~
crashola in second life:
due to having been in a vehicle which crossed into forbidden land and got
-taken away, my avatar was left in an indetermine and very unhealthy state.
+taken away, my avatar was left in an indeterminate and very unhealthy state.
i was unable to move, deep underground, and i saw this object off down to
my left, so i clicked on it and picked 'edit'. i realized as i was doing
it, that this was my disembodied hair, which had flown off for some reason.
to entrust oneself always to the Precious Jewels.
-- Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub, "Three Visions: Fundamental Teachings of the
Sakya Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism"
+~
+Setting out on a spiritual path is a little like planning a trip—to Machu
+Picchu, for example. Some travellers will approach the project by investing a
+lot of time in reading travel books or Googling Internet sites about the best
+route to take and where to stay--a method that works, but only to a certain
+extent. Other travellers prefer a much simpler and safer method: to ask
+someone they know and trust who has already been to Machu Picchu to go with
+them and show them the way. Similarly, those wishing to follow the Buddhist
+path to enlightenment should rely on what are called in the teachings the
+“four authentics”: the authentic words of the Buddha (his teachings); the
+authentic clarification of the teachings that can be found in the shastras
+(commentaries) written by great masters of the past; the further clarification
+that is the result of authentic personal experience; and for this experience
+to find expression, an authentic guru.
+ -- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, "Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called
+ Preliminary Practices", Shambhala Publications
+~
+With regard to selflessness, it is necessary to know what "self" is--to
+identify the self that does not exist. Then one can understand its opposite,
+selflessness. Selflessness is not a case of something that existed in the
+past becoming non-existent; rather, this sort of "self" is something that
+never did exist. What is needed is to identify as non-existent something that
+always was nonexistent, for due to not having made such identification, we are
+drawn into the afflictive emotions of desire and hatred as well as all the
+problems these bring.
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "Kindness, Clarity, and Insight", Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ The essence of mind is somewhat difficult to explain, so we look at it from
+the negative point of view, that is, what mind is not. First of all, we see
+that it is not something which arises or ceases or abides. It is free of
+these three things. From beginningless time, there is no arising, no
+cessation and no abiding in terms of staying in one place, not moving, or not
+changing. It is completely free of all three of these.
+ It is also free of being a thing or a substance composed of particles. The
+essential entity, or substance, of mind is not something that can be defiled
+or stained by grasping at subject and object. It is completely free of the
+stains from those activities.
+ Further, when we look at the essential substance of mind, we find that no
+matter how much we search for it, no matter how much we analyze it, there is
+no thing there to be found. There is no entity that we can come up with by
+searching, evaluating, and analyzing. No matter how much we seek for its
+essential substance, we cannot find it. The searcher, the one who does the
+search for essential substance of mind, cannot find it. Therefore it is said
+that the essential substance of mind itself is emptiness.
+ -- Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche, "The Practice of Mahamudra", published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ "Like a cloud." This is a simile for how the wisdom mind benefits sentient
+beings without conceptual thought. For example, in the summer, clouds gather
+in the sky without effort, causing crops and so forth to grow perfectly
+through the rain falling on the ground without conceptual thought.
+ Likewise, the activities of the wisdom mind ripen the trainees' crop of
+virtue through the rainfall of Dharma without conceptual thought.
+ -- Gampopa, from "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-fulfilling Gem
+ of the Noble Teachings"
projects / feisty_meow.git / blobdiff