+~
+II. Path of Application
+
+ The path of application begins after perfection of the path of
+accumulation. It has four stages corresponding to the realization of the Four
+Noble Truths: heat, maximum heat, patience, and realization of the highest
+worldly dharma. Why is it called the path of application? Because there, one
+makes an effort to directly realize truth.
+
+A. Five Powers. Furthermore, during the stages of heat and maximum heat,
+five powers are practiced:
+ the power of faith,
+ the power of perseverance,
+ the power of mindfulness,
+ the power of absorption, and
+ the power of wisdom awareness.
+
+B. Five Strengths. During the stages of patience and highest worldly dharma,
+five strengths are practiced:
+ the strength of faith,
+ the strength of perseverance,
+ the strength of mindfulness,
+ the strength of absorption, and
+ the strength of wisdom awareness.
+ -- Gampopa, in "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+III. Path of Insight
+
+ The path of insight begins after the highest worldly dharma and consists
+of calm abiding as a basis for special insight focused on the Four Noble
+Truths. Four insights correspond to each of the Four Noble Truths, making a
+total of sixteen—eight patient acceptances and eight cognitions: the patient
+acceptance of the cognition of the dharma with respect to suffering, the
+cognition of the dharma with respect to suffering, the patient acceptance of
+the cognition that is the subsequent realization with respect to suffering,
+the cognition that is the subsequent realization with respect to suffering,
+and so forth.
+ Why is it called the path of insight? Because there, one realizes the
+Four Noble Truths which were not seen before. At this stage there are seven
+of the branches of enlightenment:
+ the perfect mindfulness branch,
+ the perfect discrimination branch,
+ the perfect perseverance branch,
+ the perfect joy branch,
+ the perfect relaxation branch,
+ the perfect absorption branch, and
+ the perfect equanimity branch.
+ -- The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, by Gampopa, published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+IV. Path of Meditation
+
+The path of meditation practice begins after the realization of special
+insight. It has two paths:
+ A. the path of worldly meditation practice and
+ B. the path of meditation practice beyond the world.
+A.
+ Worldly Meditation Practice consists of the first, second, third, and
+fourth meditative stages, and the formless stages of increasing the infinite
+nature of space, increasing the infinity of consciousness, increasing the
+nothing-whatsoever-ness, and increasing neither perception nor non-perception.
+There are three purposes to practicing this meditation:
+
++ suppressing the afflicting emotions which are the subject of
+abandonment in the path of meditation;
++ establishing the special qualities of the Four Immeasurables and so
+forth; and
++ creating the foundation for the path beyond the world.
+
+B.
+ Meditation Practice Beyond the World consists of the furthering of calm
+abiding and special insight, focused on the two types of wisdom. During the
+path of insight there were two "patient acceptances" and two
+"awarenesses" corresponding to each of the Four Noble Truths, making a
+total of sixteen. The eight patient acceptances were completed in the path of
+insight. One becomes familiarized with the eight awarenesses in the path of
+meditation through the calm abiding and special insight related to the four
+meditative concentrations and three of the formless absorptions. Furthermore,
+part of the awareness of phenomena is to familiarize oneself with all the
+realization of dharma-as-such. Part of the continuity awareness is to
+familiarize oneself with all the realization of primordial wisdom. The state
+of neither perception nor non-perception is merely worldly meditation because
+the movement of sensation is so unclear.
+ Why is this called the path of meditation? Because there, one becomes
+familiar with the realizations that one achieved in the path of insight. At
+this stage, there are eight of the thirty-seven branches of enlightenment:
+
++ perfect view,
++ perfect conception, perfect speech, perfect action,
++ perfect livelihood,
++ perfect effort,
++ perfect mindfulness, and
++ perfect absorption.
+ -- Gampopa, from "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation", published by Shambhala
+Publications
+~
+ Your eggnog to rum ratio should be 23% to 77%. I would then spice the
+eggnog with nutmeg and use more than you're comfortable with because sailors
+used to use it as [a] hallucinogen...
+ Also, enter on a reindeer. And if you enter on a reindeer, stay on the
+reindeer. And if you can't reach something because you're too high up
+sitting on the reindeer, just ask for help. That goes for life, too. Don't
+be afraid to ask for help and stay on that reindeer.
+ -- T.J. Miller's recipe for the perfect holiday party
+~
+if you can't beat them, join them, and subvert them from the inside.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+regarding christmas cards...
+"i would create my own as a desktop publishing activity, with all new current
+stuff. but it's way too much effort. basically, i can either give you a
+present or make you a card. which do you prefer?"
+ -- thus spake slackathustra.
+~
+Hope is not a strategy.
+Luck is not a factor.
+Fear is not an option.
+ -- James Cameron
+~
+A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do,
+nothing else.
+ -- John Galsworthy
+~
+The Order of the Four Noble Truths
+
+We do analytical meditation to understand the various unsatisfactory
+conditions or sufferings of cyclic existence. When we gain an experience of
+them, we then place our mind firmly on that experience using stabilizing
+meditation. The more we meditate on suffering, the more we are motivated to
+rid ourselves of it. We will want to find out its causes and cease creating
+them. Thus, after contemplating true suffering, we contemplate true origin.
+Investigating this, we will see that suffering arises from karma, which is
+produced in dependence on the disturbing attitudes. These in turn are rooted
+in self-grasping ignorance. We will want to eliminate this ignorance, and
+will see that because it is a faulty attitude or misconception, it can be
+eliminated. Thus we will be certain that we can attain the true cessation of
+suffering and its origin. Through further contemplating the four noble
+truths, we will recognize that the way to abandon self-grasping ignorance is
+to meditate on the true path, since this path is principally the wisdom
+realizing the non-existence of the self that is adhered to by ignorance. This
+is the order in which the four noble truths unfold in meditation and thus is
+the order in which to practice them. So, although the actual order in which
+the four occur is first the causes and then the effects, when the Buddha
+taught for the purpose of practice, he explained the results first.
+ -- Geshe Jampa Tegchok, "Transforming Adversity Into Joy and Courage: An
+ Explanation of the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas", published by
+ Shambhala Publications
+~
+Take Refuge in the Buddha
+
+ We live in an ocean of cyclic existence whose depth and extent cannot be
+measured. We are troubled again and again by the afflictions of desire and
+hatred as if repeatedly attacked by sharks.
+ Our mental and physical aggregates are impelled by former contaminated
+actions and afflictions and serve as a basis for present suffering as well as
+inducing future suffering. While such cyclic existence lasts, we have various
+thoughts of pleasure and displeasure: "If I do this, what will people think?
+If I do not do this, I will be too late; I won't make any profit." When we
+see something pleasant we think, "Oh, if I could only have that!" We see
+that others are prosperous, and we generate jealousy, unable to bear their
+prosperity. We see an attractive man or woman, and we want a relationship.
+We are not satisfied with a passing relationship but want it to last forever.
+And then, once staying together with that person, we desire someone else.
+When we see someone we do not like, we become angry and quarrel after a single
+word; we feel we cannot remain even for an hour near this hated person but
+must leave immediately. Day and night, night and day we spend our lives in
+the company of the afflictions, generating desire for the pleasant and anger
+at the unpleasant, and continue thus even when dreaming, unable to remain
+relaxed, our minds completely and utterly mixed with thoughts of desire and
+hatred without interruption.
+ Only a Buddha has extinguished all defects and gained all attainments.
+Therefore, one should mentally go for refuge to a Buddha, praise him or her
+with speech, and respect him or her physically. One should enter the teaching
+of such a being.
+ -- from "The Essence of Tantra," by the Dalai Lama, in The Great Exposition
+ of the Secret Mantra, Volume I: Tantra in Tibet by Tsongkhapa, published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+V. Path of Perfection
+
+ After the vajra-like absorption, one actualizes the nature of awareness,
+the awareness of exhaustion, and awareness of the unborn. The vajra-like
+absorption is the state at the edge of the path of meditation and is included
+in the preparation and unobstructed stages. This absorption is called
+"vajra-like" because it is unobstructed, hard, stable, of one taste, and
+all-pervasive.
+ "Unobstructed" means that it cannot be affected by the action of the
+world. "Hard" means it cannot be destroyed by obscurations. "Stable"
+means it cannot be shaken by discursive thoughts. "One taste" means
+everything is of one taste. "All pervasive" means that it observes the
+suchness of all knowledge.
+ The "awareness of the exhaustion of causes" that arises after this
+absorption is the primordial wisdom awareness that observes the Four Noble
+Truths by the power of the exhaustion of all causes. The "awareness of the
+unborn" is the primordial wisdom that observes the Four Noble Truths by the
+power of abandoning the result, suffering. In other words, this primordial
+wisdom clearly observes the exhaustion of the cause and non-production of the
+result and is called the "awareness of the exhaustion and non-production."
+ Why is this called the path of perfection? Because the training is
+perfected and one enters the city of nirvana—this is why it is called the
+path of perfection. At this stage, there are ten attainments of no-more-
+training: starting with perfect view of no-more-training through the perfect
+absorption of no-more-training and then the full liberation of no-more-
+training and the perfect primordial wisdom of no-more-training—these ten
+attainments of no-more-training are included in the five unafflicted skandas:
+
+ perfect speech of no-more-training, perfect action, and perfect
+livelihood are in the heap of moral ethics;
+ perfect mindfulness of no-more-training and perfect absorption are in
+the heap of absorption;
+ perfect view of no-more-training, perfect conception, and perfect
+effort are in the heap of wisdom awareness;
+ perfect, full liberation is in the heap of full liberation;
+ perfect awareness is in the heap of seeing the primordial wisdom of
+full liberation.
+ -- Gampopa, from "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+i try to think of 10,008 impossible things before breakfast,
+and i'm near ecstatic if any of those is worth writing down.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+businesses or products mashed up with despots:
+- fidelity castro
+- mao zeding-dong
+- pol potstickers
+- donald trump
+~
+Relaxing in the midst of chaos,
+learning not to panic--this is the spiritual path.
+ -- Pema Chödrön, "When Things Fall Apart"
+~
+Driving all blames into oneself applies whenever we complain about anything,
+even that our coffee is cold or the bathroom is dirty. We may think that we
+are the voice of the world, that we are speaking on behalf of others, but we
+are simply speaking on behalf of ourselves. According to this slogan,
+everything is due to our own ego fixation, which makes us very vulnerable.
+Consequently, we provide an ideal target. We get hit, but nobody meant to hit
+us--we are actually inviting the bullets.
+ -- Chögyam Trungpa, "The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma: The
+ Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.
+ -- Wayne Gretzky
+~
+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
+~
+Some people think that causes are not necessary. They think that things do
+not need causes and can exist without them. This is mistaken. Think about
+it. If you plant a seed in a flowerpot, a flower will grow. It will not grow
+from this table in front of me now. What is the reason for that? The causes
+for a flower are present in a flowerpot, and for that reason a flower can grow
+there. The causes for a flower are not present on the surface of this table,
+and for that reason a flower cannot grow there. If things arose in the
+absence of causes, a flower would have to be able to grow from the surface of
+this table even though the causes for a flower are not present there. Or, as
+we know, flowers bloom in the summer but not in the winter. What is the
+reason for that? In the summer, the causes and conditions for the growth of
+flowers are complete. In the winter, they are not. In dependence upon that,
+flowers grow in the summer but not in the winter. If causes were not
+necessary, flowers would grow in the winter also. They would grow at all
+times.
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu, "Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashīla’s
+ Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ Human beings have many kinds of suffering. Some human beings are put into
+prisons. Some are destitute. Some are enslaved by others. Thus, they are
+not actually hell-beings, but their sufferings are like those of hell-beings;
+they are not actually hungry ghosts, but their sufferings are like those of
+hungry ghosts; and they are not actually animals, but their sufferings are
+like those of animals. We think in that way about the sufferings that human
+beings experience. Some human beings are wealthy and comfortable. However,
+that wealth and comfort does not last for a very long time. Not being able to
+enjoy wealth and comfort for a long time, in the end suffering comes to them
+too. When we think about the suffering that they experience, compassion
+arises.
+ The demigods suffer from continual jealousy of and warfare with the gods
+of the Desire Realm. As for the gods, though comfortable temporarily, later
+they fall down into painful situations and, at the time of falling, they
+suffer greatly. Similarly, even the gods of the Form Realm and the Formless
+Realm cannot just stay there. They fall down to the states of hell-beings,
+hungry ghosts, animals, humans, and so forth. When they fall, mentally they
+suffer greatly. Therefore, sentient beings born in the states of the six
+wanderers have nothing but suffering. If we think about that, compassion can
+arise.
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu, "Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashīla’s
+ Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School", published by Shambhala
+ Publications