Rennyo's White Ashes

When I deeply contemplate the transient nature of human life, I realize that,
from beginning to end, life is impermanent like an illusion. We have not yet
heard of anyone who lived ten thousand years. How fleeting is a lifetime!

Who in this world today can maintain a human form for even a hundred years?
There is no knowing whether I will die first or others, whether death will occur
today or tomorrow. We depart one after another more quickly than the dewdrops on the roots or the tips of the blades of grasses. So it is said. Hence, we may
have radiant faces in the morning, but by evening we may turn into white ashes.

Once the winds of impermanence have blown, our eyes are instantly closed and our breath stops forever. Then, our radiant face changes its color, and the
attractive countenance like peach and plum blossoms is lost. Family and
relatives will gather and grieve, but all to no avail?

Since there is nothing else that can be done, they carry the deceased out to the
fields, and then what is left after the body has been cremated and has turned
into the midnight smoke is just white ashes. Words fail to describe the sadness
of it all.

Thus the ephemeral nature of human existence is such that death comes to young
and old alike without discrimination. So we should all quickly take to heart the
matter of the greatest importance of the afterlife, entrust ourselves deeply to
Amida Buddha, and recite the nembutsu.

Humbly and respectfully.

Rennyo

Gateless Gate

Spring comes with its flowers, autumn with the moon,
summer with breezes, winter with snow;
when useless things don't stick in the mind,
that is your best season.

  Wu-men Huai-kai (Mumon Ekai)
Zen Death Poem

Wumen Huikai (Chinese: 無門慧開; Wade-Giles: Wu-men Hui-k'ai; Japanese: Mumon Ekai) (1183–1260) is a Song period Chán (Japanese: Zen) master most famous as the compiler of and commentator on the 48-koan collection The Gateless Gate (Japanese: Mumonkan)

Don't Seek The Truth

"Don't seek the truth; just drop your opinions."

Zen Saying

Do Not Pursue The Past

Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is.
In the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today.
To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly.
How can we bargain with it?
The sage calls a person who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day,
'one who knows the better way to live alone.'

- Bhaddekaratta Sutta

Buddhism 101

Most of the time, we superimpose something onto what is immediate and Real. We project onto what we directly experience, and we extend that projection through time and space. And then, in relation to these objects, the longings and loathings arise in our minds and projected "out there" with Reality.

The upshot is that we don't engage the world as it actually is. Instead, we react to the world as we assume it to be -- or, worse, as we think or wish it ought to be. We live out our lives in our imaginations, reacting to our concepts of the world rather than attending to actual, directly perceived Reality.

Steve Hagen

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


From Essential Rumi
by Coleman Barks

A Dog

"A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker.
A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker"

Buddha

Do Not Believe

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

Buddha

Whatever We Say....

"Whatever we say, let us speak clearly and to the point,
in a voice that is calm and pleasant,
unaffected by attachment of hatred.
Look kindly at others, thinking,
"It is thanks to them that I shall attain Buddhahood."

Dalai Lama

The Moment

"Simply plunging directly into meditation in the moment now, 

with our whole being, free from hesitation, boredom or 

excitement, is enlightenment."

Khyentse Rinpoche 

Annoying People

"Children here refers to those of immature intelligence, that is ordinary beings with no realization. If we mix with such childish people, we risk losing our direction and will not be able to help others. So while we should avoid being influenced by them, we should not get discouraged or annoyed by them. Rather, we should feel great compassion for them, for they are in the grip of their negative emotions..."

Dalai Lama
commenting on Shantideva's marvelous "Way Of The Bodhisattva"

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

   "In order to conquer the high ground of the uncreated nature of mind, we must go to the source and recognize the origin of our thoughts. Otherwise, one thought gives rise to a second thought, the second to a third, and so on forever. We are constantly assailed by memories of the past and carried away by expectations for the future, and lose all awareness of the present.  It is our own mind that leads us astray into the cycles of existences. Blind to the mind's true nature, we hold fast to our thoughts, which are nothing but manifestations of that nature. This freezes awareness into solid concepts, such as I and other, desirable and detestable, and plenty of others. This is how we create samsara.  But if, instead of letting our thoughts solidify, we recognize their emptiness, then each thought that arises and disappears in the mind renders the realization of emptiness ever clearer.

    In the heart of winter, the chill freezes lakes and rivers; water becomes so solid that it can bear men, beasts and carts. As the spring approaches, earth and water warm up and thaw. What then remains of the hardness of the ice? Water is soft and fluid, ice hard and sharp, so we cannot say that they are identical; but neither can we say that they are different, because ice is only solidified water, and water only melted ice.

    The same applies to our perception of the world around us. To be attached to the reality of phenomena, to be tormented by by attraction and repulsion, by pleasure and pain, by gain and loss, fame and obscurity, praise and blames, creates a solidity in the mind. What we have to do, therefore, is to melt the ice of concepts into the living water of freedom within. All phenomena of samsara and nirvana arise like a rainbow, and like a rainbow they are devoid of any tangible existence. Once you have recognized the true nature of reality, which is empty and at the same time appears as the phenomenal world, your mind will cease to be under the power of delusion. If you know how to leave your thoughts free to dissolve by themselves as they arise, they will cross your mind as a bird crosses the sky - without leaving a trace.

    Maintain that state of simplicity. If you encounter happiness, success, prosperity, or other favorable conditions, consider them as dreams and illusions, and do not get attached to them. If you are stricken by illness, calumny, deprivation or other physical and mental trials, do not let yourself get discouraged, but rekindle your compassion and generate the wish that through your suffering all beings' sufferings may be exhausted. Whatever circumstances arise, do not plunge into either elation or misery, but stay free and comfortable, in unshakable serenity."

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - November, 2000

NOTE: Youtube.com series of documentary on Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hjxHMLP6JM

In This Moment

In this moment it's possible to realize that we do not need to understand, to be understood,  to have the right idea. All we need to do is awaken to the here and now -- to stop jabbering to ourselves and be present in this moment.

There is nothing to prove, nothing to figure out, nothing to get, nothing to understand. When we finally stop explaining everything to ourselves, we may discover that in silence complete understanding was here all along.

Steve Hagen

All The Joy

All the joy the world contains

Has come through wishing happiness for others.
All the misery the world contains
Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself

Shantideva

(often quoted by the Dalai Lama)

I Love This Quote

We do not really understand what desire means. In the West,
desire seems to refer to sense gratification.
However, in the Buddhist view desire is not a craving
of the senses, but the mental concepts and projections
that we build up on an object, 

thereby bringing us problems.

Desire misrepresents and distorts the object.
We then hallucinate and drive ourselves crazy.

Lama Thubten Yeshe Rinpoche

As They Say

"Knock on the sky and listen to the sound..."

Zen Saying

Ah, The Kleshas

Kleshas are thoughts, but they are a specific type of thoughts that are particularly problematic. We consider them problematic or even poisonous because they cause us suffering and indirectly they cause others suffering as well. According to the Buddha's teachings in both the sutras and the tantras, all kleshas or mental afflictions can be summed up in five categories, and those can be further reduced to three. These are usually referred to as the five poisons or the three poisons because they are poisonous if they are not remedied.

The first klesha is attachment, which can be attachment to anything such as food, wealth, pleasure and so on. This is poisonous because being attached to something causes suffering.

The second klesha is aggression. Aggression has many varieties such as hatred, holding a grudge, spitefulness, malevolence and so on. All of these are varieties of the same basic klesha.

The third klesha is apathy, which is a state that arises from ignorance or mental dullness.

The fourth klesha is pride, which in this case is holding yourself to have qualities which you don't possess.

And the fifth is jealousy, which is being unable to tolerate the good things that others enjoy. It's being bothered by the good qualities of others, being bothered by the wealth or pleasure of others and so on.

These five types of kleshas do not normally arise simultaneously. The reason we consider the kleshas problems is that they can simply ruin our lives. They can certainly ruin our practice of dharma and especially our practice of meditation.

So the first step, of course, is recognizing that a klesha has arisen. Normally we don't recognize even that. Normally when a klesha arises it takes hold of us before we are even prepared to admit that it has arisen. At this point, having learned what the kleshas are and having come to admit that they arise has prepared you to recognize and acknowledge them when they do arise.

Although you recognize the arising of the klesha, and although normally we consider kleshas poisonous and problematic, you don't try to stop or get rid of the klesha when it arises. The approach here is identical to that with thoughts in general. When the klesha arises and you recognize such-and-such klesha has arisen in my mind, you don't try to chase it out or stop it, nor do you indulge it. You don't need to stop it because the nature of the klesha is empty, the same as the nature of thought, the same as the nature of mind.

So therefore once you have recognized the arising of whatever klesha it is, then you simply look directly at its nature without altering anything, without attempting to alter your mind or the klesha. As you look at its nature you will experience and recognize its nature. In order to do this of course your mind needs to be somewhat relaxed, but also you need to have a lucid awareness.

Seeing its nature is the same as in the previous case with thoughts in general. While the klesha does not particularly disappear, because its nature is recognized it is no longer poisonous or problematic, and even while it is still present, before it has vanished it becomes an aid to meditation.

Thrangu Rinpoche

Clashing With Kleshas

In the Buddhist view the major obscurations to freedom are called kleshas. A difficult word to translate, kleshas have been called everything from passions to afflictions to conflicting emotions to disturbing conceptions. No one has been able to find quite the right word, for they are not solely emotion nor are they exclusively thought. Joseph Goldstein refers to them as afflictive emotions, while Stephen Batchelor has taken to calling them compulsions. The basic idea is that certain powerful reactions have the capacity to take hold of us and drive our behavior. We believe in these reactions more than we believe in anything else, and they become the means by which we both hide from ourselves and attempt to cope with a world of ceaseless change and unpredictability. The three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance are the classic Buddhist examples, but others include conceit, skeptical doubt, and so-called "speculative" views, nothing of self that bind and restrict us.

The kleshas work by grabbing hold of consciousness and taking it over. When I am enraged, I do not stop to question my reality; I am completely caught up in my anger. There is no space in my mind; I am identified one hundred percent with my feelings. The reason that kleshas is so difficult to translate is that it connotes something that underlies both state of mind and emotion.

Simultaneously thought and feeling, but more basic than either, kleshas are so intense that they propel us mindlessly into actions that cause suffering. When angry, I am gripped by my anger, and I don't care, for the moment, what the consequences of my words or actions will be. I feel totally justified. Just as the ancient languages of the Buddha have only one word for head and heart, so they also recognize the power of these primitive states to monopolize the mind, body, and behavior.

When Freud talked of instincts or drives he was trying to explain a similar concept, that there are energies that permeate us, which can grab our entire being and shape who we become. But in Buddhism these energies are not seen as essential, the way they are in conventional psychoanalysis; they are seen as self-created, springing from a fundamental fear or confusion, a reaction to things being out of our control. The great eighth-century Indian Buddhist scholar Shantideva compared the kleshas to bands of thieves lying in wait to steal the jewels inside the house of mind. His comparison is apt but suffers a little from self-estrangement. The bands of thieves are not separate from us. We steal from ourselves, having somehow learned how to rain on our own parades, and we are not passive victims in the matter. The trick, in Buddhist practice, is to uproot the kleshas through the insidious and invisible power of awareness. To become alert to how we restrict ourselves is to begin the process of liberation.

- Mark Epstein

Shantideva on Klesha

I am as if benumbed by sorcery, My mind reduced to total impotence
With no perception of the madness overwhelming me.
O what is it that has me in its grip?
Anger, lust -- these enemies of mine -- Are limbless and devoid of faculties.
They have no bravery, no cleverness;
How then have they reduced me to such slavery?

Shantideva
Guide To The Bodhisattva Way of Life

From Rabindranath Tagore:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward into ever-widening thought and action -
Into that heaven of freedom, let us awake.

This I'd Post On My Wall, Alas

Do not, acting inconsiderately,
Move furniture and chairs so noisily around,
Likewise do not open doors with violence.
Take pleasure in the practice of humility.

 

Shantideva

Another From Among White Clouds

you live in the mountains a few years
and then you go into town, you sit on the bus
you look at all those people and you feel
who are you struggling for?
who are you troubled for?

people living in the mountains
practicing here one, two, four or five years
they don't think about these mundane
and trivial matters
they are quiet
if this reckless delusional mind
has not been extinguished
every day having these thoughts
good and bad, so many things

always thinking
all these things
should i shouldn't i
you can't stop it

what's this we call reckless delusional mind?
actually this is your habitual ways of thinking
it's because of these habits
that you are always bumping heads with reality
everywhere 'stubbing your toe'
this is your habits having the final say
your delusional mind taking control
so you're always banging your head

once you become aware of these mental habits
you practice
if not
then you go along with your negative habits
and it's like you're stuck in a cloth-dying vat
you'll never come clean

this is the reason for living in the mountains

Unidentified Chinese Hermit
from Among White Clouds

Teaching

When someone asks you a question, answer him or her sincerely,

and when you are not asked, do not force your teaching upon others.

-Jae Woong Kim

Four Reliances

Do not rely merely on the person, but on the words.
Do not rely merely on the words, but on their meaning.
Do not rely merely on the provisional meaning,
     but on the definitive meaning; and
Do not rely merely on intellectual understanding, but
     but on direct experience.

Four Reliances
Buddhist Tradition

If You See Through It

"If you see through this world and let go of it
this is wisdom.

 If you see through it, but don't let it go of it
that's just 'talking Zen"

Chinese Hermit
Amongst White Clouds

Ten Thousand Things

ten thousand things
all in this breath
grasping hold of emptiness
there's really nothing to say.

Unnamed Chinese Hermit
Amongst White Clouds

Don't Prolong The Past

Don’t prolong the past,
Don’t invite the future,
Don’t alter your innate wakefulness,
Don’t fear appearances.

Patrul Rinpoche

Are You A God?

One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you a god?"
"No", answered Buddha.
"Then are you a healer?"
"No", Buddha replied.
"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.
"No, I am not a teacher."
"Then what are you?" asked the student, exasperated.
"I am awake", Buddha replied.

Hidden

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”

The Buddha

If You Propose To Speak

"If you propose to speak, always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind?"

The Buddha

Dharma

When Dharma works in the human world, it is called
compassion sometimes, and is called wisdom sometimes.

Dainin Katagairi

You

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,
deserve your love and affection.

Buddha

For As Long

"For as long as space endures, for as long as living beings remain,
until then may I too remain, to dispel the misery of the world."

Shantideva

Battle of the I

We put up protective walls made of opinions, prejudices, and strategies, banners that are build on a deep fear. These walls are further fortified by emotions of all kinds: anger, craving, indifference, jealousy and envy, arrogance and pride. But fortunately, for us, the soft spot -- our innate ability to love and to care about things -- is like a crack in these walls we erect.

Pema Chodron

Beginner's Mind

“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert's mind there are few.”

Shunryu Suzuki 

Hatred

Hatred never ceases by hatred
But by love alone is healed.
This is an ancient and eternal law.

Buddha

Everybody Loves

Everybody loves something,
even if it's only tortillas.

Trungpa Rinpoche

Our Practice

The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservation and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The Unknown Self

And the more you become aware of the unknown self - if you become aware of it -
the more you realize that it is inseparably connected with everything else that is.

Alan Watts

Refrain From All Evil

Refraining from all evil, not clinging to birth and death, working in deep compassion for all sentient beings, respecting those over you and pitying those below you, without any detesting or desiring, worrying or lamentation - this is what is called Buddha. Do not search beyond it.

Dogen

Climbing

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

Zen Saying

If You Use the Mind

 If you use the Mind to study Reality,
you won't understand Mind or Reality.
 If you study Reality without using mind,
 you'll understand both. 

Bodhidharma

Here It Is

 

Here it is - right now.
Start thinking about it and you miss it.

Huang-po

Patrul Rinpoche's Advice To Self

Listen up, old bad-karma Patrul,
You dweller-in-distraction.

For ages now you’ve been
Beguiled, entranced, and fooled by appearances.
Are you aware of that? Are you?
Right this very instant, when you’re
Under the spell of mistaken perception
You’ve got to watch out.
Don’t let yourself get carried away by this fake and empty life.

Your mind is spinning around
About carrying out a lot of useless projects:
It’s a waste! Give it up!
Thinking about the hundred plans you want to accomplish,
With never enough time to finish them,
Just weighs down your mind.
You’re completely distracted
By all these projects, which never come to an end,
But keep spreading out more, like ripples in water.
Don’t be a fool: for once, just sit tight.

Listening to the teachings—you’ve already heard hundreds of teachings,
But when you haven’t grasped the meaning of even one teaching,
What’s the point of more listening?

Reflecting on the teachings—even though you’ve listened,
If the teachings aren’t coming to mind when needed,
What’s the point of more reflection? None.

Meditating according to the teachings—
If your meditation practice still isn’t curing
The obscuring states of mind—forget about it!

You’ve added up just how many mantras you’ve done—
But you aren’t accomplishing the kyerim visualizatiion.
You may get the forms of deities nice and clear—
But you’re not putting an end to subject and object.
You may tame what appear to be evil spirits and ghosts,
But you’re not training the stream of your own mind.

Your four fine sessions of sadhana practice,
So meticulously arranged—
Forget about them.

When you’re in a good mood,
Your practice seems to have lots of clarity—
But you just can’t relax into it.
When you’re depressed,
Your practice is stable enough
But there’s no brilliance to it.
As for awareness,
You try to force yourself into a rigpa-like state,
As if stabbing a stake into a target!

When those yogic positions and gazes keep your mind stable
Only by keeping mind tethered—
Forget about them!

Giving high-sounding lectures
Doesn’t do your mind-stream any good.
The path of analytical reasoning is precise and acute—
But it’s just more delusion, good for nothing goat-shit.
The oral instructions are very profound
But not if you don’t put them into practice.

Reading over and over those dharma texts
That just occupy your mind and make your eyes sore—
Forget about it!

You beat your little damaru drum—ting, ting—
And your audience thinks it’s charming to hear.
You’re reciting words about offering up your body,
But you still haven’t stopped holding it dear.
You’re making your little cymbals go cling, cling—
Without keeping the ultimate purpose in mind.

All this dharma-practice equipment
That seems so attractive—
Forget about it!

Right now, those students are all studying so very hard,
But in the end, they can’t keep it up.

Today, they seem to get the idea,
But later on, there’s not a trace left.
Even if one of them manages to learn a little,
He rarely applies his “learning” to his own conduct.

Those elegant dharma disciples—
Forget about them!

This year, he really cares about you,
Next year, it’s not like that.
At first, he seems modest,
Then he grows exalted and pompous.
The more you nurture and cherish him,
The more distant he grows.

These dear friends
Who show such smiling faces to begin with—
Forget about them!

Her smile seems so full of joy—
But who knows if that’s really the case?
One time, it’s pure pleasure,
Then it’s nine months of mental pain.
It might be fine for a month,
But sooner or later, there’s trouble.

People teasing; your mind embroiled—
Your lady-friend—
Forget about her!

These endless rounds of conversation
Are just attachment and aversion—
It’s just more goat-shit, good for nothing at all.
At the time it seems marvelously entertaining,
But really, you’re just spreading around stories about other people’s mistakes.
Your audience seems to be listening politely,
But then they grow embarrassed for you.

Useless talk that just make you thirsty—
Forget about it!

Giving teachings on meditation texts
Without yourself having
Gained actual experience through practice,
Is like reciting a dance-manual out loud
And thinking that’s the same as actually dancing.

People may be listening to you with devotion,
But it just isn’t the real thing.

Sooner or later, when your own actions
Contradict the teachings, you’ll feel ashamed.

Just mouthing the words,
Giving dharma explanations that sound so eloquent—
Forget about it!

When you don’t have a text, you long for it;
Then when you’ve finally gotten it, you hardly look at it.

The number of pages seems few enough,
But it’s a bit hard to find time to copy them all.
Even if you copied down all the dharma texts on earth,
You wouldn’t be satisfied.

Copying down texts is a waste of time
(Unless you get paid)—
So forget about it!

Today, they’re happy as clams—
Tomorrow, they’re furious.
With all their black moods and white moods,
People are never satisfied.
Or even if they’re nice enough,
They may not come through when you really need them,
Disappointing you even more.

All this politeness, keeping up a
Courteous demeanor—
Forget about it!

Worldly and religious work
Is the province of gentlemen.
Patrul, old boy—that’s not for you.

Haven’t you noticed what always happens?
An old bull, once you’ve gone to the trouble of borrowing him for his services,
Seems to have absolutely no desire left in him at all—
(Except to go back to sleep).

Be like that—desireless.

Just sleep, eat, piss, shit.
There’s nothing else in life that has to be done.

Don’t get involved with other things:
They’re not the point.

Keep a low profile,
Sleep.

In the triple universe
When you’re lower than your company
You should take the low seat.

Should you happen to be the superior one,
Don’t get arrogant.

There’s no absolute need to have close friends;
You’re better off just keeping to yourself.

When you’re without any worldly or religious obligations,
Don’t keep on longing to acquire some!

If you let go of everything—
Everything, everything—
That’s the real point!

___________________________

This above advice was written by the practitioner Trime Lodro (Patrul Rinpoche) for his intimate friend Ahu Shri (Patrul Rinpoche), in order to give advice that is tailored exactly to his capacities.

Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887) was the wandering Dzogchen master of Eastern Tibet, beloved by the people. He was renowned as the enlightened vagabond.