Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Like waves, all the activities of this life have rolled endlessly on, one after the other, yet they have left us feeling empty-handed. Myriads of thoughts have run through our mind, each one giving birth to many more, but what they have done is to increase our confusion and dissatisfaction. - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

YOUR INDIVIDUAL MANDALA

In tantric iconography, in the set up of a mandala there are various guardian deities at different levels, and their duty is to set the boundary, or the wall of the mandala. That wall has four gates: east, west, south, and north. People are free to enter into the mandala from any direction, but before they come in, they should be processed or purified, cleansed of their obstacles. Then, when they come in, their visit will be worthwhile....Each person has to enter their own mandalas, on their own merit. Everybody has their own individual mandala situations, how they can enter their own buddhanature.From "Continuous Service: Working with the Mandala and the Echo Chamber," in TRUE COMMAND: The Teachings of the Dorje Kasung, Volume One, pages 100 to 101. Trident Publications. Available from shambhalashop.com..All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

Reserves

As our bodily reserves deplete themselves with age and illness it is important to remember that no matter how healthy we are, we are not going to live forever.The best one can hope for is to have the biological clock run out first without breaking down.It is sort of a chicken/egg thing regarding the relationship between running out and breaking down but all in all there are examples of those who pass on peacfully and without alot of mental or physical turmoil.Dr. Jarvis was not an eternalist by any means. He understood the influence of virus' and microbes on host objects and felt that to survive the environmental onslaught( http://www.jcrows.com/jarvisenvironment.html http://www.jcrows.com/jarvisweather.html )
one needed suitable reserves to ward off or slow down their effects.How does one maintain,build and observe the state of one's reserves? Jarvis recommends Lugol's Solution, apple cider vinegar, honey, kelp and the use of hydrion short range ph paper (nitrazine paper) for measuring the bodily acidity of urinary and sweat secretions in the 4.5-7.5 range.With Jarvis' tool kit one has the ability to move beyond a passive state with respect to maintaining health. Through his non proprietary methods one learns to facilitate the resiliency of our private and limited stock of energy reserves enabling us to respond to potential obstacles and interruptions in attention which would otherwise effect us adversely.

Sacred Mantra

One must understand the basic usage of mantra, or sacred syllables, in the teachings of Buddhism. Mantra is not at all a magical spell used in order to gain psychic powers for selfish purposes, such as accumulation of wealth, power over others, and destruction of enemies. According to the Buddhist teachings, all tantric practices, such as visualizations, hatha yoga, or any other yogic practices, must be based on the fundamental teaching of the Buddha, which is the understanding of the four marks of existence: impermanence (anitya), suffering (duhkha), void or emptiness (shunyata), and egolessness (anatman.) Divinities in Buddhism are not external. In other words, they are aspects of the awakened state of mind, such as the great bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara representing the compassionate aspect of buddha nature. There are various mantras, or sacred syllables, connected with these great beings, which help to achieve the essence of compassion, wisdom, or energy. From "Hum: An Approach to Mantra," in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume Five, pages 317 to 318. . All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.
NOTICE OF INTEREST TO SUBSCRIBERS: Our friends at Shambhala Sun Foundation (publishers of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines) are hosting their first-ever online auction -- November 21 through December 12. They have assembled a wonderful selection of unique auction items -- including original art, photographs, gift certificates from contemplative publishers, meditation supplies, and retreat opportunities. An original calligraphy by Chogyam Trungpa is being auctioned. Bidding is underway. You can browse and bid at http://www.shambhalasun.com/auction All proceeds from this online auction will help to print the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly on environmentally responsible paper, and to establish youth internships training the next generation of editors and designers to publish the dharma. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5, 049 subscribers. Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com. Carolyn Rose Gimian Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources. TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com

Be Grateful to Everyone

Without others, we would have no chance at all to develop beyond ego. So the idea here is to feel grateful that others are presenting us with tremendous obstacles -- even threats or challenges. The point is to appreciate that. Without them, we could not follow the path at all. Walking on the path of the dharma is connected with dealing with our neurosis. But if there were no neuros-ees, we couldn't develop any neuros-is. Therefore, we should feel very grateful to such persons. They are actually the ones who are pushing us onto the path of dharma.

From "Transformation of Bad Circumstances," in TRAINING THE MIND AND CULTIVATING LOVING KINDNESS, page 92. . All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

NOTICE OF INTEREST TO SUBSCRIBERS: >>Our friends at Shambhala Sun Foundation (publishers of the >>Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines) are hosting their >>first-ever online auction- November 21 through December 12. They >>have assembled a wonderful selection of unique auction items - >>including original art, photoraphs, gift certificates from >>contemplative publishers, meditation supplies, and retreat >>opportunities. An original calligraphy by Chogyam Trungpa is one of >>the items being auctioned. Bidding has already opened. >> >>You can browse and bid at http://www.shambhalasun.com/auction >> >>All proceeds from this online auction will help to print the >>Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly on >>environmentally responsible paper, and to establish youth >>internships training the next generation of editors and designers >>to publish the dharma. Your auction bids will support the Shambhala >>Sun Foundation's mission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5, 048 subscribers. Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com. Carolyn Rose Gimian Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources. TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com

The only land really worth claiming

You might buy a piece of land, clear it, build a house, and cultivate fields,
with the idea that these activities will bring you happiness and satisfaction in the future.
But it is simply not so.
The only land really worth claiming is the stronghold of primordial sim-
plicity, the ultimate and unchanging nature of all things. The way to take hold of it is by
solitary meditation, progressing through the different stages of the path culminating in the Great Perfection. Once you have taken full possession of it, you will be able to dwell
there for the rest of your life, after death, and during all your lives to come. But to get
to that point, be ready for a thousand acts of bravery.

Dilgo Khyentse& Padampa Sangye
The Hundred Verses of Advice

If we try to hard, meditation becomes difficult

If we try too hard, meditation becomes difficult. But it is so easy... Meditation is resting in our own natural awareness.
- Yongey Mingyur Dorje Rinpoche

Misunderstanding of the principle of the voidness of all phenomena - Prajnaparamita

"A Person may become convinced that everything is an illusion, unreal, and may believe he can do anything. But this is a big mistake. As long as we have a body we must respect all of it's limits and needs. If we touch fire with our finger, we immediately feel it burn and pull it back.
This means we have not realized the condition in which there is no I, in which the limits of the physical body no longer remain."
- Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

The Different Types of Karma

Among the different types of karma, we can further distinguish propelling karma and completing karma.
Propelling karma, as its name suggests, propels one into a state of existence, whatever that may be.
Completing karma determines the specific circumstances within that state of existence; it fills in the basic outline produced by the propelling karma.
These two types of karma can combine so that
" ... if the karma propelling a certain mode of existence were positive and the completing karma that fills in the particulars were negative, we may take birth in a higher state of consciousness, but we would experience unpleasant conditions in that lifetime. For example, although we might take birth as a human, we would be poor.
Conversely, a negative propelling karma associated with a positive completing karma would cause us to take birth in a lower-realm existence in which we would enjoy good circumstances. For example, we might be born in the West as a domestic animal that had very privileged living conditions."
Khyabje Kalu Rinpoche (d.1989) discussed two forms of karma in Luminous Mind, (Wisdom Publications:)

Become the Car

In the practice of meditation, there is a term for awareness, sheshin, which means knowing as it is or knowing things as they are. Awareness is sharpening our antenna, so that a visual, olfactory, auditory, sensory, total perceptual sense of expansion is taking place. It is analagous to driving a car. If we rent a car, at the beginning, when we first start driving, we are concerned about how the car accelerates and how to work all the little gadgets on the dashboard, and how to control the power and speed of the car. If you are an experienced driver, however, you begin to tune yourself immediately into the size of the car, whether it's big or small. Your whole awareness becomes the car, as if the car were your body. So you don't miscalculate the size of the car on the highway, and you know your size, its size, for parking, for that matter. In terms of awareness in meditation practice, we should similarly adapt ourselves. There is a sense of perception expanding, a sense of radiation and seeing how far our feelings extend. Our life situation, running our day to day life, also works that way.
From Talk Four of MEDITATION: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, a five talk seminar at Naropa University, July 1, 1974, Boulder, Colorado. Edited from the transcript.All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5, 321 subscribers.Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.
Carolyn Rose GimianOcean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com

DON'T MISS YOUR EXIT

In life, if you are being too watchful, too mindful, it is possible that you will lose your awareness. That is to say, if you are driving a car and watching the highway more than necessary, you may not see the signposts on the side of the road. You aren't aware of them. You are completely mindful of your driving, watchful of your driving. You are so concerned about your driving and about watching the car in front of you and the car behind you that you miss your exit, because you aren't aware of it. In the practice of meditation, to begin with, it's necessary to have that kind of caution. As we drive on the highway, you need the directness of watching the guy in front of you and behind you, while keeping to the speed limit and watching out for cops. But then, you need something else. However, I wouldn't suggest to students that they try to shift their practice of meditation. Stick to the basic practice of concentration. Then at some point, you will naturally begin to develop some sense of expansion, a sense of greater awareness.
From Talk Four of MEDITATION: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, a five talk seminar at Naropa University, July 1, 1974, Boulder, Colorado. Edited from the transcript.All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5, 328 subscribers.Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.
Carolyn Rose GimianOcean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com

Is The Awakened Mind of Buddha Attainable?

Is The Awakened Mind of Buddha Attainable?
Yes, Subhuti. With regard to that highest and most awakened mind, I have not attained anything.
That mind is everywhere equally. It cannot be attained or grasped, but it can be realized.
It is realized through the practice of all good actions when they are done in the spirit of no self and no object of self.
- Prajnaparamita

If you want to communicate with others

If you want to communicate with others, you don't have to shout and bang on the table in order to get them to listen. If you are telling the truth, then you can speak gently, and your words will have power. - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

ENLIGHTENMENT IN NEW YORK

I had tremendous fun driving through New York City. A friend and I drove together in New York and we were constantly amazed at how much is going on there. That value doesn't have to be judged as either positive or negative, but it is just how things happen. It's a fantastic display. Trying to fall asleep in the morning, there were garbage trucks and tractors and sirens and people shouting. I was hearing everything through the window, which was also a fantastic experience. If only people just used what they had around them in their environment, there is already the working basis of enlightened society in how we can actually work with the situation. Often when we talk about enlightenment, it is how we can shut off any nuisances of any kind. That often seems to be people's idea. Even the misunderstanding of peace and tranquility is to go off, stop, altogether, close your eyes. That's become the problem.
From" Overcoming Habitual Patterns," in COLLECTED KALAPA ASSEMBLIES, page 267. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5, 309 subscribers.Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.
Carolyn Rose GimianOcean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com