Our task is to strike a balance, to find a middle way, to learn not to overextend ourselves with extraneous activities and preoccupations, but to simplify our lives more and more. The key to finding a happy balance in modern life is simplicity. Sogyal Rinpoche More Quotes by Sogyal Rinpoche More Quotes From Sogyal Rinpoche At the beginning of meditation training thoughts will arrive one on top of another, uninterrupted, like a steep mountain waterfall. Gradually, as you perfect meditation, thoughts become like the water in a deep, narrow gorge, then a great river slowly winding its way down to the sea; finally the mind becomes like a still and placid ocean, ruffled by only the occasional ripple or wave. Sogyal Rinpoche ocean sea rivers Just as if you put your finger into water, it will get wet, and if you put it into fire, it will burn, so if you invest your mind in the wisdom mind of the Buddhas, it will transform into their wisdom nature. Sogyal Rinpoche wisdom fire water Generally we waste our lives, distracted from our true selves, in endless activity. Meditation is the way to bring us back to ourselves, where we can really experience and taste our full being. Sogyal Rinpoche meditation self spiritual Once an old woman came to Buddha and asked him how to meditate. He told her to remain aware of every movement of her hands as she drew the water from the well, knowing that if she did, she would soon find herself in that state of alert and spacious calm that is meditation. Sogyal Rinpoche knowing water hands Living with the immediacy of death helps you sort out your priorities in life. It helps you to live a less trivial life. Sogyal Rinpoche priorities-in-life climbing helping The real glory of meditation lies not in any method but in its continual living experience of presence, in its bliss, clarity, peace, and most important of all, complete absence of grasping. The diminishing of grasping in yourself is a sign that you are becoming freer of yourself. And the more you experience this freedom, the clearer the sign that the ego and the hopes and fears that keep it alive are dissolving, and the closer you will come to the infinitely generous "wisdom of egolessness." Sogyal Rinpoche real peace lying There is only one way of attaining liberation and of obtaining the omniscience of enlightenment: following an authentic spiritual master. Sogyal Rinpoche enlightenment spiritual way Let the sky outside awake a sky inside your mind. Sogyal Rinpoche awake mind sky All too often people come to meditation in the hope of extraordinary results, like visions, lights, or some supernatural miracle. When no such thing occurs, they feel extremely disappointed. But the real miracle of meditation is more ordinary and much more useful. . . . Sogyal Rinpoche light real hope {While meditating} I sit quietly and rest in the nature of mind; I don't question or doubt whether I am in the "correct" state or not. There is no effort, only rich understanding, wakefulness, and unshakable certainty. When I am in the nature of mind, the ordinary mind is no longer there. There is no need to sustain or confirm a sense of being: I simply am. Sogyal Rinpoche effort understanding doubt Just because we go through a difficult situation, it doesn’t mean that the future is predetermined. The future is very much in our hands, in our actions. Sogyal Rinpoche difficult-situations mean hands Each time the losses and deceptions of life teach us about impermanence, they bring us closer to the truth. When you fall from a great height, there is only one possible place to land: on the ground-the ground of truth. And if you have the understanding that comes from spiritual practice, then falling is in no way a disaster, but the discovery of an inner refuge. Sogyal Rinpoche spiritual loss fall The masters say if you create an auspicious condition in your body and your environment then meditation and realization will automatically arise. Sogyal Rinpoche body realization meditation Modern society seems to be a celebration of all the things that lead away from the Truth, make Truth hard to live for, and discourage people from even believing that it exists. Sogyal Rinpoche block real spring Let your heart go out in spontaneous and immeasurable compassion. Sogyal Rinpoche spontaneous compassion heart If all we know of mind is the aspect of mind that dissolves when we die, we will be left with no idea of what continues, no knowledge of the new dimension of the deeper reality of the nature of mind. So it is vital for us all to familiarize ourselves with the nature of mind while we are still alive. Only then will we be prepared for the time when it reveals itself spontaneously and powerfully at the moment of death; be able to recognize it "as naturally," the teachings say, "as a child running into its mother's lap"; and by remaining in that state, finally be liberated. Sogyal Rinpoche mother running death More important than finding the teacher is finding and following the truth of the teaching. Sogyal Rinpoche important teaching teacher Again and again we need to appreciate the subtle workings of the teachings and the practice, and even when there is no extraordinary, dramatic change, to persevere with calm and patience. How important it is to be skillful and gentle with ourselves, without becoming disheartened or giving up, but trusting the spiritual path and knowing that it has its own laws and its own dynamics. Sogyal Rinpoche giving-up teaching spiritual In this complex world, the best way to survive is to be genuine. Sogyal Rinpoche inspirational-life way world It is important to remember always that the principle of egolessness does not mean that there was an ego in the first place, and the Buddhists did away with it. On the contrary, it means there was never any ego at all to begin with. To realize that is called "egolessness. Sogyal Rinpoche buddhist ego mean
