Wakefulness

Though the myriad worlds, in untold numbers, will all be destroyed in a conflagration, space itself does not perish. So too is self-existing wakefulness.

—Buddha Shakyamuni, Avatamsaka Sutra

True Love

Love is not a sentimental attachment. It is the sincere desire that others be happy.

It is not a “feeling,” but rather an attitude of good will toward every sentient being, and the absence malice and animosity toward anyone, regardless of their actions. —TN

The Noble Ones Do Not

Those who speak with quarrelsome intent, settled in their opinions, swollen with pride, ignoble, having assailed virtues, look for openings to attack one another.

They mutually delight when their opponent speaks badly and makes a mistake; they rejoice in his bewilderment and defeat.

The Noble Ones do not engage in such talk.

—Buddha Shakyamuni, Anguttara Nikaya

Not even for a moment

Our fundamental nature is intrinsic. No sane, intelligent human being is impeded from being in touch with this basic nature. There is no one standing between you and it, no one is appearing like a mara to perform dances of distraction.

At any given moment, each one of you —even with no understanding of Buddhism— has the natural potential to realize you are completely and inseparably united with your intrinsic wisdom nature.

You have never been separated from it for a moment. It is not a sometimes-there-sometimes-not quality or an adornment that has been attached or added on to you.

—Jetsunma Khandro Rinpoche

Teaching & Culture

Every kind of teaching is transmitted through the culture and knowledge of human beings. But it is important not to confuse any culture or tradition with the teachings themselves, because the essence of the teachings is knowledge of the nature of the individual.

Any given culture can be of great value because it is the means which enables people to receive the message of a teaching, but it is not the teaching itself.

—Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

False Patience

Patience is not learned in safety. It is not learned when everything is harmonious and going well. When everything is smooth sailing, who needs patience?

If you stay in your room with the door locked and the curtains drawn, everything may seem harmonious, but the minute anything does not go your way, you blow up.

There is no cultivation of patience when your pattern is to just try to seek harmony and smooth everything out.

—Pema Chödron

The Chicken Sees

A teacher gave each of two young men a chicken and said, “Go kill the chicken where no one can see you.” One of the young men went behind the fence and killed the chicken.

The other young man walked around for two days and came back with the chicken. The teacher said, “You did not kill the chicken!” The young man replied, “Everywhere I go, the chicken sees.”

—Traditional Story

The Vow

Lord, from now, until the day I become enlightened, I vow that when I see living beings who are friendless, incarcerated, sick, worried, destitute, and unhappy, I will never forsake them, not even for a single moment, until I have helped them rest peacefully. I will liberate them from all their pain and suffering. Only after I have helped, will I take their leave.

—Srimaladevi, Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra

Any Thing

Since life is conditioned, it has no permanence.

Since sense objects are perceptions, they have no true existence.

Since the path stage is delusion, it has no reality.

Since the ground is the natural state, it has no concreteness.

Since mind is thought, it has no basis or root.

I have yet to find any “thing” that truly exists.

—Yeshe Tsogyal

Seven Points

Like bubbles in water, all compounded things are impermanent.

Like a ripe poisonous fruit, all samsaric pleasures, though seemingly pleasant at the time, are painful.

Like chasing the water of a mirage, conditioned states are never-ending.

Like the good or bad experiences in a dream, all worldly concerns are utterly meaningless.

Like a person recovered from smallpox, the excellent fruition of liberation never reverts to suffering.

Like a fine staircase, a sublime teacher’s oral instructions are the path for ascending to liberation.

Like a cultivated field, nonconceptual meditation is the basis for the growth of samadhi.

—Panchen Vimalamitra