法王如意寶之歌
One is not thereby a learned man merely because one speaks much. He who is secure, without hate, and fearless is called learned.
— Buddha
The perception of the external world is dependent on the mind. We cannot find a material world that exists totally separately from the mind. The material world is a reflection of the mind rather than an independently existing thing. If your understanding of this leads you to realise the nature of mind, you will automatically realise the nature of the external world. It is not necessary to separately examine the nature of the world. We realise the nature of the external world through realising the nature of mind because of unity in diversity. This is the same as the realisation of non-dual wisdom.
— Gampopa
The Karmapa gave another example illustrating how important and necessary all traditions of Buddhism are. Imagine, he said, a large copper vat filled with milk. It takes four people to lift up, using their strength equally so that the milk does not spill out. There may be some little difference between the four people but basically they are the same. Nevertheless, the Karmapa explained, if one of the four could not carry their side, the milk would spill out. And it would go out even faster if one of the four thought they could do the lifting on their own. So the four need to cooperate in the project of lifting the vessel, which the Karmapa explained as an analogy for the Buddha’s teachings being carried by different traditions. If one side tried to carry the entire vat and spilled the milk, the whole of Buddhism would be diminished; if even one of the other schools disappear, it means that Buddhism is disappearing, so everyone needs to work together. In sum, he said that if the teachings, which are the antidote for our afflictions, become the cause for afflictions to increase, we are finished, so we should consider this carefully.
~Karmapa: Cultivating the Delight of Rejoicing and the Freedom from Prejudice
http://the17thkarmapa.blogspot.tw/2016/02/cultivating-delight-of-rejoicing-and.html
There are three kinds of dharma practitioners: firstly, there are those who look like practitioners outwardly, but inwardly they are not real practitioners; secondly, there are those who talk very high, but have no realisation at all; thirdly there are those who do not look like practitioners outwardly, but who are in fact genuine practitioners inside.
— His Holiness Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche
All of the faults of samsāra arise from the deluded mind which apprehends a personal self or a self of phenomena. Since this deluded mind also is adventitious like clouds in the sky, from the beginning neither mixing nor polluting the luminous clarity of the primordial basic nature, these faults are individually distinguished from the basic element and are suitable to be removed. Therefore, the essence of the basic element is empty of these faults; it is untainted. Without depending on the polluting delusion, it is luminous and clear by its own nature; self-existing wisdom permeates the thusness of all phenomena. It is not empty of that which it is inseparable from, the basic element of consummate qualities, because in its essence this is the basic nature from which it is inseparable—like the sun and light rays.
– Mipham Rinpoche
What are the reasons for following any spiritual path? Perhaps we are searching for a greater purpose and a sense of meaning in our lives. We need to find an inner and more effective way of managing our problems. We may be hoping to discover lasting happiness but the methods we have tried for dealing with our uncertainties up to now have not been very successful. Although the material world provides many comforts and practical answers, these do not always bring us the contentment we seek. Spiritual questions come from the urge for a new, more satisfying way of life and they are part of our need for a deeper truth.
— Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
金钱不能带来所有的幸福
《我们为何不幸福》书摘
虽然佛陀不否定物质生活也可以带来一部分幸福，世上有少量表面的幸福，也来自于外界。སྟ幸福与痛苦，并不是与外界完全没有关系，但却不是最主要的关系。幸福本身并非来自外界，而是来自内心。要想获得幸福，只有往内心去寻找；要真正解决痛苦，也只有往内心寻找解决方法。所ྡ以，我们不能迷迷糊糊地做着金钱能带来所有幸福的美梦，因为金钱不能带来所有的幸福。ད启蒙运动时代的代表人物——法国思想家伏尔泰、机械唯物主义者拉梅特利在内的很多西方哲学家都认为，痛苦与快乐来自于外界，幸福不可能从内心产生，要寻找、追求幸福，一定要在外界去寻找。因此，西方人长时以来，一直鼓励人们往外追求幸福、寻找快乐། 。一般人本来就误以为，幸福快乐来自于外界，再加上这些学者们的大肆鼓吹，所以在西方工业革命以后的几百年中，大家都拼命往外去追求幸福，但众所周知，尽管近年来西方发达国家的国民收入越来越高，但幸福指数却越来越低།。 到了今天，越来越多的人开始感觉到，这种追求是错的，一切的努力可以说已经走向失败了。
— 慈诚罗珠堪布
Hearing teachings is what causes one’s intelligence to expand; if one also contemplates, with both of these factors one can then apply oneself intensively to meditation. Unsurpassable attainment comes from that.
— Nāgārjuna
Those who hold the view of eternalism believe that the great god Brahma is permanent, powerful gods are permanent, ego is permanent, the nature of the elements is permanent, and particles of substance are permanent. From those beliefs in permanence, they claim that the impermanent world is compounded; they say that gods are permanent but can create phenomena that are impermanent. Those who hold the nihilist point of view believe that there are no karmic causes or karmic results, and that there is no need to do anything in a spiritual way about believing in practice, worship, prayer to be reborn in a pureland, or enlightenment, because there is no thought of what is beyond the appearances of this momentary life, because there is no special quality to gain from the effort of activity. All of these various views are synthesized by Buddhism and called worldly views because without giving up the view of a personal I or an existing self, there is no power to transcend the world. In this way, one always goes under the blanket of attachment to ego, so that negative karma cannot be transformed. Thus, karma cannot be changed, and then the result of karmic life cannot be changed. If one cannot be released from karma and its karmic life, then there is no liberation. This is what Buddhists believe. In Buddhism, the outer and inner aspects of this material world are explained as the characteristics of cause and result that come from interdependent relative truth, agreed on by both the Great and Lesser Vehicles.
— Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo
Buddhist Quote for the day 