X-Git-Url: https://feistymeow.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=database%2Ffortunes.dat;h=9b32ca0f2dae4b6ce8b43fa0056302a1733b1bd5;hb=1a36c2a572972cf95f00bb84c32a51b5693ccb1a;hp=7c020777a7aeded2a74bd17b92c86b7789ce2915;hpb=239cfacd97302b81ef5a70bb87436ec0596bd4dc;p=feisty_meow.git diff --git a/database/fortunes.dat b/database/fortunes.dat index 7c020777..9b32ca0f 100644 --- a/database/fortunes.dat +++ b/database/fortunes.dat @@ -9646,7 +9646,7 @@ Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place. -- Billy Crystal ~ I just broke up with someone and the last thing she said -to me was, 'You'll never find anyone like me again!' +to me was, "You'll never find anyone like me again!" I'm thinking, "I should hope not! If I don't want you, why would I want someone like you?" -- Larry Miller @@ -38723,12 +38723,12 @@ set forth in accordance with temporary needs. 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. +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. +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" @@ -38805,7 +38805,7 @@ being. 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 + Investigate your mind's real nature So that your pure and total presence will actually shine forth. @@ -38844,4 +38844,270 @@ 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" +~ +If we unbalance nature, humankind will suffer. Furthermore, we must consider +future generations: a clean environment is a human right like any other. It +is therefore part of our responsibility toward others to ensure that the world +we pass on is as healthy as, if not healthier than, we found it. This is not +quite such a difficult proposition as it might sound. For although there is a +limit to what we as individuals can do, there is no limit to what a universal +response might achieve. It is up to us as individuals to do what we can, +however little that may be. Just because switching off the light on leaving +the room seems inconsequential, it does not mean we shouldn't do it. + -- His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, from "The Pocket Dalai Lama" +~ +Basically we are trying to put a stop to frivolity of any kind. Frivolity is +an interesting word. It can mean being crazy and indulging unnecessarily in a +very crude fashion, but it could also mean indulging in something in the name +of humor and overdoing it slightly. If you are embarrassed to deal with a +particular subject, you find another subject to discuss. If you are tired of +drinking vodka, you switch to sake. If you are bored with talking to one +person, you switch to somebody else. Frivolity is anything that creates +further confusion, or the longing for further confusion. Confusion may seem +luxurious: when you no longer have it, you begin to miss that confusion, and +you would like to re-create it. It is like going back to an adult bookshop +and getting more magazines. But with discipline, you control any form of +potential escape from reality. + -- Chögyam Trungpa, from "The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma. + Volume Two: The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion" +~ + The essence of all the songs can be epitomized by the four dharmas of +Gampopa. These are: (1) one’s mind becomes dharmic; (2) that dharma +practice becomes path; (3) in following that path, confusion is removed; (4) +having removed confusion, everything dawns as wisdom. + The first dharma is the ground, where our mind becomes dharmic so that we +and the dharma are no longer separate entities. We develop true renunciation +and have a sense of revulsion towards samsara. The second dharma is the path. +When our mind goes along with the dharma, the dharma becomes the path, and any +obstacles, whether extreme or ordinary, become a part of our journey. The +third dharma is the fruition. As the journey is taking place, the process of +the journey liberates us from confusion and anxiety. We are delighted by our +journey and we feel it is good. The fourth dharma is the total vision. When +we are able to overcome confusion and anxiety, even our anxiety is not +regarded as anti-dharma or anti-path. Cosmic wakefulness takes place. + -- Chögyam Trungpa's in the foreword to "The Rain of Wisdom: The Essence of + the Ocean of True Meaning" +~ +Scrutinize Apperances + +No matter what our mind makes appear as an object of one of our six +collections of consciousness—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile or +bodily sensations, or mental objects or events—we thoroughly scrutinize its +mode of appearance. Our mind is making it appear as though its existence were +established by virtue of itself, empowered by some truly and inherently +existent self-nature—and not by virtue simply of mental labeling +establishing its existence as what can be labeled "this" or "that" +from this side. We thoroughly scrutinize this mode of appearance and the mode +of existence it implies. There does appear to be something solidly there, not +existing as what it is by virtue simply of mental labeling, but by virtue of +itself, independently of anything else. But, by reminding ourselves that it +does not exist as it appears to exist—by being mindful that its existence +and identity are not established through its own power—we automatically +reconfirm and become even stronger in our conviction in its bare mode of +existence. In other words, as the text [the First Panchen Lama’s A Root +Text for the Precious Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra] says, "[You +experience] their bare mode of existence dawning in an exposed, resplendent +manner." + -- His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, from "The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition + of Mahamudra" +~ +The dakini principle must not be oversimplified, as it carries many levels of +meaning. On an outer level, accomplished female practitioners were called +dakinis.... But ultimately, though she appears in female form, a dakini +defies gender definitions. “To really meet the dakini, you have to go +beyond duality,” Khandro Rinpoche teaches, referring to an essential +understanding in Vajrayana that the absolute reality cannot be grasped +intellectually. The Tibetan word for dakini, khandro, means “sky-goer” or +“space-dancer,” which indicates that these ethereal awakened ones have +left the confinements of solid earth and have the vastness of open space to +play in. + -- Michaela Haas, from "Dakini Power: Twelve Extraordinary Women Shaping the + Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in the West"