When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual
discipline, they often think that somehow they’re going to improve, which is
a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It’s a bit
-like saying, “If I jog, I’ll be a much better person.” Or the scenario
-may be that they find fault with others; they might say, “If it weren’t
-for my husband, I’d have a perfect marriage.” And “If it weren’t for
-my mind, my meditation would be excellent.”
+like saying, "If I jog, I’ll be a much better person." Or the scenario
+may be that they find fault with others; they might say, "If it weren’t
+for my husband, I’d have a perfect marriage." And "If it weren’t for
+my mind, my meditation would be excellent."
But loving-kindness--maitri--toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid
of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years.
We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous
Publications
~
In texts we inherited from India, the basic principle is sometimes called
-the “fundamental innate mind of clear light” and the “fundamental innate
-wisdom of clear light”— these two terms having the same meaning. In other
-texts, it is called the “space-diamond pervading space,” whereas in even
-others it is called the “jewel mind,” as, for example, when it is said,
-“Separate from the jewel mind, there is no buddha and no sentient being.”
- Then, in Tibet, in some texts, it is called “ordinary consciousness”
-and “innermost awareness.” These terms are used in the context of speaking
+the "fundamental innate mind of clear light" and the "fundamental innate
+wisdom of clear light"— these two terms having the same meaning. In other
+texts, it is called the "space-diamond pervading space," whereas in even
+others it is called the "jewel mind," as, for example, when it is said,
+"Separate from the jewel mind, there is no buddha and no sentient being."
+ Then, in Tibet, in some texts, it is called "ordinary consciousness"
+and "innermost awareness." These terms are used in the context of speaking
about freedom from thought, which is psychologically and experientially
-described as “self-release,” “naked release,” and “unimpeded
-penetration”; we will be discussing these in detail later. The innermost
+described as "self-release," "naked release," and "unimpeded
+penetration"; we will be discussing these in detail later. The innermost
awareness is said to be the basis of the appearance of all of the round of
-suffering (called “cyclic existence”) and also the basis of liberation
-(called “nirvana”). Everything, without exception, is complete in the
-continuum of innermost awareness. It is even said to be “naturally arisen,”
+suffering (called "cyclic existence") and also the basis of liberation
+(called "nirvana"). Everything, without exception, is complete in the
+continuum of innermost awareness. It is even said to be "naturally arisen,"
since it has always been and always will be.
-- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "The Heart of Meditation", translated and
edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications
~
Never admit defeat. Just move the front.
-- fred t. hamster
+~
+down came eddy from his heady,
+where he dwells often unsteady,
+you see he gets so high,
+mind expanded to sky;
+real world grokking just not ready.
+ -- fred t. hamster
+~
+ Generally speaking, when we are too desirous of something in life, we’re
+less likely to attain it. Success seems to increase in direct proportion to
+the diminution of our desires. The same logic applies to our need for
+recognition. We might want to be appreciated and respected, but we have only
+a limited ability to influence how other people respond and we can’t make
+somebody show us gratitude any more than we can force someone to love us. If
+we show love without expecting it to be reciprocated, we will have more chance
+of finding love than if we simply yearn for it. Likewise, doing something
+without expecting gratitude is more likely to elicit appreciation for what we
+do. Whether someone can acknowledge our actions or not should be no concern
+of ours.
+ We simply commit ourselves to doing things to the best of our ability and
+in as thorough a manner as possible without sloppiness. We should never think
+that other people are indebted to us or obligated to help us in return. We
+should simply do things because we love doing them, not because we want other
+people to feel indebted to us. Shantideva says:
+
+ The work of bringing benefit to beings
+ Will not, then, make me proud and self-admiring.
+ The happiness of others is itself my satisfaction;
+ I do not expect another recompense.
+
+ -- Traleg Kyabgon, from "The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion
+ through Training the Mind", published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava says:
+
+ If you want to go sightseeing, try touring your own clear,
+ mirrorlike mind instead.
+
+ What technique can we use to effectively start our journey to realizing
+our natural, pristine state?
+ The clearest instructions for doing this come from Guru Rinpoche
+Padmasambhava, the main architect of the Pristine Mind teachings. Guru
+Rinpoche has given us the essential opening instructions for practicing
+Pristine Mind meditation in four steps:
+
+ Don’t follow the past.
+ Don’t anticipate the future.
+ Remain in the present moment.
+ Leave your mind alone.
+
+ We must understand these instructions. They are designed to help us stay
+in the present moment. Some other forms of meditation teachings say that
+remaining in the present moment is the ultimate objective of meditation.
+However, the present moment itself is not ultimate reality, ultimate truth, or
+the ultimate goal of Pristine Mind meditation. Nor is it what I mean when I
+refer to our fundamental nature. Instead, being in the present moment, with
+our mind calm and relaxed, simply creates the right conditions to begin to
+connect with our Pristine Mind.
+ --Excerpted from "Our Pristine Mind: A Practical Guide to Unconditional
+ Happiness", by Orgyen Chowang, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Some people think that causes are not necessary. They think that things do
+not need causes and can exist without them. This is mistaken. Think about
+it. If you plant a seed in a flowerpot, a flower will grow. It will not grow
+from this table in front of me now. What is the reason for that? The causes
+for a flower are present in a flowerpot, and for that reason a flower can grow
+there. The causes for a flower are not present on the surface of this table,
+and for that reason a flower cannot grow there. If things arose in the
+absence of causes, a flower would have to be able to grow from the surface of
+this table even though the causes for a flower are not present there. Or, as
+we know, flowers bloom in the summer but not in the winter. What is the
+reason for that? In the summer, the causes and conditions for the growth of
+flowers are complete. In the winter, they are not. In dependence upon that,
+flowers grow in the summer but not in the winter. If causes were not
+necessary, flowers would grow in the winter also. They would grow at all
+times.
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu, "Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashīla’s
+ Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ Human beings have many kinds of suffering. Some human beings are put into
+prisons. Some are destitute. Some are enslaved by others. Thus, they are
+not actually hell-beings, but their sufferings are like those of hell-beings;
+they are not actually hungry ghosts, but their sufferings are like those of
+hungry ghosts; and they are not actually animals, but their sufferings are
+like those of animals. We think in that way about the sufferings that human
+beings experience. Some human beings are wealthy and comfortable. However,
+that wealth and comfort does not last for a very long time. Not being able to
+enjoy wealth and comfort for a long time, in the end suffering comes to them
+too. When we think about the suffering that they experience, compassion
+arises.
+ The demigods suffer from continual jealousy of and warfare with the gods
+of the Desire Realm. As for the gods, though comfortable temporarily, later
+they fall down into painful situations and, at the time of falling, they
+suffer greatly. Similarly, even the gods of the Form Realm and the Formless
+Realm cannot just stay there. They fall down to the states of hell-beings,
+hungry ghosts, animals, humans, and so forth. When they fall, mentally they
+suffer greatly. Therefore, sentient beings born in the states of the six
+wanderers have nothing but suffering. If we think about that, compassion can
+arise.
+ -- Khenchen Thrangu, "Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashīla’s
+ Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ When they related this to Buddha, he poured water into a little vessel and
+asked, "Will this water remain without evaporating?" Because India is very
+hot, the Hearers thought, "In a few days the water will evaporate. This
+must mean that our virtue will not remain at all." They were extremely
+worried. Then Buddha asked, "If this water is poured in the ocean, how long
+will it stay? It will remain until the ocean itself evaporates."
+ Therefore, if you do not just leave this virtue, but dedicate it, making a
+prayer petition that it become a cause of help and happiness for limitless
+sentient beings, then until that actually occurs, the virtue will not be lost.
+Like a small amount of water poured into the ocean, which will last until the
+ocean itself dries up, so the fruit of your virtue will remain until it has
+ripened. The benefit of hearing, thinking, and meditating, in terms of
+causing all persons to possess happiness and the causes of happiness, is
+inconceivable, but if it is not dedicated, then when anger arises, it will be
+destroyed. This benefit cannot be seen with the eye, but it is inconceivable.
+ -- Kensur Lekden, from "Meditations of a Tibetan Tantric Abbot: The Main
+ Practices of the Mahayana Buddhist Path", translated and edited by
+ Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Because you need to obtain the happy effects and the causes producing them,
+and because it is necessary for yourself and others to attain them, you must
+meditate. In this world there were nihilists who said that one should not
+meditate, doing only those activities that will bring about marvelous
+happiness, comfort, and prosperity in this lifetime. The nihilists said that
+one should gather possessions and clothing, and if one’s body is sick, one
+should take medicine, that these activities were justified, but that nothing
+else was needed. Such a philosophy appeared in the world and with respect to
+it there is this Buddhist teaching: You need a job for your livelihood, you
+need to work for the sake of your country, for the sake of yourself and
+others, to set up factories, to plant fields; still you should act mainly for
+the sake of your future life, because you will not always remain in this
+lifetime. All persons will definitely die, and the time of death is
+indefinite. At the time of death, nothing helps except religious practice.
+This is how it is. Therefore, even though you need happiness and comfort in
+this life and even though it is necessary to strive for the sake of food and
+drink now, this lifetime is short. Our longest condition of life is our
+countless future lives. If you consider only this which you can see now and
+you do not consider all the future lives which you cannot see, you will incur
+immeasurable fault. You will harm yourself.
+ -- Kensur Lekden, from "Meditations of a Tibetan Tantric Abbot: The Main
+ Practices of the Mahayana Buddhist Path", translated and edited by
+ Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+The ground of primal wisdom
+Where the truth beyond all concepts is beheld
+Is reached more easily by humans than by gods.
+The essence also of the deep path of the Vajrayāna
+Is more easily attained by those who find a human form.
+The basis of the Dharma of both great and lesser vehicles
+Is said to be supremely noble--
+This human state endowed with freedoms and advantages.
+
+Just like a beggar who has chanced upon a treasure of great price,
+Reflect with joy upon your freedoms and advantages.
+In doubt and apprehension that you might be dreaming,
+Implement the sacred Dharma--
+Source of happiness and benefit in this and future lives!
+ -- Longchenpa, from "Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind", published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+This lifetime passes like the weeping clouds
+Where dance the lightning garlands of the Lord of Death,
+And from them, day and night, there falls
+An endless rain to bathe the shoots
+That grow in the three levels of existence.
+
+The world and its inhabitants will pass.
+The universe is formed and then destroyed
+By seven fires, a flood, and then the scattering wind.
+The all-encircling sea, the continents,
+And even mighty Sumeru compounded of four jewels,
+All girded by the rings of lesser peaks--all this will pass.
+The time will come when all will have dissolved
+Into a single space.
+Remember this and practice Dharma from your heart.
+ -- Longchenpa, from "Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind", published
+ by Shambhala Publications
+~
+ The most important thing is to have faith and trust in the Buddha’s
+words. The Buddha’s teachings were not taught to deceive us but to explain
+the way things actually are. Many people try to analyze the Buddha’s
+teachings, but how is it possible to scrutinize a buddha’s qualities? We
+don’t even know what will happen tomorrow, or when we will die, or anything
+about our future lives, so how could we possibly examine the teachings of the
+Omniscient One? Since we are totally obscured by our strong disturbing
+emotions, in order to progress on the path toward enlightenment, we have no
+choice but to have faith in the Buddha’s teachings and apply them in our own
+lives.
+ The ability to practice Dharma depends on certain conditions. For
+example, this is a rare time during which the teachings of the Great
+Perfection are said to flourish. We’re very fortunate that through
+Padmasambhava’s blessings, such teachings have appeared and we’re able to
+receive them. We must have accumulated incredible merit and made fervent
+prayers very sincerely over numerous lifetimes to be able to encounter such
+amazing teachings now. Still, most people are just too involved in worldly
+activities to have time to practice the Dharma, and very few people in this
+world totally dedicate themselves to the teachings. Most people work for the
+sake of success in this life, to gain wealth, fame, power, and so on, but none
+of these worldly aims can liberate us from the suffering of samsara; in fact,
+they only create further conditions for ensuring that we remain in samsara for
+countless lifetimes to come.
+ -- Penor Rinpoche, from "An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang
+ Penor Rinpoche", translated by Ani Jinba Palmo, published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ "When the sun comes out and illumines the world, its image is reflected in
+all clean vessels of water, being in all places without coming or going. If
+one vessel breaks, then the reflection of the sun does not appear in it. Do
+you think it is the fault of the sun that its reflection does not appear
+there?"
+ "No--it is just because the vessel is broken; it’s no fault of the sun."
+ "The knowledge of realization of Thusness, buddha-knowledge, is also like
+this, appearing throughout the cosmos, without before or after: Buddha appears
+in the clean mind-vessels of all sentient beings. If the mind-vessel is
+always clean, the embodiment of Buddha is always seen; if the mind is
+polluted, the vessel breaks and the Buddha cannot be seen."
+ -- from "The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of The Avatamsaka
+ Sutra", translated by Thomas Cleary, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Why is endeavor necessary? If we consider material progress, we see that
+research started by one person can always be continued by another. But this
+is not possible with spiritual progress. The realization we talk about in the
+Buddhadharma is something that has to be accomplished by the individual. No
+one else can do it for us. Of course, it would be wonderful if in the future
+we could attain realization through some sort of new injection or by means of
+a new generation of computers, without having to go through any difficulties.
+If we could be absolutely certain that such a time would come, we could simply
+lie back and wait to get enlightened. But I doubt that this will ever happen.
+It is better to make an effort. We have to develop endeavor.
+
+ 1.
+ Thus with patience I will strive with diligence.
+ For in such diligence enlightenment is found.
+ If no wind blows, then nothing stirs,
+ And neither is there merit without diligence.
+
+ -- H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, from "The Bodhisattva Guide: A Commentary
+ on The Way of the Bodhisattva", The Bodhisattva Guide was originally
+ published as For the Benefit of All Beings, also published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ I am not angry with my bile and other humors—
+ Fertile source of suffering and pain!
+ So why should living beings give offence,
+ They likewise are impelled by circumstance?
+
+ Suffering may result from both animate and inanimate causes. We may curse
+inanimate things like the weather, but it is with animate beings that we most
+often get angry. If we analyze these animate causes that make us unhappy, we
+find that they are themselves influenced by other conditions. They are not
+making us angry simply because they want to. In this respect, because they
+are influenced by other conditions, they are in fact powerless. So there is
+no need to get angry with them.
+
+ -- H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, from "The Bodhisattva Guide: A
+ Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+I am not contained between my hat and boots.
+ --Walt Whitman
+~
+These delightful mountain solitudes
+Are like the family estate to the supreme guide’s heirs,
+And, as the best of protectors himself has said,
+To rely on solitude is indeed the pinnacle of joys!
+
+Forests, hermitages, and isolated dwelling places—
+These are the outer solitude of the Victor’s heirs.
+Avoiding selfishness and fainthearted fears—
+This is the bodhisattvas’ internal isolation.
+
+Keeping, therefore, to outer forms of solitude,
+Tame the inner afflictions through tranquility and insight
+And aspire to the supreme conduct of Samantabhadra—
+Possessing such good fortune one is truly the Buddha’s heir.
+
+With sweetly cascading mountain streams,
+Rocky mountain shelters ascending to heaven,
+And gently falling dewdrops of whitest moonlight,
+This mountain retreat surpasses even the deva realm.
+
+The dance of the slender trees does not stir the passions,
+And sweet birdsong brings neither attachment nor aversion,
+Enveloped in nonconceptuality’s gentle, cooling shade—
+Such youthful companionship is surely better than a silent void!
+
+Undisturbed by noisy chatter, that thorn in meditation’s side,
+Alone in this excellent place of unattended solitude,
+The old monkey of the mind has nowhere left to roam
+And, settling down within, finds satisfaction.
+
+Under the bright, oppressive sunlight of busy, bustling crowds,
+Our faults and unhelpful thoughts eclipse the constellations,
+But when embraced by threefold solitude’s cooling nectar beams,
+Such faults can easily be overcome through proper antidotes.
+
+When it is undisturbed by rippling thoughts of sadness,
+The pool-like surface of the mind is still, unmoving,
+And faith and compassion’s reflections readily arise.
+In such constancy, what need is there for a companion?
+
+If the mirror of mind is wiped clean, time and again,
+And uncluttered with objects or circumstances,
+Study, reflection, and meditation present a clear impression.
+What is there to prevent the dawn of Dharma’s light?
+
+Hunger, thirst, cold, and the like—all forms of physical affliction—
+Together with sadness, fear, and all such mental suffering,
+Can, through the teachings, enhance the purifying path
+And, unburdened by avoidance or indulgence, adorn the mind!
+
+ -- Patrul Rinpoche, from "Beyond the Ordinary Mind: Dzogchen, Rimé, and the
+ Path of Perfect Wisdom", Translated by Adam Pearcey, published by
+ Shambhala Publications
+~
+ Our endeavor is not religious, but rather a test of what we as a human
+ being can become, the greatest unfolding of our potential.
+ -- Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
+
+Because everything leans, you belong to something much, much greater than what
+you may often refer to as "the world" or "my life"; you belong to something
+greater than your community, political party, nation, or even this magnificent
+planet Earth. You are a noble citizen of the boundless field of contingent
+relationships, pratityasamutpada.
+ -- Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, from "The Logic of Faith", published by
+ Shambhala Publications
+~
+It is through the teacher’s blessing that you see
+The self-arisen primal wisdom, inexpressible,
+Beyond both word and thought.
+And in the moment of its seeing,
+Timeless are the three times,
+No difference separates the future from the past.
+This is the Wisdom That Has Gone Beyond; the Middle Way;
+The Stilling (of all thought and sorrow); the Great Seal;
+The Great Perfection of the quintessential ultimate reality,
+That is, the fundamental natural state
+Where, from the very first,
+Phenomena are all exhausted.
+It is mind’s luminosity,
+The self-arisen primal wisdom.
+Many names it has received, yet all have but one meaning:
+Ultimate reality, beyond the range
+Of speech, of thought, of explanation:
+The enlightened mind,
+The space-like nature where saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are not two.
+ -- Longchenpa, from "Finding Rest in Meditation", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+ Become accustomed to the fact that all we accept or reject, dualistically
+affirm or deny (such as enjoyment and disgust, happiness and frustration,
+beauty and ugliness, fear and security, sickness and health, enemies and
+friends, love and hatred, or whatever), has one taste, thus judgments are
+reversed.
+
+Listen great being: do not create duality from the unique state.
+Happiness and misery are one in pure and total presence.
+Buddhas and beings are one in the nature of mind.
+Appearances and beings, the environment and its inhabitants are one in
+ reality.
+Even the duality of truth and falsehood are the same in reality.
+Do not latch onto happiness; do not eliminate misery.
+Thereby everything is accomplished.
+Attachment to pleasure brings misery.
+Total clarity, being non-conceptual,
+Is self-refreshing pristine awareness.
+ -- Longchenpa, from "You Are the Eyes of the World", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+~
+The realizations that arise through meditating thus
+Are all of the same taste.
+They are not manifold; they are not different.
+It is like those who come from three directions
+And meet together in a single place,
+And like the different flowing streams
+That join and are as one within a single sea.
+Bliss, luminosity, and no-thought—
+Whichever of these methods one may practice—
+When mental movement comes to complete rest
+And in the nature of the mind, the unborn space, dissolves,
+The enlightened mind, devoid of concepts
+(Whether of existence or of nonexistence),
+The sun of fundamental nature, bright and clear,
+Will rise up from within.
+In this realization, changeless and unmoving,
+There is nothing to be added, nothing to remove.
+ -- Longchenpa, from "Finding Rest in Meditation", published by Shambhala
+ Publications
+
projects / feisty_meow.git / blobdiff