The trouble maker ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
http://justdharma.com/s/e8asmThe particular thing that has created the problems of life is the dissatisfied mind of desire, which clings first of all to this life, seeking only the temporary happiness of this life, and then to these eight objects: having comfort, not having discomfort, receiving materials (such as friends and so forth), not liking not to receive materials, having a good reputation, not having a reputation, receiving praise, not having criticism. The dissatisfied mind of desire clings to these eight objects.
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche
source: http://bit.ly/15M0hKV
Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the web:
http://fpmt.org
https://www.facebook.com/lamazoparinpoche/Lama Zopa Rinpoche biography:
http://www.lamayeshe.com/teacher/kyabje-lama-zopa-rinpoche
Our Actual Enemy ~ 17th Karmapa
Our anger is our actual enemy. It is an obstacle that cuts us off from the cause of higher states of rebirth and the definitive excellence that is liberation. If we do not tame it, then outer enemies will simply multiply. They will increase to the same extent that we try to overpower them. And they could present a danger to our lives and to our ability to keep any of the three sets of vows (individual liberation, bodhisattva, and tantric) we may have taken.
Since we are the ones who make one another into enemies, they can proliferate without limit. By creating such projections, we are engaging in actions that are detrimental. Why is this so? Because there is not one living being who has not been our mother or father, and therefore they should all be the objects if our compassion. On the other hand, there is not one living being who has not been our enemy. In this way, all living beings are equally our friends and enemies, so being attached to some and feeling hatred for others makes no sense. Through a mind that sees this equality, we should tame the enemy of our own anger with an army of great compassion. This is the practice of a true bodhisattva.
17th Karmapa
from the book “Traveling the Path of Compassion: A Commentary on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva”
Sign of a mature practitioner ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
http://justdharma.com/s/2byo5A mature practitioner will usually have a far purer perception of others than a beginner. The more enlightened qualities a practitioner acquires, the humbler he will become; the more time he spends with his guru, the greater his devotion; and the more he hears and contemplates the dharma, the quicker his pride and arrogance will diminish.
The supreme sign of a great practitioner is not that he sprouts a halo, has extraordinarily auspicious dreams, experiences bliss continuously, or can foresee our miserable futures. The supreme sign is that he no longer has any interest in material gain, fame, the respect of others, or being the centre of attention.
– Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book “Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices”
ISBN: 978-1611800302 - https://amzn.to/17Vw76HDzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on the web:
http://www.siddharthasintent.org/
http://khyentsefoundation.org
http://deerpark.in
http://lotusoutreach.org
http://84000.co
http://dzongsar.justdharma.comDzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche biography:
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Dzongsar_Khyentse_Rinpoche
Impermanence ~ 17th Karmapa
http://justdharma.com/s/wo8z9It is impossible to be at your best or your worst at all times. Who is always consistent? Everyone changes according to different situations and as they go through life’s different phases. There is no point in feeling great pride or great shame simply because of temporary circumstances.
– 17th Karmapa
from the book “The Future Is Now: Timely Advice for Creating a Better World”
ISBN: 978-1401923006 - https://amzn.to/1ax1poB17th Karmapa on the web:
http://kagyuoffice.org
http://kagyu.org
http://kagyumonlam.org
http://rumtek.org
http://karmapa.justdharma.com17th Karmapa biography:
http://kagyuoffice.org/karmapa/
A reminder to myself ~ 16th Karmapa
With your supreme intelligence, you realized the intention
Of the unsurpassable vehicle, the tradition of Padmakara.
Guru of unequalled kindness, I remember you from my heart.
I supplicate you—bless me with your compassion.
I, Pema Trinley Palzang, a performer of three activities,
From now on, will take control of my own discipline in thought and deed.
I make a firm commitment, as follows,
To avoid thoughtlessness and senselessness.In physical conduct, I will not allow myself to be rootless and hurried,
Incapable of being still, carelessly following my every whim.
I will always hold my own space
And be adorned by the training in pure discipline.In speech, whether spiritual or secular,
I will choose meaningful words
And shun unconnected talk of past events or boring discussions
concerning any of the three times.
I will always exert myself in dharmic recitations, proclamations, and readings.In mind, I will not flutter back and forth like a young bird on a branch.
Not getting absorbed in discursive thoughts of good and bad,
I will meditate, cultivating forbearance and relying on my own perceptions, not those of others. I will reflect on how best to benefit the teachings and beings.In particular, the vital essence of the thought of all victorious ones
Is the true nature—the uncontrived, innate dharmakaya.
Without ever lapsing, I will sustain it with one taste in equipoise and post-meditation.In sum, I will hold myself to the sublime, dharmic conduct of the three gates,
Not falling under the influence of others.
Arrogance, haughtiness, or thoughts of self-aggrandizement— whatever of these arises,
I will not let them move me in the slightest.
I will remain firm, dignified, and fearless, like a mountain.Until this collection of elements has rotted away,
I will not waver from this way of being.
Of this way I will be a fearless warrior—that will be my quality.
This is my vow, like an image carved in stone. May it be virtuous!
Gods and protectors, work to help this come to pass!
May the virtuous signs of auspiciousness excellently blaze!
16th Karmapa
quoted in the book “Heart Advice of the Karmapa”
The Kagyu Golden Rosary - Tashi Paljor
Denma Drubchen was born in the Denma area of Derge, in eastern Tibet. When he was five, upon hearing only the name “Karmapa,” he showed great devotion. A year later, he met the Seventh Karmapa, who bestowed upon him the name Tashi Paljor. He studied in Denma with the scholar Sangye Pal. At sixteen, Tashi Paljor decided to follow the Karmapa, and for the next seven years he studied with the Karmapa and received the full transmission of the Kagyu lineage. Afterwards, under the guidance of the Karmapa, he went to the mountains of Kham and Central Tibet to practice, following the example of Milarepa’s life. After practicing twenty years in solitary retreat, he attained full realisation, and became known as the first Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche.
He became the principal teacher of, and passed on the full lineage transmissions to, the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje.
source: http://bit.ly/2tHrPE6
The shortest path of realization ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
http://justdharma.com/s/aw8dkThe literal meaning of guru yoga is ‘union with the teacher´s nature’. To blend your mind with the teacher’s mind is the most profound of all practices, and the shortest path of realization. It is the life force of the path and the one practice that includes all others. It was through relying on a spiritual teacher that all the bodhisattvas of the past generated the mind of enlightenment and reached perfection.
– Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book “The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones”
ISBN: 978-0877734932 - https://amzn.to/1cBmn5ctranslated by Padmakara Translation Group
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche on the web:
http://shechen.orgDilgo Khyentse Rinpoche biography:
http://shechen.org/spiritual-development/teachers/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/
We cannot simply learn and reflect and then leave out the meditation, because what it boils down to is that one needs to mix the dharma with one’s own mind through meditation. If that does not happen, then one has missed the point.
17th Karmapa
source: http://bit.ly/1wl5C5k
Like gold hidden in its matrix ~ 4th Shechen Gyaltsab
http://justdharma.com/s/st2leYou might ask: ‟If the nature of buddhahood is in me, why can’t I perceive it right away?” It is because, like gold hidden in its matrix, that nature is hidden by the tendencies we have accumulated since time immemorial, tendencies that have themselves been created by mental poisons and then reinforced by the actions that those disturbances have produced.
– 4th Shechen Gyaltsab
quoted in the book “On the Path to Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters”
ISBN: 978-1611800395 - https://amzn.to/1dgeYZhsource: http://bit.ly/2fjflM4
4th Shechen Gyaltsab biography:
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Gyurme_Pema_Namgyal
Normally the way that we relate to patience is that sometimes we can be patient and at other times we feel we cannot. The type of patience we need to cultivate is persistent patience, which means that we are patient when we can be patient and we are patient when we feel we cannot be patient. If we lack this, then we will have no way to overcome our kleshas because patience is the opposite of and the remedy to both anger and hatred.
17th Karmapa
from the book “Compassion NOW!”