Why exactly are we so frightened of death that we avoid looking at it altogether? Somewhere, deep down, we know we cannot avoid facing death forever. We know, in Milarepa’s words: “This thing called ‘corpse’ we dread so much is living with us here and now.”
Why, if we are as pragmatic as we claim, don’t we begin to ask ourselves seriously: Where does our real future lie?
This dying forces you to look into yourself. And in this, compassion is the only way. Love is the only way.
And when you talk about realization, accomplishment for that matter enlightenment is that when you realize the fundamental essence of your mind.
The definition of mantra is “that which protects the mind.” That which protects the mind from negativity, or that which protects you from your own mind, is called mantra.
There is only one way of attaining liberation and of obtaining the omniscience of enlightenment: following an authentic spiritual master.
Our buddha nature is as good as any buddha’s buddha nature.
Saints and mystics throughout history have adorned their realisations with different names and given them different faces and interpretations, but what they are all fundamentally experiencing is the essential nature of the mind.
Theories are like patches on a coat, one day they just wear off.
In the Buddhist approach, life and death are seen as one whole, where death is the beginning of another chapter of life. Death is the mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected.
What is born will die, What has been gathered will be dispersed, What has been accumulated will be exhausted, What has been built up will collapse, And what has been high will be brought low.
Everything can be used as an invitation to meditation.
Yet is our deepest desire is truly to live and go on living, why do we blindly insist that death is the end? Why not at least try and explore the possibility that there may be a life after?
Thich Nhat Hanh writes with the voice of the Buddha.
What should we “do” with the mind in meditation? Nothing. Just leave it, simply, as it is.
Tomorrow or the next life – which comes first, we never know.
If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.
How often attachment is mistaken for love! Even when the relationship is a good one, love is spoiled by attachment, with its insecurity, possessiveness, and pride; and then when love is gone, all you have left to show for it are the “souvenirs” of love, the scars of attachment.
Don’t worry about anything. Even if you find your attention wandering, there is no particular ‘thing’ you have to hold onto. Just let go, and drift in the awareness of the blessing. Don’t let small, niggling questions distract.
As Stephen Levine says: “When your fear touches someone’s pain it becomes pity; when your love touches someone’s pain, it becomes compassion.”4.