selflessness, is a selflessness, or emptiness, that is a quality of all phenomena. They hold that the bodhisattva trains in altruistically motivated meditation on the emptiness of all phenomena, thus preparing for the omniscience of buddhahood. Some Great Vehicle systems maintain that Lesser Vehicle practitioners do not realize the profound emptiness of phenomena at all and are therefore unable to overcome the obstructions to omniscience. However, the highest system, the Middle Way Consequence system, holds that persons on Lesser Vehicle paths do realize emptiness, but are unable to achieve omniscience on their paths because their wisdom is not empowered by association with altruism and altruistically motivated actions of giving, ethics, patience, etc.
  --from Appearance and Reality: The Two Truths in the Four Buddhist Tenet Systems by Guy Newland

 

     2007

• December 25
       In Mahayana Buddhism, when one takes the bodhisattva vow, one pledges to work tirelessly in this life and all future lives to awaken oneself and purify oneself in order to help all other beings attain freedom from suffering through spiritual enlightenment. One vows to help beings whenever possible, and a profound way of doing this is to give a being the gift of life through an act of kindness. This can take the form of helping an animal in danger cross the road to safety before being struck by a vehicle or freeing an animal that is in captivity before it is killed by buying it from the captor and letting it roam free. If one is in a position to help save another's life--whether a human or an animal--one must practice fearless kindness to help the other being in danger.
       In Tibetan Buddhism, it is believed that due to the countless incarnations all beings have undergone throughout time, at one point or another any given living creature has been one's mother in a past life. Therefore, it is viewed as an obligation to repay the kindness of those who are referred to as "mother sentient beings." If your own mother in this life were in danger, you would certainly do whatever you could to save her life. Similarly, dedicated holders of the bodhisattva vow feel this kind of urgency to save the lives of all "mother sentient beings."
  --from Compassionate Action by Chatral Rinpoche, edited, introduced and annotated by Zach Larson

 

• December 21
       With the achievement of quiescence, the attention is drawn inwards and is maintained continuously, single-pointedly upon its object. Tsongkhapa emphasizes that genuine quiescence is necessarily preceded by an experience of an extraordinary degree of mental and physical pliancy, which entails an unprecedented sense of mental and physical fitness and buoyancy.
       In the state of meditative equipoise, only the aspects of awareness, clarity, and joy of the mind appear, and all one's other sense faculties remain dormant. Thus, while one's consciousness seems as if it has become indivisible with space, one lacks any sensation of having a body; and when rising from that state, it seems as if one's body is suddenly coming into being. When genuine quiescence is achieved, one's attention can effortlessly be maintained for hours, even days, on end, with no interference by either laxity or excitation.
  --from Balancing the Mind: A Tibetan Buddhist Approach to Refining Attention by B. Alan Wallace

 

• December 15
       There is another way of speaking about the two types of meditation. In this case, they are differentiated into 1) meditation that perceives the object and 2) meditation in which our mind is transformed into a specific affective state. An example of the former is meditating on impermanence and emptiness. These are subtle objects that we must use analytical meditation to perceive. An example of the latter is meditation on the four immeasurables (brahmaviharas)--love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Here we are not trying to perceive a subtle object, but are practicing to transform our minds into those mental states. For example, everyone admires the quality of love, but we cannot just say, "I should love everyone," and expect our deepest feelings to change. First, we must free our minds from the gross obstacles of attachment to friends, hostility to people who threaten or harm us, and apathy towards strangers. On this basis, we then train our mind to recognize the kindness of others, which arouses in us a natural wish to reciprocate and share our kindness with them. After this we meditate on love and cultivate a genuine wish for all sentient beings to have happiness and its causes. Initially that feeling will arise in us but will not be stable. Anger may still flash into our mind making our good feelings towards others disappear. We need to cultivate love continuously and do so with a focused mind. The greater our concentration, the more stable and penetrative the experience will be.
  --from Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path by Ven. Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• December 8
       Mantras are invocations to buddhas...prayers, or a combination of these. Tantric practitioners repeat them in order to forge karmic connections between themselves and meditational deities and to effect cognitive restructuring through internalizing the divine attributes that the mantra represents. A person who wishes to develop greater compassion, for instance, might recite the mantra of Avalokitesvara, who embodies this quality: om mani padme hum...[a] mantra [that] is well known to Tibetans. It represents for them the perfect compassion of Avalokitesvara, who they believe has taken a special interest in the spiritual welfare of the Tibetan people. He epitomizes universal compassion that is unsullied by any trace of negative emotions or mental afflictions.
       Among ordinary beings there are, of course, many acts of compassion, but these are generally tinged by self-interest, pride, or desire for recognition. Avalokitesvara's compassion, by contrast, is completely free from all afflictions and is so vast that it encompasses all sentient beings without exception and without distinction. People who wish to develop such a perspective recite Avalokitesvara's mantra over and over, meditating on its significance, and in so doing they try to restructure their minds in accordance with the cultivation of his exalted qualities. According to the Dalai Lama,
       mani... symbolizes the factors of method--the altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love. Just as a jewel is capable of removing poverty, so the altruistic mind of enlightenment is capable of removing the poverty, or difficulties, of cyclic existence and of solitary peace.... The two syllables, padme...symbolize wisdom. Just as a lotus grows forth from mud but is not sullied by the faults of mud, so wisdom is capable of putting you in a situation of non-contradiction whereas there would be contradiction if you did not have wisdom.... Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility.... Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.
  --from Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• December 1
       Right now many of us wish for liberation, yet sometimes we cannot keep ourselves from creating the causes for cyclic existence. When we understand true suffering well, our wish for liberation will become firm. At present our resolve to reach liberation is not firm because we think of suffering, but not deeply. The deluded attitude believing that the unsatisfactoriness of change is true happiness easily arises in us because we are not yet deeply convinced that all happiness in cyclic existence is contaminated and is in fact only a variety of suffering. To remedy this, we should meditate on true suffering more often and explore its meaning deeply. Then our wish for liberation will become firm.
       We consider many things--clothes, food, good health, nice possessions, financial security, the higher rebirths--as true happiness. As a result, we are attached to them and create more causes for suffering in cyclic existence in order to gain them. Thinking that the human birth is something marvelous, we work at creating the causes that propel us toward it. In fact all we are doing is creating the cause for yet another rebirth in cyclic existence, together with all the problems that such a rebirth involves.
       If we understand that by its nature, cyclic existence is unsatisfactory, we will have a deep aversion to it. If we do not have a deep aversion to it, we will not be determined to be free, and therefore will not be able to destroy our self-grasping ignorance, which is the root of cyclic existence. In that case, we will not be able to attain liberation. However, when we deeply feel the extent to which we suffer in cyclic existence, we will automatically want to abandon the true origin of suffering, attain the true cessation, and meditate on the true path. Having realized true suffering, we will easily realize the other three of the four noble truths. Thus it is said: suffering is to be known. The origin is to be abandoned. The cessation is to be attained. The path is to be practiced. The determination to be free is the wish for ourselves to be free of cyclic existence. When we wish others to be free, that is compassion.
  --from Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage: An Explanation of the Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Jampa Tegchok, edited by Thubten Chodron

 

• November 24
       Mad yogins are known in virtually every tradition in Tibet, but most often in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages, and also in the Shije (Pacification) and Chod traditions. The Nyingma, Kagyu, and Chod traditions are the three with which Tangtong Gyalpo had the closest ties. One of the texts in Tangtong's Oral Transmission, a collection of teachings originally passed down from Tangtong, quotes the great yogini Machik Labdron's statement concerning proper yogic conduct following realization. In response to a question by one of her sons, Machik recommended that a practitioner act like a child with unfeigned spontaneity, like a lunatic with no regard for what is conventionally acceptable, like a leper with no attachment to his or her own physical health, and like a wild animal wandering in isolated and rough terrain.
       ...Guru Padmasambhava himself prophesied that Tangtong Gyalpo would care for living beings by means of unpredictable actions. Tangtong's unusual conduct began to manifest at an early age, and resembled traits noted in the lives of other mad yogins. He was first called insane by his father and the members of his village when, as a child, he subdued a malicious spirit responsible for an epidemic. Several other early incidents are mentioned in the biographies. When he went to take scholastic examinations at the renowned monastery of Sakya he earned the nickname Tsondru Nyonpa (Crazy Tsondru) because of his disinterest in explaining the scriptural definitions of the highest states of realization. He preferred to spend his time absorbed in actually experiencing these states. When he was later practicing deliberate behavior secretly in a vast and empty wasteland, the dakinis gave him five names indicating his high realization, one of which was Lungtong Nyonpa (Madman of the Empty Valley).
  --from King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron Bridge Builder Tangtong Gyalpo by Cyrus Stearns, a Tsadra Foundation book

 

• November 17
  The Treasure Discoverers
  
       Most of the influential terma [hidden treasures or teachings] were purportedly secreted by Padmasambhava or his immediate disciples, and specific instructions were also laid down for each terma at the time of its concealment. The theory behind this system is that certain teachings would be especially effective at particular points in the future, and so they were hidden in a "time release" system which assured that at the appropriate time a terton would locate the teaching and disseminate it. When Padmasambhava hid these treasures, he prophesied the circumstances for the discovery of each terma and the terton who would find it. He predicted that there would be three "grand" tertons, eight "great" ones, twenty-one "powerful" ones, one hundred eight "intermediate," and one thousand "subsidiary" tertons. Most of these were to be recognized as emanations of Padmasambhava or his chief disciples.
       ...Many hidden treasures still remain undiscovered, awaiting the proper time for their dissemination. They continue to reinvigorate the Nyingma tradition, and a number have been incorporated into other lineages. The institution of terma serves as a link with the past of the tradition, a link that periodically revitalizes the present and points the way to the future. The system reflects the Mahayana ideal of skill in means, the ability to adapt teachings to changing circumstances.
  --from Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers

 

• November 10
       Practicing compassion will bring about the recognition of emptiness as the true nature of the mind. When you practice virtuous actions of love and compassion on the relative level, you spontaneously realize the profound nature of emptiness, which is the absolute level. In turn, if you focus your meditation practice on emptiness, then your loving-kindness and compassion will spontaneously grow.
       These two natures, the absolute and the relative, are not opposites; they always arise together. They have the same nature; they are inseparable like a fire and its heat or the sun and its light. Compassion and emptiness are not like two sides of a coin. Emptiness and compassion are not two separate elements joined together; they are always coexistent.
       In Buddhism, emptiness does not mean the absence of apparent existence. Emptiness is not like a black hole or darkness, or like an empty house or an empty bottle. Emptiness is fullness and openness and flexibility. Because of emptiness it is possible for phenomena to function, for beings to see and hear, and for things to move and change. It is called emptiness because when we examine things we cannot find anything that substantially and solidly exists. There is nothing that has a truly existent nature. Everything we perceive appears through ever-changing causes and conditions, without an independent, solid basis. Although from a relative perspective things appear, they arise from emptiness and they dissolve into emptiness. All appearances are like water bubbles or the reflection of the moon in water.
  --from Opening to our Primordial Nature by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• November 3
       Our painful experiences have brought the five poisons* right into our world. Our heavy sense of being a separate person has led to an anxiety about our safety in the world. This leads us to aversion and attachment, as we long to predict and control our relation with the environment. From this all the other fixed and defensive positions arise. And so the world that we encounter is covered over and suffused with many subtle moods of hopes and fears, doubts, jealousies, pride. So even here on a dharma retreat, as we look around the room, we have a complex sense of whose faces we can look at, and who we might have to look away from. This is not at all a neutral place. The force of projections, interpretations and impulsive reactions keeps us busy in trying to stay ahead of the game....
       However in dzogchen we are trying to get to the essential point where nirvana and samsara separate. This is like a great weed killer: If you spray it once all the weeds, all the confusion, all the pain and suffering will vanish. You don't need to pluck out each weed by itself. Believing that you are a bad person is very unhelpful for the practice of dzogchen. Also believing that you are a good person is not very helpful in the practice of dzogchen. You are not a person! Resting in the unborn state we are a pure awareness free of the least defilement. When you give up your ego identity, your samsara citizenship, you tear up your identity card and all the problems and sins and police records linked to that identity vanish immediately.
  * Five poisons - (dug nga) the five poisonous mental afflictions are desire, aggression, ignorance, pride, and jealousy. (Penetrating Wisdom)
  --from Being Right Here: A Dzogchen Treasure Text of Nuden Dorje Entitled 'The Mirror of Clear Meaning' with commentary by James Low

 

• October 27
       There are different levels of faith. First, clear faith refers to the joy and clarity and change in our perceptions that we experience when we hear about the qualities of the Three Jewels and the lives of the Buddha and the great teachers. Longing faith is experienced when we think about the latter and are filled with a great desire to know more about their qualities and to acquire these ourselves. Confident faith comes through practicing the Dharma, when we acquire complete confidence in the truth of the teachings and the enlightenment of the Buddha. Finally, when faith has become so much a part of ourselves that even if our lives were at risk we could never give it up, it has become irreversible faith.
  --from The Excellent Path to Enlightenment by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by The Padmakara Translation Group

 

• October 13
       Realizations come only if we practice joyfully, with confidence and courage. Realization doesn't grow within a timid or weak state of mind--it blossoms in the mind free of doubt and hesitation. Realization is fearless. When we see the true nature of reality, there's nothing hidden, nothing left to fear. At last we're seeing reality as it is, full of joy and peace.
       Our habitual patterns can only be removed by understanding the great emptiness aspect of true nature, that which is named the Mother of all the buddhas. Emptiness is freedom; emptiness is great opportunity. It is pervasive and all phenomena arise from it. As the great master Jigme Lingpa said, "The entire universe is the mandala of the dakini." The Mother's mandala is all phenomena, the display of the wisdom dakini.
       Without this ultimate great emptiness, the Mother of the buddhas, the universe would be without movement, development, or change. Because of this great emptiness state of the Mother, we see phenomena continually arising. Each display arises, transforms, and radiates, fulfilling its purpose and then dissolving back into its original state. This dramatic dance of energy is the activity, ability, or mandala of the wisdom dakini. Thus, the combination of the great emptiness or openness state, together with the activities of love and compassion, is both the ultimate Mother and the ultimate wisdom dakini.
  --from Tara's Enlightened Activity: An Oral Commentary on "The Twenty-one Praises to Tara" by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

 

• October 6
  (Each day before breakfast the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, Thubten Chodron, gives a morning motivation for residents and guests. We were moved by these inspiring words, and hope you will be, too.)
  
  Morning Motivation
  
       Let's recall our motivation in the morning and think that today, the most important thing I have to do is to guard my body, speech and mind so that I don't harm anybody through what I do with my body, through what I say, or even through what I think. That's the most important thing, more important than anything else today.
       The second most important thing is, as much as possible, to be of benefit to others. Thoroughly cultivate that as your motivation simply for being alive today. Our purpose for being alive isn't just to keep this body alive, to eat and sleep, and have pleasure. We have a higher purpose, a higher meaning: to really work for the benefit of living beings. If the purpose of our life is simply to keep the body alive and have pleasure, then at the end of life, we have nothing to show for it. The body dies and all the pleasures, like last night's dream, have gone. But if we work for a higher motivation, a higher purpose, to really do what's beneficial for all living beings, then there's happiness and benefit now.
       At the end of the life, the benefit that we've given to others continues, as do all the imprints of the attitude of kindness, the attitude of care towards others. All the imprints of having generated that positive mind go on with us into the next life. So even at the time of death, that kind heart brings incredible benefit and carries through into the next life.
       And then let's also generate a third motivation--a really long-term motivation--to become fully enlightened. In other words, to have the wisdom, compassion, and skill so that in the long term, we'll be able to be of the greatest benefit to all living beings, even being able to lead them on the path to enlightenment. That's our really long-term purpose.
       As we change and develop a kind heart, that influences every single living being we encounter in a positive way. Then, through the influence on them, it spreads out to all the people they know. So, just spending one day with a positive, long-term motivation may seem like a small thing, but when we think of the ripple effect it has now, and the benefit it has in future lives and for progressing along the path to liberation and enlightenment, we see that even one day spent with this motivation of kindness, directly and indirectly benefiting sentient beings, has tremendous outcomes--many, many good results.
  Thubten Chodron is the author of many books, including her latest work, Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path

 

• September 29
  Object of Negation
  
       When a subject is analyzed, the object to be negated is determined to be either an appearance or something imagined. It is not logical, [however,] to negate momentary appearances, because reasonings cannot negate them. To take an example: for people with eye diseases, the appearances of floaters [bits of optical debris], double moons, and the like do not stop as long as their eyesight is impaired. Similarly, as long as beings are not free from unafflicted ignorance, illusionlike appearances [manifesting] to the six modes of consciousness do not stop.
       It is not necessary to negate [appearances], because our mistakes do not come from appearances: they arise from fixating on those [appearances]. This is the case because if we do not fixate on appearances, we are not bound--we are like a magician who, having conjured up a young woman, has no attachment towards her. [On the other hand, if,] like naive beings attached to an illusory young woman, we fixate intensely [on appearances], our karma and mental afflictions will increase.
       To intentionally negate appearances would be wrong because, if they were negated, emptiness would come to mean the [absolute] nonexistence of things. Another reason this would be a mistake is that yogins and yoginis meditating on emptiness would fall into the extreme of nihilism since they would be applying their minds to a negation that [equals] the [absolute] nonexistence of everything.
       Thus, [Madhyamikas] set out to negate only what is imagined, because that is what can be negated. Like a rope [mistaken] for a snake, what is imagined does not conform to facts: it is simply the mind's fixations.
  --from The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Six, Part Three: Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, translated by Elizabeth M. Callahan

 

• September 22
       Having committed yourself to certain practices, be steadfast and never transgress the promises you have made. Let go of everything that could tempt you to do so and devote yourself entirely and single-mindedly to the accomplishment of your aims. For six years the Buddha did not waver from his practice of the meditative stabilization known as "Pervading Space." This meditation focuses on the fundamental nature of phenomena, which is present wherever there is space. Everywhere throughout space there are suffering living beings on whom this meditation also focuses with the compassionate wish to relieve their suffering and the loving wish to give them happiness. Thus it combines essential wisdom and skillful means.
  --from The Three Principal Aspects of the Path: An Oral Teaching by Geshe Sonam Rinchen translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• September 15
       ...an inherently existent "I" appears to us, but instead of assenting to that appearance and holding it to be true, we analyze how the "I" actually exists.
       At those times in our life when there's a very solid feeling of "I," it's helpful to examine how that "I" appears. I remember the first time I stayed out all night in college and my mother didn't know. I came home the next day with this feeling that "I" really existed: "I did this and my mother doesn't know!" The feeling of "I" was just enormous, incredibly solid, because I did something I wasn't supposed to do.
       Examine how that "I" appears, that big "I," especially when you have a strong emotion. Get familiar with that sense of "I." When somebody criticizes us or accuses us of doing something that we didn't do, this feeling comes up very quickly. Usually, we're focused not on the feeling of "I," but on attacking the other person or escaping from him. But if we can step back, it's an incredible opportunity to study the feeling of "I." The person who irritates us the most can be our best Dharma asset, because he gives us an opportunity to look at this sense of "I."
  --from Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• September 8
       A practitioner needs faith, or trust.... Guru Rinpoche said that we should meditate in the same way that a sparrow enters a nest. A sparrow spends some time investigating whether or not it is safe to enter. Once his examination is over, he then enters unhesitatingly. That's a wonderful metaphor for practice. First clear up all your doubts about your technique, then throw yourself into the technique with no separation or self-consciousness. Of course, it's easy to say, but that is the direction toward which we should be moving.
       Another necessary quality is determination. It's easy to gear oneself up for counting mantras or prostrations. For some, physical discipline is also easy. But the determination of the meditator is different. We must be determined to strive to purify our obscurations until they're completely gone--in other words, until our buddha-nature unobstructedly shines through. When we sit, we decide to do our best not to be swayed by our negativity. We should cultivate this attitude at the beginning of our session. Otherwise, no matter how much we practice, we will daydream a lot and our meditation will always be wishy-washy. I know this from experience--I may do my session of meditation, but it is tepid. Why? I don't have that inner strength to remain unmoved by the arising of the various mental contents.
  --from A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism by Bruce Newman

 

• August 31
       Some people find it helpful to set a determination of a reasonable period of time during which they will sit in meditation without moving. If you do this, do not make it into a contest in which you grit your teeth in pain just to say that you sat without moving for a certain length of time. That isn't conducive for focusing with wisdom on the object of meditation. On the other hand, avoid moving whenever you feel the slightest bit of restlessness or discomfort. Doing that isn't conducive for developing concentration either. Rather, note when there is the urge to move but don't move. Observe the sensation: Is it really pain or is it simply restless energy in the body? Learn to differentiate between these two. Learn, also, to differentiate between pain and discomfort. Watch and study both of those when they arise in your field of experience.
       In general, when attachment, anger, jealousy, or other distracting emotions arise, observe them without getting involved in their stories. Experience the feeling, rather than repeat the story to yourself again and again. Be aware of what it feels like in your body when you are angry, jealous, arrogant, or clingy. Be aware of the feeling tone in your mind when one of these emotions is present. Observe how the feeling changes, never remaining the same.
       ...It is important to avoid criticizing yourself when your mind is distracted or dull. Do not fall into discouraging thoughts or self-hatred because these are unproductive and are to be abandoned on the path. Remember that internal transformation takes time and rejoice in your opportunity to learn and practice the Dharma. "Slowly, slowly," as Lama Thubten Yeshe used to say. Learn to be satisfied with what you are able to do now while you aspire to improve in the future.
  --from Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path by Ven. Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• August 25
       There is considerable ongoing debate regarding the traditional view of the guru-disciple relationship, which asserts that seeing the guru as Buddha, impeccable and without failings, is vital to ripen the disciple's potential to attain the fruits of the path. This is reinforced by the admonition that to see faults in one's own guru will result in karmic downfalls and future suffering for the disciple. Any faults in the teacher should be seen as the disciple's aberrations projected outside. The tantric teachings insist this pure view should be held at all times to protect the disciple from accruing negative karma.
       However, underlying this is also the need to preserve the integrity, authority, and status of the teacher. This leads to a great deal of confusion when students begin to see evident flaws in teachers, and it would be folly to explain them away as the students' impure perception. Consequently it has become necessary to cultivate a less dogmatic, more pragmatic view. A teacher may not be a perfect carrier of the projection, but this does not contradict the tantric view that essentially the guru, an inner phenomenon projected outside, is Buddha.
       If we literalize this principle of the teacher as the embodiment of perfection, we are in danger of blinding ourselves to the reality that most teachers are human, and therefore not perfect. An individual can have deep insights into the nature of reality and still have human failings, a shadow that has not been fully eradicated. According to the teachings on the Ten Grounds or Stages of the Bodhisattva, until the final ground is reached, there are still subtle obscurations to full enlightenment that can manifest in flawed behavior. Believing without question that the outer guru is Buddha also traps the teacher in an unrealistic, unconscious position. The Dalai Lama has commented that too much deference harms the teacher, because we never challenge him or her.
       When disciples become devoted to teachers, considerable power and authority is entrusted to them. While a teacher's role is to support and empower disciples to discover their own potential, sometimes this does not happen. Some teachers become caught in the powerful position they have been endowed with and are unaware of their own desire for power and authority. They may begin to enjoy their power too much and take advantage of it for their own needs. This keeps their disciples disempowered, and ultimately does not allow growth and individual responsibility to emerge. Teachers may be unconsciously afraid to empower their disciples and allow them to gain a sense of their own authority and autonomy. They may try to hold on to their disciples, when to genuinely empower them could lead to their leaving to engage in their own journey.
  --from The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra by Rob Preece, foreword by Stephen Batchelor

 

• August 18
       It is important to realize that there is nobody else who can wake us up and save us from samsara. There is no such thing in Buddhism. That may be Buddhism's biggest drawback, and at the same time its greatest advantage. This view shows us that there is nobody else in control of our lives, our experiences, our freedom or our bondage. Who is responsible? Who is in control? It is us. We are in control. We can bind ourselves further in samsara or we can free ourselves from it right now. It is all up to us. We are the ones who have to keep looking at our thoughts, looking for the nature of our mind. There is no guru, deity, buddha or bodhisattva out there to look for it for us. Although they would happily do this, it would not help us; it would only help them. We have to do it for ourselves. That is the key point.
  --from Mind Beyond Death by Dzogchen Ponlop

 

• August 11
       Benefiting living beings is my main practice, and I would like to give a brief introduction to the three qualities that are its basis: pure love, compassion, and bodhichitta, the awakened mind. Pure love is the desire that all living beings have happiness and its causes. Compassion is the desire that living beings be free of suffering and its causes, such as unwholesome actions. Bodhichitta is the desire that all living beings be free of suffering and that we will be able to place them on the unsurpassed level of awakening, or buddhahood.
  --from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin

 

• August 4
       ...when you explain or hear the teachings, if your mind and the teachings remain separate, then whatever is explained will be inconsequential. Hence, listen in such a way that you determine how these teachings apply to your mind. For example, when you want to find out whether or not there is some smudge, dirt, or whatever, on your face, you look in a mirror and then remove whatever is there. Similarly, when you listen to the teachings, your faults such as misconduct and attachment appear in the mirror of the teachings. At that time, you regret that your mind has become like this, and you then work to clear away those faults and establish good qualities. Hence, you must train in the teachings.
  --from The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: The Lamrim Chenmo by Tsong-kha-pa, translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee, Joshua Cutler, Editor in Chief

 

• July 28
       Usually when we breathe, we breathe in and, as soon as we have finished breathing in, we immediately start breathing out. And as soon as we have finished breathing out, we start breathing in again. There is never any space or gap in between the in-breath and the out-breath. Now, many different ways of focusing the mind on the breathing have been taught.... There are basically six methods taught in the abhidharma. But here we have something different from any of those. This is called gentle threefold breathing. It is called gentle because there is no particular attempt to manipulate the breathing, except that instead of breathing in and then immediately breathing out, after breathing in, you wait before you breathe out...here the duration of the inhalation, of the retention, and of the exhalation should all be equal, three equal periods within each complete breath.
       In doing this, some people combine the phases of the breath with the mental repetition of the three mantra syllables: OM AH HUM (HUNG)--OM coordinated with the in-breath, AH with the retention of the breath, and HUM (HUNG) with the out-breath. But what is most important here is simply to recollect, as they occur, the inhalation, retention, and exhalation, so that, while you are inhaling, you are aware that you are doing so; while you are retaining the breath, you are aware that you are doing so; and while you are exhaling, you are aware that you are doing so. In the beginning, it is recommended that beginners start with doing, for example, twenty-one of these breaths as a series, and it is important to practice with enough mindfulness so that, while you breathe in, and so forth, you maintain an awareness of what part of the breathing process you are in.
  --from The Ninth Karmapa's Ocean of Definitive Meaning by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, edited, introduced and annotated by Lama Tashi Namgyal

 

• July 21
  ...if a fire which consumes
  One house moves to another,
  It is right to throw out anything
  Like straw which could ignite.
  
  Likewise anything to which the mind
  Is attached ignites the fire of anger.
  Fearing our merit will be consumed,
  It should be discarded at once.
  
       If a house is on fire and the fire is spreading, we need to clear away straw, wood or anything else which is highly flammable and could cause a conflagration that would consume our entire home and property. Similarly, one way to prevent desire and attachment is to avoid contact with the objects that stimulate it. If anything comes between us and what we desire or if the thing to which we're attached is harmed or threatened, we instantly feel angry. This destroys the positive energy we've created.
       Another way is not to avoid the objects but to contemplate their unappealing aspects, because desire results from focusing only on their attractive side. The third way is to contemplate their lack of true existence, since desire and clinging are based on seeing them as very real and objectively existent. Whichever technique we employ, the aim is to prevent desire and attachment, since they bring many other problems.
  --from The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

 

• July 14
       By building up good habits of the mind in meditation, our behavior in daily life gradually changes. Our anger decreases, we are better able to make decisions, and we become less dissatisfied and restless. These results of meditation can be experienced now. But we should always try to have a broader and more encompassing motivation to meditate than just our own present happiness. If we generate the motivation to meditate in order to make preparation for future lives, to attain liberation from the cycle of constantly recurring problems, or to reach the state of full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, then naturally our minds will also be peaceful now. In addition, we'll be able to attain those high and noble goals.
  --from Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron

 

• July 9
  A Song on Impermanence
  
  

  With this spouse and these near and dear ones you desire to live together,
  Inseparable for all times, but there is no doubt that you will be separated.

  From this excellent home you would like to be inseparable forever
  And take root in it, but you will surely depart.

  From this happiness, well-being, and wealth you want to be inseparable forever
  So you can relish them, but it is certain you will lose them.

  From this supreme human body with its freedoms and riches you wish to be inseparable
  And own it until the end of times, but there is no way that you won't die.

  From this really great teacher you yearn to be inseparable
  And listen to the dharma for all eternity, but there is no question that you will be separated.

  From these good friends you wish to be inseparable forever
  So you can hang out together, but it's a sure thing that you will be parted.

  Therefore, from today on, don your armor of vigor--
  The time has come to travel to the land of inseparable great bliss.
  You friends who have developed weariness from the depths of your hearts,
  I, a dharma-beggar, request you to do so.
        -by the Omniscient Longchen Rabjam
  --from Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl

 

• June 29
  Three Forms of Compassion
  
       Chandrakirti explained three types of compassion: compassion aimed at suffering, aimed at phenomena, and unaimed. With the first, we look at animate beings in light of their suffering and develop the wish for them to be free from both that suffering and its causes. One source of their suffering is their unawareness that they even have any problems, let alone their not knowing the causes of their problems. For example, our friend becomes upset at the slightest thing that goes wrong and sees this as normal. He or she does not understand that hypersensitivity is to blame and that something can be done to remedy this. When we see this sad situation, our compassion for our friend becomes even stronger.
       Compassion aimed at phenomena looks at beings in light of their moment-to-moment changes. With it, we wish others to be free of suffering and its causes based on the understanding that these both are impermanent. We also see that others are unaware of this fact and so, when depressed, for example, they make their sufferings worse by imagining that they will last forever. Realizing this further enhances compassion for them.
       Unaimed compassion looks at beings in terms of their voidness. It has the same wish as the other two forms, but is based on not identifying others concretely with their suffering. Seeing that others do not have this insight and that consequently they identify themselves with their problems intensifies our compassion for them even more.
  --from Developing Balanced Sensitivity: Practical Buddhist Exercises for Daily Life by Alexander Berzin

 

• June 23
       Life would be unbearable if everything stayed the same because human beings find situations that are fixed and predictable very hard to tolerate. Even in small matters, we become uneasy if we feel there is no end in sight. I know of couples who live harmoniously together for ten years then marry and are divorced within a year. As soon as they feel bound to each other for the rest of their lives, they begin to fight. Impermanence removes our reasons for quarrelling with each other. Arguments only break out if we imagine that our relationships are endless. When we appreciate that our time with our families, partners, and friends may be shorter than we think, we get on better with each other. Awareness of impermanence gives us extraordinary inner strength and resilience.
  --from Mind Training by Ringu Tulku, edited by B.M. Shaughnessy

 

• June 16
       The Rolling Stones have a song that goes,

  "Wild horses couldn't drag me away.
  Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them some day."

       That is the level that we have to reach, where wild horses cannot drag us away from the present moment of awareness. Once we have reached that level of training, then even in the bardos of death we will be able to guide our mind steadily past all difficulties toward awakening, toward freedom from samsara.
       There is another well-known image; it compares our wild minds to a mad elephant in a china shop. When untamed, this elephant can very easily destroy many things in the shop, and even the shop itself. With one move, the elephant can destroy a wall; and with another move, another wall. In only four moves, this elephant can destroy the whole structure. In the same way, if our minds are not tamed, they can easily destroy our whole collection of virtue--all the merit and wisdom we have accumulated through the accomplishment of countless positive deeds.
       Vipashyana meditation is the process of taming and training our minds. How do we do it? We catch our minds with shamatha and we train them with vipashyana. Then we ride our minds with mindfulness while remaining aware of the greater environment. Following these methods, we will reach our goal quite quickly--especially when we remember the thought of impermanence, which works like a whip.
  --from Mind Beyond Death by Dzogchen Ponlop

 

• June 12
       ...if you have not purified ordinary appearances into emptiness, how could you possibly meditate on the mandala circle? The fact that all phenomena are emptiness, that samsara and nirvana are inseparable, is the very reason we are able to actualize this by meditating on the mandala circle. In other words, emptiness is the basis for the development stage. As it is said, "For the one to whom emptiness is possible, anything is possible." If all phenomena were not empty and ordinary appearances were truly present, development stage meditation would be impossible, as the following quotation points out: "Even though one might empower wheat to be rice, rice won't actually appear." However, even if all phenomena are realized to be empty in this way, without the momentum of great compassion you will not be able to manifest the rupakayas to benefit others. This is similar to the listeners and solitary buddhas, who enter into a state of cessation and do not benefit others with rupakaya emanations.
       Once one understands this point, it will be like the following saying: "All these phenomena are like an illusion and birth is like taking a stroll in a park...." Said differently, one will no longer dwell in existence, while through compassion, one will not get caught up in a state of peace either. This is the great, universal path of the offspring of the victorious ones. For all these reasons, making sure the three absorptions are not isolated from one another is a vitally important point.
  --from Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra by Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche, and Getse Mahapandita, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee

 

• June 1
  Immeasurable Joy
  
       Because such love and compassion have not arisen in their mindstreams, people don't understand that all sentient beings are their kind mothers. They hold on to them as friends or foes, and the power of bad karmic action causes them to experience the immeasurable suffering of cyclic existence. "Wouldn't it be a joy if I could carry the suffering of those mothers, and if all beings could have all of my happiness and virtue? In order to establish these mothers in happiness, what a joy it would be if, until cyclic existence is empty, their suffering and the cause and effect of suffering, their sins and the cause and effect of sins, would all ripen in me and these mothers would become abundantly happy. I give my body, enjoyments, power, prestige, and roots of virtue in all times for the sake of these mothers. I won't pursue my own peace and happiness for even a moment. I will work for the welfare of beings without regard for life or limb. These mothers must have the entire range of happiness and the causes of happiness." With that thought, meditate on joy.
       "Furthermore, I will not shrink away from the specific harm done to sentient beings, or any kind of sickness, suffering, misfortune, enemies, and obstructions that happen to me for their sakes. What a joy if all the suffering of beings ripened in me, so that I would have that kind of suffering. And even a greater joy when those suffering beings are free of suffering and dwell in exceptional happiness."
       Generate an extraordinary attitude with that thinking. It is important that such joy does not stray into any kind of bias. And if you know it all to be like a dream or an illusion, free of fixation to true existence, it is called immeasurable joy.
  --from Machik's Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chod translated and edited by Sarah Harding, a Tsadra Foundation Series book

 

• May 26
       Not recognizing their own face, but letting them run wild, one thought leads to many kinds of [other] thoughts. If you fall into letting this continue, you wander around in confusion. Through directly looking at the face of whatever thought that comes up at the very start [of a potential train of thought], without being able to stand its own ground, just like a rainbow fading away in space, this thought vanishes into emptiness. Since you arrive at such within the previous experience of stillness, if you become familiar with it, the stream of confusion is severed through thoughts coming to rest on their own and vanishing on their own. Hence, if you know how to sustain this, even if you regard movement as a flaw and [try to] stop it, you need neither stop it nor [apply] any other remedy for the movement of thoughts. Rather, by sustaining the state of realizing their own essence, you realize the essential point that all the various appearances of happiness and suffering emerge from the mind and dissolve back into the mind. Through this, you realize the essential point that all of cyclic existence and nirvana is produced by the mind, the mind resting naturally settled without being affected by thoughts about the three times.
  --from Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions translated and introduced by Karl Brünnholzl

 

• May 19
  Focusing the Mind on the Deity
       Those with superior mental capacity should refine their ability by practicing the development stage without any sense of clinging or fixation. In this approach, the appearance of the deity and its ornaments are visualized in such a way that they are totally complete, vivid, and distinct from the very beginning. This is the form of great wisdom, the union of development and completion. Beyond being an identifiable entity with a precise nature, it appears clearly yet is devoid of any essence. In other words, clarity and emptiness are indivisible. Like the reflection of the moon in a lake, its very nature is to appear in a distinct manner, down to the pupils of the eyes, while in reality it is empty.
       Those with moderate mental capacity should begin their meditation with a sudden recollection of the deity's complete appearance. The next step is to meditate on the clear appearance of the head, and, once this is stable, to then meditate progressively on the right arm, left arm, torso, right and left legs, and finally on the complete form of the deity and its seat. Training in the development stage of illusory clear appearance keeps one from straying into the view of nihilism. When one grows weary of this, the practitioner should recollect purity and refine his or her ability in the essence of this process, the vajralike absorption. This key point keeps one from straying into the belief in permanence.
       For beginners with less mental capacity, it may be difficult to visualize in either of these ways. When not yet familiar with this process, one's ability should be refined using a permanent form. Take a consecrated and well-formed representation of the yidam deity, such as a painting or clay statue made by a skilled artisan, and place it before you. Without intentionally meditating, look directly at it from top to bottom without blinking. This is referred to as the auxiliary practice of setting mindfulness into motion. At first, the agitated movement of conditioned thought patterns will be experienced. This is the experience of movement, which is said to be "like water cascading off a cliff."
  --from Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra by Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche,and Getse Mahapandita, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee, fore. by Trulshik Rinpoche, fore. by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche

 

• May 12
  3.2.4 The way in which experiences dawn through practicing [Mahamudra]

  In beginners, this is similar to water [gushing down] a gorge.
  In between, it is the gentle flow of the river Ganga.
  Finally, all waters meet like a mother and her child.
  --Tilopa

       The meditative equipoise of beginners entails intense movement of thoughts, similar to water gushing down a narrow gorge. The reason for this is as follows. Though there is some slight resting in equipoise, thoughts proliferate. Right at that point, through the remedy of alertness and by considering that you like resting in meditative concentration and dislike not resting in it, you rest in meditative equipoise again. Through such an approach, your mind becomes somewhat uplifted.
       The meditative equipoise of those who have attained a little bit more stability than that and are of middling faculties is similar to the gentle flow of the river Ganga. The reason is as follows. Even if some thoughts come up, a little here and there, their own face is immediately recognized, so that the movement of thoughts does not run wild. Without various notions that chase after these [subtle thoughts] or any physical and mental effort, all thoughts that come up will dawn slowly. There is also no need to make great effort in [applying] their remedies. Rather, these happen naturally or of their own accord.
       Finally, in the meditative equipoise of those with highest faculties, neither thoughts to be relinquished arise nor is there any need to newly create some remedial wisdom, because there is nothing to be relinquished. Since existence and peace have become one taste, mother and child luminosity blend, or, expanse and wisdom have become indifferentiable. Once the tributary waters and the ocean have become one taste, like a mother and her child meeting, they cannot be disturbed.
  --from Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions translated and introduced by Karl Brünnholzl

 

• May 7
  The Suffering of Change
       Feelings of suffering change into those of happiness. Feelings of happiness change into suffering. Both arise in dependence upon internal and external causes which change. For example, we see food as pleasurable, but if we eat too much, then it causes suffering. When we are young, we see our bodies as a source of pleasure. As we become older, the same body becomes a source of suffering.
       Just as a wave is always changing, so the nature of suffering is always to change. It may be experienced as pleasure or as suffering, but it arises from the same source. Pleasure arises from suffering. Seeing pleasure as happiness constitutes suffering.
       ...Pain and pleasure are of the same nature. Although they look different at different times, they both arise from the same sea of delusion and karmic action. Pleasure or pain, one or the other, arises and then falls back into the ocean. Thus we can conclude that pleasure and pain within the ocean of samsara are basically suffering, and dissolve into suffering.
       This becomes evident in the wide variety of sudden changes of experience depicted in films. Love and hatred, happiness and family strife, peace and war, follow each other in rapid succession. The continuous change, although exaggerated in films, is characteristic of life in general.
  --from The Four Noble Truths by Ven. Gen Lobsang Gyatso, translated by Ven. Sherab Gyatso

 

• April 28
       The cloistered environment stands in stark contrast to the uncontrolled environment of everyday active life in the modern world. When I was a graduate student living in a family housing unit at Stanford University, I meditated early in the morning. At about 7:00 outside our window, a group of little girls would begin shrieking and driving their plastic tractors and tricycles across the bricks. I was meditating and these girls were disturbing my peace. I got to feeling pretty sorry for myself so I phoned my lama, Gyatrul Rinpoche, and asked for advice. He gave me a one-liner, "Just view it." This was not just Rinpoche's way of telling me to quit whining, but a reminder of the more encompassing teaching to embrace obstacles in practice. And carry on. We can't always control our environment, but we can embrace it, the good, the bad, and the loud, and integrate it into Dharma practice.
  --from Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind-Training by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Lynn Quirolo

 

• April 21
       It would be wrong to say, as some do, that if we don't recite prayers while being aware of their meaning and merely repeat the words mindlessly, it has no benefit whatsoever--like prayer flags flapping in the wind. However, there are indeed differences in the level of benefits and blessings derived from prayers according to the way we recite them. Therefore, keeping this in mind, at the beginning of the practice, generate bodhicitta. During the main practice, some will use an object of concentration and some will practice without an object of concentration; each person should do what is best according to their level. At the end, one should dedicate the merit in a way that is pure from the three conceptual spheres to the best of one's ability. The most important and essential thing in making [prayer] meaningful is to depend on those three stages of practice--generation of bodhicitta, the main practice and dedication of merit. All must do the complete three stages of practice.
  --from Compassionate Action by Chatral Rinpoche, edited, introduced, and annotated by Zach Larson

 

• April 14
       Phowa is a practice which should be done repeatedly, all through our lives so that we can do it naturally and purposefully at the time of death. I have heard a story about a Tibetan who was dying and his family called the lama to be with him. The lama sat beside him and told him to think only of his root guru and forget everything else. He said, "I can't recall my guru, I can only think of a sizzling sausage being warmed in the ashes of a fire." The lama was very skillful: "That is excellent!" he said. "Dewachen, the paradise of the Amitaba Buddha, is full of sausages; they grow on every tree. You only have to open your mouth and you will have all the sausages you want. The color of Amitaba is like the embers of a fire, so think of him and you will go to his realm." It is said that the man went straight to the pure land of Dewachen.
  --from Mind Training, by Ringu Tulku, edited by B.M. Shaughnessy

 

• April 8
       Actually, if we look around, people whom we don't like and people who harm us are in the minority. Let's say we're at work, at a social gathering, or at a Dharma center with thirty people. How many of them do we really dislike? We may have problems with a few people here and there, but we manage to stay in a room together, don't we? It's not like we despise them and they hate us. The number of people we can't stand in this world is actually very small. These people are rare. To practice patience we need the people that we don't like. We can't practice patience with our friends or with people who are kind to us. Finding people that we don't like or who threaten us is not so easy. So, when we finally find them, they are a precious treasure! They are rare to find. When we meet them, we can think, "Fantastic, I get to practice patience now."
       They say that high-level bodhisattvas pray to meet disgusting, uncooperative people because they want to practice patience. Of course, when you really want to meet obnoxious people, they don't show up! Why don't they turn up for high-level bodhisattvas? Because high-level bodhisattvas don't have any anger. We could be sitting in a room with many people whom we consider unbearable, but high-level bodhisattvas don't see them that way at all. To them, these people appear lovable. Bodhisattvas have such a hard time finding detestable people, whereas we come across them so easily! So, when we find people whom we don't like, feel threatened by, or find despicable, we should recognize that there aren't so many of them around. Therefore, we should cherish them and take the opportunity to practice patience with them.
  --from Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig, by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• March 31
  Gampopa performed inconceivably magnificent manifestations. Following is but a brief account.
       People in Lhasa witnessed Gampopa's arrival on the thirteenth day of the first month. There, he made preparations, and on the fourteenth day performed a consecration ceremony. On the fifteenth, he concluded with a ritual of appreciation. This was related by many people from Lhasa. The patron Gebum said, "The lama came to my place on the thirteenth and prepared. On the fourteenth day, he did a consecration ceremony, and on the fifteenth he did conclusion rituals in appreciation. And he flew in the sky! How marvelous!" The monks at his base monastery said, "Gampopa came out of retreat on the thirteenth, and gave meditation instructions on the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth to those who had gathered here from all over Tibet. He didn't go anywhere." But then his attendant Salgyang said, "For the entire three winter months the precious lama was in retreat in his cell. He has not given teachings, but remained fasting and silent." So in this way, he manifested in four places at one time.
       Another time, the disciple Legze asked, "In the past, Hearers and others accomplished the meditative absorption called 'exhaustion and suppression.' Why not now?" Gampopa replied, "Because you could not train your mind well." The next morning, Legze went to offer yogurt to the lama but all he saw in Gampopa's bed was a huge fire that touched the ceiling. He was so frightened, he immediately rushed out and told Salgyang. They hurried inside together. There was no fire, just the Dharma Lord sitting on his seat. In this way, he demonstrated the accomplishment of the meditative absorption called exhaustion and suppression of the five elements.
  --from The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-Fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings, by Gampopa, translated by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, edited by Ani K. Trinlay Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama

 

• March 25
       If through listening to this explanation of the Seven Point Mind Training we come to recognise how important Bodhichitta is, this will be an infallible cause of our enlightenment. Of all the eighty four thousand different sections of the doctrine, the precious Bodhichitta is the very essence. By hearing the words of such a teaching, it is impossible even for demons, whose nature it is to kill and to do harm, not to have positive thoughts! Kham, a region in East Tibet, was haunted in the past by many ghosts and evil spirits, and this was one of the reasons why Patrul Rinpoche used to explain the "Bodhicharyavatara" continually to his disciples. Before long, there were no more ghosts--or at least, no one came to any more harm. Such is the hidden power of Bodhichitta!
  --from Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the Seven Point Mind Training, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group

 

• March 18
  Setting a Specific Intention for Our Practice
       We should think about how we can make the best use of our practice so that we get the most out of it in the short time we have in this life. We do not have the leisure of wasting our time here by delaying the benefits of our practice. We have to use these situations as effectively as we can.
       Before you begin any practice, first think very carefully about your motivation. When we are engaged in the threefold process of study, contemplation and meditation, we should be very specific, very clear about why we are doing it. We should remind ourselves, "I am doing this to transcend my negative emotions and my ego-clinging." This is a general example of a specific intention. However, to be more precise, we need to consider the unique make-up of our own individual kleshas [intense states of suffering, and ignorance]. Once we have identified our strongest emotion, then we can focus on the practices that will alleviate it. We begin with whichever emotion is strongest for us and then we move on to the next strongest, followed by the next, and so on.
       It is important for us to prioritize our practice in this way. We have to keep our intention very clear in all three phases--in our study, in our contemplation and in our meditation. During shamatha or other practices, when thoughts come up, we recall that our purpose is to overcome our disturbing emotions and kleshas. We have to have a sense of willpower or determination in our minds. In order for the remedy to work, we must tell ourselves, "Yes, I am going to transcend this anger. I am going to work with it." Otherwise, if we do not have a clear idea, if we simply sit there with an indefinite or vague intention, then the effect also will be vague. We may have sat for one hour and although that time will not have been wasted, because it was not directed in an intentional way, the experience will not be so sharp, to the point or effective.
  --from Mind Beyond Death, by Dzogchen Ponlop

 

• March 10
  An inexpressible, self-arisen expanse
  Without the names "samsara" and "nirvana."
       Here, "self-arisen" means the primordial state. It is not something we can fully express with words or concepts. It's beyond words or concepts. The nature of all is not biased; it is not restricted to one or another. The nature of all exists in one identical state. That ground, that nature, does not have any name such as samsara or nirvana. That is the foundation, that is the ground. It is beyond samsara and nirvana. Not knowing the ground means wandering in samsara. If you recognize this ground, if you truly experience this ground, buddhahood is attained. That is the fruition. That is the result of our practice and our path.
       ...The ground, that fundamental state of simplicity, is the origin of all elaborations. This pure basic state is like a simple artist's canvas. We paint different images on this canvas. We can paint the image of a buddha, and it becomes very pure, beautiful, and inspiring to look at. We can also paint a devil on the same canvas, which can create our fundamental suffering, our basic pain. However, the basis of both is the same simple state of canvas that is completely pure and totally free from the images we project on it. It is totally free, whether that image is a buddha or a devil. That is the origin.
  --from Penetrating Wisdom: The Aspiration of Samantabhadra, by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

 

• March 3
       Buddha traveled and taught widely for some forty-five years after his enlightenment, and his audiences were diverse. Even though India at the time was a highly literate society, nothing of what he said was written down during his lifetime. Instead, various individuals were entrusted with memorizing the gist of each discourse. The work of transcribing his words took place only with the passage of generations.
       Tibetans believe that this reluctance on the part of the Buddha and his immediate followers to commit the enlightenment teachings to paper, and instead to preserve them as oral traditions, was a purposeful strategy gauged to maintain the maximum fluidity and living power of the enlightenment experience. It only became necessary to write things down when the darkness of the changing times threatened the very survival of the legacy. An oral tradition becomes lost to history should its holders pass away without first passing on their lineages.
       This intended fluidity, and the according safeguard against the establishment of an "enlightenment dogma" is perhaps best demonstrated by a verse that the Buddha himself said shortly before his death:

  Do not accept any of my words on faith,
  Believing them just because I said them.
  Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,
  And critically examines his product for authenticity.
  Only accept what passes the test
  By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

       This simple statement empowered future generations of Buddhist teachers to accept and reject at will anything said by Buddha himself as well by his early disciples. If something that was said by them did not pass the test of personal analysis, one could simply discard it as being limited in application to particular times, people, or situations, and therefore as only contextually valid.
  --from The Dalai Lamas on Tantra, translated, edited and introduced by Glenn H. Mullin

 

• February 25
       Self-discipline brings us into relationship with one of the six perfections of the bodhisattva, that of enthusiastic perseverance, which implies the willingness to engage in a process with effort and enthusiasm over a prolonged period. No material or spiritual qualities are gained without some degree of effort. Perseverance enables the practitioner to carry on and trust in the process, even when it feels hopeless. It makes it possible to face difficulties and obstacles in the path with confidence and courage, rather than giving up because it feels too hard. Self-discipline helps us remain in the vessel and not run away.
       My Tibetan retreat guide described the maintenance of self-discipline over time like keeping a pot heating on a stove. If we continually remove it from the heat the pot never boils. Similarly he felt that when someone enters into the discipline of retreat, it should be maintained as rigorously as possible. In doing so the alchemical vessel will be maintained, and the "cooking" can take place. Transformation only occurs when the vessel is maintained in this way.
  --from The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra by Rob Preece, foreword by Stephen Batchelor

 

• February 18
  What is undistracted calm abiding? It is meditative absorption free of the six types of distraction. What are these six?
  (1) Inherent distraction refers to the eye consciousness and the other four collections of consciousness. Because they are naturally directed outward, they [cause one to] emerge from meditative absorption.
  (2) External distraction refers to a mental consciousness that reaches out towards or engages objects.
  (3) Internal distraction concerns dullness and agitation, as well as savoring one's meditative absorption.
  (4) The distraction of marks occurs when, trusting in meditative absorption, one apprehends marks of it and becomes attached.
  (5) Distraction brought about by negative tendencies is when directing the mind involves the apprehending of an ego. This is said to refer to the mental act of pridefully believing oneself to be superior to others, or [simply any mental act] that involves apprehending an "I."
  (6) The distraction of directing the mind occurs when one is caught up in the mindset of, and directs the mind in the style of, the Lesser Vehicle.
       The undistracted calm abiding that is determined by the elimination of those six is the unique calm abiding of the Great Vehicle. This is a state of one-pointed inner rest, a flawless calm abiding. In it, there is no apprehension of marks, as is the case when inner absorption alone is believed to bring liberation. Neither does it involve the ego apprehension that occurs in the concentrations of non-Buddhists. Further, one does not direct the mind as one would when cultivating the supports for the inferior paths [to liberation]. This is how the wise should understand the calm abiding of the Great Vehicle.
  --from Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya's 'Madhyantavibhaga' with commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee

 

• February 12
  Not to be busy
       Tibetans say that once upon a time all the yaks that live in Tibet were living in India as water buffalo. It was very, very hot in India so some of them decided if they were to keep walking to the north they would get to a place that would be nice and cool. So they climbed up in the mountains, and as they were climbing their hair started to grow. Because of this the water buffalo in India often turn their head and look out expectantly and they are waiting for their brothers who have wandered off. In a similar way at one time all the buffalo of samsara and nirvana were living together and one day some of them wandered off and came into samsara. They keep looking around to see who else is there and where the other half is, because the basic quality of our ordinary sense of self is that it is very lonely. Something is missing in our lives and we don't quite know what it is, but we keep looking and looking to find this missing part. We can look for it in terms of possessions, we can look for it in terms of the form of our body, trying to change it through dieting or hair style or whatever. You can look in terms of friends. Anything. And this keeps us very, very busy. Sometimes the busyness can be very exhausting, but when we stop then we feel lonely. So we get busy again. Dharma is very helpful here if you want distraction because there are many kinds of ways to be busy in the dharma. You can focus on having lots of dharma possessions. You can focus on learning the text by heart, on the mantras and mudras, on serving the tsog, on doing meditations. There is always something to be busy with.
       In Tibet many, many people practiced dharma but not so many seem to get enlightened. There are many kinds of dharma and if we practice in a way that doesn't focus on the essential point but on secondary and tertiary levels it is easy to get lost. It is really important, given that we have limited time, to focus on what is essential. Many people when they get a plate of food will eat the things they don't like so much first and leave the special thing to the end. But when when we apply this to life we can make a big mistake. The time for deep practice is now. You can learn all about Padmasambhava and what his clothes mean and what his hair style means but if you don't know the nature of your own mind then knowledge about Padmasambhava is just some more concepts.
  --from Being Right Here: A Dzogchen Treasure Text of Nuden Dorje entitled "The Mirror of Clear Meaning" with commentary by James Low

 

• February 3
       In commenting on the first instruction spoken by Manjushri, we considered the question of attachment to this lifetime and the faults that come from this attachment. However, the question of attachment goes deeper. It is not just a matter of giving up attachment to this life's rewards but of losing our taste and affinity for the whole of worldly existence. This is why it is necessary to contemplate and meditate upon the faults of conditioned existence. Otherwise, we may imagine that samsara possesses any manner of attractive qualities. Pondering the shortcomings of samsara should bring forth in us a tangible sense of disgust, as we are confronted with our own misguided pursuit of worldly ends.
  --from Parting from the Four Attachments: Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen's Song of Experience on Mind Training and the View by Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, commentary translated by Thubten Choedak, Root Text and Lineage Prayer translated by H. H. Sakya Trizin and Jay Goldberg, compiled and edited by John Deweese

 

• January 27
  Question: Certain associates can say things to me that spark an aggressive reaction. Why is it so easy to spark this feeling of negativity if there is not an accumulation of energy behind it?
  
  Rinpoche: This is because of your pattern of clinging to the idea that you should have all the good things, and nothing that bothers you should ever happen, as I explained earlier. This is wishful thinking, because the nature of the world is not like that at all. The ego game you have planned is itself the explanation for how easily your anger is sparked. Because you have planned such a delicate, impossible game, and there are many things that can happen, anything that jeopardizes the plan of your ego upsets you. It is not an accumulation of energy but the pattern of clinging that is at fault.
  --from Dharma Paths by Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, translated by Ngodup Burkhar and Chojor Radha, edited by Laura M. Roth

 

• January 20
       The view is to believe in and understand the buddha nature, the essence of all the buddhas. If one knows the buddha nature, then that is to know the unchanging essence which is free from any limitation, the original primordial nature of the mind as it is. This is not like a light bulb that suddenly comes on or something that is newly acquired. It is the nature as it has always been and always will be: primordially perfect. To recognize the buddha nature is the view. To fail to recognize the buddha nature is to deviate into confusion. If you recognize your buddha nature, this is the same as having an audience with all the buddhas. You will meet face to face with all your root teachers.
  --from Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche, translated by B. Alan Wallace and Sangye Khandro, published by Snow Lion Publications

 

• January 13
       The bodhisattva, as the personification of individuation, discovers a unique capacity to awaken his or her potential to work for the welfare of others in whichever way most suits his or her individual disposition. When I consider my own teachers, one thing I particularly value is their capacity to be authentically themselves. They each have their unique personality and quality that is a genuine expression of their individuality. There is no contradiction between our Western need to be individuals and the Buddhist path. Buddhism does not demand that we become clones of some ideal. Rather, it asks us to respond to who we are and awaken our full potential, expressing it within our particular individual capacity. My Tibetan teachers have supremely individualistic personalities, something I love and value deeply. They respond to me as an individual with my own personality, which they would never ask me to relinquish. The fact that they were each on their own unique journey within the Buddhist path was, for me, a sublime example of the bodhisattva as an individuated person who has truly responded to the inner call to awaken.
  --from The Wisdom of Imperfection: The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life by Rob Preece, published by Snow Lion Publications

 

• January 6
  An instruction that matches examples and their meanings to show how the absolute nature permeates everything. (SG*)
  These various examples give a general idea of the absolute nature. (DK*)

  ...there are four examples and their meanings. Take the example of a Sugata's body: whichever way one looks at it, it is beautiful. (Z*)

  Similarly, everything a realized being does, since it is permeated with the realization of the unborn nature, is bliss, for he does not have ordinary attachment and aversion. (Z & SG*)
       Whether one looks at a Sugata's face or any other part of his body, one never feels one has looked enough. It is an example of ultimate beauty. Similarly, those for whom everything is backed by the realization of the unborn nature no longer have ordinary attachment and aversion, and such persons can therefore act like enlightened beings: whatever they do is bliss. Since they have fully realized the absolute nature, there is no question of telling them, "This is the right thing to do; that is something you should not do." They have no concepts or limits, so they can act as they wish. Everything they do will be nothing but bliss. (DK*)
  --from Zurchungpa's Testament: A Commentary on Zurchung Sherab Trakpa's Eighty Chapters of Personal Advice by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications
  *Note:
       Z - Zurchungpa's root text (bold)
       DK - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's commentary (normal text)
       SG - Shechen Gyaltsap's notes (italics)

 

     2006

• December 30
       The practice of compassion begins at home. We have our parents, our children, and our brothers and sisters, who perhaps irritate us the most, and we begin our practice of loving-kindness and compassion with them. Then gradually we extend our compassion out into our greater community, our country, neighbouring countries, the world, and finally to all sentient beings equally without exception.
       Extending compassion in this way makes it evident that it is not very easy to instantly have compassion for "all sentient beings." Theoretically it may be comfortable to have compassion for "all sentient beings," but through our practice we realize that "all sentient beings" is a collection of individuals. When we actually try to generate compassion for each and every individual, it becomes much more challenging. But if we cannot work with one individual, then how can we work with all sentient beings? Therefore it is important for us to reflect more practically, to work with compassion for individuals and then extend that compassion further.
  --from Trainings in Compassion: Manuals on the Meditation of Avalokiteshvara translated by Tyler Dewar under the guidance of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

 

• December 23
       A bodhisattva is someone who says from the depth of his or her heart, "I want to be liberated and find ways to overcome all the problems of the world. I want to help all my fellow beings to do likewise. I long to attain the highest state of everlasting peace and happiness, in which all suffering has ceased, and I want to do so for myself and for all sentient beings." According to the Buddha's teaching, anyone who makes this firm and heartfelt commitment is a bodhisattva. We become bodhisattvas from the moment we have this vast and open heart, called bodhichitta, the mind bent on bringing lasting happiness to all sentient beings.
       Buddhist literature defines three types of bodhisattvas: the kinglike bodhisattva, the captainlike bodhisattva, and the shepherdlike bodhisattva. A kinglike bodhisattva is like a good king who first wants everything luxurious for himself, like a big palace, a large entourage, a beautiful queen, and so on. But once his happiness has been achieved, he also wants to help and support his subjects as much as possible. Accordingly, a kinglike bodhisattva has the motivation, "First, I want to free myself from samsara and attain perfect enlightenment. As soon as I have reached buddhahood, I will help all other sentient beings to become buddhas as well."
       A captainlike bodhisattva would say, "I would like to become a buddha, and I will take all other sentient beings along with me so that we reach enlightenment together." This is just as the captain of a ship crosses the sea, he takes his passengers with him, and they reach the far shore simultaneously.
       A shepherdlike bodhisattva is inspired by thinking, "I want to help all sentient beings to reach enlightenment and see the truth. Only when this is achieved and samsara is emptied will I become a buddha myself." In actual fact it may not happen this way, but anyone who has this motivation is called a "shepherdlike bodhisattva." In the old days, sheep were not kept in fenced pastures, and the shepherds had to bring them down from the mountains to protect them from wolves. They would follow behind the sheep, guiding them into their pen and lock them in. A shepherd would take care of his sheep first, and only then would he go home and eat.
       The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara developed this shepherdlike motivation and is therefore considered to be the most courageous and compassionate of beings. He vowed, "I will not attain complete enlightenment until I have led all sentient beings to liberation without leaving a single one behind."
  --from Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Buddhism by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs

 

• December 16
       Wouldn't life be boring without attachment?
       No. In fact it's attachment that makes us restless and prevents us from enjoying things. For example, suppose we're attached to chocolate cake. Even while we're eating it, we're not tasting it and enjoying it completely. We're usually either criticizing ourselves for eating something fattening, comparing the taste of this chocolate cake to other cakes we've eaten in the past, or planning how to get another piece. In any case, we're not really experiencing the chocolate cake in the present.
       On the other hand, without attachment, we can think clearly about whether we want to eat the cake, and if we decide to, we can eat it peacefully, tasting and enjoying every bite without craving for more or being dissatisfied because it isn't as good as we expected. As we diminish our attachment, life becomes more interesting because we're able to open up to what's happening in each moment.
  --from Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron

 

• December 9
       We ordinary individuals share the characteristic of having our attempts to gain happiness thwarted by our own destructive self-centeredness. It is unsuitable to keep holding onto the self-centered attitude while ignoring others. If two friends find themselves floundering in a muddy swamp they should not ridicule each other, but combine their energies to get out. Both ourselves and others are in the same position of wanting happiness and not wanting suffering, but we are entangled in a web of ignorance that prevents us from achieving those goals. Far from regarding it as an "every man for himself" situation, we should meditate upon the equality of self and others and the need to be helpful to other beings.
  --from Bodhicitta: Cultivating the Compassionate Mind of Enlightenment by Ven. Lobsang Gyatso, translated by Ven. Sherab Gyatso

 

• December 2
  Question: Is there a buildup of awareness that happens by the practice of recognizing or looking for your own basic nature so that, over time, it dispels the fear of these emotions?
  
  Rinpoche: Yes, awareness is developed through the discipline of meditation. Beginning with shamatha meditation, we develop lots of awareness and mindfulness on the path. Then, in Mahamudra and Dzogchen, we emphasize a different aspect of mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness and awareness come from the discipline of meditation, which continues in our everyday life. Therefore, formal sitting practice is very important for us. For that reason, many teachers tell us to sit at least 10-15 minutes every day. That helps us to generate this continuity of awareness in our everyday life. There is no easy solution for manifesting awareness or mindfulness in our everyday life without some discipline in practice. The only problem is that when a student hears a teacher say that they must sit every day, that's the time students usually begin to change their guru!
  --from Penetrating Wisdom: The Aspiration of Samantabhadra by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

 

• November 23
       Rejoicing in the actions of others is the major antidote to jealousy. When we admire the virtuous deeds of ourselves and of others, a great increase of merit is created. Jealousy is very harmful, and must be destroyed by rejoicing. If we rejoice in the virtue of someone whose understanding is less than our own, we gain greater merit than that person. If we rejoice in the merit of someone with understanding equal to ours, we gain equal merit. If we rejoice in the realization or virtue of someone more highly realized than we are, we accumulate some fraction of the merit that they do. We must rejoice in virtue because we have taken bodhisattva vows. If other beings practice well it helps us; therefore we should rejoice in their positive actions. This is the easiest way to accumulate merit with little hardship. With consistent effort the practice of rejoicing becomes very powerful and is greatly praised by many masters.
  --from Chod in the Ganden Tradition: The Oral Instructions of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, edited by David Molk

 

• November 18
       When you have many excuses not to do your work, ask yourself what guarantee you have of another chance to do what needs to be done. Time lost is lost for good. No matter how much you promise to improve, no matter what good intentions you have for making it up, the time is gone for good. Feeling sorry about the situation will not bring it back. You can never buy back that precious piece of time. You may think, "Well, that piece of time has passed, but I still have a long stretch of time left." No, you do not! What guarantee is there that you will have another piece of time like this one? Wake up and stop the excuses; they never made sense before and do not make sense now. Laziness and procrastination have never worked in a sound and helpful way. It is only sound and helpful to get things moving.
  --from Dharma Paths by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, translated by Ngodup Burkhar and Chojor Radha, edited by Laura M. Roth

 

• November 11
       Bare awareness is not easy to develop and maintain because of the mind's disposition to be constantly preoccupied by thoughts. We easily lose attention because our mind is so busy. When we do, our emotional life can creep up on us and take us over. Without mindfulness, the capacity to maintain attention, disidentification is very difficult, and bare awareness even more so. Through meditation it is possible to cultivate a quiet, unintrusive awareness that greatly strengthens our capacity to remain with our feelings. We simply allow their presence without judging them, or needing to make them different.
       The early stage of meditation focuses attention and cultivates mindfulness. Mindfulness is our capacity to watch and remain conscious as emotions, feelings, and thoughts arise. We may begin in meditation by observing the breath and gradually quietening the mind from the constant discursive chatter that interrupts our attention. In time a quality of bare awareness is established free from the conceptual confusion that discriminates and evaluates what arises and parcels it up in conceptual boxes of good or bad. Furthermore, this quiet awareness does not become pulled into the contents of mental activity and drown in their confusion.
  --from The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra by Rob Preece, Foreword by Stephen Batchelor

 

• November 4
       ...many people, critical of Dzogchen, question why we need to practice at all if, as according to Dzogchen, the primordial state is already the enlightened state. If our true nature is already Buddhahood, what is the need to cultivate enlightenment? We cannot side-step these criticisms since, according to Dzogchen, Buddhahood is indeed our natural state; we do not create it, but simply discover it through our meditation. But if we simply agree with our critics, this would mean there is no need to practice.