Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye: The method for having such things arise in your mindstream

Advice Given To Lhawang Tashi by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye

I take refuge in Padmasambhava.
O Kagyü gurus, please grant your blessings!
Please turn the minds of faithful ones towards the dharma;
May we embrace the path of liberation beyond return!

Atisha, the protector of the snowland, said:
“Among many, examine your speech;
When you stay alone, examine your mind.”
Briefly he taught these two points.

The mind is the root of faults
And the mouth is the gateway for these faults to emerge.
Thus, always watch over both.

All of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are your own mind;
They don’t arise from anything else in the slightest.
Everything, such as joy and suffering, good and bad,
High and low, are the conceptual constructs of mind. Continue reading »

PRAMANAVARTIKA by Acharya Dharmakirti (7^th Century CE)

Chapter Two: Establishing the Reliable Guide Continue reading »

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

The Essence of Nectar: Graduated Stages of the Path

Advice for Renunciant Meditators

by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

1. Masters whose kindness is unequalled,
   Wisdom kāyas of the victors and their offspring—
   With heartfelt faith I prostrate to you,
   And here reveal a few pieces of profound advice.

2. Whoever renounces the world,
   Aspiring to achieve the highest enlightenment,
   Must initially seek out a teacher of the spiritual path,
   And serve that spiritual friend in three ways.

Continue reading »

Nyala Pema Dündul

Advice on Abandoning the Eight Worldly Concerns

by Nyala Pema Dündul (1816-1872)

A ho! Listen well, all you fortunate, supreme disciples of excellent karma!

Gain and loss, happiness and unhappiness,
Fame and insignificance, praise and blame—
These are what we call “the eight worldly concerns.”

Those who cling to the duality of good and bad, and feel pleasure and frustration,
Can not even be called practitioners of non-dual self-liberation!
They are bound by the chains of attachment to the eight worldly concerns. Continue reading »

Sachen Kunga Nyingpo

SACHEN KUNGA NYINGPO
The Instructions on Parting from the Four Attachments
Oṃ Svasti Siddham!
When he reached the age of twelve, the great Sachen Kunga Nyingpo undertook a six-month practice of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. One day he had a vision, in which he actually saw, amidst a brilliant blaze of light, the holy Lord Mañjuśrī, orange in colour and seated on a jewelled throne, his feet placed flat upon the ground, his hands in the mudrā of explaining the Dharma, and with an attendant bodhisattva on either side.
Mañjuśrī spoke to him:
“If you are attached to this life, you are not a true spiritual practitioner; Continue reading »

Geshe Langri Tangpa: May I, by perceiving all phenomena as illusory, be released from the bondage of attachment.

Eight Verses for Training the Mind – The Eight Verses of Thought Transformation – Eight-Verse Attitude Training by Gesce Langri Tangpa

1. Determined to obtain the greatest possible benefit from all sentient beings, who are more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel, I shall hold them most dear at all times.2. When in the company of others, I shall always consider myself the lowest of all, and from the depths of my heart hold others dear and supreme.3. Vigilant, the moment a delusion appears in my mind, endangering myself and others, I shall confront and avert it without delay.4. Whenever I see beings who are wicked in nature and overwhelmed by violent negative actions and suffering, I shall hold such rare ones dear, as if I had found a precious treasure. Continue reading »

In the Indian language Bhavanakrama, and in the Tibetan language Gompai Rimpa.

Composed by the spiritual master Kamalashila. Continue reading »

Dharmarakshita

The Peacock’s Neutralizing of Poisons by Dharmarakshita

The peacocks roam freely in the forests of poison.

Homage to the venerable Lord Yama.

When he was born as the prince Vessantara,

He gave away his son, his daughter and his kingdom.
So too must you give away entirely, with no feelings of possessiveness,
The objects of strong attachment, your wealth and your friends and family.

When he was born as the prince Mahasattva,
As he nourished the tigress with his own flesh.
So too must you joyfully give to the flesh-eating demons
This illusory body which you cherish such care. Continue reading »

Gheshe Chekawa: Training the Mind in Seven Points

Seven Points of Mind Training (Wyl. blo sbyong don bdun ma) — the famous instruction on ‘mind training’ (Tib.) “Lojong-Nyimai-Hoeser.” brought to Tibet by Lord Atisha and written down by Geshe Chekawa. The seven points are:

1. The Preliminaries to Mind Training (sngon ‘gro rten gyi chos sems pa) Continue reading »

A Guide to Locations for Cultivating Samadhi by Longchen Rabjam

On mountaintops, in secluded forests and on islands and the like, Continue reading »

Lama Nga-chupa

The great Indian Pandit Naropa said, Continue reading »

(“Gurupancasika”, “Bla-ma Inga-bcu-pa”) By Aryasura written in the first century B.C.- With an oral commentary by Geshe Ngawang Dhargey Continue reading »

In Praise of the Great Holy Place Tsaritra, The Embodiment of Bodhicitta

by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche.

Translation from the Tibetan by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche and Terence Barrett.

_____________________

To the holy root and lineage lamas, I pay homage and go for refuge. Continue reading »

The practice of Buddha Tsonchei Mijigpai Gyalpo, Buddha Akshobhya, and Vajrapani, to help those who have died in accidents and especially those who have died from weapons. Continue reading »

Gyal Khenpo Drakpa Gyaltsen, an illuminator of the Buddha’s doctrine

A SONG ON THE VIEW OPENNING THE EYES TO SUCHNESS

by Gungthang Tempai Dromé (1762-1823)

Tibetan title: lta ba’i mgur ma de nyid lta ba’i mig ‘byed

1 The glorious embodiment of great bliss and compassion,

Which through immersing in the expanse free of elaborations,

You bring relief to desperate mother sentient beings –

Most venerable teacher, I honor the dusts under your feet.

2 Whatever sufferings there are in the cycle of existence,

Since they are produced by the self-grasping enemy,

All children who desire liberation should strive for

In the ways that help eliminate this from its root.

3 Though this is so before understanding

This truth, suchness that is most profound,

There are numerous stages such as coarse impermanence, Continue reading »

Ashvagosha: Be diligent in all your actions, (alert and) mindful never to forget (your word of honour).

Fifty verses on guru devotion by Indian Master Ashvagosha

1. Bowing in the proper way to the lotus feet of my Guru, who is the cause for me to attain the state of a glorious Vajrasattva, I shall condense and explain in brief what has been said in many stainless tantric texts about Guru-devotion. (Therefore) listen with respect.2. All the Buddhas of the past, present and future, residing in every land in the ten directions, have paid homage to the Tantric Masters from whom they have received the highest initiations. (Is there need to mention that you should too?)

3. Three times each day, with supreme faith, you must show your respect to your Guru who teaches you (the tantric path), by pressing your palms together, offering a mandala as well as flowers and prostrating (touching) your head to his feet. Continue reading »

Haribhadra

TWENTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT

by

HARIBHADRA

“The mind of enlightenment is like the earth, gold, the moon, fire, treasure, a jewel mine, the ocean, a vajra, the king of mountains, medicine, a guru, a wish fulfilling jewel, the sun, a song, a king, a treasure house, a highway, a horse, a spring, a sweet sound, a river and a cloud”

From Ornament of Insight by Asanga

A mind that seeks to become enlightened

for the sake of others is a mind of enlightenment .

Like the mighty earth a foundation of all that is good,

like gold never changing, Continue reading »

Bodhisattva, Dunhuang cave

Chandragomin: Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Vow

Make prostration with reverence and offer what you can

To the Buddhas and their disciples;

Then the moral code of bodhisattvas

Who abide in all time and space

That treasury of all merit

Should be taken, with lofty intention,

From a lama maintaining and learned in the vow,

Who is capable [of bestowing it].

At which time, because of the virtue in that

The Jinas and their disciples

With their virtuous hearts, forever

Consider you their beloved son. Continue reading »

The Seven Nails of Acarya Sri Simha

Homage to absolute Gnosis, Continue reading »

Chod – Cutting Through the Ego

Yangthang Rinpoche, Hawaii 1991

Many texts have been written for the practice of chod and many treasure finders have revealed chod practices. All chod practices share certain characteristics which should be known. Since we are striving to gain buddhahood by following buddhist doctrine rather than non-buddhist doctrine, it is important for us to know the origins of buddhist practices. Chod and dzogchen are the sacred teachings of Lord Buddha who taught 84,000 different categories of teachings classified into nine systems of sutra and tantra. Chod belongs to both sutra and tantra.

Sutra contains both hinayana and mahayana and each vehicle contains a system of view, meditation and action. Chod is a mahayana practice and from the sutra point of view, Chod is an expression of the philosophical view of the Prajnaparamita Sutra or on Transcendental Wisdom. This sutra is a discourse on the wisdom of the two types of identitylessness: identitylessness of self and identitylessness of meanings or appearances. Continue reading »

The Cultivation of Enlightened Mind, Bodhicittabhavana by Acarya Sri Manjusrimitra Continue reading »

Vasubandhu

Vasubandhu: Karikas On The Three Natures Trisvabhavakarika

trisvabhAvakArikA AcAryavasubandhukrtA nevArAksaralikhitA prAcInatApatrodgatA namo maNjuSriye kumArabhUtAya
The karikas on the three natures composed by Master Vasubandhu, written in Newari characters, coming from an old manuscript.
Homage to the Virgin Youth Manjusri

1 kalpitah paratantras ca parinispanna eva ca /
trayah svabhAvA dhIrAnAm gambhIram jneyam isyate //1//
It is admitted that the three natures, the imaginary, the dependent and the absolute one, are the profound object of the wise men’s knowledge.
The imagined, the other-dependent and
The consummate.
These are the three natures Continue reading »

Samsara and Nirvana, Two Sides of the Same Hand by Khenchen Könchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche Continue reading »

Short Praise of the Buddha’s Deeds by the great Indian master Arya Shura, known to Tibetans as Lobpon Pawo, author of the famous Garland of Birth Stories (Jatakamala). Continue reading »

Verses on the Buddha’s Previous Lives by the great Indian master Arya Shura, known to Tibetans as Lobpon Pawo, author of the famous Garland of Birth Stories (Jatakamala). Continue reading »

Ashvaghosha: The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana

Invocation

I take refuge in the Buddha, the greatly Compassionate One, the Savior of the world, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, of most excellent deeds in all the ten directions; And in the Dharma, the manifestation of his Essence, the Reality, the sea of Suchness, the boundless storehouse of excellencies; And in the Sangha, Continue reading »

Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima: We need to stop looking at harmful circumstances as problems and make every effort to view them as beneficial.

Transforming Suffering and Happiness

by Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima

Homage

I pay homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, recalling his qualities:
Forever joyful at the happiness of others,
And plunged into sorrow whenever they suffer,
You have fully realized Great Compassion, with all its qualities,
And abide, without a care for your own happiness or suffering![1]

Statement of Intent

I am going to put down here a partial instruction on how to use both happiness and suffering as the path to enlightenment. This is indispensable for leading a spiritual life, a most needed tool of the Noble Ones, and quite the most priceless teaching in the world.

There are two parts:

1) how to use suffering as the path, Continue reading »

The Essential Advice of the Kadam Scriptures: A Fine Vase of Nectar

Chapter One
Making Requests to the Gurus and Relying on a Holy Spiritual Friend

Namo Guru Munindraya

Boundless leader, in the midst of all the constellations
Your share of marvelous courage is fully complete
And you are exceptionally beautified by the signs of compassion;
To you, unrivalled teacher possessing white [aura of] light, I bow. Continue reading »

Kelsang Gyatso, the Seventh Dalai Lama (1708-1757)

A Song of the Four Mindfulnesses as a Guide to the View of the Middle Way by Kelsang Gyatso, the Seventh Dalai Lama

Namo Guru Vajradhara (3x)

On the unwavering cushion of the union of method and wisdom
Sits the kind Lama who is the nature of all protectors.
There is a Buddha in the state of culmination of realizations and cessations.
Beseech him in the light of admiration, through casting away critical thoughts.
Don’t let your mind go astray, but place it within admiration and reverence.
Through not losing mindfulness, hold it within admiration and reverence.

In unending samsara, the prison of suffering, Continue reading »

Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok

The Heart Essence: My Heart’s Advice

by Kyabje Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok

1. May the youthful sun of speech, Mañjuśrī, in his enlightened form,
   With its signs and marks, embodying the secret body, speech and mind
   Of all the infinite buddhas and their bodhisattva heirs,
   Turn your minds towards the path to perfect awakening!

2. There are countless Dharma teachings, profound and extensive,
   Suited to the mental capacities and inclinations of limitless beings, Continue reading »

Zhabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol

Shabkar Tsok Druk Rangdrol (1781-1851)

If someone has compassion, he is a Buddha;
Without compassion, he is a Lord of Death.

With compassion, the root of Dharma is planted,
Without compassion, the root of Dharma is rotten.

One with compassion is kind even when angry,
One without compassion will kill even as he smiles.

For one with compassion, even his enemies will turn into friends,
Without compassion, even his friends turn into enemies. Continue reading »

Rongtön Sheja Künrig: When we are meditating on emptiness, if we consider that this meditation has any real characteristics, that will only serve to entangle us.

How to Meditate on the Three Gateways to Liberation According to the Mahāyāna by Rongtön Sheja Künrig

Homage to the guru and the supreme deity!

Your wisdom is perfectly clear like the sphere of the sun,
And in your compassion, you care for all limitless beings,
Your enlightened actions continuing until the ends of time—
Supreme sage, in devotion I bow down before you!

Ācārya Haribhadra, in explaining the practice of meditating upon the three gateways to liberation, explains how the three gateways can be related to meditation upon the sixteen aspects of the four noble truths, beginning with impermanence. Here, when we explain the three gateways, i.e., emptiness, absence of characteristics and wishlessness, according to the tenets of the Mahāyāna, emptiness is applied to the basis, signlessness is applied to the path, and wishlessness is applied to the result.

Firstly we must explain the three conceptions which block these gateways to liberation:

• Perceiving the basis as real blocks the gateway of emptiness; Continue reading »

Changkya Hutuktu Rolpai Dorje (1717-1786)

Changkya Rölpai Dorjé: Recognizing My Mother, An Experiential Song on the View

E ma ho!

1. You who reveals bare the wonder
of profound dependent arising nature,
O my guru, your kindness is boundless indeed. Kindly reside in my heart
as I utter these spontaneous words
from thoughts flickering through my mind.

2. This lunatic child,
who lost his old mother long ago, is about to realize by chance what he has not recognized:
She has been with him all along!

3. She is perhaps that “is” and “is not”
quietly spoken by my brother dependent arising.
This diverse subject-object world is my mother’s gentle smile;

this cycle of birth and death her deceptive words.

4. My undeceiving mother, you have betrayed me!
While I hope to be saved by my brother dependent arising, it is ultimately in your kindness alone, O mother,
that my hopes for freedom lie.

5. If the duality of subjects and objects is as it seems to be, then not even the buddhas of the three times can save us. But this ever-shifting spectacle is in truth
my changeless mother’s expressions.
Hence there is indeed a way out. Continue reading »

Śākyaśrībhadra

An Instruction on Pure View and Conduct by Śākyaśrībhadra

In the language of India: Viśuddhadarśanacarya upadeśa nāma
In the language of Tibet: lta spyod rnam dag gi man ngag

Homage to the Lord Lion of the Śākyas!

As in a dream, the outer world is not,
As in an illusion, there’s no true reality,
Like space, without characteristics,
All phenomena, by nature, are clear light.
Beyond going, coming or remaining, bodhicitta, Continue reading »

Glossary of Buddhist Terms

– A
Abhidharma (Sanskrit) / Abhidhamma (Pali): The third of the “Three Baskets” of the Tipitaka (Buddhist scriptures); a systematized compendium of Buddhist philosophy and psychology. Continue reading »

Jetsünma Khandro Rinpoche

Jetsünma Khandro Rinpoche: Bringing about change in one’s own self.

Teachers throughout the times have always said: Dharma is not about doing things. Buddhadharma does not become Buddhadharma, until through the methods applied one is bringing about change, transformation, transition in one’s own self completely, that change and transition must manifest and be seen by the others …

Continue reading »

The Seven Branches for Practising the Sacred Dharma by Śākyaśrībhadra

In the language of India: saptāṅga-saddharma-caryāvatāra Continue reading »

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche: Even your enemies become friends of your Dharma practice.

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche: Living an Appearance-Emptiness Life.
You know the supreme path that is free from coming and going,
And you teach the true nature of all phenomena,
While never leaving a single being out of your compassion’s embrace,
Great mother, noble Tara, I bow at your feet.
Since all phenomena, outer and inner, are dependently existent mere appearances,
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
Since appearances of friends and enemies are dependently existent,
Both are appearance-emptiness, like rainbows, and if you know this,
That is called, “meditation on illusion.”
Within openness you will achieve inner peace.
A planet and a particle are equal,
An aeon and an instant are equal, the Buddha taught.
If you gain uncontrived certainty in this,
Within spaciousness, any work you do will come out alright.
When you are expert at studying your own mind
All that appears becomes your guru,
And even your enemies become friends of your Dharma practice.

E ma! What a wonderful miracle!
Verses composed for a student, June 24, 1998. Translated by Ari Goldfield.http://www.ktgrinpoche.org/quote/living-appearance-emptiness-life

The Garland of Jewel Ornaments:

The Stages of Meditating on the Bodhicaryāvatāra

by Rongtön Sheja Künrig

Homage to the gurus and supreme deities!

With your infinite emanations in realms beyond limit,
You turn the wheel of Dharma on a vast scale,
And bring disciples to full maturity—Lord of Sages,
And Mañjughoṣa, in devotion I pay homage to you!
With your delightful discourse, wondrous beyond measure,
And splendid to hear, you enthralled the learned— Continue reading »

Düdjom Lingpa

DÜDJOM LINGPA (1835-1904)

The Verse for Offering Water

From the Pure Vision: The Verse for Offering Water: An Ocean of Accomplishments

ཧཱུྂ༔ ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་ལྡན་བདུད་རྩིའི་རྫིང་བུ་འདི༔
hung yenlak gyeden dütsi dzingbu di
Hūṃ! This pool of nectar possessing the eight qualities of pure water

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་ལ་འབུལ་བར་བགྱི༔
chomden khor dangché la bulwar gyi
I offer now to all the buddhas and their retinues,

བཞེས་ནས་བདག་དང་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི༔
shyé né dak dang semchen tamché kyi
As you accept it, may I and all sentient beings Continue reading »

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche: Appearances Are Mind

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

In the Ninth Karmapa’s great Mahamudra text called, ‘The Ocean of Definitive Meaning’, he presents three ways in which one can directly recognize the nature of the mind: looking at the mind within stillness; looking at the mind within movement; and looking at the mind within appearances. If any one of these approaches brings recognition, then that is sufficient, so if you are not able to recognize the mind’s nature through one method, try another. Continue reading »

The Stanzas on the Practice of Holy Transcendental Wisdom

Arya Prajna-Paramita Carya Gatha Continue reading »

Commentary on “The Foundation of All Good Qualities” by Khunu Lama Rinpoche

A teaching given to the monks and nuns of the International Mahayana Institute at Boudhanath, Nepal, 14 February 1975. Edited by Nicholas Ribush. Translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Khunu Lama Rinpoche

The ultimate purpose of our listening to teachings is to receive enlightenment. Therefore, before listening to [or reading] this teaching on the Foundation of All Good Qualities (Tib: Yön-ten-shir-gyur-ma), it is necessary to cultivate the pure thought of bodhicitta, the main cause of enlightenment.

We receive enlightenment only by practicing Dharma. Without practicing Dharma, there’s no way to receive enlightenment. Enlightenment can be received only through the practice of Dharma.

There are two types of Dharma, outer and inner. Inner Dharma means Buddhadharma; outer Dharma refers to the non-Buddhist religions, the religions followed by non-Buddhists. Of these, there are five divisions. By practicing outer Dharma, you can receive only temporary, samsaric pleasures but you cannot receive enlightenment. To become enlightened, you have to practice inner Dharma, Buddhadharma. Continue reading »