Quotes from Sogyal Rinpoche

The definition of mantra is "that which protects the mind.

the truth of the teaching which is all-important, and never the personality of the teacher.

It is meditation that slowly purifies the ordinary mind, unmasking and exhausting its habits and illusions, so that we can, at the right moment, recognize who we really are.

William Blake: He who binds to himself a Joy, Does the winged life destroy; He who kisses the Joy as it flies, Lives in Eternity's sunrise.7

This is why Buddha reminded us in the "Four Reliances": Rely on the message of the teacher, not on his personality; Rely on the meaning, not just on the words; Rely on the real meaning, not on the provisional one; Rely on your wisdom mind, not on your ordinary, judgmental mind.

master, Drakpa Gyaltsen, said: "Human beings spend all their lives preparing, preparing, preparing . . . Only to meet the next life unprepared.

The nature of mind is just too close to be recognized. Just as we are unable to see our own face, mind finds it difficult to look into its own nature. 2.

Do the Guru Yoga practice, imagining with special intensity the rays of light streaming out from your master and purifying you, burning away all your impurities, your illness too, and healing you; your body melting into light; and merging your mind, in the end, with his wisdom mind, in complete confidence.

consciousness, at its subtlest level, continues without the body and goes through the series of states called "bardos.

Working with the dying is like facing a polished and fierce mirror of your own reality.

Seeing emptiness, have compassion.

the essential thing is to master one way, one path to the truth, by following one tradition with all your heart and mind to the end of the spiritual journey, while remaining open and respectful toward the insights of all others.

Meditation consists of being attentive to such a state of Rigpa, free from all mental constructions, whilst remaining fully relaxed, without any distraction or grasping. For it is said that 'Meditation is not striving, but naturally becoming assimilated into it.

Rainer Maria Rilke has said that our deepest fears are like dragons guarding our deepest treasure.

If all the harms Fears and sufferings in the world Arise from self-grasping, What need have I for such a great evil spirit?

the root of all our suffering in samsara is ignorance.

Every subatomic interaction consists of the annihilation of the original particles and the creation of new subatomic particles. The subatomic world is a continual dance of creation and annihilation, of mass changing into energy and energy changing to mass. Transient forms sparkle in and out of existence, creating a never-ending, forever newly created reality.8

With mind far off, not thinking of death's coming, Performing these meaningless activities, Returning empty-handed now would be complete confusion; The need is recognition, the spiritual teachings, So why not practice the path of wisdom at this very moment? From the mouths of the saints come these words: If you do not keep your master's teaching in your heart Will you not become your own deceiver?

what is in our ego's self-interest and what is in our ultimate interest;

A friend can turn into an enemy, and so an enemy can turn into a friend.

First, they must give the person permission to die, and second they must reassure the person they will be all right after he or she has gone, and that there is no need to worry about them.

And being a buddha is not being some omnipotent spiritual superman, but becoming at last a true human being.

Be free of attachment and aversion. Keep your mind pure. And unite your mind with the Buddha.

I will abandon all grasping, yearning, and attachment, Enter undistracted into clear awareness of the teaching