+~
+COMPLICATED SIMPLICITY
+
+ Emptiness is the simplest and most unelaborated thing we could imagine, but
+then there is this whole literature about all these very discursive details
+with all their subpoints. There are five paths and ten bhumis, and each path
+is divided into a number of stages, with certain numbers of obscurations
+having to be relinquished on each one of those subpaths. Most people just
+think, "Who wants or needs to know all that? Don't we have too many
+thoughts already? I thought this was about letting go of all reference
+points."
+ Of course nobody really wants to know all those details and in a sense we
+all know them already, because they are the details of the many reference
+points that we already have in our mind. The fact that these sutras and their
+commentaries talk about our obscurations is precisely the point why they seem
+so endless and complicated—because our minds are complicated. Emptiness is
+extremely simple, but our convoluted minds that do not get this simplicity are
+very complicated. It is not that the Buddha and the other speakers in the
+sutras and the commentaries really like to, but they need to address each one
+of those knots in our minds, which are like knots in space.
+~
+If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have
+to be a horrible warning.
+ -- Catherine Aird
+~
+THE MIND OF CLEAR LIGHT
+
+ Is spiritual practice really worthwhile? Is it really possible to eliminate
+from within ourselves the forces that give rise to suffering? As is said,
+"The ultimate nature of mind is clear light." Consciousness has many
+levels, and although the coarser levels are affected by the defiling forces,
+the most subtle level remains free of gross negativities. In the Vajrayana
+this subtle level of consciousness is called the mind of clear light.
+ The delusions and emotional afflictions as well as the dualistic mind of
+right and wrong, love and hatred, etc., are associated only with the coarse
+levels of consciousness. At the moment, we are totally absorbed in the
+interplay of these coarse states, so we must begin our practice by working
+within them. This means consciously encouraging love over hate, patience in
+place of anger, emotional freedom rather than attachment, kindness over
+violence, and so forth. Doing this brings immediate peace and calm to the
+mind, thus making higher meditation possible.
+ Then, because grasping at a self and at phenomena as being truly existent is
+the cause of all the vast range of distorted states of mind, one cultivates
+the wisdom that eliminates this ego-grasping. To overcome ego-grasping is to
+overcome the entire host of mental distortions.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+It is the general Buddhist procedure that one's own pleasure and pain are
+acheived by oneself and not from the outside, and that, therefore, sentient
+beings themselves must understand and implement practices to bring about their
+own happiness. Thus, the most efficacious way to help others is through
+teaching what should be adopted in practice and what should be discarded from
+among current behavior. There is no way to do this unless you come to know
+all of the topics involved in what should be adopted in practice and what
+should be discarded—you must become omniscient. As mentioned earlier, there
+is no way to accomplish this except by removing the obstructions to
+omniscience, and one who has overcome, utterly and forever, the obstructions
+to omniscience is a Buddha.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ In meditation, imagine that in front of you are three persons—an enemy, a
+friend, and a neutral person. At that time, in our minds we have (1) a sense
+of closeness for one of them, thinking, "This is my friend"; (2) a sense
+of dislike even when imagining the enemy; and (3) a sense of ignoring the
+neutral person. Now, we have to think about the reasons why we generate these
+feelings—the reasons being that temporarily one of them helped us whereas
+the other temporarily harmed us, and the third did neither. However, when we
+think in terms of the long course of beginningless rebirth, none of us could
+decide that someone who has helped or harmed us in this life has been doing so
+for all lifetimes.
+ When you contemplate this way, eventually you arrive at a point where a
+strong generation of desire or hatred appears to you to be just senseless.
+Gradually, such a bias weakens, and you decide that one-sided classification
+of persons as friends and enemies has been a mistake.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ Generally speaking, even if money brings us happiness, it tends to be the
+kind that money can buy: material things and sensory experiences. And these,
+we discover, become a source of suffering themselves. As far as actual
+possessions are concerned, we must admit that they often cause us more, not
+less, difficulty in life. The car breaks down, we lose our money, our most
+precious belongings are stolen, our house is damaged by fire. Or we worry
+about these things happening.
+ The problem is not materialism as such. Rather it is the underlying
+assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone.
+Unlike animals whose quest for happiness is restricted to survival and to the
+immediate gratification of sensory desires, we human beings have the capacity
+to experience happiness at a deeper level, which, when achieved, can overwhelm
+unhappy experiences.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of
+others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like
+it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives in which we do not benefit
+from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most
+of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others. Nor
+is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by
+concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic
+actions bring about happiness, but they also lessen our experience of
+suffering. Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are
+motivated by the wish to bring others happiness necessarily meets with less
+misfortune than the one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort
+or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our
+internal peace—anxiety, doubt, disappointment—these are definitely less.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+If we view the world's religions from the widest possible viewpoint and
+examine their ultimate goal, we find that all of the major world religions,
+whether Christianity or Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, are dedicated to the
+achievement of permanent human happiness. They are all directed toward that
+goal. All religions emphasize the fact that the true follower must be honest
+and gentle, in other words, that a truly religious person must always strive
+to be a better human being. To this end, the different world religions teach
+different doctrines which will help transform the person. In this regard, all
+religions are the same, there is no conflict. This is something we must
+emphasize. We must consider the question of religious diversity from this
+viewpoint. And when we do, we find no conflict.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+Emptiness vs. Non-Existence
+
+The doctrines of emptiness and selflessness do not imply the non-existence of
+things. Things do exist. When we say that all phenomena are void of self-
+existence, it does not mean that we are advocating non-existence, that we are
+repudiating that things exist. Then what is it we are negating? We are
+negating, or denying, that anything exists from its own side without depending
+on other things. Hence, it is because things depend for their existence upon
+other causes and conditions that they are said to lack independent self-
+existence.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+If we view the world's religions from the widest possible viewpoint and
+examine their ultimate goal, we find that all of the major world religions,
+whether Christianity or Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, are dedicated to the
+achievement of permanent human happiness. They are all directed toward that
+goal. All religions emphasize the fact that the true follower must be honest
+and gentle, in other words, that a truly religious person must always strive
+to be a better human being. To this end, the different world religions teach
+different doctrines which will help transform the person. In this regard, all
+religions are the same, there is no conflict. This is something we must
+emphasize. We must consider the question of religious diversity from this
+viewpoint. And when we do, we find no conflict.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ The process of overcoming our defilements goes in conjunction with gaining
+higher levels of realisation. In fact, when we speak of gaining higher levels
+of realisation in Buddhism we are speaking primarily of the processes through
+which our wisdom and insight deepen. It is actually the wisdom aspect that
+enables the practitioner to move from one level to the next on the path.
+ The attainment of the levels of the path is explained in condensed form in
+the Heart Sutra, where we find the mantra tadyatha om gate gate paragate
+parasamgate bodhi svaha. Tadyatha means It is thus; gate gate means go, go;
+paragate means go beyond and transcend; parasamgate means go utterly beyond,
+go thoroughly beyond; and bodhi svaha means firmly rooted in enlightenment.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ENDURING SUCCESS
+ It is often seen that human beings can endure problems quite well, but
+cannot endure success. When we are successful and have everything we desire,
+it can easily go to our heads. There is a great danger of losing our common
+sense and becoming careless and arrogant. As it is said, "Nothing corrupts a
+person more than power." Very powerful people sometimes become so proud that
+they no longer care about their actions or about the effect they have on
+others. Losing any sense of right and wrong, they create severe problems for
+themselves and everyone else.
+ Even if we have all the success we could dream of—fame, wealth, and so
+on—we must understand that these things have no real substance. Attachment
+does not come from having things, but from the way our mind reacts to them.
+It is fine to participate in good circumstances, provided we can see that they
+have no real essence. They may come and they may go. When seeing this, we
+will not become so attached. Even if we lose our wealth we will not be badly
+affected, and while it is there we will enjoy it without being senseless and
+arrogant.
+ -- Ringu Tulku, from "Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha",
+ edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs, page 92.
+~
+The role of other sentient beings
+
+ In relation to the attainment of liberation from cylic existence, which is
+known also as "definite goodness," the role of other sentient beings is
+indispensable. In the Buddhist understanding, the key spiritual practices
+that lead to the attainment of liberation are the Three Higher
+Trainings—higher training in morality, in meditation, and in wisdom. The
+last two are based upon the foundation of the first, namely the training in
+morality. As I said before, the presence of other sentience beings is
+indispensable for this training. This is how we come to the powerful
+realisation that the role of other sentient beings is essential in all areas
+of our mundane and spiritual activities.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ To avoid being hurt by thorns and brambles, we might consider covering all
+the mountains with leather. That would be impossible, but putting on shoes
+would serve the same purpose. Similarly, if we tried to subdue all our outer
+enemies, we would never succeed. Once one was eliminated, another would rise
+against us. While doing this, our anger would continue to breed new foes.
+The only way to overcome our enemies is to turn inward and kill the real one,
+which is our own hatred.
+ -- Ringu Tulku, from "Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha",
+ edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs.
+~
+ One should not view one's dharma practice as being something decorative,
+regarding statues and images as material possessions or as furnishings for
+one's house, or thinking that because there is an empty space on a wall one
+might as well put up a thangka for decoration. That kind of attitude should
+not be cultivated. When you arrange the statues or thangkas, you should do so
+out of a deep respect from the mind, moved by your faith and conviction. If
+you can arrange these physical representations—statues and so forth—out of
+deep respect and faith, that's all right. On the other hand, the attitude
+that they are merely material possessions is dangerous and destructive. I
+think that some people who have a cupboard or the like in which they keep all
+their precious possessions may arrange an altar on it just for the sake of
+decoration. This is very wrong.
+ Having such motivations is not the proper way to become a Buddhist; the
+proper way to become a Buddhist is to bring about some positive change within
+the mind. Any practice that can give you more courage when you are undergoing
+a very difficult time and that can provide you with some kind of solace and
+calmness of mind is a true practice of the dharma.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+The environment where you are doing the meditation should be properly cleaned.
+While cleaning, you should cultivate the motivation that since you are engaged
+in the task of accumulating great stores of merit by inviting the hosts of
+buddhas and bodhisattvas to this environment, it is important to have a clean
+place. You should see that all external dirt and dust around you is basically
+a manifestation of the faults and stains within your own mind. You should see
+that the most important aim is to purge these stains and faults from within
+your mind. Therefore, as you cleanse the environment, think that you are also
+purifying your mind. Develop the very strong thought that by cleaning this
+place you are inviting the hosts of buddhas and bodhisattvas who are the most
+supreme merit field, and that you will subsequently engage in a path that will
+enable you to purge your mind of the stains and delusions.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ From the point of view of one who seeks enlightenment, it is far better to
+be a human being than to be born even in the heavens of the gods, where there
+is nectar to live on and all wishes are granted by the wish-fulfilling tree;
+where there is neither fatigue nor difficulty, neither sickness nor old age.
+It is as humans, possessed of the eight freedoms and the ten endowments, and
+not as gods, that every one of the thousand Buddhas of this age has attained,
+or will attain, enlightenment. This human existence, moreover, is not to be
+achieved by force or mere chance; it is the result of positive actions. And
+because it is rare for beings to accomplish positive actions, a precious human
+existence is indeed difficult to obtain.
+ Nevertheless, we have now managed to be born into such a state; we have
+encountered the Buddadharma, have entered the path and are now receiving
+teachings. But if we are unable to practise them, simply listening to the
+teachings will not in itself liberate us from samsara, and will be of no help
+to us when we are confronted by the hardships of birth, disease, old age and
+death. If we do not follow the doctor's prescription when we are sick, then
+even if the doctor sits constantly by our side, the pain will not go away.
+ -- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, from "Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the
+ Seven-Point Mind Training", translated by Padmakara Translation Group.
+~
+The realization of the nature of the mind is not something we can find by
+searching for it from afar. It is present within the essence of the mind
+itself. If we do not alter or change that in any way, that is enough. It is
+not as if we were lacking something before, so we need to make something new
+through our meditation. It is not as if we are bad and have to go through all
+sorts of efforts to make ourselves good. Goodness is something we all have.
+It has always been with us, but we have just not looked for it or seen it yet,
+so we have become confused. Therefore all we need to do is to just rest
+within it without changing it. We see where it stays and rest there, so we
+are like a kusulu. This means that we rest free and easy with nothing to do,
+very simply. We do not need to think that we are making something good or
+that we need to meditate properly. It is enough just to know what we already
+have.
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, from "Vivid Awareness", in "The Best Buddhist
+ Writing 2012", edited by Melvin McLeod and the editors of the Shambhala
+ Sun, pages 196–197.
+~
+We all have to recognize the tremendous opportunity that we have. As humans
+we have this rare intelligence, but there is a real danger that we will waste
+it. Death is certain, but when we will die is totally unpredictable. We
+could lose our precious human existence at any moment. With such reflections,
+we must motivate ourselves to do something meaningful right now. The best way
+to make your human existence meaningful is to really engage in the practice of
+Dharma. During formal sitting meditation and in between sessions, in
+different ways, be mindful and introspectively vigilant. Keep constant watch
+on your mind.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ In order to carry out a practice--such as constantly watching the mind--you
+should form a determination, make a pledge, right when you wake up: "Now, for
+the rest of this day, I will put into practice what I believe just as much as
+I can." It is very important that, at the start of the day, we should set out
+to shape what will happen later. Then, at the end of every day, check what
+happened. Review the day. And if you carried through for that whole day your
+morning's determination, then rejoice. Reinforce further your motivation to
+continue in the same line. However, when you do your reviewing, you may
+discover that you did things during the day that are contrary to your
+religious values and beliefs. You should then acknowledge this and cultivate
+a deep sense of remorse. Strengthen your resolve not to indulge in these
+actions in the future.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ There are two different ways in which we can understand the term "ordinary
+mind." One way is to not take control over anything and end up following our
+afflictions. When a thought of anger arises, we follow it; when greed arises,
+we lose control of ourselves to it. Similarly, we lose control of ourselves
+to our pride and jealousy. Although we might think of this as our ordinary
+state of mind, it is not what we mean here. Here it does not mean losing
+control of ourselves to negative emotions. Instead, it means that we do not
+need to do anything at all to the essence of the mind itself.
+ We do not need to alter this essence in any way. We do not have to worry
+about what we are thinking, what is pleasant, or what is painful. We can
+leave this mind as it is. If we try to alter the mind in any way, thoughts
+will arise. But if we do not do anything to it and let it rest easily, then
+it is unaltered. The Kagyu masters of the past called this the ordinary mind,
+or the natural state. They called it this out of their experience. This
+ordinary mind itself is the dharma expanse and the essence of the buddhas; it
+is our buddha-nature.
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, from "Vivid Awareness" in "The Best Buddhist
+ Writing 2012", edited by Melvin McLeod and the editors of the Shambhala
+ Sun, page 200.
+~
+ If your engagement with others is tainted by strong attachment, craving,
+aversion, anger, and so forth, then that form of grasping is undesirable. But
+on the other hand, when you are interacting with other living beings and
+become aware of their needs or suffering or pain, then you need to fully
+engage with that and be compassionate. So there can be positive attachment in
+this sense of active engagement.
+ Buddhist masters have long used the term attachment to describe the quality
+of compassion for others. For example, a verse from Haribhadra's Clear
+Meaning Commentary refers to compassion that is attached to other living
+beings. And as we have seen, Nagarjuna teaches that attachment for other
+living beings will arise spontaneously in the person who realizes emptiness.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+Kongtrul Rinpoche suggested we pray to the guru, buddhas, and bodhisattvas and
+ask them to grant their blessings, "So I may give birth to the heart of
+sadness." But what is a "heart of sadness"? Imagine one night you have
+a dream. Although it is a good dream, deep down you know that eventually you
+will have to wake up and it will be over. In life, too, sooner or later,
+whatever the state of our relationships, or our health, our jobs and every
+aspect of our lives, everything, absolutely everything, will change. And the
+little bell ringing in the back of your head to remind you of this
+inevitability is what is called the "heart of sadness." Life, you realise,
+is a race against time, and you should never put off dharma practice until
+next year, next month, or tomorrow, because the future may never happen.
+ -- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, from "Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-
+ Called Preliminary Practices"
+~
+ What we want to eliminate is grasping that is grounded upon falsification of
+the object, distortions that arise as afflictions grasp at the apparent
+substantial existence of an object. Some texts say that mental states such as
+compassion and faith are, by their very nature, virtuous and thus cannot at
+the same time be afflicted mental states. Yet there are other texts that
+refer to "afflicted compassion" or "afflicted faith." For those of us
+who have not realized emptiness, when we generate strong devotion toward the
+Buddha perhaps there is within that faith, within that devotion, an element of
+grasping at the Buddha as substantially real. This makes it an instance of
+so-called "afflicted devotion."
+ Still, it is important to distinguish grasping rooted in falsification and
+distortion from the attachment, focus, or holding that we associate with
+compassion. In our immediate experience, these two forms of grasping may seem
+the same, but in terms of the overall mental environment they are quite
+different. Compassion is fact-based, while distorted grasping is not.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ By and large, human beings tend to prefer to fit in to society by following
+accepted rules of etiquette and being gentle, polite, and respectful. The
+irony is that this is also how most people imagine a spiritual person should
+behave. When a so-called dharma practitioner is seen to behave badly, we
+shake our heads over her audacity at presenting herself as a follower of the
+Buddha. Yet such judgments are better avoided, because to "fit in" is not
+what a genuine dharma practitioner strives for.
+ Think of Tilopa, for example. He looked so outlandish that if he turned up
+on your doorstep today, odds are you would refuse to let him in. And you
+would have a point. He would most likely be almost completely naked; if you
+were lucky, he might be sporting some kind of G-string; his hair would never
+have been introduced to shampoo; and protruding from his mouth would quiver
+the tail of a live fish. What would your moral judgment be of such a being?
+"Him! A Buddhist?" This is how our theistic, moralistic, and judgmental
+minds work. Of course, there is nothing wrong with morality, but the point of
+spiritual practice, according to the vajrayana teachings, is to go beyond all
+our concepts, including those of morality.
+ -- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, from "Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-
+ Called Preliminary Practices".
+~
+Because it is a reality that we are by nature social animals, bound to depend
+on each other, we need to cultivate affection and concern for other people if
+we really desire peace and happiness. Look at wild animals and birds. Even
+they travel together, flock together, and help each other. Bees do not have a
+particular legal system, they do not follow any spiritual practice, but for
+their livelihood and survival they depend on each other--that is their
+natural way of existence. Even though we intelligent human beings must also
+depend on each other, we sometimes misuse our intelligence and try to exploit
+each other. That goes against human nature. For those of us who profess to
+believe in a particular religious practice, it is extremely important that we
+try to help each other and cultivate a feeling of affection for each other.
+That is the source of happiness in our life.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ It's important to differentiate a thought from an emotion. We say things
+such as, "I feel like they don't accept me." Actually, that is a thought.
+We may feel hurt or frustrated, and it's because we're thinking that others
+don't accept us. How do we know they don't accept us? We don't. We
+haven't asked them. Instead, on the basis of how they looked at us or a
+comment they made, our mind constructs a story that we believe.
+ As soon as you hear yourself saying, "I feel like...," stop and recognize
+that you can't "feel like" something. You are thinking. After you have
+identified the thought, ask yourself, "Is that true? How do I know it's true?
+What evidence do I have to prove the validity of that thought?" It's really
+startling to see how often we assume our interpretation of a situation is true
+when in fact it is based on flimsy evidence.
+ -- Thubten Chodron, from "Don't Believe Everything You Think: Living with
+ Wisdom and Compassion"
+~
+We are all human beings, and from this point of view, we are the same. We all
+want happiness and we do not want suffering. If we consider this point, we
+will find that there are no differences between people of different faiths,
+races, colors, or cultures. We all have this common wish for happiness.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+Enlightenment is not anything new or something we create or bring into
+existence. It is simply discovering within us what is already there. It is
+the full realization of our intrinsic nature. In Tibetan, buddha is sang
+gyay. Sang means that all of the faults have been cleared away, while gyay
+means “full realization”; just as from darkness, the moon waxes, likewise
+from ignorance, the qualities of the mind’s intrinsic nature emerge.
+ -- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche