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
+
projects / feisty_meow.git / blobdiff