Quotes from Sogyal Rinpoche

Bless me into usefulness

Así pues, el ego es la carencia de un verdadero conocimiento sobre quiénes somos en realidad, junto con su consecuencia: el inexorable aferramiento, que está condenado al fracaso, a una imagen de nosotros mismos improvisada y hecha de remiendos, un yo inevitablemente camaleónico y charlatán que no cesa de cambiar constantemente para mantener viva la ficción de su existencia.

Ah, yes," he replied, "that's true; this is such a civilized country. They have such marvelous houses for dead corpses. But haven't you noticed? They have such wonderful houses for the living corpses too.

Researchers have noted a startling range of aftereffects and changes: a reduced fear and deeper acceptance of death; an increased concern for helping others; an enhanced vision of the importance of love; less interest in materialistic pursuits; a growing belief in a spiritual dimension and the spiritual meaning of life; and, of course, a greater openness to belief in the afterlife.

Aunque fuéramos capaces de advertir las mentiras del ego, nos asusta demasiado abandonarlo. Sin un verdadero conocimiento de la naturaleza de nuestra mente, de nuestra verdadera identidad, no tenemos otra alternativa. Una y otra vez nos rendimos a sus exigencias con la misma tristeza y autodesprecio con que el alcohólico acude a la bebida que sabe que lo está destruyendo, o el drogadicto a la droga que, tras un breve rato de euforia, lo dejará rendido y desesperado.

Dudjom Rinpoche, in his famous declaration of realization, wrote: Since pure awareness of nowness is the real buddha, In openness and contentment I found the Lama in my heart. When we realize this unending natural mind is the very nature of the Lama, Then there is no need for attached, grasping, or weeping prayers or artificial complaints, By simply relaxing in this uncontrived, open, and natural state, We obtain the blessing of aimless self-liberation of whatever arises.

My interest in material wealth and greed for possessions were replaced by a thirst for spiritual understanding and a passionate desire to see world conditions improve.1

The words Guru Yoga mean 'union with the nature of the guru,' and in this practice we are given methods by which we can blend our own minds with the enlightened mind of the master.

space dissolves into luminosity":

The outer teacher introduces you directly to the truth of your inner teacher.

thoughts are seen for what they truly are: fleeting and transparent, and only relative.

Try hard not to create too much hope and fear," for they only engender more mental gossip.

Help me, inspire me to purify all my karma and negative emotions, and to realize the true nature of my mind!

Though my View is as spacious as the sky, My actions and respect for cause and effect are as fine as grains of flour.

As Cicely Saunders wrote: "The dying have shed the masks and superficialities of everyday living and they are all the more open and sensitive because of this. They see through all unreality. I remember one man saying, 'No, no reading. I only want what is in your mind and in your heart.'"1

Fear of death and ignorance of the afterlife are fueling that destruction of our environment that is threatening all of our lives. So isn't it all the more disturbing that people are not taught what death is, or how to die?

the true meaning of "blessing"—a transformation in which your mind transcends into the state of the absolute.

Always when you are with a dying person, dwell on what they have accomplished and done well. Help them to feel as constructive and as happy as possible about their lives. Concentrate on their virtues and not their failings.

the realization that you are not condemned to your habits, that you can indeed emerge from them, that you can change, and grow more and more free.

As they die, they enable their body to be reabsorbed back into the light essence of the elements that created it

It's interesting that the word for "Budddhist" in Tibetan is nangpa. It means "inside-er": someone who seeks the truth not outside, but within the nature of mind. All the teachings and training in Buddhism are aimed at that one single point: to look into the nature of the mind, and so free us from the fear of death and help us realize the truth of life.

Do you think God will ever forgive me for my sins?" I would say: "Forgiveness already exists in the nature of God; it is already there. God has already forgiven you, for God is forgiveness itself. 'To err is human, and to forgive divine.' But can you truly forgive yourself? That's the real question.

Whatever we do, with our body, speech or mind, will have a corresponding result. Each action, even the smallest, is pregnant with its consequences. The results of our actions are often delayed. What you are is what you have been, what you will be is what you do now.

since learning to live is learning to let go.