being bitten by a radioactive asshole), so I don't think they were jerks when
I used them last time.
-- fred t. hamster
+~
+ External circumstances are not what draw us into suffering. Suffering is
+caused and permitted by an untamed mind. The appearance of self-defeating
+emotions in our minds leads us to faulty actions. The naturally pure mind is
+covered over by these emotions and troubling conceptions. The force of their
+deceit pushes us into faulty actions, which leads inevitably to suffering.
+ We need, with great awareness and care, to extinguish these problematic
+attitudes, the way gathering clouds dissolve back into the sphere of the sky.
+When our self-defeating attitudes, emotions, and conceptions cease, so will
+the harmful actions arising from them.
+ As the great Tibetan yogi Milarepa says, "When arising, arising within space
+itself; when dissolving, dissolving back into space." We need to become
+familiar with the state of our own minds to understand how to dissolve ill-
+founded ideas and impulses back into the deeper sphere of reality. The sky
+was there before the clouds gathered, and it will be after they have gone. It
+is also present when the clouds seem to cover every inch of the sky we can
+see.(p.22)
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, "How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving
+ Relationships", translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins
+~
+ Usually the reason that we can't experience transcendent bliss is because
+our consciousness is actually chained by the illusion called "I." It is
+chained because this concept literally ties our consciousness to the prison of
+duality, the prison of concepts and ideas. What most people experience is
+that their consciousness is chained by that illusion.
+ But now and then there are people who find the so-called spiritual path.
+This is another quite strange and sneaky way that ego can actually keep
+binding our consciousness once again to another form of prison, the prison of
+duality, the prison of concepts and ideas. Transcendent bliss comes from
+breaking every chain.
+ Breaking all chains, losing every concept, every idea, sounds very
+frightening to the ego's mind. But actually when we let go of every concept,
+we land on this infinite ground of eternal bliss, and that bliss is not some
+kind of religious or mystical experience, some altered state of consciousness.
+That bliss is not the result of doing something to our consciousness, rather
+it is the pure state of our consciousness.(p.74)
+ -- Anam Thubten, "The Magic of Awareness", edited by Sharon Roe, published
+ by Snow Lion Publications
+~
+ The all-base consciousness* works like a savings bank. Continuously money
+is paid into the bank and continuously it is taken out again. In the same way
+karmic imprints are absorbed by the all-base, are stored there, and can
+therefore be brought forth again.
+ Learning, for example, occurs through the mind consciousness. The mind
+consciousness itself vanishes. Nevertheless, on the next day we have a memory
+of what we learned. At this time of remembrance, the mind consciousness of
+what we learned is no longer actually present, since it has ceased to exist.
+Yet, still we did not forget what we learned previously. What we learned was
+seized by the all-base in the form of karmic imprints, and stored. Due to the
+'all-base of complete ripening' these imprints can be re-awakened, so that the
+mind consciousness perceives them afresh. This is why we learn things. It is
+similar with strong mental afflictions.
+ ...The example of the savings bank is particularly effective, especially in
+the context of karmic actions. Whoever puts money into the bank can get it
+out again later, often including interest!(p.37)
+
+* The all-base consciousness is the general basis for the whole mind, all
+aspects of the mind.
+
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, "Everyday Consciousness and Primordial
+ Awareness", translated and edited by Susanne Schefczyk, published by
+ Snow Lion Publications
+~
+ Q: How can Dzogchen help us in our daily jobs and careers?
+
+ HHDL: In the first place, it is quite difficult to have an experience of
+Dzogchen. But once you do have that experience, it can be extremely
+beneficial in dealing with your day to day life, your job, and your career.
+This is because that kind of experience will give you the ability to prevent
+yourself from being overwhelmed by circumstances, good or bad. You will not
+fall into extreme states of mind: you will not get over-excited or depressed.
+Your attitude toward circumstances and events will be as if you were someone
+observing the mind, without being drawn away by circumstances.
+ For example, when you see a reflection of a form in a mirror, the reflection
+appears within the mirror but it is not projected from within. In the same
+way, when you confront the situations of life, or deal with others, your
+attitude too will be mirror-like.
+ Also, when a reflection appears in the mirror, the mirror does not have to
+go after the object that is reflected: it simply reflects, spontaneously, on
+the surface. The same with you: since there is no attachment or agitation at
+having these 'reflections' in your mind, you will feel tremendous ease and
+relief. You are not preoccupied by what arises in the mind, nor does it cause
+you any distress. You are free from conceptuality or any form of
+objectifying. And so it really does help you, in allowing you to be free from
+being caught up in the play of emotions like hatred, attachment, and the like.
+(p.162)
+ -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great
+ Perfection", translated by Thupten Jinpa and Richard Barron, foreword by
+ Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney, published by Snow Lion Pub.
+~
+ The quality of one's rebirth in the next life is determined by the quality
+of one's mental activity in this life. Generally speaking, we have no power
+to choose how we are born; it is dependent on karmic forces. However, the
+period near the time of death is very influential in terms of activating one
+from among the many karmas that a person has already accumulated, and,
+therefore, if one makes particular effort at generating a virtuous attitude at
+that time, there is an opportunity to strengthen and activate a virtuous
+karma. Moreover, when one has developed high realization and has gained
+control over how one will be reborn, it is possible to take what is called
+"reincarnation" rather than mere rebirth.(p.42)
+ -- H.H. the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, "The Dalai Lama at Harvard:
+ Lectures on the Buddhist Path to Peace", translated and edited by Jeffrey
+ Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications
+~
+ Without an acute awareness of our personal suffering and a deep, heartfelt
+determination to be completely rid of both this suffering and its causes,
+there is no way to begin the spiritual quest authentically. For just as
+Prince Siddhartha's sudden and unexpected visions of old age, sickness and
+death shocked him out of mistaking the world to be a pleasure palace, so too
+must all spiritual seekers confront the unsatisfactory nature of their lives
+so directly that they become thoroughly disenchanted with the ordinary human
+condition.
+ If we do not take a long, hard look at the uncomfortable truths of our
+impermanent existence, we can easily waste the time between now and our
+inevitable death in essentially worthless pursuits, never taking advantage of
+this precious opportunity to do something truly meaningful with our life.
+Like the foolish prisoner who becomes so accustomed to the confines of his
+cell that he turns a blind eye to all chances of escape, we shall be
+condemning ourselves to spiritual stagnation and the endlessly recurring
+miseries of cyclic existence.
+ Yet it is not enough merely to become discontent with our present condition;
+everyone experiences discontent at one time or another but very few do
+anything of real significance about it. In fact, the usual ways of dealing
+with problems and disappointment--blaming them on someone else or drowning
+them in forgetfulness--only bind us tighter to the wheel of suffering. What
+we must do is recognize that the true causes of all our misery lie rooted in
+our own ignorant misconceptions and that these can only be eradicated through
+the development of a clear, penetrating insight into the nature of reality.
+Only through the continued cultivation of such penetrating wisdom will it
+eventually be possible to attain liberation from all states of existence
+conditioned by ignorance and be free of suffering.(p.45)
+ -- "Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice", by Jonathan Landaw
+ and Andy Weber, published by Snow Lion Publications
+~
+ We must distinguish between pride and self-confidence. Self-confidence is
+necessary. It is what enables us, in certain situations, not to lose courage
+and to think with some justification, 'I am capable of succeeding.' Self-
+confidence is quite different from excessive self-assurance based on a false
+appreciation of our capacities or circumstances.
+ If you feel able to accomplish a task that other people cannot manage, then
+you cannot be called proud as long as your assessment is well founded. It is
+as if someone tall came across a group of short people who wanted to get
+something too high for them to reach, and said to them, 'Don't exert
+yourselves, I can do it.' This would simply mean that he was more qualified
+than the others to carry out a particular task, but not that he is superior to
+them or that he wants to crush them.(p.259)
+ -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the
+ Heart", edited by Matthieu Ricard, translated by Christian Bruyat,
+ published by Snow Lion Publications
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