Although we all have a fundamentally pure nature, it is not easy to get in touch with it. The gross way our mind originally functions drowns out this deeper, more subtle vibration to such an extent that we generally remain unaware of its existence. If we truly want to connect with this subtle essence, we need to quiet all distractions and loosen the hold our ordinary appearances and conceptions have on us.
~ Lama Thubten Yeshe, Introduction to Tantra
Don’t look for it outside yourself.
You are the source of milk. Don’t milk others!
There is a milk fountain inside you.
Don’t walk around with an empty bucket.
You have a channel into the ocean, and yet
You ask for water from a little pool.
Beg for that love expansion. Meditate only
on THAT. The Qur’an says,
And He is with you. ~ Rumi
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As I read these words…I felt they were saying look at the gifts/strength/blessings (whatever you would like to call it) within yourself. For me, I look inward for the Buddha nature. The answers of why this or that is always within. May your day be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. ~ Debra
Merely understanding the mind is not good enough. Recognizing it as the source of happiness and suffering is good, but great results come only from looking inward and meditating on the nature of the mind. Once you recognize its nature, then you need to meditate with joyful effort. Joyful meditation will actualize the true nature of the mind, and maintaining the mind in this natural state will bring enlightenment. This type of meditation reveals the innermost, profound wisdom that is inherent in the mind.
Meditation can transform your body into wisdom light, into what is known as the rainbow body of wisdom. Many masters in the history of the Nyingma lineage have achieved this, as can anyone who practices these methods of meditation. The wisdom aspect of our nature exists at all times in each of us. You have always had this nature and it can be revealed through meditation. When you maintain the mind in its natural state, wonderful qualities shine out like light from the sun. Among these qualities are limitless compassion, limitless loving-kindness, and limitless wisdom. ~ by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, published by Snow Lion Publications
Image via Wikipedia ~ Nagarjuna
By this merit may we obtain omniscience
Having defeated all the enemies of wrong-doing
May we liberate migratory beings suffering in the ocean of existence
From its stormy waves of birth, old-age, sickness and death.
~ Nagarjuna’s dedication of merit
I have to admit I initially was having difficulty resonating with the book but about halfway it started to click and after re-reading it, I really appreciate what he wrote much more. The book offers a challenge to our normal habits, traditions, view of self and practice. It allows us to truly discover the ‘why’ of Buddhism.
What frees us from being stuck? What cuts through our psychological blockages? We need the courage of our rebel buddha heart to leap beyond forms, to go deeper into our practice and find a way to trust ourselves. We must become our own guide.
The book has a wonderful appendix with an incredible explanation of meditation. He describes mindfulness and analytical meditation practices and how to work with problems during the session. He ends with some great poems like the following:
You are so creative
And your tricks are so original
Look at your magic
So deceptive, real, and endlessYou are a great storyteller
So dramatic, colorful, and emotional
I love your stories
But do you realize that you’re telling them over and over and over?You are such a dreamer
And you’re tirelessly so passionate
For your dream characters and the world
But do you see that you’re just dreamingYou are so familiar
Yet no one knows who you really are
Are you not called “thoughts” by some?
Are you really there-or simply my delusionAre you not taught to be the true wisdom mind?
What a beautiful world this could be
If only I could see through this mind.Well, it doesn’t really matter
Because I don’t exist without you!
“Who am I?” is perhaps the right question
After all, I’m just one of your many manifestations!
review by Digging the Dharma (Philip)
A Buddhist's Journey 