Testimonial from Col. George Harvey, Mark Twain's publisher:
I think that perhaps the funniest thing about Mark Twain now is not
his writing, but his bed. He lies in bed a good deal; he says he has
-formed the habit. His bed is the largest one I ever say, and on it is
+formed the habit. His bed is the largest one I ever saw, and on it is
the weirdest collection of objects you ever saw, enough to furnish a
Harlem flat--books, writing materials, clothes, any and everything that
could foregather in his vicinity.
-- John Ruskin
~
She's not a babe. She's a sophisticated real-time computer system.
- -- Spokesman for Anova, a virtual news anchor
+ -- Spokesman for Ananova, a virtual news anchor
~
The man who laughs has not yet been told the terrible news.
-- Berthold Brecht
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.
+hearts, and we'll be more focused in whatever daily activities we're doing.
We won't be quite so distracted.
-- Thubten Chodron, author of numerous books, including Buddhism for
Beginners; Taming the Mind; Open Heart, Clear Mind; and Working
...one of the things you can learn from history is that men have learned
to live with machinery at least as well as, and probably a good deal better
than, they have learned to live with one another.
- -- E. E. Morison, from “Computers and the World of the Future”
+ -- E. E. Morison, from "Computers and the World of the Future"
~
Everything is perfect in the universe--even your desire to improve it.
-- Dr. Wayne Dyer
love and compassion. (p.52)
-- Geshe Sonam Rinchen, "The Bodhisattva Vow", translated and edited by
Ruth Sonam, published by Snow Lion Publications
-##If you are totally concerned and preoccupied with the affairs of this
+~
+ If you are totally concerned and preoccupied with the affairs of this
lifetime, there is a great danger of causing your own downfall. If by such
concern you were able to achieve the desired happiness, that is okay, but this
is not the case.
-~
We all let ourselves be caught in this web of preoccupation with the
activities and confusion of this lifetime. Having too much worldly
involvement ends in confusion. We spend our whole lives thinking that this
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
+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
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
+"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.
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
+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
~
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 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
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
+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
viewpoint. And when we do, we find no conflict.
-- H.H. the Dalai Lama
~
-Emptiness vs. Non-Existence
+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-
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
+~
+The fundamental teaching of the Buddha is that we should view others as being
+more important than we are. Of course, you cannot completely ignore yourself.
+But neither can you neglect the welfare of other people and other sentient
+beings, particularly when there is a clash of interest between your own
+welfare and the welfare of other people. At such a time you should consider
+other people's welfare as more important than your own personal well-being.
+Compare yourself to the rest of sentient beings. All other sentient beings
+are countless, while you are just one person. Your suffering and happiness
+may be very important, but it is just the suffering and happiness of one
+individual, whereas the happiness and suffering of all other sentient beings
+is immeasurable and countless. So, it is the way of the wise to sacrifice one
+for the benefit of the majority and it is the way of the foolish to sacrifice
+the majority on behalf of just one single individual. Even from the point of
+view of your personal well-being, you must cultivate a compassionate
+mind—that is that source of happiness in your life.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+ Attachment and love are similar in that both of them draw us to the other
+person. But in fact, these two emotions are quite different. When we're
+attached we're drawn to someone because he or she meets our needs. In
+addition, there are lots of strings attached to our affection that we may or
+may not realize are there. For example, I 'love' you because you make me feel
+good. I 'love' you as long as you do things that I approve of. I 'love' you
+because you're mine. You're my spouse or my child or my parent or my friend.
+With attachment, we go up and down like a yo-yo, depending on how the other
+person treats us. We obsess, "What do they think of me? Do they love me?
+Have I offended them? How can I become what they want me to be so that they
+love me even more?" It's not very peaceful, is it? We're definitely stirred
+up.
+ On the other hand, the love we're generating on the Dharma path is
+unconditional. We simply want other to have happiness and the causes of
+happiness without any strings attached, without any expectations of what these
+people will do for us or how good they'll make us feel.
+ -- Thubten Chodron, "Don't Believe Everything You Think: Living with Wisdom
+ and Compassion"
projects / feisty_meow.git / blobdiff