X-Git-Url: https://feistymeow.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=database%2Ffortunes.dat;h=58fc8fd08cbd9379b13dd62ae72e8561e54f125c;hb=c343cafc036452225cafd81bbf8cf8852d37af8e;hp=a511bef13bbea5682e68bfead9f18af363b367ac;hpb=ea7a91f01c9fa8a7d0b3352c80d5cea1756b9d58;p=feisty_meow.git

diff --git a/database/fortunes.dat b/database/fortunes.dat
index a511bef1..58fc8fd0 100644
--- a/database/fortunes.dat
+++ b/database/fortunes.dat
@@ -39367,3 +39367,130 @@ 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"
+~
+  Psychologists tell us that a strong sense of self is essential to be
+psychologically healthy.  But it seems Buddhism says there is no self.  How
+can we reconcile these two views?
+  When psychologists speak of a sense of "self" they are referring to the
+feeling that oneself is an efficacious person, someone who is self-confident
+and can act in the world.  Buddhists agree that such a sense of self is both
+realistic and necessary.  However, the sense of self that Buddhism says is
+unrealistic is that of a very solid, unchanging, independent "I."  Such a
+self never has and never will exist.  To understand this is to realize
+emptiness.
+  Strange though it may sound, someone may have a psychologically weak sense
+of self that in Buddhist parlance would be considered strong self-grasping.
+For example, a person with poor self-esteem may focus a lot on himself and
+have a strong feeling of the existence of an independent self that is
+inferior, unlovable, and a failure.  From a Buddhist viewpoint, such an
+independent self does not exist, although a conventional self does.
+  --Thubten Chodron, "Buddhism for Beginners"
+~
+We all depend on one another.  For this reason, whenever we act according to
+self-interest, sooner or later our selfish aims are bound to clash with the
+aims of the people we rely upon to accomplish our own goals.  When that
+happens, conflicts will inevitably arise.  As we learn to be more balanced in
+valuing others’ concerns with our own, we will naturally find ourselves
+involved in fewer and fewer conflicts.  In the meantime, it is helpful to
+acknowledge that conflicts are the logical outcome of this combination of
+self-interest and interdependence.  Once we recognize this, we can see that
+conflicts are nothing to feel shocked or offended by.  Rather, we can address
+them calmly and with wisdom.
+  -- Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, in "Beyond Anger: How to Hold On to Your
+     Heart and Your Humanity in the Midst of Injustice", Shambhala Publications
+~
+Cyclic existence continues to evolve through the power of the unbroken
+relationship of the twelve links of dependent origination.  What are these
+twelve?  They are (1) ignorance, which afflicts wandering beings by keeping
+them from seeing true reality.  In obscuring the perception of true reality,
+ignorance also functions as the source for the subsequent links, such as
+karmic formation, by grasping as if there were an “I” and “mine.” (2)
+Formation afflicts wandering beings by implanting the seeds of subsequent
+existence in the consciousness.  In this way, when the root text states:
+“Wandering beings are afflicted due to…,” it should be understood to
+apply to all the remaining links as well, from consciousness on.  Accordingly,
+(3) consciousness becomes infused with habitual tendencies and leads sentient
+beings to the place of their birth.  (4) Name and form take hold of the body
+of one’s coming existence.  (5) The six sense sources bring the state of
+name and form to completion.  (6) Contact determines the experience of an
+object based on the coming together of three factors: object, faculty, and
+cognition.  (7) Sensation experiences the various types of enjoyable and
+painful karmic ripening.  (8) Craving creates the cohesion necessary for a
+future existence.  (9) Grasping totally binds one to such an existence.  (10)
+Becoming brings about the actual acquisition of this birth.  (11) Birth serves
+as the support for the suffering of old age and so on.  (12) Aging and death
+is the essence of suffering.
+  -- Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, "Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya’s
+     Madhyantavibhaga with Commentaries"
+~
+Compassion and generosity must be accompanied by detachment.  Expecting
+something in return for them is like doing business.  If the owner of a
+restaurant is all smiles with his customers, it is not because he loves them
+but because he wants to increase his turnover.  When we love and help others,
+it should not be because we find a particular individual likable but because
+we see that all beings, whether we think of them as friends or enemies, want
+to be happy and have the right to happiness.
+  -- The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in "On the Path to
+     Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters",
+     Shambhala Publications
+~
+Examining the understanding of heat in Vajrayana gives insight into tantra’s
+somewhat different embrace of classical Buddhist imagery.  From this
+perspective, the experience of mental burning is indeed the central suffering
+of our lives.  It is the experiential dimension of the intensity of our
+obscurations, whether emotional, conceptual, or habitual.  But rather than
+attempting to put out the flames with meditation methods, it is important to
+allow the burning to occur during practice.  Certainly in the foundational
+stages of the path we must learn not to become engulfed in the flames, to tame
+the wild mind and emotions, and to train ourselves to open further to
+experience.  Finally, however, through Vajrayana practice under the guidance
+of a guru, the burning we experience becomes a great teacher and a great
+blessing.
+  -- Judith Simmer-Brown, "Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in
+     Tibetan Buddhism", Shambhala Publications
+~
+Life is mainly froth and bubble,
+Two things stand like stone--
+Kindness in another's trouble,
+Courage in your own.
+  -- Adam Lindsay Gordon