+~
+Aren't surveys inherently biased, because they only include people who are
+willing to be surveyed? What about people who value their time?
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+if throwing your dirty clothes at the hamper causes an avalanche,
+then it's time to do the laundry. #NoteToSelf
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+stoner marxism:
+"from each according to his stash, to each according to his jones."
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+i learned everything i needed to know about the 2016 election cycle by
+listening to devo in the 70s. "We're pinheads now. We are not whole."
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+"i made a sample with my organ!"
+"that's disgusting!"
+"an electronic organ, dork."
+"oh, i get it."
+"i sampled the sound of orgasm."
+"gahh!"
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+"the universe is flat in all directions" is what an infinitely dimensional
+person might say as she perceives all realities simultaneously.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+Out of ten soldiers who are perfect in drill and the manual of arms, only one
+knows the purpose of the sights on his gun or can hit the broad side of a barn.
+ -- General Burnside, of his civil war recruits
+~
+music is the balm that soothes.
+anger is the bomb that kills.
+so don't listen to your anger if you want to feel right about life.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+don't torture yourself with overblown expectations of how much you can
+accomplish. stretch goals are fine, "burst" goals are not.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+In the gap between two thoughts,
+Thought-free wakefulness manifests unceasingly.
+ -- Milarepa
+~
+After Yeshe Tsogyal had helped countless beings in Tibet with her body,
+speech, and mind, the naga Nanda made offerings and with tears in his eyes he
+sang to her:
+
+ Kyema!
+ Guru, mother, Yeshe Tsogyal,
+ Key to the mysteries of Padmasambhava,
+ With mercy taking up the pains of others.
+
+ Free from concepts,
+ "Clean" and "unclean" have no hold on you.
+ Eager for the benefit of others,
+ You bury underground all love of self,
+ Mistress holder of the Teachings,
+ Mother of Victorious Ones, I bow to you.
+
+ -- Excerpted from: "Lady of the Lotus-Born: The Life and Enlightenment of
+ Yeshe Tsogyal" (translated by the Padmakara Translation Group), published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+The mind captivated by a state of craving has no clue as to what pain and
+pleasure really are. When we hanker after objects, do we experience peace and
+bliss? Are we in control? Do we feel at ease? Or do we feel restless?
+Stressed and worried? Insecure and desperate? The slippery thing about
+attachment is that, in our bewilderment, we can't tell the difference
+between pleasure and pain, love and desire, happiness and sorrow. The craving
+mind can mistake anything for pleasure--even pain! It's like an addiction.
+ -- Dzigar Kongtrül, "Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening
+ to Our Natural Intelligence", published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+The path of dharma, its fruit, and everything included within great gnosis,
+too, are nothing more than the realization of the significance of the
+nonduality of phenomena. At this point, there is attainment of the signs of
+cultivating bodhicitta. When realized in this manner, there is no need for
+training on a multitude of paths. Therefore, the unmistaken path is simply
+the realization of the nature of one's own mind just as it is.
+ -- Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo's treatise on Dzogchen as the culmination of the
+ Mahāyāna, Entering the way of the Great Vehicle, translated by Dominic
+ Sur, 2017, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Lineage is not like a baton that one person passes to another person and then
+to another, leaving the ones behind empty-handed. It's like the flame of a
+lamp. If you light one lamp and then keep lighting more lamps, the first lamp
+still has the flame. There are no distinctions. There is a continuum.
+ -- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, from "The Guru Drinks Bourbon?", published by
+ Shambhala Publications
+~
+A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention with
+the possible exceptions of handguns and Tequila.
+ -- Mitch Ratcliffe
+~
+Even with realization, if you do not directly cut through, it is like tossing
+out a tempered sharp weapon: the view will not protect you, and you are bound
+by fear. The yoga that brings together view and conduct is like the weapons
+carried by warriors that vanquish all the enemy hosts.
+ -- Machik Lapdrön, "Chöd: The Sacred Teachings on Severence", by Jamgön
+ Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, translated by Sarah Harding, published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+The system of two truths is propounded solely for didactic purposes, as an
+entry to the path. On the ultimate level, the division into two truths has no
+place. There is only the inconceivable dharmadhātu, pure suchness, the
+ultimate mode of being. As it is written in the sutra,
+
+ There is but one truth: absence of all origin,
+ Yet some will crow about there being four.
+ But in the essence of enlightenment,
+ Not one is found—why speak of four?
+
+But whereas on the ultimate level, the two truths are not posited, on the
+relative level, they are. For there is certainly a difference between the way
+things are and the way they appear. As was said earlier, "These the two
+truths are declared to be."
+ -- The Wisdom Chapter: Jamgön Mipham’s Commentary on the Ninth Chapter of
+ The Way of the Bodhisattva, translated by the Padmakara Translation
+ Group, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ People who embark upon the path of the Mahayana, the supreme path of
+beings of great scope leading to omniscience, should try to acquire four
+circumstances. They should (1) live in solitude, in a place that has all the
+necessary conditions and is in harmony with the Dharma. They should (2)
+frequent a teacher who is learned in the Tripitaka and steeped in the practice
+of the three trainings. By doing this, they will avoid the inferior attitudes
+of ordinary folk as well as the wrong behavior that leads to suffering, and
+they will acquire all the good qualities deriving from the Dharma of
+transmission and realization. They should in addition (3) nourish an intense
+wish to practice in accordance with the teaching expounded by their master and
+should (4) zealously adopt the supreme protection afforded by the merit
+accumulated in their past and present existences. The venerable Nagarjuna
+refers to these four conditions as the ‘‘four wheels,’’ the idea being
+that, just as someone riding in a (horse-drawn) chariot can cover in a short
+time a distance that would take many days for a cow or ox, a Bodhisattva
+taking advantage of these four conditions will progress speedily toward
+omniscience. Nagarjuna refers to them in his Suhrllekha when he says:
+
+ Your dwelling place befits the task,
+ You keep the company of holy beings.
+ With highest aspirations and a store of merit,
+ You have indeed the ‘‘four wheels’’ all complete.
+
+ -- from "Treasury of Precious Qualities, Book One: Sutra Teachings", by
+ Jigme Lingpa, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+
+ We are far removed from eighth-century Tibet, where we meet her, but
+Yeshé Tsogyal continues to be present and available. She lives outside
+linear time, but visits it: her limitless emanations form a bridge from her
+lifetime to the present. She promised to remain accessible to any spiritual
+seeker wishing to follow her lead. In her own words,
+
+ And so, from now until the scouring of samsara,
+ My stream of emanations, primary and secondary,
+ Will flow unceasing.
+ Especially to those who in the future meditate
+ Upon the subtle veins and energies,
+ I’ll show myself--at best directly,
+ Else in visions, or at least in dreams,
+ Appearing as a common person, or as the secret consort.
+ I shall clear the obstacles of those who keep samaya,
+ Bringing progress to their practice,
+ Helping to attain with speed the blissful warmth and thence
+ accomplishment.
+
+ As promised, she continuously appears to lead and inspire the faithful in
+dreams, visions, and real life. As well, her human reincarnations ceaselessly
+return to the world, guiding others in whatever capacity is needed.
+ -- from "The Life and Visions of Yeshé Tsogyal", by Drimé Kunga and Yeshé
+ Tsogyal Translated by Chönyi Drolma, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ It is impossible to conceive how many beings, from beginningless time in
+samsara, have been related to us--as parents, as enemies, or as people
+indifferent to us. In fact, all beings have been linked to us in these three
+ways innumerable times. When they were our enemies, they injured us; when
+they were our parents or our friends, they cherished and aided us; when they
+were neither, they ignored us. It would be impossible to calculate the number
+of relationships that we have experienced. Once when the noble Katyayana went
+begging for alms, he came across a group of people and, perceiving the karmic
+links that bound them together, commented:
+
+ He strikes his mother, eats his father’s flesh;
+ His hated foe he dandles on his lap.
+ Here is a wife that sucks her husband’s bones--
+ At this samsara how can I not laugh?
+
+ -- from "Treasury of Precious Qualities, Book One: Sutra Teachings", by
+ Jigme Lingpa, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ When the actual process of dying begins, you pass through eight phases--
+the first four involve the collapse of the four elements, and the last four
+involve the collapse of consciousness into the innermost level of mind, called
+the mind of clear light.
+ In the final phase of dying, when all coarse consciousnesses dissolve into
+the all-empty, which is the fundamental innate mind of clear light, the myriad
+objects of the world, as well as concepts such as sameness and difference, are
+pacified in this subtlest mind. At that time, all appearances of environments
+and beings withdraw of their own accord. Even for a nonpractitioner, coarse
+appearances also withdraw; this withdrawal of conventional appearances,
+however, is not due to a perception of reality attained through meditation.
+When, in the last phase, the temporary winds that carry consciousness have all
+dissolved, the mind (whether of a practitioner or a nonpractitioner) becomes
+as if undifferentiated, and an immaculate openness dawns.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "The Heart of Meditation", translated and
+ edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ There’s a common misunderstanding among all the human beings who have
+ever been born on the earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain
+and just try to get comfortable. You can see this even in insects and animals
+and birds.
+ A much more interesting, kind, adventurous, and joyful approach to life is
+to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our
+inquisitiveness is bitter or sweet.
+ When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual
+discipline, they often think that somehow they’re going to improve, which is
+a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It’s a bit
+like saying, “If I jog, I’ll be a much better person.” Or the scenario
+may be that they find fault with others; they might say, “If it weren’t
+for my husband, I’d have a perfect marriage.” And “If it weren’t for
+my mind, my meditation would be excellent.”
+ But loving-kindness--maitri--toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid
+of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years.
+We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous
+or full of feelings of unworthiness. Meditation practice isn’t about trying
+to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending
+who we are already.
+ Perhaps we will experience what is traditionally described as the fruition
+of maitri--playfulness...
+ -- Pema Chödrön, from "Awakening Loving-Kindness", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ In texts we inherited from India, the basic principle is sometimes called
+the “fundamental innate mind of clear light” and the “fundamental innate
+wisdom of clear light”— these two terms having the same meaning. In other
+texts, it is called the “space-diamond pervading space,” whereas in even
+others it is called the “jewel mind,” as, for example, when it is said,
+“Separate from the jewel mind, there is no buddha and no sentient being.”
+ Then, in Tibet, in some texts, it is called “ordinary consciousness”
+and “innermost awareness.” These terms are used in the context of speaking
+about freedom from thought, which is psychologically and experientially
+described as “self-release,” “naked release,” and “unimpeded
+penetration”; we will be discussing these in detail later. The innermost
+awareness is said to be the basis of the appearance of all of the round of
+suffering (called “cyclic existence”) and also the basis of liberation
+(called “nirvana”). Everything, without exception, is complete in the
+continuum of innermost awareness. It is even said to be “naturally arisen,”
+since it has always been and always will be.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "The Heart of Meditation", translated and
+ edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+When phenomena are indeed seen to be devoid of true existence, great
+compassion will well up effortlessly, a compassion that will never abandon
+living beings who circle in samsara through their clinging to true existence.
+For as it has been taught, it is in the nature of things that such an attitude
+is born.
+ -- from "The Wisdom Chapter: Jamgön Mipham’s Commentary on the Ninth
+ Chapter of The Way of the Bodhisattva", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+When resting evenly in meditation with the points of body,
+If appearances cease and you are without thoughts,
+These are the doings of a lethargic shamatha.
+But when you rouse yourself with mindfulness,
+It’s like a candle, self-luminous and shining bright,
+Or like a flower that’s naturally vivid and clear.
+Like looking with your eyes at the glow of the sky,
+Awareness-emptiness is naked, open, and clear.
+
+That nonconceptuality that’s luminous and clear
+Is the arising of the shamatha experience.
+On the basis of that meditative experience,
+While supplicating the precious jewels,
+Gain certainty by studying and contemplating the dharma.
+Take the vipashyana that brings the understanding of no self
+And tie the sturdy rope of shamatha to that.
+Then that strong noble being with love and compassion
+Through the mighty strength of rousing bodhichitta to benefit others,
+Having been lifted up with a pure aspiration
+To the completely pure path of seeing,
+There, vipashyana directly realizes the purity that cannot be seen
+And then the faults of mind’s hopes and fears will be known.
+Without going anywhere, you’ll arrive at the Buddha’s ground.
+Without looking at anything, you’ll see dharmakaya.
+Without achieving anything, your aim will be spontaneously accomplished.
+ -- from "The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa", By Tsangnyon Heruka,
+ Translated by Christopher Stagg, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Trying to find the pain in life is the renunciation of hinayana. Trying to
+find the ambition in life, trying to reach higher goals, is the
+bodhisattva’s ambition in the mahayana. Trying to find the subtleties of
+life is the tantric discovery of mystical experience in the vajrayana.
+ -- Milarepa, from "Milarepa: Lessons from the Life and Songs of Tibet’s
+ Great Yogi", by Chögyam Trungpa, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+The root of our current unsatisfactory condition in a cycle of death and
+rebirth is our innate tendency to view the personal self in a reified manner
+(LRCM: 574). We also have innate tendencies to view all other phenomena in a
+reified manner. To achieve wisdom, or to know emptiness, means to overcome
+this reifying view, to realize that the self or essential being as thus
+conceived does not exist at all. In order reach this realization, according
+to Tsong kha pa, one must use reason to refute the existence, and to prove the
+nonexistence, of this reified self or essence. Having intellectually arrived
+at the correct philosophical view—that the self lacks a shred of intrinsic
+nature—one proceeds along the path to spiritual liberation through intense,
+deep, and extensive meditative familiarization with this view. At the same
+time, however, the practitioner also cultivates compassionate engagement with
+other living beings, making a commitment to help all of them reach perfect
+happiness.
+ -- from "Ask a Farmer: Ultimate Analysis and Conventional Existence in
+ Tsong kha pa’s Lam rim chen mo", by Guy Newland from Changing Minds:
+ Contributions to the Study of Buddhism and Tibet in Honor of Jeffrey
+ Hopkins, edited by Guy Newland, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+inexplicably ted was awoken,
+incredibly loud noise of the broken,
+his cat invaded the stash,
+seeking out some tasty hash,
+sis boom *bong* goes crash--ted won't be tokin'.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+shania the stony gal really dug her twerkin',
+slingin' her booty all around was really workin',
+but the other dancers looked askance,
+and asked "can this chick actually dance?",
+shania wasn't so much dancin' as berzerkin'!
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+ All art is composed of subtle and gross elements. There is no way for
+artists to express without elements. When people use expressions such as hot-
+headed, cold-hearted, dry-humored, or all wet, it shows that they naturally
+connect subtle element temperaments with gross element expressions. But
+artists must go beyond outwardly expressing the elements in an obvious way in
+order to gain experience with the inner subtle elements, which are the source
+of the outer gross elements. Then they can make art which reflects what
+people need.
+ According to the Buddhist point of view, an artist’s intention is
+compassion. Buddhist artists create in order to make a link with other beings
+through their inner pure elements, and to transform their outer ordinary gross
+elements into enlightenment by means of that connection.
+ -- Thinley Norbu, from "Magic Dance: The Display of the Self-Nature of the
+ Five Wisdom Dakinis", published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Never admit defeat. Just move the front.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+down came eddy from his heady,
+where he dwells often unsteady,
+you see he gets so high,
+mind expanded to sky;
+real world grokking just not ready.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+ Generally speaking, when we are too desirous of something in life, we’re
+less likely to attain it. Success seems to increase in direct proportion to
+the diminution of our desires. The same logic applies to our need for
+recognition. We might want to be appreciated and respected, but we have only
+a limited ability to influence how other people respond and we can’t make
+somebody show us gratitude any more than we can force someone to love us. If
+we show love without expecting it to be reciprocated, we will have more chance
+of finding love than if we simply yearn for it. Likewise, doing something
+without expecting gratitude is more likely to elicit appreciation for what we
+do. Whether someone can acknowledge our actions or not should be no concern
+of ours.
+ We simply commit ourselves to doing things to the best of our ability and
+in as thorough a manner as possible without sloppiness. We should never think
+that other people are indebted to us or obligated to help us in return. We
+should simply do things because we love doing them, not because we want other
+people to feel indebted to us. Shantideva says:
+
+ The work of bringing benefit to beings
+ Will not, then, make me proud and self-admiring.
+ The happiness of others is itself my satisfaction;
+ I do not expect another recompense.
+
+ -- Traleg Kyabgon, from "The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion
+ through Training the Mind", published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava says:
+
+ If you want to go sightseeing, try touring your own clear,
+ mirrorlike mind instead.
+
+ What technique can we use to effectively start our journey to realizing
+our natural, pristine state?
+ The clearest instructions for doing this come from Guru Rinpoche
+Padmasambhava, the main architect of the Pristine Mind teachings. Guru
+Rinpoche has given us the essential opening instructions for practicing
+Pristine Mind meditation in four steps:
+
+ Don’t follow the past.
+ Don’t anticipate the future.
+ Remain in the present moment.
+ Leave your mind alone.
+
+ We must understand these instructions. They are designed to help us stay
+in the present moment. Some other forms of meditation teachings say that
+remaining in the present moment is the ultimate objective of meditation.
+However, the present moment itself is not ultimate reality, ultimate truth, or
+the ultimate goal of Pristine Mind meditation. Nor is it what I mean when I
+refer to our fundamental nature. Instead, being in the present moment, with
+our mind calm and relaxed, simply creates the right conditions to begin to
+connect with our Pristine Mind.
+ --Excerpted from "Our Pristine Mind: A Practical Guide to Unconditional
+ Happiness", by Orgyen Chowang, published by Shambhala Publications
+