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Passages and Teachings that Resonate
federica
Seeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
This discussion was created from comments split from: "Sayings and Quotes" Thread..
Further MODERATOR note:
All passages, texts and 'essays' posted here MUST carry reference, link and a note of authorship and provenance.
This is important for copyright reasons. If you don't know who said it, where, when or why, then I'm sorry, but, just to be on the safe side, don't post it.
many thanks.
.
Further MODERATOR note:
All passages, texts and 'essays' posted here MUST carry reference, link and a note of authorship and provenance.
This is important for copyright reasons. If you don't know who said it, where, when or why, then I'm sorry, but, just to be on the safe side, don't post it.
many thanks.
. 
1
Comments
Behold and search your unborn mind;
Seek not for satisfaction in samsara.
I attain all my knowledge through observing the mind within –
Thus all my thoughts become the teachings of Dharma,
And apparent phenomena are all the books one needs.
Seeing the innate face of the self-mind is supreme,
How can common meditation match it?
He who realizes the nature of his own mind knows
That the mind itself is Wisdom-Awareness,
And no longer makes the mistake of searching for Buddha from other sources.
In fact, Buddha cannot be found by searching,
So contemplate your own mind.
This is the highest teaching one can practice;
This very mind is the Tathagatagarbha, Buddha nature, the womb of the Buddhas.
~Milarepa
Suddenly Remembering Dzogchen
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I look out, and what I see
Is appearances in all varieties
And I suddenly remember that appearances
And their emptiness are inseparable
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s that the unexamined mere appearances
Provided through interdependence
When analyzed, have no makeup
And because they’re nothing solid from the start
I know from that that appearances
And their emptiness are inseparable
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I look inwards and what I see
It’s my own mind I’m looking at
And I suddenly remember that the clarity
And its emptiness are inseparable
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because the clear awareness which is mind
When analyzed, does not arise or cease
And thinking it to not exist is freed on the spot
And so it’s sure that the clarity
And its emptiness are inseparable
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I look back into my mind
And what I see is “clinging to me”
And I suddenly remember that there is no self
In what I think is me or I think is mine
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because none of the skandhas are a self
And because there is no self apart from them
I know for sure that from the very start
There’s never been any self at all
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I look out and what I see
Is perceived and perceiver as a duality
And I suddenly remember the emptiness
Of perceived, perceiver duality
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because the objects are mental habits’ tricks
And because none of these has a content of their own
And because the perceiving mind lacks a makeup too
And so it’s sure that reality
Is empty of all duality
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I take a good look at samsara
And I take a good look at nirvana
And I suddenly remember great emptiness
Their emptiness of true existence
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because they’re beyond being one and many too
And so I know great emptiness
And what it’s like is spaciousness
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I take a good look at phenomena
I analyze the conventional world
And I suddenly remember the overview
That’s totally free from any kind of extreme
And there’s a reason why I remember this
Since “existing” or “not” are just comparative terms
And traits and their terms are dependent on each other
And so I know that the nature that lasts
Is totally free of complications
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I look inwards and what I see
Is the very present moment of mind right now
And I suddenly remember the clear light
Totally free of the slightest flaw
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because there is no flaw in the natural state
And because any flaw is empty of itself
I’ve settled down in the clear light
That’s free of flaw from the very start
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I gaze inwards and what I see
Is self-arisen awareness
And I suddenly remember that awareness
And its emptiness are inseparable
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because this inexpressible awareness
Transcending mental operations
Is the alpha-pure abiding nature of mind
And also because of its spontaneous presence
I realize that awareness
And its emptiness are inseparable
From the palace of Dzogchen – appearing emptiness
I catch my mind in the act
There’s lots of passion there – you know – the clinging kind
And I suddenly remember that even bliss
And its emptiness are inseparable
And there’s a reason why I remember this
It’s because the experience of bliss and emptiness
Comes in the four steps
Of joy and joy supreme and special joy and coemergent joy
And so I realize bliss and emptiness
The lasting nature of pleasure and pain
These nine occasions were spoken by Dechen Rangdrol to Dzogchen Ponlob Rinpoche who immediately wrote it down, August 16th. 1998.
Translated and arranged by Jim Scott, October 2010, Warsaw, Poland.Translation copyright 2012, Jim Scott
THE MIRROR OF ESSENTIAL POINTS
A Letter in Praise of Emptiness From Ven Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje to his Mother
I pay homage at the lotus feet of Tenpai Nyima, Who is inseparable from Dharma-lord Longchen Rabjam and perceives the natural state of emptiness of the ocean-like infinity of things.
A letter of advice I offer to you, my noble mother Paldzom; Listen for a while without distraction.
Staying here without discomfort, I am at ease and free from worries In a state of joyful mind. Are you well yourself, my dear mother?
Here, in a country to the West, there are many red and white skinned people. They have all kinds of magic and sights, like flying through the skies and moving like fish in the waters. Having mastery over the four elements, they compete in displaying miracles with thousands of beautiful colours.
There is an endless amount of spectacles, like designs of rainbow colours, but like a mere dream, when examined, they are the mistaken perceptions of the mind.
All activities are like the games children play; if done, they can never be finished. They are only completed once you let be, like castles made of sand.
But this not the whole story; all the dharmas of Samsara and Nirvana, though thought to be permanent, they do not last. When examined, they are but empty forms, that appear without existence. Although unreal, they are thought to be real, and when examined, they are unreal like an illusion.
Look outward at the appearing objects, and like the water in a mirage, they are more delusive than delusion. Unreal like dreams and illusions, they resemble reflected moon and rainbows.
Look inward at your own mind! It seems quite exciting, when not examined. But when examined, there is nothing to it. Appearing without being, it is nothing but empty. It cannot be identified saying, "that's it!" But is evanescent and elusive like mist.
Look at whatever may appear In any of the ten directions. No matter how it may appear, the thing in itself, its very nature, is the sky- like nature of mind, beyond the projection and dissolution of thought and concept.
Everything has the nature of being empty. When the empty looks at the empty, who is there to look at something empty? What is the use of many classifications, such as 'being empty' and 'not empty' as it is illusion looking at illusion, and delusion watching delusion?
"The effortless and sky-like nature of the mind, the vast expanse of insight, Is the natural state of all things. In it, whatever you do is all right, however you rest, you are at ease." This was said by Jetsun Padmasambhava and the great siddha Saraha.
All the conceptual designs, such as "it's two!" or "it's not two!" Leave them like the waves on a river, to be spontaneously freed in themselves.
The great demon of ignorant and discursive thought causes one to sink in the ocean of samsara. But when freed from this discursive thought, there is the indescribable state, beyond conceptual mind.
Besides mere discursive thoughts, There is not even the words of 'samsara' and 'nirvana'. The total calming down of discursive thought Is the suchness of Dharmadhatu.
Not made complex by complex statements, this unfabricated single bindu is emptiness, the natural state of mind. So it was said by the Sugata.
The essence of whatever may appear, when simply left to itself, Is the unfabricated and uncorrupted view, the Dharmakaya, emptiness mother.
All discursive thought is emptiness, And the seer of the emptiness is discursive thought. Emptiness does not destroy discursive thought, And discursive thought does not block emptiness.
The fourfold emptiness of the mind itself Is the ultimate of everything. Profound and tranquil,free from complexity, uncompounded luminous clarity, beyond the mind of conceptual ideas: This is the depth of the mind of the Victorious Ones.
In this there is not a thing to be removed, nor anything that needs to be added. It is merely the immaculate looking naturally at itself.
In short, when the mind has fully severed the fetters of clinging to something, All the points are condensed therein. This is the tradition of the supreme being Tilopa And of the great pandita Naropa.
Such a profound natural state as this, Is among all the kinds of bliss, the wisdom of great bliss. Among all kinds of delight it is the king of supreme delight. It is the supreme fourth empowerment of all the tantric sections of the secret mantras. It is the ultimate pointing out instruction.
The view of 'Samsara and Nirvana Inseparable', and that of Mahamudra, of Dzogchen, the Middle Way and others, have many various titles but only one essential meaning. This is the view of Lama Mipham.
As an aid to this king of views one should begin with Bodhicitta, and conclude with dedication.
In order to cut off through skilful means the fixation on an ego, the root of Samsara, the king of all great methods is the unsurpassable Bodhicitta.
The king of perfect dedication Is the means for increasing the roots of virtue. This is the special teaching of Shakyamuni which is not found with other teachers.
To accomplish complete enlightenment more than this is not necessary but less than this will be incomplete. This swift path of the three excellences, called the heart, eye and lifeforce, is the approach of Longchen Rabjam.
Emptiness, the wish- fulfilling jewel, Is unattached generosity. It is uncorrupted discipline. It is angerless patience. It is undeluded exertion. It is undistracted meditation. It is the essence of prajna. It is the meaning in the three yanas.
Emptiness is the natural state of mind. Emptiness is the non-conceptual refuge. Emptiness is the Absolute Bodhicitta. Emptiness is the Vajrasattva of absolving evils. Emptiness is the Mandala of perfect accumulations. Emptiness is the Guru Yoga of Dharmakaya.
To abide in the natural state of emptiness Is the 'calm abiding' of shamatha, And to perceive it vividly clear is the 'clear seeing' of vipasyana.
The view of the perfect Development Stage, The wisdom of bliss and emptiness in the Completion Stage, The non-dual Great Perfection, And the single bindu of Dharmakaya, all these are included within it.
Emptiness purifies the karmas. Emptiness dispels the obstructing forces. Emptiness tames the demons. Emptiness accomplishes the deities.
The profound state of emptiness dries up the ocean of passion. It crumples the mountain of anger. It illuminates the darkness of stupidity. It calms down the gale of jealousy. It defeats the illness of the kleshas. It is a friend in sorrow. It destroys conceit in joy. It conquers in the battle with Samsara. It annihilates the four Maras. It turns the eight worldly dharmas into same taste. It subdues the demon of ego- fixation. It turns negative conditions into aids. It turns bad omens into good luck. It causes to manifest complete enlightenment. It gives birth to the Buddhas of the three times. Emptiness is the Dharmakaya mother.
There is no teaching higher than emptiness. There is no teaching swifter than emptiness. There is no teaching more excellent than emptiness. There is no teaching more profound than emptiness.
Emptiness is the 'knowing of one that frees all.' Emptiness is the supreme king of medicines. Emptiness is the nectar of immortality. Emptiness is spontaneous accomplishment beyond effort. Emptiness is enlightenment without exertion.
By meditating emptiness One feels tremendous compassion towards the beings obscured, like ourselves,by the belief in a self, and Bodhicitta arises without effort.
All qualities of the path and bhumis will appear naturally without any effort, and one will feel a heartfelt conviction regarding the law of the infallible effect of actions.
If one has but one moment of certainty In this kind of emptiness, the tight chain of ego-clinging will shatter into pieces. This was said by Aryadeva.
More supreme than offering to the Sugatas and their sons all the infinite Buddha fields filled with the offering of gods and men; Is to meditate on emptiness.
If the merit of resting evenly just for an instant in this natural state would take on concrete form, space could not contain it.
The peerless Lord of the sages, Sakyamuni, for the sake of this profound emptiness, threw his body into pyres of fire, gave away his head and limbs, and performed hundreds of other austerities.
Although you fill the world with huge mounds of presents of gold and jewels, this profound teaching on emptiness, even when searched for, is hard to find. This is said in the Hundred Thousand Verses of Prajna Paramita.
To meet this supreme teaching Is the splendid power of merit of many aeons beyond count.
In short, by means of emptiness, one is, for the benefit of oneself, liberated into the expanse of the unborn Dharmakaya, the manifest complete enlightenment of the four Kayas and the five Wisdoms. The unobstructed display of the Rupakaya will then ceaseslessly arise to teach whoever is in need, by stirring the depths of Samsara for the benefit of others through constant, all- pervading spontaneous activity. In all the Sutras and Tantras this is said to be the ultimate fruition.
How can someone like me put into words All the benefits and virtues hereof, when the Victorious One with his vajra tongue cannot exhaust them, even if he speaks for an aeon?
The glorious Lord, the supreme teacher, who gives the teachings on emptiness, appears in the form of a human being, but his mind is truly a Buddha.
Without deceit and hypocrisy supplicate him from your very heart, And without needing any other expedient, you will attain enlightenment in this very life. This is the manner of the All- Embodying Jewel which is taught in the Tantras of the Great Perfection. When you have this jewel in the palm of your hand, do not let it meaninglessly go to waste.
Learning, like the stars in the sky, will never come to an end through studies. What is the use of all the various kinds of the many teachings requested and received? What is the use of any practice which is higher than emptiness?
Do not aim at having many ascetic costumes, such as carrying a staff and wearing braids and animal skins. Leaving the elephant back in your house, do not go searching for its footprints in the mountains.
Mother, meditate the essence of the mind, as it is taught by the guru, the Vajra Holder, and you will have the essence of the essence of all the eighty- four thousand teachings. It is the heart nectar of a billion Learned and accomplished ones. It is the ultimate practice.
This advice from the core of the heart of the fallen monk Jamyang Dorje, is the purest of the pure essence from the bindu of my life blood. Therefore keep it in your heart, mother. These few words of heart advice were written in a beautiful countryside, the city of the spacious blue sky, rivaling the splendour of divine realms.
To the devoted Chokyi Nodzom, my dear and loving mother, and to my own devoted students, I offer this letter of advice.
This letter to my students was composed by one who goes by the name 'Khenpo', the Tibetan Jamyang Dorje, in the Dordogne Herbal Valley of Great Bliss, in the country of France beyond the great ocean in the western direction.
May virtue and auspiciousness ensue!
"The whole aim of the Buddhist teaching is to develop the reflective mind in order to let go of delusions" (Ajahn Sumedho)
"Be islands unto yourselves; be refuges unto yourselves; hold fast to the Dhamma as an island; hold fast to the Dhamma as a refuge; seek not for refuge in anyone except yourselves" (Parinibbana Sutta - last discourse of the Buddha)
"It's easier to put on a pair of shoes than to wrap the earth in leather" (Chögyam Trungpa)
"I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go" (Sheng Yen)
"The true expression of the Noble Eightfold Path is to see the world as it is (wisdom), to behave in keeping with the actual situation at all times (morality) and to be at one with what we are doing right now (meditation)" (Dr Desmond Biddulph-The Buddhist Society)
"I attain all my knowledge through observing the mind within... Thus all my thoughts become the teaching of the Dharma, and apparent phenomena are all the books one needs" (Milarepa)
"Do no harm, act for the good, purify your mind" (Dhammapada)
"Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has yet to come. Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom. We must be diligent today. To wait till tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly." (Majjhima Nikaya, 131)
"Accept only that which appeals to your heart as Truth. Let the rest pass you by, for the time being. For to each comes his own. And no-one can gain his own until he's prepared for it." (Upanishads)
_“Of course, even when you see the world as a trap and posit a fundamental separation between liberation of self and transformation of society, you can still feel a compassionate impulse to help its suffering beings. In that case you tend to view the personal and the political in a sequential fashion. "I'll get enlightened first, and then I'll engage in social action." Those who are not engaged in spiritual pursuits put it differently: "I'll get my head straight first, I'll get psychoanalyzed, I'll overcome my inhibitions or neuroses or my hang-ups (whatever description you give to samsara) and then I'll wade into the fray." Presupposing that world and self are essentially separate, they imagine they can heal one before healing the other. This stance conveys the impression that human consciousness inhabits some haven, or locker-room, independent of the collective situation -- and then trots onto the playing field when it is geared up and ready.
It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up -- release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast, true nature. For some of us, our love of the world is so passionate that we cannot ask it to wait until we are enlightened.” _
― Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self
Impeccability begins with a single act that has to be
deliberate, precise and sustained. If that act is repeated long
enough, one acquires a sense of unbending intent which can be
applied to anything else. If that is accomplished the road is
clear. One thing will lead to another until the warrior realizes
his full potential.
Don Juan
THE MIRROR OF ESSENTIAL POINTS and Suddenly Remembering Dzogchen
appeared in Jackson Peterson's facebook page about Dzogchen. As they are posted on facebook so they are public domain.
Good. Still needs referencing, whatever and wherever it is.
No prob
https://www.facebook.com/groups/137617126381879/466769336799988/?notif_t=group_activity
Sadly that's unacceptable. It takes to a Fb page that is a 'closed group'. Nobody can access the page for other additional reference or insight.
I'll let this stand as is, @Jeffrey but you know that this has been a long-standing 'rule' with regard to linking to references...
Sorry about that @Federica. I didn't realize it was closed. I'll not post from them again unless I can google up a reference to the same teaching or saying. Feel free to take down the posts already given by me.
But just for people interested in Dzogchen I recommend trying to join Jackson's FB page. It is very informative and active. Jackson Peterson.
I wouldn't dream of doing any such thing. Though I appreciate your offer, which is evidence of your compliance re: authenticity and due credit. As I said, no problem in this instance, but good that you appreciate the intention behind the request.
When engaging in meditation practice, we should feel it to be as natural as eating, breathing and defecating. It should not become a specialised or formal event, bloated with seriousness and solemnity. We should realise that meditation transcends effort, practice, aims, goals and the duality of liberation and non-liberation. Meditation is always ideal; there is no need to correct anything. Since everything that arises is simply the play of mind as such, there is no unsatisfactory meditation and no need to judge thoughts as good or bad.
Therefore we should simply sit. Simply stay in your own place, in your own condition just as it is. Forgetting self-conscious feelings, we do not have to think "I am meditating." Our practice should be without effort, without strain, without attempts to control or force and without trying to become "peaceful."
http://www.nyingma.com/dzogchen1.htm
Jeffery for moderator!
"... stop praying for relief."
-- Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui [1089-1163]; Tr. Cleary ... can't give the precise page but the words occurred in a letter to one of his students.
I have long loved this snippet, of which I still have a copy I typed out over 40 years ago:
`From the ZENRIN KUSHU
Nothing whatever is hidden;
From of old all is clear as daylight.
The old pine tree speaks divine wisdom;
The secret bird manifests eternal truth.
There is no place to seek the mind;
It is like the footprints of the birds in the sky...
SITTING QUIETLY, DOING NOTHING,
SPRING COMES, AND THE GRASS GROWS BY ITSELF.
The water before and the water after
Now and forever flowing, follow each other.
One word determines the whole world;
One sword pacifies the heavens and the whole earth.
If you do not get it from yourself,
Where will you go for it?
If you wish to know the road up the mountain,
You must ask (the man who goes) back and forth on it.
Falling mist flies together with the wild ducks;
The waters of autumn are of one color with the sky.
If you don't believe, just look at September look at October!
“The yellow leaves are falling — falling to fill both mountain and river.”
The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection;
The water has no mind to receive their image.
Scoop up the water, and the moon is in your hands;
Hold the flowers and your clothes are scented with them.
Mountains and rivers, the whole earth,
All manifest forth the essence of being.
The voice of the mountain torrent is from one great Tongue;
The lines of the hills —are they not the pure body of Buddha?
In the vast emptiness, there is no back or front;
The path of the bird annihilates East and West.
From of old, there were not two paths;
“Those who have arrived” all walked the same road.
Day after day, the sun rises in the east;
Day after day it sets in the west —
Ever onwards to where the waters have an end;
Waiting motionless for when the white clouds shall arise.
Wind subsiding, the flowers still fall;
Birds crying, the mountain silence deepens.
Heat does not wait for the sun, to be hot,
Nor wind the moon, to be cool.
Taking up one blade of grass,
Use it as a sixteen-foot golden Buddha.
If you do not kill him,
You'll be killed by him!
To be conscious of the original mind, the original nature —
Just this is the great disease of Zen!
Like a sword that cuts, but cannot cut itself;
Like an eye that sees, but cannot see itself:
Perceiving the sun in the midst of the rain,
Ladling out clear water from the depths of the fire,
Ride your horse along the edge of a sword.
Hide yourself in the middle of the flames!
You cannot get it by taking thought;
You cannot seek it by not taking thought.
It is like a tiger, but with many horns;
Like a cow, but it has no tail.
Draw water, and you think the mountains are moving;
Raise the sail, and you think the cliffs are on the run.
The blue hills are of themselves blue hills;
The white clouds are of themselves white clouds.
In the landscape of spring there is neither high nor low —
The flowering branches grow naturally, some long, some short.
Alive I will not receive the heavenly halls;
Dead, I fear no hell.
He holds the handle of the hoe, but his hands are empty;
He rides astride the water-buffalo, but he is walking.
Entering the forest he moves not the grass;
Entering the water he makes not a ripple.
If you meet an enlightened man in the street,
Do not greet him with words, nor with silence.
Meeting, they laugh and laugh —
The forest grove, the many fallen leaves!
We sleep with both legs outstretched,
Free of the True — free of the False.
For long years a bird in a cage,
Today, flying along with the clouds!
An anthology of Chinese wisdom, from Chʾan, Confucian, and Taoist sources, compiled by Ijūshi, 1688. ...
“I considered: ‘I recall that when my father the Sakyan was occupied, while I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose apple tree, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered upon and abided in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. Could that be the path to enlightenment?’ Then, following on that memory, came the realization: ‘That is the path to enlightenment.’
(Majjhima Nikaya, sutta 36)
http://www.mro.org/mr/archive/25-4/articles/Mahasaccaka_Sutta.html
From MN1, The Root Sequence:
"The Tathagata — a worthy one, rightly self-awakened — directly knows earth as earth. Directly knowing earth as earth, he does not conceive things about earth, does not conceive things in earth, does not conceive things coming out of earth, does not conceive earth as 'mine,' does not delight in earth. Why is that? Because the Tathagata has comprehended it to the end, I tell you."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.001.than.html