(http://www.garchen.net/gar-quotes-archive.html)
May 25, 2011
The Om Ah Hung Vajra Recitation, Part 2:
Sometimes people ask, "Are we 'one' or 'the same'?" Well, we are
neither. Is there "one" space, or are different spaces "the same"?
Space is neither "one" nor "the same," and so is the nature of
mind. Trying to figure it out by labeling it "one" or "the same" is
just another mental fixation. Likewise, there are neither one nor
many Buddhas. You can't say there is only one, as there are
limitless Buddhas, yet you can't say there are many, as their
essence is a single ground--emptiness and compassion abiding like
space. Thus, do not grasp at singularity or multiplicity. Whatever
appear are empty of self nature, like a rainbow in the sky. They
lack inherent existence, as they are compounds and thus
impermanent. The nature of mind of all beings always remains like
space; it is uncompounded. While their bodies appear diversely, the
mind of all beings has the same essence.
There is only one such thing called "mind," just as there is
only one such thing called "water," although water manifests in
different ways--as oceans, rivers, rain, drops, etc. If everyone
were to practice OM AH HUNG, their mindfulness would have the same
essence without the slightest difference in quality or size.
May 13, 2011
The Om Ah Hung Vajra Recitation, Part 1:
What do the Om, Ah, and Hung syllables represent? Om represents
the vajra of form, the union of appearance and emptiness. Ah
represents the vajra of speech, the union of sound and emptiness.
Hung represents the vajra of mind, the union of clear awareness and
emptiness. These are called "the three secrets." When there is no
grasping to perceived form, this is the union of appearance and
emptiness. Forms continue to appear and are seen, yet there is no
grasping at their reality. When there is no grasping at perceived
sounds, this is the union of sound and emptiness. Sounds continue
to be heard, yet there is no grasping at their reality. If the mind
neither grasps at sights nor sounds, it will naturally rest within
the union of awareness and emptiness and thus will not grasp at
mental arisings either. The three vajras are contained within the
vajra of the mind. Thus the Om, Ah, and Hung syllables mark the
forehead, throat, and heart of all deities-—while deities appear in
myriad forms, the essence of their body, speech, and mind is the
same.
May 4, 2011
Excerpted from Rinpoche's teachings in Virginia in April
2011.
How has samsara arisen? The illusory self clings to its own
happiness. Ordinary beings are only concerned about their worldly
affairs. In order to overcome this attachment we must first
recognize the suffering nature of samsara. For this reason, the
Buddha first taught, "Recognize suffering and then abandon the
origin of suffering." Even though we experience all sorts of
pleasures as human beings, this samsaric happiness is like eating a
delicious meal mixed with poison. Having recognized suffering we
will yearn to become free from it. How do we do that? We practice
the Dharma and liberate our mind from the causes of suffering. This
is difficult because we are attached to worldly life; we think that
one day it is going to make us happy. If this would be ultimately
true, then there would be nothing wrong with being attached, but
unfortunately clinging attachment can only lead to suffering.
When we pass from this life, we will not be able to bring with
us even the slightest thing or person, no matter how much we want
to. There is no other way than to leave this guest-house of the
body. The only things that will follow us are the karmic traces
stored within our mind-continuum. For this reason it is so
important to recognize suffering and eliminate its causes before it
is too late.
May 1, 2011
Excerpted from Rinpoche's teachings on Dream Yoga in Virginia in
April 2011:
Eat little food in the evening, and contemplate death and
impermanence before you go to sleep. The dreams of an ordinary
person are the manifestations of virtuous and non-virtuous imprints
laid down within the mind. When the wind energies enter the impure
channels of afflictions, we experience a nightmare. Nightmares are
the self-light of negative emotions. Positive dreams are awakening
of virtuous thoughts. In order to recognize the dream state you
must first gain stability of awareness during the day. First you
must be able to overcome all thoughts and emotions of the daytime;
then eventually you will be able to recognize them when you dream.
In the beginning you will be able to recognize coarse thoughts such
as fear during the dream state, and later on also the thoughts in
more subtle dreams. Through this, as ignorance diminishes, your
sleep will at first become lighter.
Ordinary sleep is a state of deep ignorance; it is an
affliction. Thus instead of asking, "Did you sleep well last
night?" you should ask, "How much time did you waste sleeping last
night?" Of course we must sleep enough to maintain a healthy body,
but there should certainly be a limit. I suggest no more than five
to six hours a night, since you all have to work. Try to fall
asleep with great clarity, and eventually through habituation you
will never fall into a state of ignorance, but rather will sustain
clear awareness.
April 28, 2011
Excerpted from Rinpoche's teachings on the Six Bardos in
Virginia, April 27, 2011:
An ordinary person believes in the appearing world as real and
the dream state as unreal, whereas the buddhas have seen this world
to be illusory just like a dream. The Buddhas say that in the Bardo
after death we will perceive delusive manifestations, that the
three lower realms are an illusion, and so forth. So then one might
think, "If it is just like an unreal dream, then it can't be that
bad." That is a quite mistaken understanding. Although illusory by
nature, a dream will be experienced as a reality for as long as the
dream lasts. This lifetime is like a dream, but until the karma of
this life comes to an end, we will perceive this lifetime as real;
we will not awaken from the dream of this life. For instance, if
you have a nightmare, you will experience it as a reality for as
long as you dream; you will not just wake up at will. When we die
we awaken from the dream of this life, and this life becomes a
fading memory.
None of it is left behind, and soon we find ourselves grasping
at a new reality, the bardo state. If you understand this life to
be like a dream, you will understand that everything within it--
happiness, wealth, and pleasure, pain, and suffering--is
impermanent and will not last. You will thus not be so overwhelmed
by different circumstances. You will stay focused and not be
carried away by indulgence in pleasure, and you will not be much
affected by difficult circumstances.
Our life is like an oil lamp. The oil is the karma and the fire
is this life. As long as there is oil, there is fire. Our life
lasts until the karma for this life comes to an end. Then we will
move on, controlled by the karmic imprints stored in our mind
continuum.
April 24, 2011
One day each of us will die; there is no one in this world who
does not have to die. There is no benefit in being attached to this
lifetime, because it will be left behind. As it is said in "The
Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices," "Consciousness, the guest,
will cast aside the guest-house of the body." So we can ask
ourselves, "Does it really not matter whether I am prepared for
death, or does it matter somewhat? Why would I want to receive
Phowa instructions?" If you receive Phowa instructions you receive
a method to attain freedom. The body has nine openings through
which the consciousness can leave after death. Only one of them
leads to freedom--the opening at the crown. When we receive Phowa
instructions we learn how to transfer our consciousness through the
crown.
If we do not know this, we will be tossed around by afflictions
such as hatred, desire, ignorance, jealousy, etc., and thus we will
lack independence, we will be overpowered by the afflictions. Being
controlled by the afflictions will cause the consciousness to leave
through one of the eight impure openings of the body, which will
lead to birth in samsaric existence. The Buddha said, "Independence
is happiness; dependency is suffering."
April 20, 2011
It is said, "If you would like to know what you did in past
lives, look at your present body," and "if you would like to know
where you will go next, look at your present actions."
If you give rise to jealousy and hatred due to self-grasping,
you will be a samsaric sentient being wandering down to the hell
realm, hungry spirit realm, or animal realm. Where you go is up to
you. It is your choice. It is up to you whether you will go up into
the pure lands of the buddhas or down into samsaric states. When
your own mind is purified, you will become a buddha. If you do not
purify your mind, you will be a sentient being. Where you go will
be determined by your present actions. In "The Thirty-Seven
Bodhisattva Practices" it is said, "The Subduer said that all the
unbearable suffering of the three lower realms is the fruition of
wrongdoing. Therefore, never committing negative deeds, even at
peril to one's life, is the Bodhisattvas' practice."
April 18, 2011
Excerpted from Rinpoche's teachings on the Samantabhadra Prayer,
commentary on the verse of ignorance.
There are many thoughts of ignorance such as dullness,
fogginess, discouragement, laziness, depression, or irritation
without reason. In particular, if we are lazy we will not
accomplish anything, neither in a worldly sense nor in dharma. The
supreme antidote is mindful awareness, it will overcome all
negativities. These thoughts are fleeting, they will not last, they
come and go. Awareness always remains and recognizes them. If you
maintain mindfulness you will know with certainty what to do and
what not to do. Thus clear awareness is most important, it is your
inner buddha. This awareness cannot be seen, it is empty, and yet
it has great vividness. It doesn't come or go, it always is as it
is, like space.
Remain free from distraction then nothing will obscure this
awareness, thoughts have no essence as they will not last. They
come and go like waves on water.
April 11, 2011
To me in this world there are only two types of beings: my
benefactors of love and my benefactors of patience. The majority
are my benefactors of love; they are very kind and help me. Some
try to cause harm and create obstacles; these are my benefactors of
patience. The kindness of each benefactor is equal, and thus my
love for them is equal. Maybe my benefactors of patience are even
more kind to me, as they allow me to practice the perfection of
patience. I am thus very grateful to all those who do not like me
and make me tame my anger. At the same time I feel great compassion
for their sorrow, but as they allow me to practice patience and my
anger and jealousy to gradually diminish, they are my teachers.
Thus, in the end, when I attain enlightenment and all my anger and
jealousy are no more, it is due to their kindness. For this reason
I love them greatly.
April 6, 2011
In prison Khenpo Münsel Rinpoche taught me this: "The extent of
your realization will be known when you encounter difficult
circumstances. You will not know the extent of your realization
when things go well." When you find yourself in a troublesome
situation, when you are in great pain, when an intense emotion
arises, only then will you know where you are at with practice. He
added: "Adverse circumstances will reveal your hidden faults." If
you are able to hold awareness unwaveringly during such a time, and
thus if you are not carried away by the force of the emotion, it is
a sign that you have gained experience in practice.
If you were to practice mindful awareness with great diligence
for just a month, if you were to recognize even the slightest
thought and not allow your mind to wander off into delusion for
that time, even in such a short time you would witness great
changes. Fierce afflictions would not faze you so much any more,
because you would have gained personal experience in observing the
illusory play. There is in fact just one remedy necessary--mindful
awareness. It is the single sufficient remedy that transforms
difficulties inside and out.
Monday, Mar 28, 2011
Jealousy and pride can be tricky and are difficult to recognize;
they sometimes manifest as a subtle feeling of dislike. For
instance, when someone tells you how great you are, you feel good
about it. But then the person continues, "You are great, but he is
still better." Then a feeling of discomfort arises. When others are
praised, we do not like to hear about it. When these subtle
thoughts of jealousy and pride remain unrecognized, they grow into
overwhelming emotions that cling to one's own happiness and to
hostility toward others. The root of all this is the grasping at a
self. Because we strongly believe in this self, we feel alarmed by
everything that threatens it. When others criticize us, we get
angry.
In fact, when others blame you, they cannot add a fault to you
that you do not possess. When others praise you, you are not
becoming a greater person because of that. Whatever others say
about you does not affect your faults and qualities. Only you can
see whether you have this fault or not. If you do not have the
fault for which you have been accused, there is no need to be
upset, since criticism does not make you have the fault. If you do
have that fault for which you have been accused, then the person
pointing it out to you becomes your kind teacher helping you to
improve. Dzogchen Patrül Rinpoche said, "Never look at your own
qualities, but never look at others' faults. Always look at your
own faults, but never look at others' faults."
It is important to recognize each and every subtle arising of
jealousy and pride. This requires a great deal of diligence in
mindfulness, as these emotions in particular are very difficult to
identify. Whenever such a thought arises you must apply a method to
abandon it. Ideally you eliminate it through recognition: if you
have trained your mind in mindful awareness you will see the
thought the moment it arises and recognize its empty nature. If you
recognize this, this thought is rendered powerless. It will not
affect you in one or the other way. If your mindfulness is not yet
strong enough you can apply the bodhisattva approach, considering
that the other person is your mother, your best friend, your child,
and therefore give rise to love and compassion for them.
And if this is too difficult in a certain circumstance, you can
apply the pratimoksha approach, and that is to contemplate the
faults of this emotion, understanding that as a result of acting on
such an emotion you will fall into the lower realms. You should
apply one of these three approaches according to your mental
capacity in the moment of affliction. You have to practice
according to your capacity, just like a child must wear children's
clothes and an adult wears adult's clothes. A child in an adult's
cloak would be troubled. In brief, Lord Buddha summarized,
"Perfectly tame your own mind; this is the Buddha's teaching."
Thursday, Mar 24, 2011
A spontaneous inspiration given by H.E. Garchen Rinpoche in Los
Angeles on March 21, 2011
There are two major systems in this world, the mundane and
spiritual. These two systems are like two eyes, thus it is
important to know them both. It is important to know the essence of
these systems. Some people in this world refuse all spirituality,
they only believe in the improvement of science. This is slightly
mistaken. We do need science but at the same time must not neglect
our mind. And even within different belief systems there is
disagreement. To me, all religions are necessary and good. I also
am very fond of science. I like to have two eyes wide open.
A person who is only concerned with this lifetime is like
someone roaming around aimlessly in a pathless desert not knowing
where to go. A person that understands karma, cause and effect, is
like someone walking on a road, knowing where to go and knowing
where they are, but they still have to walk around mountains and
face other difficulties. A person with bodhichitta is like someone
going on a train. One goes straight through the mountain and is not
obstructed by any obstacles on the way. One also reaches the
destination faster. A person with love in their hearts can easily
sever the flow of afflictions. If one has bodhichitta one becomes
very powerful in accomplishing great activities that bring benefit
to others. As love will destroy self-grasping, wisdom will
naturally dawn and thus one will unmistakenly know what to adopt
and what to discard. Going with the train is like cultivating
relative bodhichitta. When self-grasping has diminished and one
sees the nature of mind, one realized ultimate bodhichitta,
emptiness. This is like going in an airplane. The airplane moves
above the clouds, the clouds are like thoughts and the space above
is the expanse of dharmakaya. The airplane of clear knowing
awareness moves through the dharmakaya space unobstructedly. It
sees the entire world and also the clouds below, but as it
overrides the clouds it is not bothered by the clouds, the rain,
the storms.
Similarly, when one realizes the nature of mind, one is no
longer affected in any way by the clouds of desire and hatred.
Awareness is above these clouds. As the dharmakaya is like space,
it is unchanging. Space does not come or go, space always is as it
is. Realizing this there is no fear of death; space does not die
nor is it born. The phenomena of samsara and nirvana are like
clouds; they arise momentarily, but are as they are, compounds.
They are impermanent, subject to disintegration, coming and going.
Moving above these clouds one will not grasp at their substantial
reality and thus will not cling to thoughts of desire or hatred. To
see this nature even for just an instant is mahamudra. You will
never gain anything new. Awareness is like fire--in the beginning
it is like a spark, in the end a blazing fire. But fire is always
fire. You are not creating a great mind that you do not yet
possess. To see it for just a brief instant is still seeing it, but
of course it must be habituated. Only when we preserve this nature
continuously will we achieve the state of great happiness and peace
where there is no more suffering.
Monday, Mar 21, 2011
This quote was taken from a teaching Rinpoche gave to the yogis
in Labchi in one of Milarepa's caves:
We must separate the inner mind from the outer conduct. The
inner mind realizes that all phenomena of samsara and nirvana lack
inherent existence. The outer universe and inner sentient beings
lack inherent existence, as they are compounds. If we grasp at the
truth of whatever arises within the mind—pleasure, suffering,
thoughts and afflictive emotions—we will accumulate karma. If we
recognize afflictive emotions and unwholesome thoughts as they
arise, this mindful awareness is the Buddha. All buddhas abide
within the mindstreams of sentient beings. The thoughts are
delusions and lack inherent existence—they come and go—yet innate
awareness always remains unchangingly. Thus do not pay attention to
the thoughts, but see the awareness that recognizes them. When
awareness holds its own with stability, afflictive emotions,
pleasure, and suffering will disappear, and your mind will become
very clear. If you grasp at the truth of thoughts, your mind will
be obscured.
Obscurations come from grasping at the truth of thoughts. While
understanding that things lack inherent existence and are like a
dream, in your activities you should accomplish the benefit of
others entirely and abandon harm toward others entirely. Be in
harmony with everyone, accomplish the causes of benefit and
happiness for all sentient beings, try to make them joyful and
happy.
Thursday, Mar 17, 2011
This quote is taken from a teaching on refuge that Rinpoche gave
in Labchi in one of Milarepa's caves to a few retreatants.
Gampopa said, "If we do not practice Dharma in accordance with
the Dharma, then Dharma itself will become the cause for falling
into the lower realms." What are the so-called Three Jewels? The
outer Buddha refers to all the buddhas of the three times. The
outer Dharma consists of the 84,000 heaps of Dharma teachings, yet
they are included within loving kindness and compassion. Sangha
refers to a person who has cultivated loving kindness and
compassion, a good-hearted person. Having been liberated from one's
own suffering, rooted in self-grasping, one is able to show the
path of liberation to others. This is the Sangha. Having received
the refuge vow, the Three Jewels are also contained within your own
mindstream. These are called the inner Three Jewels. The inner
Buddha is your mindful awareness and alertness. The inner Dharma is
to never let go of loving kindness and compassion, the altruistic
mind. What is the benefit of an altruistic mind? It will destroy
self-grasping.
When self-grasping collapses, on their very ground, all sentient
beings are buddhas. Lord Buddha said: "The Buddha is within all
sentient beings. Yet they are obscured by adventitious stains."
What are these adventitious stains? All thoughts and afflictive
emotions are contained within a single turn of mind, the root of
all sentient beings of the three realms is self-grasping. In
reality self-grasping is a mental fixation, a thought grasping at a
reality. Tilopa said, "Son! You are not fettered by the
appearances, you are fettered by grasping at them." Once all
grasping is cleared away, there is nothing that can obscure the
mind. Even if thoughts arise, they will not obscure the mind, if
you do not grasp at them. If you grasp at them, you will be hurt
like being pricked with a thorn, you will become obscured. This is
called 'fettered.' We are not fettered by the extent of thoughts
that arise, as long as we do not grasp at them. All you
practitioners, retreatants, mountain hermits, know this, yet listen
to the advice of me, a man with experience. I have gathered many
experiences of suffering and difficulties in this lifetime. It is
said, "an elder sick person is the best doctor."
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2011
This quote is taken from Rinpoche's teachings on 'How to
Overcome Difficulties' on March 15 in San Jose, CA.
The first step to eliminate suffering is to give up clinging to
this life. From the day we are born to our mothers, until the day
we die, this entire life is like last night's dream. After we have
died, we awaken in the Bardo—the intermediate state after death.
Then this entire lifetime will seem just like a dream; the human
world will become a fading memory. It is like waking up from a
dream. At this point, if we have failed to eliminate self-grasping,
frightening appearances will manifest— compared to which, this
human world appears as a pure land. Milarepa knew what would happen
if he failed to purify self-grasping, and thus he had the courage
to dedicate his entire life to practice, undaunted by hardship.
Thus, whenever you encounter difficulty, consider: "this life is
like a dream, before too long it will come to an end, and when it
comes to an end, I must be prepared."
In order to secure happiness beyond this life, it is important
to understand the causes of happiness. In order to avoid causes of
suffering, we must give up self-cherishing attitudes and cultivate
an altruistic mind that seeks the benefit of others. The jewel of
Bodhichitta is the only protection at the time of death. The
essence of this is found in the 37 Bodhisattva Practices—it
contains a remedy for any kind of suffering, an answer to all
questions. Although the Buddha's teachings are vast, the Buddha
himself summarized: "perfectly tame your own mind, this is the
Buddha's teaching."
Although most of us live like kings and queens, still we are
very skilled in finding a way to suffer—nothing is ever good
enough. The rich suffer from their possessions, the poor suffer
from a lack of possessions. Milarepa lived in a cave without food
and drink and he was the happiest person in the world. The truth is
that we can only find happiness in our mind. If the mind has a
habit of grasping at suffering, it will create suffering and
perceive everything as an enemy and a threat. If one does not grasp
inside the mind, even an actual difficult circumstance, like an
illness, is not perceived as suffering. Truly understanding karma
will enable us to tolerate our present circumstances and will teach
us how to abandon suffering in the future. Karma can be explained
very easily—love is the cause of happiness; self-grasping is the
cause of suffering. Therefore, in the 37 Bodhisattva Practices it
says: "all suffering without exception comes from wishing for one's
own happiness. The perfect Buddhas arise from the altruistic
mind."
Sunday, Mar 13, 2011
My dear friends: in my first message, I would like to extend a
warm Tashi Delek to all of you in this mandala. From lifetime to
lifetime, our minds have been connected and thus I see you like
family. What has kept our minds connected from lifetime to lifetime
is the spiritual bond of love. These 'reminders of loving kindness
and compassion' should encourage us again and again to make an
effort to cultivate love for one another. As all our minds are
connected, we can help each other through cultivating love. Thus,
if more people in this world are able to give rise to love, peace
and happiness will increase. I have great love for all sentient
beings; for this reason, I trust that spreading the word of love
will contribute to the peace and happiness of this world.
My single prayer is: 'May all sentient beings have happiness,
and love—the cause of happiness. May all sentient beings be free
from suffering, and self-grasping—the cause of suffering.' In
Tibetan, the word for 'kindness and love' is 'jamtse' (byams
brtse). In Tibetan U-Me script, this can be written in a single
line; for me, this is a sign of this word's preciousness. Today, I
am offering to you all my kindness and love. I hope you will keep
this dear to your heart, as this is the essence of all happiness in
this and future lives. It is the essence of the Buddha's teachings.
If you have love in your heart, even those who hate you will
eventually be your friends. Your actual enemies are hatred and
jealousy in particular. Outer enemies are a temporary illusion
arising from a deluded thought. This thought is impermanent.
Thoughts come and go. Thus if you do not let go of love, the anger
in others will eventually diminish.
If you love others, you wish for their happiness. As our minds
are one, if you love others, it will pervade their mind and they
will thus feel happy. Love is the only cause of happiness. Its
nature is all-pervasive like space. Love is the sunlight of the
mind.
Furthermore, I am deeply sad to hear about the earthquake
disaster in Japan, and also in New Zealand, Tibet, and other places
last year. Although many beings have lost their lives, their minds
really can never die. And as our minds are connected, we can
benefit them by cultivating love and compassion and reciting the
Mani mantra (OM MANI PADME HUNG). If we are able to pervade their
minds with love, they will awaken from the dream of self-grasping
and suffering.