My fur reeks like
Racoon dead six weeks.
Feed me!
+~
+The Epic of Gesar
+
+Through aspiration prayers and arousing bodhicitta, for the noble families the
+time had come to tame the māras and cannibal demons of Tibet, and resounding
+as self-arising formless sound from the sky was this song, which invokes the
+enlightened mindstreams [of all the sages]:
+
+ E MA HO
+ Unborn primordially empty dharmadhatu,
+ Unobstructed ground for the arising of phenomena,
+ The strength of emptiness free from the extremes of existing or not,
+ Listen to this song, a self-arising spontaneously present song.
+
+ Without considering the six grains of the three months of autumn,
+ Why toil in the fields in the three months of spring?
+ Without considering the abundance of the plunder,
+ Why wave your arms to summon enemies and disputes?
+ Without considering the benefit of others,
+ Why single-pointedly practice to try to accomplish enlightenment?
+
+ Failing to know the minds of those to be tamed, one is not a buddha.
+ Failing to fulfill the welfare of others is not the sacred dharma.
+ Failing to lead others to liberation is not the sangha.
+
+ -- from The Epic of Gesar of Ling, "Gesar’s Birth and Childhood"
+~
+When we meditate I encourage all of us to have the attitude that we are
+meditating to dissolve the self. That’s why we meditate. Hold this
+perspective in your awareness and let your dualistic mind dissolve for at
+least a half hour, or at least for ten minutes every day. When you allow
+yourself to witness that unexpected glimpse of the truth, where the self is
+dissolved, it’s like drinking nectar. It’s inexpressible. We often use
+the word bliss to describe that state. Bliss is a good word, but it can be
+misunderstood. The bliss that I am speaking about has nothing to do with
+ordinary bliss. It’s not like the bliss of having great food or other
+sensual pleasure. This is nonconceptual bliss that is not based on emotions
+but is based on awareness. We often say that realizing the true nature of who
+we are is like drinking the nectar of ultimate bliss. The more we drink, the
+more we are going to be addicted, which is very good.
+ -- Anam Thubten, "No Self, No Problem: Awakening to Our True Nature"
+~
+ Why is a man condemned to death not fortunate
+ If he is released after having his hand cut off?
+ Why am I who am experiencing human misery not fortunate
+ If by that I am spared from (the agonies of) hell?
+
+ If I am unable to endure
+ Even the mere sufferings of the present,
+ Then why do I not restrain myself from being angry,
+ Which will be the source of hellish misery?
+
+ In these two verses [from The Way of the Bodhisattva], Shantideva explains
+that by not being angry and developing hatred in response to harm caused by
+others, what one is gaining is protection from potential undesirable
+consequences that might otherwise come about. Because if one responds to such
+situations with anger and hatred, not only does it not protect one from the
+injury that has already been done, but on top of that one creates an
+additional cause for one’s own suffering in the future. However, if one
+responds without anger and hatred and develops patience and tolerance, then
+although one many face temporary discomfort or injury, that temporary
+suffering will protect one from potentially dangerous consequences in the
+future. If this is the case, then by sacrificing small things, by putting up
+with small problems or hardships, one will be able to forgo experiences of
+much greater suffering in the future.
+ An example Shantideva uses here is that if a convicted prisoner can save his
+life by sacrificing his arm as a punishment, wouldn’t that person feel
+grateful for that opportunity? By accepting the pain and suffering of having
+his arm cut off, that person will be saving himself from death, which is a
+greater suffering. Shantideva adds that there is another advantage: not only
+will one be protected from potentially dangerous consequences in the future,
+but also by experiencing the pain and suffering which has been caused
+temporarily by others, one is exhausting the karmic potentials of negative
+karma which one has accumulated in the past. So it serves two purposes.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a
+ Buddhist Perspective"
+~
+The Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) was perhaps the most mystical of all the
+Dalai Lamas in that he seemed to spend much of his time in a state of trance.
+During these trances many gurus of past ages, as well as mandala deities,
+buddhas, and bodhisattvas, would appear directly to him and give him secret
+transmissions, initiations, and teachings. As the Thirteenth Dalai Lama says
+of the Great Fifth later in this chapter, he “was continually absorbed in
+the wisdom dance that experiences all appearances as pure vision.”
+ -- Glenn H. Mullin, from "From the Heart of Chenrezig: The Dalai Lamas on
+ Tantra"
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