inner knowledge
When we say yes, but in fact, we really mean no, when we do things that we really do not want or simply follow what others have done, we are being co-dependent and not patient or generous! A co-dependent attitude may seem positive at first, but actually, it is generating low self-esteem and lack of confidence.
The potential risk of the self-spirituality approach can be that nowadays the spiritual market is so rich that many seekers can get lost on the path, never reaching the genuine spiritual realization which could be marked with a bigger sense of inner freedom, a sense of inter-connectedness and compassion and a strong sense of personal integrity. Psychological immaturity involves many risks.
He is not a man one can ignore: beautiful with a face like Padmasambhava, a fine little mustache and eyes rolling like a half-wrathful half-passionate god, look into endless inner skies. When he sits on the vajra throne most people feel as if a buddha is sitting in their presence. His serenity and authority are complete.
Sympathetic joy holds compassion back from becoming overwhelmed by the sight of suffering. It soothes the painful burning of the compassionate heart and keeps us free from melancholic brooding and from a futile sentimentality that weakens and consumes our strength.
I’ve heard it said that when we see, we should just see, and not color what we see with hopes, dreams, aversions, fears, doubts or dichotomizations, and when we hear we should just hear. And by doing that, we free ourselves from our suffering because in those moments there is no self intervening in the process.
An authentic way to combine mindfulness and methods to transform our stream of thinking into being the dance of the awakened state, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche taught me the Tibetan way of mindfulness.
The whole meditation set-up is built on unfounded assumptions, but hey, so is everything else, nothing new there. Here is the difference: In the meditation state you can find out, what is real and not, because you are not occupied with something else.
With a mind completely fixated on hurrying to meet my friend until I was stopped by a relatively loud shout: “Mikk!” Turning around I was a little confused. Where did this come from? Who called me?
Let’s hold hands together, let’s practice together so that for the sake of our children and the earth, we can go back to being real ordinary human beings again. Through our practice, and our connection to each other and to all things, let’s put the humane back into being human.
True practice involves changing thick habits of body, speech and mind. Sounds simple when you say it. It even sounds romantic and heroic: I will transform my thoughts, words and deeds to become enlightened for the benefit of all sentient beings. A hardcore dharma practitioner soon realizes that this particular resolve is hard.
Conditions can never cause anything to happen because they are neither an agent nor have agency. Perhaps this surprises you. But think about all the things you thought were going to happen in your life that didn’t, and all the things that did that you never saw coming!
As human beings, we are subject to continuous change throughout life. Taoists speak of ten thousand sorrows and ten thousand joys. The joy turns into sorrow. Sorrow turns into joy. There is no exception. Equanimity is a liberating quality that gives us an open, equitable, peaceful and stable heart towards the vicissitudes of life.
An interview with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche from 1985, about the nature of Dzogchen and recognizing the naked state of knowing. When asked, his reply was, “What is the use of the tiny light of a firefly when the sun has already risen in the sky?” referring to Trungpa Rinpoche’s presence in the West.
We are not only fed a multitude of reasons as to why we need to be fearful but because we believe that what we think we know and what we perceive with our senses is true and real we become entangled. The whole spiral of delusory perceptions spins around relentlessly due to the momentum of these inherently faulty beliefs.
How authentically human am I? What is the best way to be and live life to its fullest? Are there a few points to check if I am right or wrong in a situation? Whether politician or carpenter, single or in a family. Everyone needs a spiritual guideline and a code to live by. Here is one with four straightforward and deep words.
A minor influence outside of your psyche, has eaten away slowly your patience and compassion until it has succeeded in boring a hole right through your previously harmonious state of mind. Your weakened mental structural integrity is being eaten by your newly acquired psychologically triggered chemical imbalances. Physical problems arise from the chemical problems. Your stomach may hurt, your head may ache, and your happiness is in pain.
The reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of the most revered Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century. He is known as the Yangsi, “the one who has come again into existence.”
Nyoshul Khenpo’s message was to set mind free through being awareness, mindful of whatever happens and not caught up in anything. In this way, the techniques taught in mindfulness on being attentive of body, sensations, mind and reality, become the setting for being free, placing yourself at the mercy of what simply is.
The starting point is that I want to be better at being myself, the more free and easy me. Freedom is possible, but what happens down the line may be something else entirely and therefore we need to go about it the right way.
An investigation of the true nature of reality.
Is it possible for our thoughts to know it?
Once we separated from our essential nature and created an observer in here, and an observed world out there, we inadvertently created a psychological abyss. Samsara or collective neurosis, is both a symptom of our disconnection from our primordial nature, as well as our confused to search to recover it in all the wrong places.