"By just meditating on the bits we like and avoiding the bits we don’t—like the sufferings of the three lower realms, impermanence and death, and the suffering nature of samsara and life—by not thinking about or meditating on what we feel to be unpleasant, not putting these teachings into practice, and focusing only on the parts that sound good, we can’t really achieve any realizations."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
"Guru devotion, seeing the guru as a buddha, is called “the root of the path” because just as the trunk, branches, leaves and fruit grow from the stable root of a tree, all the realizations of the graduated path to enlightenment grow from stable devotion to the guru. If there is no root, nothing can grow. If we have the stable root of guru devotion, all realizations come quickly."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
The root of the path to enlightenment is correctly following the virtuous friend, by looking at the guru as a buddha, having no mistakes, only qualities. Looking at [the guru’s actions as] a buddha’s actions, and fulfilling the wishes and following the advice on the basis of seeing the guru as a buddha, having faith and believing the guru is a buddha. There are two things, not only having the mind in faith but also in action, these are two ways to correctly follow the virtuous friend.
Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Forwarded from 𝖳𝖱𝖨𝖪𝖠 𝖲𝖧𝖠𝖨𝖵𝖨𝖲𝖬
https://youtu.be/PM6pqxiCv8Q
Welcome to the YouTube channel Ishaivite. Its existence is solely dedicated to the propagation of doctrines of Kashmiri Shaivism, its tradition and philosophies.
This video serves as introduction of aforesaid religious system to a common man.
Feedbacks are appreciated and I hope you will join us in this fruitful venture of discovery of Knowledge Traditions.
Welcome to the YouTube channel Ishaivite. Its existence is solely dedicated to the propagation of doctrines of Kashmiri Shaivism, its tradition and philosophies.
This video serves as introduction of aforesaid religious system to a common man.
Feedbacks are appreciated and I hope you will join us in this fruitful venture of discovery of Knowledge Traditions.
"When we correctly devote ourselves to the guru, all the heavy negative karma to be reborn in the lower realms, such as the five uninterrupted negative karmas, can be completely purif i ed in the shortest time—even in an instant. Instead of our having to be born in the lower realms and experience there the heaviest suffering for an incredible length of time, we completely purify our negative karma through experiencing disease, famine or some other difficulty in this life. All that heavy negative karma can be purif i ed even by having a terrifying dream or by being scolded by our guru, as in Milarepa’s life story.
No matter how much heavy karma we have created in this and past lives, correctly devoting ourselves to the virtuous friend is the answer. What is the most powerful method of purification? Again, the answer is correct devotion to the virtuous friend, because the virtuous friend is the most powerful among all the powerful objects.
By practicing perfect guru yoga, we can purify the heavy negative karma that would cause us to be born in hell and suf f er there for many eons by experiencing just a headache, a toothache or some other small problem in this life. We have to realize that the more problems we experience in doing the guru’s work, the more negative karma and obscurations we purify and the more merit we accumulate. In other words, by thinking of the benefits, we should see any difficulty we experience in doing the guru’s work as a good thing and as something we need."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
No matter how much heavy karma we have created in this and past lives, correctly devoting ourselves to the virtuous friend is the answer. What is the most powerful method of purification? Again, the answer is correct devotion to the virtuous friend, because the virtuous friend is the most powerful among all the powerful objects.
By practicing perfect guru yoga, we can purify the heavy negative karma that would cause us to be born in hell and suf f er there for many eons by experiencing just a headache, a toothache or some other small problem in this life. We have to realize that the more problems we experience in doing the guru’s work, the more negative karma and obscurations we purify and the more merit we accumulate. In other words, by thinking of the benefits, we should see any difficulty we experience in doing the guru’s work as a good thing and as something we need."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Forwarded from Buddha Words
Do Harsh Words Win The Battle?
When you get angry at an angry person, you just make things worse for yourself. When you don’t get angry at an angry person, you win a battle hard to win.
When you know that the other person is angry, if you’re patient, mindful and calm, then you act for the good of both for yourself and the other person.
- Buddha, SN 7.3 Asundarika Sutta
When you get angry at an angry person, you just make things worse for yourself. When you don’t get angry at an angry person, you win a battle hard to win.
When you know that the other person is angry, if you’re patient, mindful and calm, then you act for the good of both for yourself and the other person.
- Buddha, SN 7.3 Asundarika Sutta
Forwarded from Meditations of a Yogin
“It is such a mistake to assume that practicing dharma will help us calm down and lead an untroubled life; nothing could be further from the truth. Dharma is not a therapy. Quite the opposite, in fact; dharma is tailored specifically to turn your life upside down—it’s what you sign up for. So when your life goes pear-shaped, why do you complain? If you practice and your life fails to capsize, it is a sign that what you are doing is not working. This is what distinguishes the dharma from New Age methods involving auras, relationships, communication, well-being, the Inner Child, being one with the universe, and tree hugging. From the point of view of dharma, such interests are the toys of samsaric beings—toys that quickly bore us senseless.”
― Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
― Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
"Our practice of guru devotion is the source of all the progress and all the problems in this life and from life to life. From our practice in this life, we receive all the benefits from life to life, up to enlightenment. This is the source of the greatest loss and the greatest profit. If we don’t understand this point well or don’t concentrate on it, we experience the greatest loss. Each of us has the answer to achieving success in all our future lives. It is in our hands."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
"During our beginningless lifetimes until now, all the virtuous teachers we have met—those who gave us ordinations, initiations and teachings— are one being, the absolute guru, who has manifested in various aspects, with different names and forms. When the sun or moon rises, billions of reflections spontaneously arise in all the bodies of water on the earth—in oceans, rivers, ponds and even dew drops. Like this, effortlessly, spontaneously, buddhas work for sentient beings, by revealing the various means that suit them. All our virtuous teachers are the dharmakaya, the absolute guru, from where all the buddhas, Dharma and Sangha.
If the buddhas manifested in purer forms than we now see, we wouldn’t have the karma to see them and receive teachings from them. Because our mind is obscured by impure karma, we can’t see a buddha’s holy body or hear a buddha’s holy speech. Therefore, in order to guide us, the buddhas have manifested in the ordinary forms of our virtuous friends, which exactly suit the level of our mind and our karma. In other words, our gurus are the ones who do the activities of all the buddhas, just as ambassadors act on behalf of their country."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
If the buddhas manifested in purer forms than we now see, we wouldn’t have the karma to see them and receive teachings from them. Because our mind is obscured by impure karma, we can’t see a buddha’s holy body or hear a buddha’s holy speech. Therefore, in order to guide us, the buddhas have manifested in the ordinary forms of our virtuous friends, which exactly suit the level of our mind and our karma. In other words, our gurus are the ones who do the activities of all the buddhas, just as ambassadors act on behalf of their country."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
"Once, on a high mountain in south India where Guru Shakyamuni Buddha was teaching, bodhisattva Amoghadarshi asked Buddha, “At the moment we can receive teachings from the Buddha, but what shall we do in the future when you have passed beyond sorrow? Who will guide us?” Guru Shakyamuni Buddha replied, “Amoghadarshi, in degenerate times in the future, I will manifest in the form of spiritual masters and abbots. In order to ripen the minds of sentient beings, I will also show birth, old age, sickness and death. Don’t worry that you will not meet me in the degenerate times. At that time I shall manifest as the abbot or as the teacher.”
"Our gurus are the absolute guru, the dharmakaya; therefore, our present gurus are all the gurus from our beginningless past lives who have guided us to the point of our present perfect human body and they are the same ones who, in our future lives, will guide us to enlightenment. Each of our gurus has been kind to us during beginningless samsaric lifetimes, is kind to us in this life and will also be kind to us in the future, until we achieve enlightenment. Recognizing our guru’s past, present and future kindness deepens our appreciation of their kindness.
All our gurus—those who gave us vows and teachings in all our past lives, the gurus we have now and those we will have in the future—are just one being: the unified primordial savior, the primordial dharmakaya. All our past, present and future gurus are just one, and they guide us through the conventional guru, who appears in accordance with our karma."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
All our gurus—those who gave us vows and teachings in all our past lives, the gurus we have now and those we will have in the future—are just one being: the unified primordial savior, the primordial dharmakaya. All our past, present and future gurus are just one, and they guide us through the conventional guru, who appears in accordance with our karma."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
"Many people think that to serve the guru we have to be with the guru. This is not so. It doesn’t matter whether we’re living in the guru’s house or on the other side of the world. We could be on the moon or the sun and still be serving the guru by keeping purely the vows we have been given: refuge vows, pratimoksha vows, like the five lay vows or the eight Mahayana precepts, and higher vows, such as those of monastic ordination or the bodhisattva or tantric vows. If we are keeping those vows we are following the guru’s advice, fulfilling their wishes; we are serving the guru.
Also, meditating, studying such things as the lamrim, the commentaries and the philosophical teachings—learning the Dharma and integrating it into our practice—is what the guru wishes us to do, and doing all that is also serving the guru, fulfilling their advice. Doing whatever else the guru has advised us to do, such as going into retreat or teaching Dharma, is also service to the guru.
In general, anything that benefits sentient beings and helps liberate them from suffering is service to the guru because that is exactly what they advise us to do."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Also, meditating, studying such things as the lamrim, the commentaries and the philosophical teachings—learning the Dharma and integrating it into our practice—is what the guru wishes us to do, and doing all that is also serving the guru, fulfilling their advice. Doing whatever else the guru has advised us to do, such as going into retreat or teaching Dharma, is also service to the guru.
In general, anything that benefits sentient beings and helps liberate them from suffering is service to the guru because that is exactly what they advise us to do."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Forwarded from Meditations of a Yogin
The mind is beyond expression, thought and conceptualization, because it’s empty. However, there are phenomena and appearance.
The objects you cling to in this waking reality are like a dream, but if you don't investigate the nature of this dream, you remain drawn as if there is something here. Examining them, you discover that these objects have no true existence and are just like space. A practitioner who understands that phenomena have no inherent existence and are space-like must then examine himself to find out if he has an individual self. Then it will be discovered that there is not really an examiner either.
Gyatrul Rinpoche.
The objects you cling to in this waking reality are like a dream, but if you don't investigate the nature of this dream, you remain drawn as if there is something here. Examining them, you discover that these objects have no true existence and are just like space. A practitioner who understands that phenomena have no inherent existence and are space-like must then examine himself to find out if he has an individual self. Then it will be discovered that there is not really an examiner either.
Gyatrul Rinpoche.
"In guru yoga, the essential point to understand is that all the buddhas are of one taste in the dharmakaya. The dharmakaya is the absolute guru, and this is all the buddhas. This is the very heart of guru yoga practice. Without understanding this, there’s no way to practice guru yoga comfortably. Even if we do the visualizations it won’t be completely satisfactory because we’ll be unclear as to how a buddha is the embodiment of the guru and the guru is the embodiment of a buddha. However, it will be extremely clear if we understand the very heart of guru yoga, that the guru is a buddha and a buddha is the guru.
The dharmakaya is like the ocean in which many waters are mixed and our various gurus are like drops from the ocean. All our gurus are manifestations of the dharmakaya, the absolute guru, the holy mind of all the buddhas; the absolute guru manifests in an ordinary form in accordance with our karma.
This ordinary form is the conventional guru, the essence of which is the absolute guru. When we actually see or visualize a deity or see statues or paintings of deities we should recognize that they are all the guru."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
The dharmakaya is like the ocean in which many waters are mixed and our various gurus are like drops from the ocean. All our gurus are manifestations of the dharmakaya, the absolute guru, the holy mind of all the buddhas; the absolute guru manifests in an ordinary form in accordance with our karma.
This ordinary form is the conventional guru, the essence of which is the absolute guru. When we actually see or visualize a deity or see statues or paintings of deities we should recognize that they are all the guru."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
"What is the cessation of suffering? It is the complete and dispassionate cessation of craving that perpetuates existence, which is attended upon by the passion for enjoyment, and which finds pleasures here and there. This is the cessation of suffering."
Lalitavistara Sutra
Lalitavistara Sutra
"Believing mistaken views creates the cause to hear them again, in this or a future life, and so the chances of understanding the Dharma become even more remote."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
About the lesser Nirvana, Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen says that:
"The Hinayana arhats and bodhisattvas on the three pure grounds, are reborn due to uncontaminated karma that propels them to take birth and their body is a called a mental body."
"The Hinayana arhats and bodhisattvas on the three pure grounds, are reborn due to uncontaminated karma that propels them to take birth and their body is a called a mental body."
Forwarded from Meditations of a Yogin
Then Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, "It is said that the world is empty, the world is empty, lord. In what respect is it said that the world is empty?"
"Insofar as it is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self: Thus it is said, Ananda, that the world is empty. And what is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self? The eye is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. Forms... Eye-consciousness... Eye-contact is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self.
"The ear is empty...
"The nose is empty...
"The tongue is empty...
"The body is empty...
"The intellect is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. Ideas... Intellect-consciousness... Intellect-contact is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. Thus it is said that the world is empty."
- Shunya Sutra
"Insofar as it is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self: Thus it is said, Ananda, that the world is empty. And what is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self? The eye is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. Forms... Eye-consciousness... Eye-contact is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self.
"The ear is empty...
"The nose is empty...
"The tongue is empty...
"The body is empty...
"The intellect is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. Ideas... Intellect-consciousness... Intellect-contact is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. Thus it is said that the world is empty."
- Shunya Sutra
"Because the habit of falling into a state of dullness and confusion as we grasp onto pleasure is so deeply ingrained in us, it is unreasonable to imagine that we can immediately transform intensely desirous energy into pure and expansive mental clarity.
Even though tantra is the quickest path to the completeness of the enlightened experience, we still must progress in stages according to our capacity, otherwise we will be taking on a burden we are not yet strong enough to carry. We then risk ending up like those poor countries who, in their efforts to modernize themselves, have taken on too much too quickly. So often the unfortunate result is that their simple and relatively balanced lives are thrown into confusion. Thus, although the intended purpose of their rapid industrialization was to bring benefit, the actual result is even greater restlessness and dissatisfaction than before.
Similarly, if our practice of tantric transformation is not appropriate to our emotional level and mental capacity—if we think to take on and transform more desirous energy than we can handle—this will only lead us to a more confused state than we are in at the moment."
Lama Yeshe
Even though tantra is the quickest path to the completeness of the enlightened experience, we still must progress in stages according to our capacity, otherwise we will be taking on a burden we are not yet strong enough to carry. We then risk ending up like those poor countries who, in their efforts to modernize themselves, have taken on too much too quickly. So often the unfortunate result is that their simple and relatively balanced lives are thrown into confusion. Thus, although the intended purpose of their rapid industrialization was to bring benefit, the actual result is even greater restlessness and dissatisfaction than before.
Similarly, if our practice of tantric transformation is not appropriate to our emotional level and mental capacity—if we think to take on and transform more desirous energy than we can handle—this will only lead us to a more confused state than we are in at the moment."
Lama Yeshe