X-Git-Url: https://feistymeow.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=database%2Ffortunes.dat;h=13b47659e320e4950fa5474a7cbfa5512d219716;hb=90e83971e52add3464e459f532df766247baaf93;hp=cc4b43df70ceeec023cc44f41e345abdd5824b1b;hpb=f7138a65bf58ce8938f2ea6598c5d136eadb3a14;p=feisty_meow.git diff --git a/database/fortunes.dat b/database/fortunes.dat index cc4b43df..13b47659 100644 --- a/database/fortunes.dat +++ b/database/fortunes.dat @@ -38371,3 +38371,664 @@ startling to see how often we assume our interpretation of a situation is true when in fact it is based on flimsy evidence. -- Thubten Chodron, from "Don't Believe Everything You Think: Living with Wisdom and Compassion" +~ +We are all human beings, and from this point of view, we are the same. We all +want happiness and we do not want suffering. If we consider this point, we +will find that there are no differences between people of different faiths, +races, colors, or cultures. We all have this common wish for happiness. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ +Enlightenment is not anything new or something we create or bring into +existence. It is simply discovering within us what is already there. It is +the full realization of our intrinsic nature. In Tibetan, buddha is sang +gyay. Sang means that all of the faults have been cleared away, while gyay +means "full realization"; just as from darkness, the moon waxes, likewise +from ignorance, the qualities of the mind's intrinsic nature emerge. + -- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche +~ +The fundamental teaching of the Buddha is that we should view others as being +more important than we are. Of course, you cannot completely ignore yourself. +But neither can you neglect the welfare of other people and other sentient +beings, particularly when there is a clash of interest between your own +welfare and the welfare of other people. At such a time you should consider +other people's welfare as more important than your own personal well-being. +Compare yourself to the rest of sentient beings. All other sentient beings +are countless, while you are just one person. Your suffering and happiness +may be very important, but it is just the suffering and happiness of one +individual, whereas the happiness and suffering of all other sentient beings +is immeasurable and countless. So, it is the way of the wise to sacrifice one +for the benefit of the majority and it is the way of the foolish to sacrifice +the majority on behalf of just one single individual. Even from the point of +view of your personal well-being, you must cultivate a compassionate +mind—that is that source of happiness in your life. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ + Attachment and love are similar in that both of them draw us to the other +person. But in fact, these two emotions are quite different. When we're +attached we're drawn to someone because he or she meets our needs. In +addition, there are lots of strings attached to our affection that we may or +may not realize are there. For example, I 'love' you because you make me feel +good. I 'love' you as long as you do things that I approve of. I 'love' you +because you're mine. You're my spouse or my child or my parent or my friend. +With attachment, we go up and down like a yo-yo, depending on how the other +person treats us. We obsess, "What do they think of me? Do they love me? +Have I offended them? How can I become what they want me to be so that they +love me even more?" It's not very peaceful, is it? We're definitely stirred +up. + On the other hand, the love we're generating on the Dharma path is +unconditional. We simply want other to have happiness and the causes of +happiness without any strings attached, without any expectations of what these +people will do for us or how good they'll make us feel. + -- Thubten Chodron, "Don't Believe Everything You Think: Living with Wisdom + and Compassion" +~ +Because we don't recognize our essential nature--we don't realize that +although appearances arise unceasingly, nothing is really there--we invest +with solidity and reality the seeming truth of self, other, and actions +between self and others. This intellectual obscuration gives rise to +attachment and aversion, followed by actions and reactions that create karma, +solidify into habit, and perpetuate the cycles of suffering. This entire +process needs to be purified. + -- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, from "In the Presence of Masters: Wisdom from 30 + Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Teachers", edited by Reginald A. Ray. +~ + Effort is crucial in the beginning for generating a strong will. We all +have the Buddha nature and thus already have within us the substances through +which, when we meet with the proper conditions, we can turn into a fully +enlightened being having all beneficial attributes and devoid of all faults. +The very root of failure in our lives is to think, "Oh, how useless and +powerless I am!" It is important to have a strong force of mind thinking, +"I can do it," this not being mixed with pride or any other afflictive +emotion. + Moderate effort over a long period of time is important, no matter what you +are trying to do. One brings failure on oneself by working extremely hard at +the beginning, attempting to do too much, and then giving it all up after a +short time. A constant stream of moderate effort is needed. Similarly, when +meditating, you need to be skillful by having frequent, short sessions; it is +more important that the session be of good quality than that it be long. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "Kindness, Clarity, and Insight" +~ +We Buddhists are supposed to save all sentient beings, but practically +speaking, this may be too broad a notion for most people. In any case, we +must at least think in terms of helping all human beings. This is very +important. Even if we cannot think in terms of sentient beings inhabiting +different worlds, we should nonetheless think in terms of the human beings on +our own planet. To do this is to take a practical approach to the problem. +It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily +lives. If we find we cannot help another, the least we can do is to desist +from harming them. We must not cheat others or lie to them. We must be +honest human beings, sincere human beings. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ + How things appear and how they actually exist differ greatly. A person +engaging in practice of the perfection of wisdom does this kind of analysis +and then examines how things appear in ordinary experience, alternating +analysis and comparison with the usual mode of appearance in order to notice +the discrepancy between the actual mode of subsistence of phenomena and their +appearance. + In this way the inherent existence which is the object of negation will +become clearer and clearer. As much as the object of negation becomes +clearer, so much deeper will your understanding of emptiness become. Finally, +you will ascertain a mere vacuity that is a negative of inherent existence. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ + Three attitudes prevent us from receiving a continual flow of blessings. +They are compared to three "pots": a full pot, a pot with poison in it, +and a pot with a hole in the bottom. + The pot that's filled to the brim is like a mind full of opinions and +preconceptions. We already know it all. We have so many fixed ideas that +nothing new can affect us or cause us to question our assumptions. + The pot containing poison is like a mind that's so cynical, critical, and +judgmental that everything is poisoned by this harshness. It allows for no +openness and no willingness to explore the teachings or anything else that +challenges our righteous stance. + The pot with a hole is like a distracted mind: our body is present but +we're lost in thought. We're so busy thinking about our dream vacation or +what's for dinner that we're completely deaf to what's being said. + Knowing how sad it is to receive blessings and not be able to benefit, +Shantideva wants to save himself grief by remaining open and attentive. +Nothing will improve, he says, unless we become more intelligent about cause +and effect. This is a message worth considering seriously. + -- Pema Chödrön, from "No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the + Bodhisattva". +~ + Shantideva cites three benefits of pain. First, it is valuable because +through sorrow, pride is driven out. No matter how arrogant and condescending +we've been, great suffering can humble us. The pain of a serious illness or +loss of a loved one can be transformative, softening us and making us less +self-centered. + The second benefit of pain is empathy: the compassion felt for those who +wander in samsara. Our personal suffering brings compassion for others in the +same situation. A young woman was telling me that when her baby died, she +felt a deep connection to all the other parents who had lost children. This +was, as she put it, the unexpected blessing of her sorrow. + The third value of suffering is that evil is avoided and goodness seems +delightful. When we practice according to Shantideva's instructions, we can +get smarter about cause and result. Based on this understanding, we'll have +less inclination to cause harm, and more desire to gather virtue and benefit +others. + -- Pema Chödrön, from "No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the + Bodhisattva" +~ + Since emptiness, from between positive and negative phenomena, is a negative +phenomenon and, from between affirming negatives and non-affirming negatives, +is a non-affirming negative, when it appears to the mind, nothing will appear +except an absence of such inherent existence—a mere elimination of the +object of negation. Thus, for the mind of a person realizing emptiness there +is no sense of, "I am ascertaining emptiness," and there is no thought, +"This is emptiness." If you had such a sense, emptiness would become +distant. Nevertheless, the emptiness of inherent existence is ascertained and +realized. + After such realization, even though whatever phenomena appear appear to +exist in their own right, you understand that they do not exist that way. You +have a sense that they are like a magician's illusions in that there is a +combination of their appearing one way but actually existing another way. +Though they appear to exist inherently, you understand that they are empty of +inherent existence. + When phenomena are seen this way, the conceptions that superimpose a sense +of goodness or badness on phenomena beyond what is actually there and serve as +a basis for generating desire and hatred lessen; this is because they are +based on the misconception that phenomena are established in their own right. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ + Rely on timeless awareness, which is free of elaboration, without + identity, and the very essence of being; + do not rely on ordinary consciousness, which is a mind fixated + on characteristics and concepts. + + Timeless awareness entails (a) understanding that the way in which phenomena +actually abide is, from the ultimate perspective, free of all limitations +imposed by elaborations of origination, cessation, and so forth; (b) +realization of the nonexistence of the two kinds of identity; and (c) unerring +knowledge of sugatagarbha as utter lucidity, the way in which things actually +abide, beyond any context of speculative value judgments. It is on this +awareness that one should rely. + Ordinary consciousness entails (a) belief that what one immediately +perceives constitutes something truly existent; (b) conceptualization in terms +of characteristics, such as the sense of personal identity and the mind-body +aggregates; and (c) mental states that are conditioned, for example, by +attitudes of naively fixating on the pleasures of the senses. One should not +rely on such consciousness. + -- Jamgön Kongtrül Lodro Taye, from "The Treasury of Knowledge: Book Seven + and Book Eight, Parts One and Two" +~ + Such is the process of karma: it is ineluctable; its results are greatly +magnified; actions not committed have no effect; and the effects of actions +committed never expire on their own. + Generally speaking, whether you are an ordinary mortal individual or a +spiritually advanced being, all positive experiences that carry with them any +pleasant sensation—down to even the slightest pleasure caused by a cool +breeze for beings reborn in a hell realm—occur due to positive karma +reinforced in the past; it is not in accord with the nature of things that +happiness be due to negative karma. And all negative experiences that carry +with them any unpleasant sensation—down to even the slightest suffering that +could occur in the experience of an arhat—occur due to negative karma one +has reinforced in the past; for it is not in accord with the nature of things +that suffering be due to positive karma. + -- Jamgön Kongtrül Lodro Taye, from "The Treasury of Knowledge: Book Seven + and Book Eight, Parts One and Two" +~ + "That which is seen and that which is touched are of a dream-like and + illusion-like nature. Because feeling arises together with the mind, + it is not [ultimately] perceived." --Shantideva + + There is nothing whatever that has a true mode of existence. Nevertheless, +this does not suggest that a person who experiences feelings and the feelings +themselves—pleasant and unpleasant—are utterly non-existent. They do +exist, but in an untrue fashion. Thus, the things that we see and touch have +a dream-like and illusion-like quality. + In the second line the author refutes the true existence of the mind that +experiences feelings. Since feelings arise in conjunction with the mind, +feelings are not perceived by the mind that is simultaneous with them. There +must be a causal relationship between the experienced object and the +experiencing subject. If two entities are substantially distinct and exist +simultaneously, there could be neither a causal relationship nor an identity +relationship between them. + For this reason the author denies that either [intrinsic] relationship could +hold for the feelings and the awareness that is simultaneous with them. Two +mental events that arise in conjunction with each other are not able to +apprehend one another. This holds true for all states of awareness. Thus, +feelings are not observed by the awareness that arises in conjunction with +them and that exists simultaneously with them. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ +Any happiness there is in the world ultimately turns to pain. Why? Consider +the two sides of a coin: just because what we desire is to be seen on the +front does not mean that dislike won't soon appear on the back. Likewise, +hope and fear are a single coin, one entity with two faces--on the other side +of a moment in which we hope for more happiness will be our fear of more +suffering. Until attachment is eliminated, we can be certain of having both +hope and fear. As long as there is hope and fear, the delusions of samsara +will be perpetuated and there will be constant suffering. Thus attachment is +the nature of both hope and fear: looking at the ultimate emptiness of the +self-envisioned magical illusion of hope and fear, we should hang loosely in +the flow. + --Tulku Pema Rigtsal, "The Great Secret of Mind: Special Instructions on the + Nonduality of Dzogchen", translated by Keith Dowman +~ + The feelings of joy and sorrow do not exist from their own side. Although +they exist as conceptual imputations, you cling to them as existing from their +own side. Feelings do not exist by their own intrinsic nature; rather, they +are identified on the basis of contributing circumstances. + Therefore, this analysis is cultivated as an antidote for that [false +conception of intrinsic existence]. The meditative absorption that arises +from the field of discriminative investigation is the food of the +contemplative.—Shantideva + Feelings do not truly exist; they are not found when sought through +analysis; they do not exist independently, but exist by the power of +convention. Thus, the means for overcoming the misconception of the true +existence of feelings is meditation on their lack of such existence. This +entails analyzing the mode of existence of feelings. + Such investigation is an aid to meditative absorption and leads to the +integration of meditative quiescence and insight. That increases the physical +vitality of the contemplative and enhances the power of his [or her] spiritual +practice. Thus it is called the nourishment of the contemplative. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, "Transcendent Wisdom". +~ +It is not enough merely to look into the space of happiness or sadness; it is +important to have pure presence constant in that flow. If the power of +meditation is not constant, it is impossible to remain long in the place of +nondual perception. Thoughts that arise intermittently will break the +continuity, and radiating out from this, like ripples on a pond, the poisonous +taste of emotion will arise to obstruct the meditation. As gross thoughts +increase, ripples become rough waves that intensify the emotion. Until subtle +emotions are left behind, we cannot eradicate suffering, so it is crucially +important to sustain the state of meditation. When we gain strong familiarity +by staying in that space for a long time, then no matter what thoughts arise, +whether gross or subtle, they will not be able to dislodge us: upon +recognizing the first thought, whatever thought it may be, in that very +moment, we realize it to be the play of the spontaneous creativity of +dharmakaya. Like a wave falling back into the ocean, the thought vanishes +into the dharmakaya. In that space of naked empty pure presence that is the +view, always cherishing thoughts of the five poisonous emotions and all the +movements of body, speech, and mind, and the acts of eating, sleeping, moving, +and sitting, we are known as the yogins and yoginis who stand guard over the +shifting dharmakaya display. This is the supreme method of sustaining the +essence of meditation. According to Dzogchen teaching, this is unadulterated +by any kind of focus; it is called "the great meditation that is +nonmeditation." + --Tulku Pema Rigtsal, "The Great Secret of Mind: Special Instructions on the + Nonduality of Dzogchen", translated by Keith Dowman. +~ + Who is more shameless in this world, + Than one who abandons to samsara's ocean of suffering + All the mothers who have tenderly cared for him since beginningless time + And instead strives toward the peace of a solitary nirvana? + --Shechen Gyaltsap Pema Namgyal + + In each of our lives since beginningless time, our mother carried us within +her body for nine months. She took care of us when we were helpless babies; +she gave us food, education, and protection. In return, we feel love and +gratitude for her kindness. + Why not extend our respect and appreciation for our mother to everyone else? +If we take a broader perspective, we can consider that, within the countless +existences we have lived, every being has been our mother at one time or +another. Don't they also deserve our kindness now? We can extend the same +debt of gratitude that we owe our present mother to all sentient beings. By +doing so, we naturally begin to develop a deep concern for the happiness of +others, and this feeling makes sense to us. + We take the refuge vow not just for our own sake, but also for the sake of +all sentient beings. This is bodhichitta, or the altruistic mind, which aims +for the enlightenment of all sentient beings. + --Shechen Rabjam, "The Great Medicine That Conquers Clinging to the Notion + of Reality: Steps in Meditation on the Enlightened Mind" +~ + Direct perfect enlightenment [with regard to] all aspects, + and abandonment of the stains along with their imprints + [are called] buddha and nirvana respectively. + In truth, these are not two different things. + —Arya Maitreya + +All aspects of the knowable—all absolute and relative phenomena—are +directly known. Through this knowledge one is immediately and perfectly +enlightened. This is the aspect of realization. All the adventitious +defilements—the two veils along with their remaining imprints—are +abandoned without any exception. This is the aspect of abandonment. These +two qualities have been led to ultimate perfection. They are therefore named +"perfect buddha" ["perfectly awakened and expanded"] from the +viewpoint of the former aspect, and "nirvana" ["gone beyond any torment +and pain"] from the viewpoint of the latter aspect. These two aspects are +contained in one and the same meaning, the meaning of the tathagatagarbha, +whereas a difference only lies in the convention of the different terms. In +the sense of the absolute field of experience of the noble ones' primordial +wisdom the qualities of realization and abandonment are therefore completely +inseparable and do not exist as two different things. + -- Arya Maitreya, "Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra with + Commentary", with commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodro Thaye +~ + "Vehicle" (yana) has two meanings: the means by which one progresses and +the destination to which one is progressing. Mahayana in the sense of the +vehicle by which one progresses means to be motivated by the mind of +enlightenment—wishing to attain highest enlightenment for the sake of all +sentient beings, one's objects of intent—and means to engage in the six +perfections. + Seeing reason and need, Buddha set forth many systems and vehicles, but +these did not arise due to his being intimate with some and alien to others. +The trainees who were listening to his teaching had various dispositions, +interests, and abilities, and thus he taught methods that were suitable for +each of them. For those who temporarily did not have the courage to strive +for Buddhahood or who did not at all have the capacity of obtaining Buddhahood +at that time, Buddha did not say, "You can attain Buddhahood." Rather, he +set forth a path appropriate to the trainees' abilities. Buddha spoke in +terms of their situation, and everything that he spoke was a means of +eventually attaining highest enlightenment even though he did not always say +that these were means for attaining Buddhahood. + Since the purpose of a Buddha's coming is others' realization of the +wisdom of Buddhahood, the methods for actualizing this wisdom are one vehicle, +not two. A Buddha does not lead beings by a vehicle that does not proceed to +Buddhahood; he establishes beings in his own level. A variety of vehicles are +set forth in accordance with temporary needs. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ +You do not have to seek out loneliness--it is always there. Egolessness is a +concept, a philosophy, but loneliness is a reality that you experience. A +feeling of loneliness is part of the journey. As for me, I feel that way +constantly, and I think it's a very healthy feeling, a very real feeling. +When you sense that you are not you anymore and that nothing can replace that +state, you begin to make discoveries. You discover devotion, and you discover +a quality of richness and artistic expression that is very special. Being +you, but not being you, is very resourceful. You become a complete mountain +man: you know how to make fire and cook food. But it doesn't mean anything. +You are still nobody. That is the inspiration. + -- Chögyam Trungpa, "The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume + One: The Individual Path of Liberation" +~ + Interdependence is our reality, whether we accept it or not. In order to +live productively within such a reality, it is better to acknowledge and work +with interdependence, wholeheartedly and without resistance. This is where +love and compassion come in. It is love that leads us to embrace our +connectedness to others, and to participate willingly in the relations created +by our interdependence. Love can melt away our defenses and our painful sense +of separation. The warmth of friendship and love makes it easy for us to +accept that our happiness is intimately linked to that of others. The more +widely we are able to love others, the happier and more content we can feel +within the relations of interdependence that are a natural part of our life. + Love is possible in all our relationships because all people want happiness. +No one wants to suffer. This is true of the people we love. It is also true +of those we dislike. We are all absolutely identical in this respect. I +think this universal wish for happiness is something we can easily grasp +intellectually. When we learn to also feel and respect this in our heart, +love naturally flourishes within us. + -- The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, "The Heart is Noble: Changing the World + from the Inside Out" +~ + Day and night, night and day we spend our lives in the company of the +afflictions, generating desire for the pleasant and anger at the unpleasant, +and continue thus even when dreaming, unable to remain relaxed, our minds +completely and utterly mixed with thoughts of desire and hatred without +interruption. + To what refuge should we go? A source of refuge must have completely +overcome all defects forever; it must be free of all faults. It must also +have all the attributes of altruism—those attainments which are necessary +for achieving others' welfare. For it is doubtful that anyone lacking these +two prerequisites can bestow refuge; it would be like falling into a ditch and +asking another who is in it to help you out. You need to ask someone who is +standing outside the ditch for help; it is senseless to ask another who is in +the same predicament. A refuge capable of protecting from the frights of +manifold sufferings cannot also be bound in this suffering but must be free +and unflawed. Furthermore, the complete attainments are necessary, for if you +have fallen into a ditch, it is useless to seek help from someone standing +outside it who does not wish to help or who wishes to help but has no means to +do so. + Only a Buddha has extinguished all faults and gained all attainments. +Therefore, one should mentally go for refuge to a Buddha, praise him with +speech, and respect him physically. One should enter the teaching of such a +being. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ + All that is has me—universal creativity, + pure and total presence—as its root. + How things appear is my being. + How things arise is my manifestation. + Sounds and words heard are my messages + expressed in sounds and words. + All the capacities, forms, and pristine + awareness of the buddhas; + The bodies of sentient beings, their + habituations, and so forth; + All environments and their inhabitants, + life forms, and experiences; + Are the primordial state of pure and total + presence. + + Without understanding me, the creativity of + the universe, + But investigating the phenomena that I + manifest, + You perceive everything dualistically due + to your attachment and longing. + Impermanent, apparitional things will fade + away. + They are aimless, like a blind man. + + All that is experienced and + Your own mind are the unique primary reality. + They cannot be conceptualized according to + the cause and effect systems of thought. + Investigate your mind's real nature + So that your pure and total presence will + actually shine forth. + + -- Longchenpa, "You Are the Eyes of the World" +~ + Devotion, or mögü in Tibetan, can be divided into two aspects: möpa and +küpa. Möpa means "longing" or "wanting," and küpa means "humility," +"respect," or "being without arrogance." With küpa, you are not pretending +to be somebody who has reached a higher level of wisdom. So in devotion, +longing and humbleness are put together. That state of mind brings openness +to the teacher and to the dharma. + With küpa, the longing of möpa does not become purely an emotional +indulgence or demand on the part of either the student or the teacher. The +devotion of küpa is the respect or sacredness that comes from that experience +of aah [the space before first thought]! Küpa arises because every highlight +in your life has always been touched by the sacredness of vajrayana, even +before you knew it. + -- Chogyam Trungpa, from "The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, + Volume Three: The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness" +~ +All suffering in this life and others is created by the unsubdued mind. +Similarly, the basis of all the practices of the six paramitas, such as +generosity, moral discipline, and so on, is the mind. + +Nothing is more important than guarding the mind. Let us constantly keep +watch over the wild elephant of the mind, curbing it with mindfulness and +vigilance. This is how to avoid being influenced by different external +conditions. But even in retreat in a very secluded place, if the mind is not +kept under control, it will wander all over the place. Even completely alone, +we can have an enormous amount of negative emotions. + +How are we to guard the mind? We should use attentiveness to watch our +thoughts and use mindfulness to judge whether we are acting correctly. With +these two we have the means to annihilate all adverse conditions. But without +them, we will not see whether our thoughts are positive or negative or whether +we are doing right or wrong, nor will we then be able to use antidotes as +necessary. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ +The great yogi Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol replies to a Losar Day request from +his disciple Depa Wangpo on what to adopt and what to reject regarding +attitude and conduct... + + Don't harm your friends and neighbors; help them. + Don't be stingy; use your wealth for offerings and charity. + Don't let your body be idle; do prostrations and circumambulations. + Don't let your mouth be idle; recite the mani mantra. + Always have pure thoughts towards others. + + In brief, keeping Death in mind, practice the sacred Dharma. + Give up doing wrong, and do what is wholesome. + Whatever happiness and sufferings you undergo, + Regard them as the result of previous actions. + Always act in accord with the Dharma. + Even though I may be far away, + These instructions will remain like my very presence. + Keep them in mind! + + -- Shabkar Natshok Rangdrol, in "The Life of Shabkar" +~ +On the very night of Dodrupchen's death, his spiritual testament was +received by his principal disciple, Do Khyentse. Dodrupchen appeared in the +sky in a radiant light body and an attire of lights. He was floating on a +carpet of light, which was held up by four dakinis. In a very enchanting +voice he sang the verses of his testament, which include the following lines: + + I am going into the expanse of the Wisdom of the Ultimate Sphere, + Which is the state that transcends thoughts and expressions. + I am going into the state of Mirrorlike Wisdom, + Which is the ceaseless clear glow, fresh and open. + I am going into the expanse of the Wisdom of Evenness, + In which all the thoughts of grasping and grasper have vanished into the + ultimate sphere. + I am going into the Wisdom of Discriminative Awareness, + Which is the clarity, the dawn of six kinds of foreknowledge. + I am going into the state of the Wisdom of Accomplishment, + Which emanates various manifestations in accordance with [the needs of] + trainable beings. + + Son, please stay healthy. + Now you have won over the obstructions of your life. + Until all the phenomenal existents are liberated as the signs and + teachings [of Dharma], + [You should be] aware of samsara and nirvana as dreams and illusions. + Dedicate yourself to the meditation where there is no reference point. + This is the empowerment of total entrustment and aspiration. + This is the supreme empowerment of empowerments. + + -- from "Masters of Meditation and Miracles", by Tulku Thondup. +~ + The view of interdependence makes for a great openness of mind. In general, +instead of realizing that what we experience arises from a complicated network +of causes, we tend to attribute happiness or sadness, for example, to single, +individual sources. But if this were so, as soon as we came into contact with +what we consider to be good, we would be automatically happy, and conversely, +in the case of bad things, invariably sad. The causes of joy and sorrow would +be easy to identify and target. It would all be very simple, and there would +be good reason for our anger and attachment. When, on the other hand, we +consider that everything we experience results from a complex interplay of +causes and conditions, we find that there is no single thing to desire or +resent, and it is more difficult for the afflictions of attachment or anger to +arise. In this way, the view of interdependence makes our minds more relaxed +and open. + By training our minds and getting used to this view, we change our way of +seeing things, and as a result we gradually change our behavior and do less +harm to others. As it says in the sutras: + + Abandon evildoing; + Practice virtue well; + Subdue your mind: + This is the Buddha's teaching. + + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama, from "For the Benefit of All Beings" +~ +In the avadhuti, the main path of enlightenment, +Prana and mind, bliss and warmth, are united, +Becoming unconditioned great bliss. +The wisdom of unobscured insight dawns. + +"This is unsurpassable," the guru has said. +The darkness of ignorance is purified in space. +One is free from the two obscurations of grasping and fixation. +Therefore bliss and luminosity dawn in simplicity. + +This appearance of collective coincidence +Is a reflection without self-nature. +All appearances are realized like that, +And just like appearances in a dream, +All dharmas arise as illusions... + +When thoughts arise, rest naturally. +When dreaming, be mindful without corrupting it. +When in the pardo, don't control, but be aware. +When there is fruition, let it arise without obscuration. + + -- from "The Life of Marpa the Translator" translated by Chögyam Trungpa + and the Nalanda Translation Committee. +~ +The Four Seals in Buddhism are: + + All products are impermanent. + (or all compounded phenomena are impermanent?) + ('du byed thams cad mi rtag pa) + + All contaminated objects are miserable. + (zag bcas thams cad sdug bsngal ba) + + All phenomena are selfless. + (chos thams cad bdag med pa) + + Nirvana is peace. + (mya ngan las 'das ba zhi ba) + + --from "Meditation on Emptiness" (London: Wisdom, 1983), by Jeffrey Hopkins +~ + When you pass away, nothing will do you any good except for the pure Dharma. +You will not simply disappear when you die. Rather, what happens next will be +dictated by your previous actions. + For these reasons, you should exert yourself by whatever means necessary to +free yourself from samsara, which is nothing but a vast ocean of suffering! +Practice your teacher's guidance concerning what to do and what to give up +to the letter, without falling under the influence of immature friends or bad +influences. To the best of your ability, incorporate this genuine teaching on +the certainty of death into each and every day. + Keeping all this in mind, arouse faith in the Three Jewels so that you will +be able to practice in this manner, thinking to yourself, "Think of me, +Three Jewels!" At the same time, be sure to generate an intense sense of +renunciation and subdue your mind stream. + -- from "Entrance to the Great Perfection: A Guide to the Dzogchen + Preliminary Practices", edited and translated by Cortland Dahl +~ +I would like to mention my visit to Lourdes as a pilgrim. There, in front of +the cave, I experienced something very special. I felt a spiritual vibration, +a kind of spiritual presence there. And then, in front of the image of the +Virgin Mary, I prayed. I expressed my admiration for this holy place that has +long been a source of inspiration and strength, that has provided spiritual +solace, comfort and healing to millions of people. And I prayed that this may +continue for a long time to come. My prayer there was not directed to any +clearly defined object, like Buddha or Jesus Christ or a bodhisattva, but was +simply directed to all great beings who have infinite compassion towards all +sentient beings. + -- H.H. the Dalai Lama +~ +The Buddhist teaching is superior in four ways: view, meditation, behavior, +and fruit. + +1. The "four seals" that distinguish the [Buddhist] view are as follows: all +composed phenomena are impermanent, all contaminated things are miserable, all +phenomena are selfless, and nirvana is peace. + +2. Buddhist meditation serves as an antidote to all cyclic existence within +the three realms. + +3. Buddhist behavior is free from the two extremes, having abandoned both the +extreme of overindulgence of desire, which is a case of being desirous and +wanting good and great quantities of food and clothing, and the extreme of +being too tired and worn out in body and mind. + +4. The fruits are the true cessations, which are abandonments such that the +obstruction that is removed does not arise again [and which comes about] +through analyzing individually the nonexistence of the referent object of the +conception of self. + +These four [view, meditation, behavior, and fruit] are the distinguishing +features of Buddhist doctrine. + -- Jamyang Shayba, from "Buddhist Philosophy: Losang Gonchok's Short + Commentary to Jamyang Shayba's Root Text on Tenets", by Daniel Cozort + and Craig Preston, page 88. +~ +When you are busy and preoccupied, you feel hassled by your own existence. +You are so busy that you think that you do not have any time to spare for your +practice. Such torment and busyness seem to be monumental or historic, but +that is not the case. As far as we are concerned, that kind of torment is +absolutely ordinary. As you begin to work on that, you realize that the +inconvenience, discomfort, and anguish that you experience is no more than +anybody else experiences. So your experience is no longer regarded as +monumental—no more than if you step on a cat's tail, and the cat cries +out, "Wooaaaoow!" However, it is still a problematic situation. Therefore +you need to practice the paramita of discipline, which overcomes that type of +preoccupation altogether. You begin to realize that preoccupations are +garbage; they are worth flushing out so that something real could come up. +Then paramita activity begins to make sense, and you begin to act in a more +genuine way. + -- Chögyam Trungpa, from "The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma. + Volume Two: The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion" +