“The cause of all these sufferings is our fundamental insecurity. We are always wondering whether we exist or not. Our ego, or rather our attachment to the idea of self, is completely insecure about its own existence. Our ego may seem strong but it is actually quite shaky. Of course, we do not ask such... Continue Reading →
Nothing that passes through your mind, not even your mind itself, will stay as it is forever. Things might last for the duration of your experience of this existence, or even into the next generation; but then again, they may dissolve sooner than you expect. Either way, eventual change is inevitable. There is no degree... Continue Reading →
Some of us imagine there will come a point when we can give up our samsaric activities and worldly duties completely and devote our time to the Dharma, but Jigme Lingpa pointed out that such a time will never come. It’s not that you must cease all worldly activity and only practice the Dharma but... Continue Reading →
Our true nature is like a wineglass, and our defilements and obscurations are like dirt and fingerprints. When we buy the glass, it has no inherently existing fingerprints. When it becomes soiled, the habitual mind thinks the glass is dirty, not that the glass has dirt. Its nature is not dirty, it’s a glass with... Continue Reading →
Although we use words such as achieving, wishing, and praying for enlightenment, ultimately we don’t acquire enlightenment from an external source. A more correct way to put it is discovering the enlightenment that has always been there.Enlightenment is part of our true nature. Our true nature is like a golden statue; however, it is still... Continue Reading →
Buddha saw the same old age and sickness and death that we see, but he was driven to find the root causesHis realization that all compounded things are impermanent was his ultimate triumph.Instead of flaunting victory over some externally existing enemy, he found that the real enemy is our clinging to the self; and defeating... Continue Reading →
Maybe we also think that some day we will have gained perfect maturity from the lessons of our lives. We expect to be wise old sages like Yoda, not realizing that maturity is just another aspect of decay.Subconsciously we are lured by the expectation that we will reach a stage where we don’t have to... Continue Reading →
We tend only to believe what we can see, and what we see is always filtered by our personal perception. Take the example of a man who is already extremely paranoid about imaginary problems and firmly believes he has ghostly tenants living in his cupboard. To tell such a person that the ghosts are a... Continue Reading →
“THE INNER BUDDHA as Jigme Lingpa said, the moon has all the qualities necessary for its reflection to appear on the surface of a clear lake. If the moon did not have a shape or substance, and if it didn’t reflect the light of the sun, it would not be possible for it to appear... Continue Reading →
Maybe we also think that some day we will have gained perfect maturity from the lessons of our lives. We expect to be wise old sages like Yoda, not realizing that maturity is just another aspect of decay.Subconsciously we are lured by the expectation that we will reach a stage where we don’t have to... Continue Reading →
The aim of far too many teachings these days is to make people “feel good,” and even some Buddhist masters are beginning to sound like New Age apostles. Their talks are entirely devoted to validating the manifestation of ego and endorsing the “rightness” of our feelings, neither of which have anything to do with the... Continue Reading →
Most of the time we are trying to make the good things last, or we are thinking about replacing them with something even better in the future, or we are sunk in the past, reminiscing about happier times. Ironically, we never truly appreciated the experience for which we are nostalgic because we were too busy... Continue Reading →
The Buddhist practice of nonviolence is not merely submissiveness with a smile or meek thoughtfulness. The fundamental cause of violence is when one is fixated on an extreme idea, such as justice or morality. This fixation usually stems from a habit of buying into dualistic views, such as bad and good, ugly and beautiful, moral... Continue Reading →
Millions of people in this world are interested in some version of meditation, or yoga, or one of the many so-called spiritual activities that are now so widely marketed.A closer look at why people engage in these practices reveals an aim that has little to do with liberation from delusion, and everything do to with... Continue Reading →
Millions of people in this world are interested in some version of meditation, or yoga, or one of the many so-called spiritual activities that are now so widely marketed.A closer look at why people engage in these practices reveals an aim that has little to do with liberation from delusion, and everything do to with... Continue Reading →
