-- 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
for a happy and joyful life, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful
life.
-- H.H. the Dalai Lama
+~
+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
projects / feisty_meow.git / blobdiff