"In this there is nothing at all to be removed,
Not the slightest thing to be added.
One authentically looks at the authentic itself;
If the authentic is seen, there is complete liberation."

Asaṅga's Mahāyāna Uttara Tantra Śāstra

"To be empty is not to see the two, empty. The self-complexion of that being empty can appear as anything at all and right upon appearing it is empty, so there is unified appearance and emptiness. Exactly that can only be known by oneself turning inwards and knowing it, nothing other than that, so is referred to as “the domain of personal, self-knowing wisdom”."

Nirvāṇa Sutra

"The agent producing the appearance, mindness, is without a nature, so it was designated as being “without self, without sentient being, without person, without agent”, and so on. The term “without” used in that has the final meaning “does not exist. Because of that “does not exist”, it is said “also does not not exist”. All together, those words stand for the words “no establishment in it anywhere of existent and non-existent”."

Dza Patrul

“This consciousness that knows its object does not depend on the sense faculties, does not originate from its object, and does not reside in between the two. It is not inside; it is not outside. When it arises it does not come from anywhere; when it ceases it does not go anywhere. It arises yet is empty; it disintegrates yet is empty…"

"The realization that in the space-like actuality of all dharmas there can be no becoming an object of consciousness or of wisdom is the view. The residing in that state in the manner of not residing is the meditation. The illusion-like gathering in post-meditation of an accumulation of merit for the sake of the merely illusory sentient beings is the conduct. That the merely illusory rational mind appears but vanishes into the dhātu is the final fruition."

Dza Patrul

"In the fact of the authentic there is no mind, there is no appearance,
And even the non-existence of it is absent,
So it is beyond the considerations of existence and non-existence."

"Not hindered by having like and dislike, attachment and aversion towards
Any of the circumstances, outer and inner, favourable and unfavourable,
And having the greatness of whatever occurs being a helper on the path,
One achieves finality in the unborn dharma."

"What others find repulsive, we enjoy.
What others find frightful, we invite.
What others abandon, we embrace.

What others fear to say, we sing.
What others fear to glance, we behold.
What others fear to do, we perform.

To that place of mind nobody dares to go,
We jump into without hesitation,
Because we are not afraid of mind.

Being absolutely ignorant, we know stillness.
Being absolutely lustful, we know bliss.
Being absolutely wrathful, we know splendor.
Because we are not afraid of mind."

"In mind there is no duality, so
Look at it in the manner of there being no looking to be done.
Having looked you do not see your own mind.
That being so, in terms of what is to be looked at
There is not a speck of it at all."

Machig Labdrön

"Mindness, empty luminosity without referencing, is the true actuality of the innate disposition. Exactly that elaboration-free and identification-less rigpa has appearances of its liveliness shining forth non-stop in an illusion-like way, so you cross over to the state of indivisible or unified equipoise and post-meditation, luminosity-emptiness without grasping, then practice to gain experience in that."

"The fact that the Buddha's formulation of the precepts can be at times permissive or prohibitive also proves that the precepts are not unchangeable. They vary according to the particular circumstances when and where something happens, and depend upon who is involved."

- Master Hsing Yun

"Live a life of friction. Let yourself be disturbed as much as possible, but observe."

Gurdjieff

"O, Alas! Alas! Fortunate Child of Buddha Nature, Do not be oppressed by the forces of ignorance and delusion! But rise up now with resolve and courage!

Entranced by ignorance, from beginningless time until now,

You have had [more than] enough time to sleep. So do not slumber any longer, but strive after virtue with body, speech and mind!

Are you oblivious to the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death? There is no guarantee that you will survive, even past this very day!

The time has come [for you] to develop perseverance in [your] practice."

The Tibetan book of the dead

"Impermanent indeed are all formations; their nature consists of arising and disappearing; having arisen, they cease; their calming is happiness."

Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra

"Understanding the true nature of appearances does not impede good conduct; rather, it informs good conduct. Such knowledge makes conduct more subtle and beneficial. It is just like when you stand in front of a mirror and the reflection of your face appears within it. Knowing all the while that the reflection is not real, you can still use that reflection to remove stains from your face and make yourself look beautiful."

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso

"The Devas and Asuras, Angels and Titans, powers of Light and powers of Darkness in Rigveda, although distinct and opposite in operation, are in essence consubstantial, their distinction being a matter not of essence but of orientation, revolution or transformation. In this case, the Titan is potentially an Angel, the Angel still by nature a Titan; the Darkness in actu is Light, the Light in potentia Darkness; whence the designations Asura and Deva may be applied to one and the same Person according to the mode of operation, as in Rigveda 1.163.3, "Trita art thou (Agni) by interior operation".

Ananda Coomaraswamy

"Não tente chegar a lugar nenhum na prática. O próprio desejo de ser livre ou de ser iluminado será o desejo que impede sua liberdade. Você pode tentar o quanto quiser, praticar ardentemente noite e dia, mas se ainda tiver o desejo de alcançar algo, você nunca encontrará a paz. A energia desse desejo causará dúvida e inquietação. Não importa quanto tempo ou quão duro você pratique, a sabedoria não surgirá do desejo.

Simplesmente deixe ir. Observe a mente e o corpo com atenção, mas não tente alcançar nada, caso contrário, quando você começar a praticar a meditação e seu coração começar a se acalmar, você imediatamente pensará: "Ah, já estou perto do primeiro estágio da iluminação? Quanto mais eu tenho que ir?" Nesse instante, você perderá tudo. É melhor apenas observar como a prática se desenvolve naturalmente."

Ajahn Chah

“Where is the source of human grief, lamentation, pain and agony? Is it not to be found in the fact that people are generally desirous. They cling obstinately to lives of wealth and honor, comfort and pleasure, excitement and self indulgence, ignorant of the fact that the desire for these very things is the source of human suffering.

From its beginning, the world has been filled with a succession of calamities, over and above the unavoidable facts of illness, old age and death. But if one carefully considers all the facts, one must be convinced that at the basis of all suffering lies the principle of craving desire. If avarice can be removed, human suffering will come to an end.

Ignorance is manifested in greed that fills the human mind. It comes from the fact that people are unaware of the true reason for the succession of things. From ignorance and greed there spring impure desires for things that are, in fact, unobtainable, but for which people restlessly and blindly search.

Because of ignorance and greed, people imagine discriminations where, in reality, there are no discriminations. Inherently, there is no discrimination of right and wrong in human behavior; but people, because of ignorance, imagine such distinctions and judge them as right or wrong.

Because of their ignorance, all people are always thinking wrong thoughts and always losing the right viewpoint and, clinging to their egos, they take wrong actions. As a result, they become attached to a delusive existence.

Making their deeds the field for their egos, using the working of discrimination of the mind as seed, beclouding the mind by ignorance, fertilizing it with the rain of craving desires, irrigating it by the willfulness of egotism, they add the conception of evil, and carry this incarnation of delusion about with them.”

How to react if someone is angry with you?

One time Brahmin Akkosaka got angry at Buddha, because a man from his clan had become a Bhikkhu. Akkosaka was yelling and insulting the Buddha.

Buddha: “What do you think, Akkosaka? Do your friends, relatives, and guests sometimes come to visit you?”
Akkosaka: "Sometimes they do, Master Gotama.”
Buddha: "Do you then serve them with a variety of food and drinks?”
Akkosaka: "Sometimes I do.”
Buddha: “But if they don’t accept it, who do those food and drinks belong to?”
Akkosaka: “In that case Master Gotama, they still belong to me.”
Buddha: “In the same way, Akkosaka, when you abuse, harass, and attack me, who does not abuse, harass, and attack, I don’t accept your insults. They still belong to you, Akkosaka, they still belong to you!"

- SN 7.2 Akkosaka Sutta #anger #Buddha

“Since everything in this world is brought about by causes and conditions, there can be no fundamental distinctions among things. The apparent distinctions exist because of people’s absurd and discriminating thoughts.

In the sky there is no distinction of east and west; people create the distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.

Mathematical numbers from one to infinity are each complete numbers, and each in itself carries no distinction of quantity; but people make the discrimination for their own convenience, so as to be able to indicate varying amounts.

Inherently there are no distinctions between the process of life and the process of destruction; people make a discrimination and call one birth and the other death. In action there is no discrimination between right and wrong, but people make a distinction for their own convenience.

Buddha keeps away from these discriminations and looks upon the world as upon a passing cloud. To Buddha every definitive thing is illusion; He knows that whatever the mind grasps and throws away is insubstantial; thus He transcends the pitfalls of images and discriminative thought.”