Gampopa

Great wisdom awareness will not arise where there is little accumulation of merit,
but on the other hand,
great wisdom awareness will arise
where there is great accumulation from generosity, moral ethics, and so forth,
and it will burn all the obscurations.

--Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation.

Healthy Openness

HEALTHY OPENNESS

Student: Sometimes you can't be generous without harming either yourself or both yourself and the other person.

Chogyam Trungpa: The general idea is that, if you open yourself to what the given situation is, then you see its completely naked quality. You don't have to put up a defensive mechanism anymore, because you see through it and you know exactly what to do. You just deal with things, rather than defending yourself.

S: But then the feeling might be that you have to refuse somebody.

CT: Sure, yes. Openness doesn't necessarily mean that you have to make yourself available to the other person all the time. Openness is knowing the situation -- if it's healthy and helpful to the other person to involve yourself with them or if it is more healthy not to involve yourself, if showing this kind of commitment is not healthy for the other person. It works both ways. Openness doesn't mean you have to take everything in at all; you have a right to reject or accept -- but when you reject you don't close your self; you reject the situation. Whether you accept or reject it depends on whether it's a healthy situation for the other person or not; it's not purely what they want. Openness doesn't mean that you are doing purely what the other person wants. Their wantingness may not be particularly accurate....So you just work along with what's valuable there.

From TRANSCENDING MADNESS: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SIX BARDOS edited by Judith Lief, pages 89-90

Be Friendly Towards Problems

BE FRIENDLY TOWARD PROBLEMS

To develop ahimsa, or the nonviolent approach, first of all you have to see that your problems are not really trying to destroy you. Usually, we immediately try to get rid of our problems. We think that there are forces operating against us and that we have to get rid of them. The important thing is to learn to be friendly toward our problems, by developing what is called metta in Pali, maitri in Sanskrit, or loving-kindness in English translation. All of these problems and difficulties are fundamentally generated from the concept of duality, or separateness. On the one hand, you are very aware of other and also very aware of yourself, and you want to do something to work with and make use of others. But you are unable to do this, because there is such a big gap between other and yourself. So a sense of threat or separation develops. That is the root of the problem.

From "The Martial Arts and the Art of War," in Volume Eight of THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, page 414.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 4,802 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.

Teaching Concerns Actual Experience

TEACHING CONCERNS ACTUAL EXPERIENCE

I decided to give up the robe, which I feel stood as a subtle obstacle to the formulation of my teaching in the West. The monk's robe confused many as a glorious image of spirituality. However, my teaching concerns actual experience. I don't feel that I need to hide behind something, though some people are critical of me for coming out and showing myself as a human being....But my role is a far deeper one than a mere cultural mission, a representative of the East to the West. I am not Tibetan but Human and my mission is to teach others as effectively as I can in this world in which I find myself.

>From a letter by Chogyam Trungpa written in 1970. The excerpts appear in DRAGON THUNDER: MY LIFE WITH CHOGYAM TRUNGPA. This excerpt was read by Diana J. Mukpo in her keynote address at the OCEAN OF DHARMA conference at Naropa University, now ongoing. To hear the speech, go to www.chroniclesproject.com. For a blog about the DRAGON THUNDER tour and Naropa conference by Carolyn Gimian, go to ChogyamTrungpa.com

There are many types of meditative stabilization

There are many types of meditative stabilisation, but let us explain calm abiding (samatha) here. The nature of calm abiding is the one-pointed abiding on any object without distraction of a mind conjoined with a bliss of physical and mental pliancy. If it is supplemented with taking refuge, it is a Buddhist practice; and if it is supplemented with an aspiration to highest enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, it is a Mahayana practice. Its merits are that, if one has achieved calm abiding, one's mind and body are pervaded by joy and bliss; one can--through the power of its mental and physical pliancy--set the mind on any virtuous object one chooses; and many special qualities such as clairvoyance and emanations are attained.

--from The Buddhism of Tibet by the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications

Perceptions

...perception cannot be packed down to form a solid foundation. Perceptions shift and float very much with the experience of life. -- Chogyam Trungpa. Orderly Chaos

The Mishap Lineage

Why does the contemplative tradition and tradition that I come from, the Practicing Lineage, or the Kagyü, exist? It is not just an accident or a matter of chance. Rather the whole thing is somewhat planned or programmed, to the extent that there is an intelligent awareness or a vision at work, of how a practitioners' lineage can exist and continue. As far as that vision is concerned, it is a prolonged sense of commitment to humanity and to working with the neurosis of humanity. The Practicing Lineage is not based on practitioners locking themselves up in their meditation cells so that they become social nuisances. But practitioners in our lineage also work with their commitment to their teacher and with surrendering, openness and devotion -- as well as with commitment to the rest of the world: all sentient beings.

From "The Mishap Lineage," in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume Five, page 340.

Thanks to Walter Fordham and the Chronicles of CTR Project for hosting and posting the audio excerpt from THE LINE OF THE TRUNGPAS, Talk Seven.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

When your hassled

Question: Do you have any suggestion as to how we can actually transmute when we are caught in the speed of a situation?....How is it possible to work at a rate of speed and still have any sanity about it?

Chogyam Trungpa: Well, it's overall view. When you are being hassled, you are reduced into a pinpoint, traditionally. You begin to become so small, that you are hassled by the giant situations that begin to close in on you. You are afraid about your timetable, scheduling, and everything. Whereas if you take a greater view at that point, then you are no longer that small. You can cover a lot of areas. You can extend your tentacles greater that way, so that you have some sort of stronghold, or at least some kind of clear vision of where you're coming from. You are not just being bounced back and forth like a ping-pong ball by the mercy of the situation on your ping-pong table. When you're hassled, there's a tendency to become small. So the opposite approach, in this case, is like taming and entering: when you're hassled, you have to become bigger, so you can't be bounced around.

From COLLECTED VAJRA ASSEMBLIES: VOLUME ONE, pages 240 to 241.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

This is my simple religon

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples, there is no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is the temple; the philosophy is kindness. --HH XIV Dalai Lama

The Main 4 Types of Giving

The 4 Main Kinds Of Giving:
1. Giving material things: giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to those who haven't any, and things to the poor and needy.
2. Giving protection: offering refuge to those who are frightened, medicine to the sick, and so forth.
3. Giving love: comforting the unhappy. With great love we can give away our things and even our body.
4. Giving Dharma: whispering into the ears of sentient beings the names of Buddha, holy syllables, and mantras, or giving Dharma teachings and instructions to those who desire them, and so on.
--H.E. Kalu Rinpoche Dorje Chang, from: Luminous Mind - The Way Of The Buddha, Wisdom Publishing

Dreams, Sleep and the Inner Landscape

An Interview with Dr. Yeshe Dhonden (circa 1985) on Dreams, Sleep, and the Inner Landscape From The Point of View of Tibetan Medicine
http://jcrows.com/drd.html

Saraha

To leave aside your own nature and search elsewhere is extremely deluded. --Saraha, Three Cycles of Dohas

Make Friends with fear

MAKE FRIENDS WITH FEAR

In order to understand the notion of fearlessness, one has to understand fear itself. Fear is a trembling, shaky feeling of being afraid of nonexistence....Such fear is not necessarily regarded as problematic. It is like an attack of sneezing. But you have to study your fear, definitely: how it arises, how it manifests, and how it is actualized. When you begin to understand such fear, then you begin to find that it is almost a big joke. But you shouldn't try to cast fear out. Fear should be regarded as the kindling you use to build a big fire of fearlessness. So you have to understand fear as the starting point of fearlessness. Fear is not regarded as black, and fearlessness is not regarded as white. You have to make friends with fear.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

Sacredness and Society

SACREDNESS AND SOCIETY Sacredness is like putting on a fur coat in the biting cold of winter. Sacredness fulfills its purposes, and it also brings cheerfulness and goodness into our system so that we don't pollute the world. Sacredness is what allows us to say that the Shambhala principles can create an enlightened society. For instance, before we came into this room and before the banners were put up, this room was quite different. Now the banners have been put up and we are here, and that changes the atmosphere, the general dignity of the space all together. That is the notion of sacredness, at least in a superficial sense. rom "The Warrior's Way," a sourcebook for Shambhala Training, page 11. [Monday's quote, Making Friends with Fear, was also from this sourcebook.] All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

SACREDNESS AND SUPERSTITION

SACREDNESS AND SUPERSTITION

There is a great deal of difference between sacredness and superstition. Superstition is believing something that you've been told, such as that, if somebody drops a rotten egg on your head, it is bad luck. Superstition has no foundation in basic practice. Sacredness, however, is like the experience when you look at pure gold: you get some transmission of pure goldness because gold IS pure and good. Similarly, when you converse with a person of great wisdom, the conversation doesn't necessarily have to be profound per se -- it could just be "hello" and "good-bye" -- but you experience the basic nature of goodness coming out of that person.

From "The Warrior's Way," a sourcebook for Shambhala Training, page 11.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

Action Alert!->Proposed DEA Change in the regulation of Lugol's Solution of Iodine

There is a propsed DEA change in the regulation of products containing iodine and the corresponding thresholds that would be exempt and not exempt if the propsed Listing changes are put into effect.
It is neccessary to comment professionally and scientifically to the DEA and have them refrain from implementing the proposal as outlined.
There is a comment window open until Oct 10 2006. This may be done online. dea.diversion.policy@usdoj.gov or http://www.regulations.gov
The DEA's own statistics, in the proposal, show a decrease in seizures of iodine for illegal purposes.
The exisiting law, cited in the proposal, seems responsible and thorough as stated. I would like to see the industry and individuals defend the exisiting thresholds or suggest a slight modification to regulate only those thresholds above the original formulation for Lugol's Solution i.e.5% Iodine and 10% Potassium Iodide. The original Lugol's Solution of Iodine formula should remain available as the law now allows. It has been used for many worthwhile purposes for over 120 years. Please utilize whatever professional and legal channels may be available to you, for those of us interested in keeping the product and its legitimate use in science, education, and industry in continued use.
the proposal:
http://www.jcrows.com/iodinealert.html

Gently Whispered

One does not have to feel totally at the mercy of one's emotion. It is only when acquiescing to the emotion, or investing the emotion with the falsehood of reality, that one is forced to play out the consequences. --Kalu Rinpoche, Gently Whispered

Personally speaking I have never been put off

"Personally speaking I have never been put off. I never give up at all. I am not going to give up the cause of peace that might occur in this world. And I am looking forward to it in some sense. The more chaos happens, I feel more possibility of creating greater peace, and when I see more aggression, more chaos, I feel more encouraged. That is, my smile is never diminished. I always smile." -- Chogyam Trungpa (speaking to a Nova Scotia audience in 1982)

You can appreciate your life, even if it is an imperfect situation.

You can appreciate your life, even if it is an imperfect situation. Perhaps your apartment is run down and your furniture is old and inexpensive. You do not have to live in a palace. You can relax and let go wherever you are. Wherever you are, it is a palace. -- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

War, sadly, has remained a part of human history up to the present,

War, sadly, has remained a part of human history up to the present, but I think the time has come to change the concepts that lead to war. Some people consider war to be something glorious; they think that through war they can become heroes. This attitude toward war is very wrong. Recently an interviewer remarked to me, "Westerners have a great fear of death, but Easterners seem to have very little fear of death." To that I half-jokingly responded, "It seems to me that, to the Western mind, war and the military establishment are extremely important. War means death--by killing, not by natural causes. So it seems that, in fact, you are the ones who do not fear death, because you are so fond of war. We Easterners, particularly Tibetans, cannot even begin to consider war; we cannot conceive of fighting, because the inevitable result of war is disaster: death, injuries, and misery. Therefore, the concept of war, in our minds, is extremely negative. That would seem to mean we actually have more fear of death than you. Don't you think?" --from The Compassionate Life by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF YOUR ANCESTORS

APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF YOUR ANCESTORS

We should not ignore the contributions of the past. The failure to appreciate the resourcefulness of human existence -- which we call basic goodness --has become one of the world's biggest problems. However, we need to find the link between tradition and the present experience of life. NOWNESS, or the magic of the present moment, is what joins the wisdom of the past with the present. When you appreciate a painting, a piece of music, or a work of literature, no matter when it was created, you appreciate it NOW. You experience the same nowness in which is was created. It is always NOW.

Slogan 34, in SHAMBHALA THE SACRED PATH OF THE WARRIOR BOOK AND CARD SET. Available at a 20% discount at Shambhala.com: http://shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/1-59030-177-3.cfm

Milarepa

Having meditated on love and compassion,
I forgot the difference between myself and others.
Having mediated upon my lama, I forgot those who are influential and powerful
Having meditated on the yidam, I forgot the coarse world of the senses.
Having meditated on the instruction of the secret tradition, I forgot the books of dialectic. Having tasted the joys of solitude, I forgot the need to please my relatives and friends.
Having assimilated the teaching in the stream of my consciousness, I forgot to engage in doctrinal polemics.
Having lived in humility in body and mind, I forgot the disdain and arrogance of the great. Having made a monastery within my body, I forgot the monastery outside.
Having embraced the spirit rather than the letter, I forgot how to play with words. --Jetsun Milarepa

Your Present Naked Awarened

5. Your present naked awareness How amazing! Your present, naked awareness-- Unspoiled by thoughts of past, present, or future, Not fettered by mind grasping to so-called "meditation" Nor falling into a pervasive blankness of so-called "non-meditation"-- The natural state nakedly sustained, Is the practice of Great Perfection. Regardless of what thoughts arise during that practice, To reject negative ones or foster positive ones is unnecessary. Mere recognition liberates them in their own ground. Take this liberation upon arising as the path's key point. Destroy whatever meditative experiences arise, and relax. A tantric practitioner without fixation is deeply content. You've reached your goal of contentment right now. What is the use of numerous enumerations of Buddha's teachings When you discover Buddha Kuntu Zangpo within yourself? Keep the meaning of these words close to your heart. --from Wisdom Nectar: Dudjom Rinpoche's Heart Advice by Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, translated by Ron Garry, a Tsadra Foundation Series book published by Snow Lion Publications

George Lucas

Train yourself to let go of what you fear to lose...

--George Lucas, Star Wars III (One of Mingyur Rinpoche's favorite movies.)

Be ever mindful of the shortcomings of desire's rewards

Be ever mindful of the shortcomings of desire's rewards, and know that all the phenomena of the cycle of existence are never still, like the ripples on a pond, and that these manifestations of delusion which are no things in themselves are like magic and dreams. When you have the determination to be free of samsara and are content with your material situation, you will be able to sit quietly with your mind happy and at ease. --Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche, The Writings of Kalu Rinpoche

A Question of Geography

A QUESTION OF GEOGRAPHY

Student: Tonight you mentioned the emphasis hundreds of years ago on students practicing meditation in
their caves. What is the real difference between the experience of a practitioner then and our experience
now?

Chogyam Trungpa: There’s not very much difference. The main difference is that they heard different
noises then. These days we might hear airplanes flying above, and in those days, they might have heard
flies buzzing about….In actual reality, as far as the living situation is concerned, it’s essentially the same,
then and now. In those days, caves were routinely used for sitting practice, not for romantic reasons but
because, in that geographical area, there were lots of caves. You didn't have to spend money to build a
cabin; there were holes in the mountains already. You just went and lived there. Nowadays, we can't find
many holes in the mountains around here, so we have to build retreat cabins. It’s simply a question of
geography.
Actually things haven't changed that much. We might romanticize the "good old days," but if you were
there right now, you wouldn't think that those were the "good old days" at all. You would have the same
experience then as now, anyway. It’s just a gap in time, a time lapse.

From "Trungmase and the Three Idiots," Talk Three in THE LINE OF THE TRUNGPAS, an
unpublished manuscript being edited for publication. Forthcoming in 2007 from Vajradhatu Publications.

Chogyam Trungpa

The real function of a spiritual friend, is to insult you... --Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Patrul Rinpoche

...however fully you have realized in your view the nature of reality, you must pay minute attention to your actions and their effects. -- Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher

Saraha

If the mind twisted into knots is loosened, It is undoubtedly freed.
Saraha, Song for the People

Do not regard the thoughts in your mind as things to be rejected

Do not regard the thoughts in your mind as things to be rejected/ Do not deliberately create nonceptuality. Post the watchman of mindfulness, and rest.

-- Gyalwa Yang Gönpa

The Sevenfold Cause-and-Effect Method

The Sevenfold Cause-and-Effect Method If we have been reborn time after time, it is evident that we have needed many mothers to give birth to us. ...the first cause bringing about bodhicitta is the recognition that all beings have been our mother. The love and kindness shown us by our mother in this life would be difficult to repay. She endured many sleepless nights to care for us when we were helpless infants. She fed us and would have willingly sacrificed everything, including her own life, to spare ours. As we contemplate her example of devoted love, we should consider that each and every being throughout existence has treated us this way. Each dog, cat, fish, fly, and human being has at some point in the beginningless past been our mother and shown us overwhelming love and kindness. Such a thought should bring about our appreciation. This is the second cause of bodhicitta. As we envision the present condition of all these beings, we begin to develop the desire to help them change their lot. This is the third cause, and out of it comes the fourth, a feeling of love cherishing all beings. This is an attraction toward all beings, similar to what a child feels upon seeing his or her mother. This leads us to compassion, which is the fifth cause of bodhicitta. Compassion is a wish to separate these suffering beings, our mothers of the past, from their miserable situation. At this point we also experience loving-kindness, a wish that all beings find happiness. As we progress through these stages of responsibility, we go from wishing that all sentient beings find happiness and freedom from suffering to personally assuming responsibility for helping them enter this state beyond misery. This is the final cause. As we scrutinize how best to help others, we are drawn to achieving the fully enlightened and omniscient state of Buddhahood. --from An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life by The Dalai Lama, edited by Nicholas Vreeland

Just as the pattern of colors in a peacock's feathers

Just as the pattern of colors in a peacock's feathers are due to poison, may the afflictions be transformed into the aids to enlightenment by my taking on the physical, verbal, and mental deeds of other living beings past, present, and future.

--Dharmaraksita

Ultimately, every state of existence

Ultimately, every state of existence that we or any other being in the universe experiences arises from the mind and is experienced by the mind as its own projection.

--Kalu Rinpoche, The Gem Ornament of Manifold Oral Instructions

How then does the mistaken idea, that things exist from their own side, operate?

How then does the mistaken idea, that things exist from their own side, operate? Whatever appears to the mind appears as if it existed truly from its own side. ...Now if the object existed as it appears to you, then, when you searched for it, you could actually find a real [object]. So, we must ask ourselves whether or not this object, when searched for, is to be found or not. If the object is not found when it is searched for, we must conclude that it does not exist from its own side, that when the label is applied to its basis, it is not so labeled because the basis somehow bears within it something which is the object. At this point, one must conclude that the object does not exist as it appears to, but then, one may wonder whether it exists at all.

Things, however, are not utterly non-existent. They do exist nominally. So things do exist, but they do not exist from the side of the basis of the label. And hence, though they do exist, because they do not exist within the object itself, they must exist only as they are labeled by the subject (the conceptual mind, for example). There is no other way for the object to exist apart from the way it is posited by conceptual thought. This is then what we mean when we say that all phenomena are merely labeled by conceptual thought. However, things do not appear to us as if they were mere conceptually labeled entities. Instead, they appear as if they existed from their own side. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that things exist as they appear.

--from Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists by The Dalai Lama, edited by Jose Ignacio Cabezon, published by Snow Lion Publications

Samsara is not always pleasant

Samsara is not always pleasant; it is made up of a lot of suffering and problems. When they have problems, some people get upset immediately. Why? Because they do not notice or understand what the condition of samsara is like. If, for example, you are aware that you are in samsara, you know what the situation of samsara is like, when you have a problem there is no reason for you to be too upset. Of course if you have some problems, it isn't very nice. You are not happy but you know what the situation is like so you can accept it the way it is and do your best to overcome and diminish problems. This way you don't get charged up and accumulate tensions. Even when there are problems, they become lighter instead of heavier. This is called: knowing how the situation or the condition is. --Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

There isn't a single one of us who has never felt hostile and angry

There isn't a single one of us who has never felt hostile and angry, so we know about the effects of anger. Does it make us feel better or worse? It stirs us up, makes us miserable and destroys our tranquillity. It is quite easy to recognize anger as a foe and to see how it harms us because its destructiveness is apparent. But we find it much harder and are also reluctant to acknowledge the harm done by attachment because it is a foe masquerading as a friend. When desire or attachment first arises, it feels quite pleasurable but eventually it lands us in trouble. It wants to possess what it has fabricated and we reach out for something which, in fact, does not exist. Failure to get what we want frustrates us and anger quickly follows. The third of the poisons, confusion or ignorance, simply stimulates desire and anger and lies at the root of all the disturbing emotions. --from Eight Verses for Training the Mind by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam, published by Snow Lion Publications

When the mind is realized

When the mind is realized, that is the buddha. Meditate with the recognition that there is nowhere else to seek the buddha.

--Wisdom of the Passing Moment Sutra

The fruit of the perfect Buddha's teachings

The fruit of the perfect Buddha's teachings,
Will not be accomplished by merely listening to them.

--Anonymous quote in The Ocean of Definitive Meaning

The buddha abides in your own body

The buddha abides in your own body;
There is no buddha anywhere else.
Those who are obscured by ignorance and delusion
Believe that the buddha is somewhere other than the body.

--Samputa Tantra

Nagarjuna

By gazing at the center of space, seeing ceases.
Likewise, when mind looks at mind,
Thoughts cease and unexcelled awakening is attained.

--Nagarjuna, Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way

A past life story of a teacher is an enlightening practice for posterity

Shakyamuni Buddha, even when he was a trainee on the path, was solely concerned in both thought and action with others' welfare. Whenever he found an opportunity to work for others, no matter what difficulties he faced, he was never discouraged. He never hated obstacles and hardships encountered on the way. Instead, the difficult situations facilitated his being more courageous and determined to accomplish others' welfare. Just because he was so determined to work for others in the past, even as a trainee on the path, it is needless to say how much more it is so with him now as a completely enlightened person.

As the saying goes, "A past life story of a teacher is an enlightening practice for posterity."

--from Generous Wisdom: Commentaries of His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV on the Jatakamala Garland of Birth Stories translated by Tenzin Dorjee, edited by Dexter Roberts

In absolute terms, each moment of experience

In absolute terms, each moment of experience is empty of a difference in nature of perceiver and perceived. Rather than regarding consciousness merely as the seeing or observing aspect of a moment of experience, it is also the content of that experience. -- Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness

Arousing One's Spirit

AROUSING ONE'S SPIRIT Spirituality is simply a means of arousing one's spirit, of developing a kind of spiritedness. Through that you begin to have greater contact with reality. You are not afraid of discovering what reality is all about, and you are willing to explore your individual energy. You actually choose to work with the essence of your existence, which could be called genuineness. An interest in spirituality doesn't mean that you lack something, or that you have developed a black hole in your existence which you are trying to compensate for or cover over with some sort of religious patchwork. It simply means that you are capable of dealing with reality. --CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, From: Volume Two of THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA

Intentions, Vows and Practice

An interviewer once asked Maezumi Roshi if Buddhists believed in somethinglike a soul that continued after death. Maezumi Roshi said, "No. It is thevow that continues." A vow is like a seal that imprints itself on the wetclay of another emerging life, but it is more than a passive seal. It has apropelling energy. It propels us into the search for an end to suffering andinto finding ways to help each other. Finally, when all the various schemeswe have developed to do those things fail, it propels us into practice. All Buddhist practices involve vows. At the Zen Center we chant the FourGreat Bodhisattva Vows every day:

Beings are numberless, I vow to free them.Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to put an end to them.Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them.Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it.

Over the years we have chanted vows like these hundreds, thousands of times.It does not matter if the vows where made when we where half-asleep or if wedidn't quite understand them. We have made these promises and now the jig isup, the promissory note is due. This explains the common feeling peoplehave. " I don't know why I practice, I just have to." "Something iscompelling me to do this practice." The ongoing vow operates below theconscious mind. It is very important to shape and say our vows. MaezumiRoshi recommended starting each day with vows. There are many possiblevows.They can be a simple. "I vow to do what I can to relieve suffering." "Ivow to do what needs to be done to awaken fully, even if I'm afraid attimes." "I vow to open my mind and hands and let go of what needs to bedropped for me and others to be free." Vows can be formal and part of aritual. They can be simple and spontaneous. What is important is to vow. Atthat point the things that are needed for the vow to be fulfilled begin toflow toward us.

http://www.zendust.org/jizo/jizo.html

To Remain Human

TO REMAIN HUMAN

Mindfulness of body has to do with trying to remain human, rather than becoming an animal or fly or etheric being.
It means just trying to remain a human being, an ordinary human being.
The basic starting point for this is solidness, groundedness.
When you sit you actually sit. Even your floating thoughts begin to sit on their own bottoms.

From "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness," in THE SANITY WE ARE BORN WITH, page 27.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

Having Faith and Compassion

Having faith and compassion, even if one has no great knowledge of the
Dharma and no opportunity to practice much, the day will come when one
ceases to wander in the cycle of existence.

--Kalu Rinpoche, Secret Buddhism

Do not seek a delightfully blissful mind

Do not seek a a quietly resting, vividly clear, and delightfully blissful mind. Practice with whatever arises without accepting or rejecting anything.

-- Orgyenpa

Motivation is a kind of alchemy

"Motivation is a kind of alchemy which transmutes actions into
something positive or negative. Everything we do—having breakfast,
sleeping, whatever—can be transmuted into dharma [pure, religious or
spiritual] action. We may be involved in an activity we do not consider
to be dharma, like cooking for example, but cooking can be transformed
into dharma. How? Through motivation. The right kind of motivation can
transform any action into dharma."

For the full article see:
http://www.snowlionpub.com/pages/N72_12.php

When you are convinced that all exits are blocked

"When you are convinced that all the exits are blocked, either you take tobelieving in miracles or you stand still like the hummingbird. The miracleis that the honey is always there, right under your nose, only you were toobusy searching elsewhere to realize it. The worst is not death but beingblind, blind to the fact that everything about life is in the nature of themiraculous."

Henry Miller

if we see others in trouble

...if we see others in trouble, although we cannot immediately take their suffering upon ourselves, we should make the wish to be able to relieve them from their misfortunes. Prayers like this will bear fruit eventually. Again, if others have very strong afflictive emotions, we should think, 'May all their emotions be concentrated in me.' With fervent conviction, we should persist in thinking like this until we have some sign or feeling that we have been able to take upon ourselves the suffering and emotions of others. This might take the form of an increase in our own emotions or of the actual experience of the suffering and pain of others. This is how to bring hardships onto the path in order to free ourselves from hopes and fears--hopes, for instance, that we will not get ill, or fears that we might do so. They will thus be pacified in the equal taste of happiness and suffering. Eventually, through the power of Bodhichitta, we will reach the point where we are free even from the hope of accomplishing Bodhichitta and the fear of not doing so. Therefore we should have love for our enemies and try as much as possible to avoid getting angry with them, or harbouring any negative thoughts towards them. We should also try as much as possible to overcome our biased attachment to family and relatives. If you bind a crooked tree to a large wooden stake, it will eventually grow straight. Up to now, our minds have always been crooked, thinking how we might trick and mislead people, but this [Bodhichitta] practice, as Geshe Langri Tangpa said, will make our minds straight and true. --from Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the Seven Point Mind Training by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications

Dalai Lama Quote of the week

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week Q: ...what is the nature of the mindstream that reincarnates from lifetime to lifetime? A: ...If one understands the term "soul" as a continuum of individuality from moment to moment, from lifetime to lifetime, then one can say that Buddhism also accepts a concept of soul; there is a kind of continuum of consciousness. rom that point of view, the debate on whether or not there is a soul becomes strictly semantic. However, in the Buddhist doctrine of selflessness, or "no soul" theory, the understanding is that there is no eternal, unchanging, abiding, permanent self called "soul." That is what is being denied in Buddhism. Buddhism does not deny the continuum of consciousness. Because of this, we find some Tibetan scholars, such as the Sakya master Rendawa, who accept that there is such a thing as self or soul, the "kangsak ki dak" (Tib. gang zag gi bdag). However, the same word, the "kangsak ki dak," the self, or person, or personal self, or identity, is at the same time denied by many other scholars. We find diverse opinions, even among Buddhist scholars, as to what exactly the nature of self is, what exactly that thing or entity is that continues from one moment to the next moment, from one lifetime to the next lifetime. Some try to locate it within the aggregates, the composite of body and mind. Some explain it in terms of a designation based on the body and mind composite, and so on.... One of the divisions of [the "Mind-Only"] school maintains there is a special continuum of consciousness called alayavijnana which is the fundamental consciousness. --from Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective by the Dalai Lama, translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, published by Snow Lion Publications

Fearlessness and Speed

Fearlessness is the absence of cowardice. That is to say, cowardice, or uncertainty, comes from speed, from not being on the spot, and from not being able to lead life properly and fully. You miss a lot of details, and you also miss the overview. To correct that, you need ROOM for fearlessness, which comes from having faith in your existence. Basically speaking, fearlessness is not particularly a reward or a goal, but fearlessness is part of the journey on the path. Fearlessness alternates with fear, and both of those are kindling for the fire. You are nervous, speedy, fearful. Then that brings another area of steadiness, solidity, and calm. So fear and fearlessness constantly alternate. rom "Sacredness: Natural Law and Order," in GREAT EASTERN SUN: THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA, page 90. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

reflect upon the horros of the states of sorrow

Reflect upon the horrors of the states of sorrow! Weapons, poisons, fires, and yawning chasms, Hostile foes-these worldly pains are slight Compared with what we get as fruit of our desire! And so, revolted by our lust and wanting, Let us now rejoice in solitude, In places where all strife and conflict cease, The peace and stillness of the greenwood. --Shantideva, The Way Of The Bodhisattva, Pg. 122, Shambhala Publications

If my acts are wholesome

If my acts are wholesome, mirroring my mind, Then no matter where I turn my steps, Respect and honor will be paid to me, The fruit and recompense of merit.

But if, in search of happiness, my works are evil, Then no matter where I turn my steps, The knives of misery will cut me down- The wage and retribution of a sinful life.

--Shantideva, The Way Of The Bodhisattva, Pg. 104, Shambhala Publications

An appearance can only exist if

An appearance can only exist if there is a mind that beholds it. The
'beholding' of that appearance is nothing other than experience; that is
what actually takes place...All the elements are vividly distinguished as
long as the mind fixates on them. Yet they are nothing but a mere presence,
an appearance. When the mind doesn't apprehend, hold, or fixate on what is
experienced...'reality' loses its solid, obstructing quality.


--Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Milarepa

You, young men and women here, Don't think that death will come little by little; It comes fast as lightning.

--From: The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

Kalu Rinpoche

Bless me that my mind may merge with yours; Inspire me to renounce ego's hold; Bless me that I may experience true contentment; Bless me that I may experience loving-kindness and compassion; Bless me that I may give rise to sincere devotion; Bless me that I may cut off pervasive thoughts; Bless me that I may pacify confusion in it's own ground; Bless me that I may perceive ultimate reality, Mahamudra; Bless me that I may attain Buddhahood in this very life.

--Supplication to the Lama, by Kalu Rinpoche

From: Timeless Rapture, Pg. 196, Published by Snow Lion

The essence of samsara

The essence of samsara is this tendency to seek pleasure and avoid pain, to seek security and avoid groundlessness, to seek comfort and avoid discomfort. The basic teaching is that that is how we keep ourselves miserable, unhappy, and stuck in a very small, limited view of reality.

--Pema Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape, Shambhala Publications

To make things as easy as possible to understand

To make things as easy as possible to understand, we can summarize the four boundless qualities in the single phrase - "a kind heart." Just train yourself to have a kind heart always, and in all situations.

--Patrul Rinpoche

The aspiration to rejoice in the good fortune of others can feel feeble compared with our resentment or self pity

The aspiration to rejoice [in the good fortune of others] can feel feeble compared with our resentment or self-pity. We know how easy it is to let our emotions hook us in and shut us down. We'd be wise to question why we hold a grudge as if it were going to make us happy and ease our pain. It's rather like eating rat poison and thinking the rat will die... Whenever we get caught, it's helpful to remember the teachings-- to recall that suffering is the result of an aggressive mind. Even slight irritation causes us pain and we indulge in it. This is the time to ask, "Why am I doing this to myself again?"

--Pema Chodron, The Places That Scare You, Shambhala Publications

We have mistaken our non existent personal experience

We have mistaken our nonexistent personal experience to be objects, and by the power of ignorance, mistaken self-awareness to be a "self." This dualistic fixation has made us wander in the sphere of samsaric existence. May we cut ignorance and confusion at the very root.

--H.H. the III Karmapa, Aspiration of Mahamudra

The practice of Dharma

The practice of Dharma should bring you to the point where you can maintain the same constant awareness whether in and out of practice sessions. This is the quintessential point of all spiritual instruction.

--Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Always scrutinize your own shortcomings

Always scrutinize your own shortcomings. Ignore the faults of other people. Keep the attitude: "Whether they are pure or impure, It is none of my business!" Be your own teacher; keep a strict check on yourself. That is sufficient!

--Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche, from: The Tibetan Buddhism Pocket Reader, by Reginald A. Ray, Shambhala Publications

Give up the mind that wants to meditate

Give up the mind that wants to meditate and calm down. Focus on nothing at all. Disturbing thoughts and lazy indifference are not liberation. Remain unstained by thoughts and circumstances; Rest relaxed in the uncontrived nature of mind, free of elaborations or alteration. For the benefit of one and all, simply preserve peerless awareness.

--Sukkhasiddhi

Uninterrupted Wisdom of Consciousness

The uninterrupted wisdom of consciousness manifests as the world of desire. The nature of consciousness manifests as the world of form. The essence of consciousness, which is unborn, manifests as the formless world.
--Kunjed Gyalpo, The Fundamental Tantra Of The Dzogchen Semde

Quoted In Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche's Book, The Supreme Source, Published by Snow Lion

___________________________________________________________
The unborn essence beyond concepts is dharmakaya. Consciousness that enjoys it's own nature is sambhogakaya. The emanation of consciousness that benefits beings through mind is nirmanakaya.

The moment they discover the equanimity of the non-conceptual state, even beings of the hell realms and of the other realms of samsara who have fallen prey to the sufferings of heat and cold, of hunger and of thirst, of foolishness and speechlessness, can liberate themselves in the authentic, natural condition.

--Kunjed Gyalpo, The Fundamental Tantra Of The Dzogchen Semde

Quoted In Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche's Book, The Supreme Source, Published by Snow Lion

Without Fixating

Without fixating, look naturally into the essence of whatever occurs. The watcher and the watched will then mingle into one, Without any fixation concerning 'looking' and 'meditating.'

--Karma Chagmey Rinpoche, from: 'The Quintessence Of Spiritual Practice, The Direct Instructions Of The Great Compassionate One'

From Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's Book: The Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, Rangjung Yeshe Publications

A minute to be-Give yourself a break

A MINUTE TO BE Give yourself a break....Just enjoy the day, your normal existence. Allow yourself to sit in your home or take a drive into the mountains. Park your car somewhere; just sit; just be. It sounds very simplistic, but it has a lot of magic. You begin to pick up on clouds, sunshine and weather, the mountains, your past, your chatter with your grandmother and your grandfather, your own mother, your own father. You begin to pick up on a lot of things. Just let them pass like the chatter of a brook as it hits the rocks. We have to give ourselves some time to be....We have to learn to be kinder to ourselves, much more kind. Smile a lot, although nobody is watching you smile. Listen to your own brook, echoing yourself. You can to a good job. In the sitting practice of meditation, when you begin to be still, hundreds of thousands, millions, and billions of thoughts will go through your mind. But they just pass through, and only the worthy ones leave their fish eggs behind. We have to leave ourselves some time to be. You're not going to see the Shambhala vision, you're not even going to survive, by not leaving yourself a minute to be, a minute to smile....Please give yourself a good time. -- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, =46rom "Blamelessness: How to Love Yourself" in GREAT EASTERN SUN: THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo.

Don't worry, you're all tulkus

Don't worry... You're all tulkus ... incarnations of beings who have taken the bodhisattva vow to raise all sentient beings to the level of complete enlightenment...Just because you don't have an important title attached to your name doesn't mean that you haven’t appeared in this life to fulfill your bodhisattva vow.... Historically, the term "Rinpoche" referred to a person who is born with a "wealth" or "precious inheritance" of knowledge, whereas nowadays, it often refers to a person born into a wealthy family....Be grateful that you don't have a title...and rest assured that you entered this life and have the opportunity to continue in the stream of Buddhist teachings as a result of the vows and practices you engaged in during previous lives.

-- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Crazy Wisdom, Shambhala Publications

Humor means a sense of delight

Humor means a sense of delight, rather than mocking everything. When the setting sun people rule the world, they get more uptight, more tough and tough and tough. Queen Victoria said, "We are not amused." I'm afraid so. But when we rule the world, we are very amused. That's how you stay in your saddle, so to speak, in order to become a permanent ruler, in order to rule a long time.

-- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, From "Vision of the Great Eastern Sun" in THE 1978 KALAPA ASSEMBLY TRANSCRIPTS, page 106.

We don't need to shut out the outside

We don’t need to shut out the outside, and neither should we shut off the inside.

– Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Carefree Dignity

The Jewel in the Crown Sutra States

The Jewel in the Crown Sutra states, "Donning the armor of loving-kindness, while abiding in the state of great compassion, practice meditative stabilization that actualizes the emptiness possessing the best of all qualities. What is the emptiness possessing the best of all qualities? It is that which is not divorced from generosity, ethics, patience, effort, meditative stabilization, wisdom, or skillful means." Bodhisattvas must rely on virtuous practices like generosity as means to thoroughly ripen all sentient beings and in order to perfect the place, body, and manifold retinue.

--from Stages of Meditation by Kamalashila

Although I have high status

Although I have high status,
my merit is less than an evil spirit's.
Although I am a great religious teacher,
my passions are grosser than a demon's.
Roar and thunder on the head of the destroyer,
false construction!
Mortally strike at the heart of the butcher,
the enemy, Ego!


--Dharmaraksita, Peacock In The Poison Grove, Wisdom Publications

Phenomena are the radiance of the innate absolute

Phenomena are the radiance of the innate absolute; Mind's nature is the wisdom of the innate absolute. The ultimate teacher - phenomena and mind merged in one taste - Dwells naturally within myself. Ah Ho! What a Joy!

--Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Attentiveness

Attentiveness is the path to true life; Indifference is the path to death. The attentive do not die; The indifferent are as if they are dead already already.

--Dhammapada

If you want to see where the mind is going

The Buddha Shakyamuni said, “If you want to see where the mind has been look at your body; and if you want to see where the mind is going look at your present actions.”

--H.E. Kalu Dorje Chang

Read the Whole Teaching At The Link Below: http://www.shenpen-osel.org/issue6.pdf

Something is Thinking

No trace of substance remains in us unchanged. we live in the midst of a uninterrupted current of relations which condition our existence at every instant. We have no possibility of speaking of our self, our being. The Buddhists can't follow Descartes in his famous "ergo." Nothing naturally follows from thought to being, since both are elements of the same changing stream. Instead of affirming, "I think therefore I am," we could say, at most, "I think, therefore I think," or else, as Nietzsche says, 'Something is thinking."

--HH the XIV Dalai Lama, Violence and Compassion

This quote courtesy of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ShangpaNY/

Can a thought look at a thought?

Can thought look at thought? No. Just as a blade cannot cut itself, or a fingertip touch itself, so thought cannot see thought.

--Sikshasamuccaya

If we are speaking of a way out all the time then we are dealing in fantasy

Q: You describe some seemingly inescapable situation situation in which we are all trapped,
in which we have become enmeshed... (Samsara?)


A: You see, the whole point is that if we are speaking of a way all out all the time,
then we are dealing in fantasy, the dream of escape, salvation, enlightenment.
We need to be practical. We must examine what is here, now, our neurotic mind.
Once we are completely familiar with the negative aspects of state of our being,
then we know the "way out" automatically.


But if we talk about how beautiful and joyous our attainment of the goal will be,
then we become extremely insincere and romantic; and this approach becomes an obstacle.


That is why the Buddha first taught about suffering - Dukkha,
and why he did not begin by teaching the beauty of the enlightenment experience.


--Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism,
Shambhala Publications

Stepping out ofthe bureaucracy of ego

It is important to see that the main point of any spiritual practice is to step out of the bureaucracy of ego. This means stepping out of ego's constant desire for a higher, more spiritual, more transcendental version of knowledge, religion, virtue judgement, comfort or whatever it is that the particular ego is seeking. One must step out of spiritual materialism.

--Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism,

Transparency of Concepts

In the absence of thoughts and emotions, the Lords (the forces of materialism) bring up a still more powerful weapon, concepts. Labeling phenomena creates a feeling of a solid, definite world of "things." Such a solid world reassures us that we are a solid, continuous thing as well. The world exists, therefore I, the perceiver of the world, exist. Meditation involves seeing the transparency of concepts, so that labeling no longer serves as a way of solidifying our world and our image of self. Labeling becomes simply the act of discrimination.

--Chogyam Trunpa Rinpoche, From: "The True Spiritual Path," in THE ESSENTIAL CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Pg. 46

Obstacles

Obstacles can arise from good as well as bad circumstances, but they should never deter or overpower you. Be like the earth, which supports all living creatures indiscriminately, without distinguishing good from bad. The earth is simply there. Your practice should be strengthened by the difficult situations you encounter, just as a bonfire in a strong wind is not blown out, but blazes even brighter.

--Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
http://www.shechen.org/teach_three_dkr.html

Each Individual

Each individual has an opportunity to make a difference.

--H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama

We need to correct or overcome all the wrongs and bad circumstances we experience

We need to correct, or to overcome, all the wrongs or bad circumstances that we experience. Instead of having a negative attitude toward practice and not wanting to practice any longer-- --whenever such perversions and problems occur, they should be overcome...

To correct all wrongs means to stamp on the kleshas. Whenever you don't want to practice-- --stamp on that, and then practice. Whenever any bad circumstance comes up that might put you off--

--stamp on it. In this slogan you are deliberately, immediately, and very abruptly suppressing the kleshas.



--Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from: Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness , Pg. 212-213, Slogan # 40

The experiences that you normally regard as pleasurable and happy

Generally, the experiences that you normally regard as pleasurable and happy, such as having the physical comfort of good facilities and so forth, if they are examined at a deeper level, will be revealed to be changeable and therefore in the nature of suffering. They provide you with temporary satisfaction; because of that temporary satisfaction you regard them as experiences of happiness. But if you keep on pursuing them, they will again lead to the experience of suffering. Most of these pleasurable experiences are not really happiness in the true sense of the word, but only appear as pleasure and happiness in comparison to the obvious sufferings that you have.

--H.H. the Dalai Lama, Path to Bliss: A Practical Guide to Stages of Meditation, Snow Lion

Buddha Shakyamuni

Accept my words only when you have examined them for yourselves; do not accept them simply because of the reverence you have for me. Those who only have faith in me and affection for me will not find the final freedom. But those who have faith in the truth and are determined on the path, they will find awakening.

--Buddha Shakyamuni, from Majjhima Nikaya

The Instructions of Gampopa

Not to tame your own mind or transcend the confusion that arises in your own experience, but rashly attempting to tame the minds of others, is extremely bewildered. If you do not first tame your own mind, then attempting to tame the minds of others or alleviate the bewilderment of others will not work, because you will still be so confused that you will not know how to do it, and you will probably only generate mental affliction. --The Instructions of Gampopa, Snow Lion Publications

The basic problem

The basic problem is that one believes that everything is real, and thus everything is treated as such. --Kalu Rinpoche, Gently Whispered

Beyond there is no greater friend than gift.

Possessions are ephemeral and essenceless
Know this and give them generously to monks,
To brahmins, to the poor, and to your friends:
Beyond there is no greater friend than gift.

Having realized that possessions such as food are inconstant and fluctuate, that in changing and transforming they are devoid of essence, in order to make them meaningful try to use them properly, giving to those with good qualities (monks and brahmins), to those who suffer (the poor, the sick, and so forth), to those who help you (friends) and to those you venerate (spiritual teachers and parents). Even beyond the world there is no friend more sublime, more beneficial, than giving, because it gives rise directly and indirectly to ripened effects that are inexhaustible.

-- from Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend: with Commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche by Nagarjuna, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications

the word for "practice"

In the Tibetan tradition, the word for "practice" is the same as that for "attain." That is, in a sense, to practice is to attain. This is not necessarily a rarified goal; it is something everyone can cultivate to the extent that they try. -- Daniel Goleman, Mind-Science: An East-West Dialogue

If you love the sacred and dislike the worldly...

If you love the sacred and dislike the worldly, you will go on floating and sinking in the ocean of birth and death. The passions arise depending on the heart. If the heart is stilled, where then do you seize the passions? Do not tire yourself by making up discriminations; and quite naturally you will find the way. --from Rinzai Roku, translated by Irmgard Schlogl

We have to be genuine, which means not having aggression and being true to oneself. In that way, we can build an enlightened society. Enlightened society cannot be built and cannot develop on the level of dreams or concepts. Enlightened society has to be real and good, honest and genuine.
Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche

All sentient beings including ourselves

All sentient beings, including ourselves, already possess the primary cause for enlightenment.

– Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation

Regradless of the emotion being expressed

Regardless of the emotion being experienced -- be it desire, anger, pride, jealousy, envy, greed, or whatever -- what is really going on is a shift in attention. The mind is expressing itself in a different way. Nothing implicitly requires one to presume that this emotion has any reality in and of itself...It is just that the mind is expressing itself in a different way than it was a moment ago.

--Kalu Rinpoche, Gently Whispered

When you feel completely desolate

When you feel completely desolate, you begin to help yourself, you make yourself at home. You begin to realize all kinds of beauties around you.

--Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Illusion's Game

When we get a sense of the nonexistence of the self

When we get a sense of the nonexistence of the self, we might feel afraid. However, there is no need for fear. If the self were to exist, we could be harmed, but since the self does not exist, there is no "I" to be harmed. With the realization that the self does not exist comes great courage, and fear simply disappears.

--THE TRADITION AND PRACTICE OF VIPASHYANA -- by Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Bodhi Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 4

Ego

Ego is pain, and pain is ego.

--Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Illusion's Game

The Root of Delusion

The root of delusion is one’s own mind grasping external appearances as being truly existent.

-- Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, The Essential Points of Creation and Completion

No trace of substance remains in us unchanged

No trace of substance remains in us unchanged. we live in the midst of a uninterrupted current of relations which condition our existence at every instant. We have no possibility of speaking of our self, our being. The Buddhists can't follow Descartes in his famous "ergo." Nothing naturally follows from thought to being, since both are elements of the same changing stream. Instead of affirming, "I think therefore I am," we could say, at most, "I think, therefore I think," or else, as Nietzsche says, 'Something is thinking."

--HH the XIV Dalai Lama, Violence and Compassion

"buddha" literally means awake

“Bodhi,” which related to “buddha,” literally means “awake.” “Chitta” is a Sanskrit word meaning “heart,” or occasionally, “essence.” So “bodhichitta” is the essence of the buddha, the essence of the awakened ones.

-- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, The Heart of The Buddha

Compassion is open space

Compassion is open space in which things can be accommodated. It contrasts strongly with our repulsing situations because we are not willing to accommodate anything. So compassion is creating open space, accepting things happening. --Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Orderly Chaos