Dzigar Rinpoche Quotes & Sayings

The center of my sins
stuck behind a blocked door,
circled by hollow deeds
spread on my lifetime's floor — Munia Khan

The inversion of external compulsion into the compulsion of conscience ... produces the machine-like assiduity and pliable allegiance required by the new rationality. — Max Horkheimer

A mantra is like meeting the Buddha or Bodhisattva himself. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

I like when people have Western style, but it's throwback Seventies-ish. I like pearlsnap shirts and a bow-tie like the KFC man. — Kacey Musgraves

Once I had feared that telling the truth would be like falling, that love would be like hitting the ground, but here I was, my feet firmly planted, standing on my own. — Rachel Hartman

There is nothing more miserable and foolish than anticipation. — Seneca The Younger

Everybody talks about freedom, citizens," the big man said gently, seeming to draw upon that very sure source of personal knowledge again, "but they dont really want it. Half of them wants it but the other half dont. What they really want is to maintain an illusion of freedom in front of their wives and business associates. Its a satisfactory compromise, and as long they can have that they can get along without the other which is more expensive. The only trouble is, every man who declares himself free to his friends has to make a slave out of his wife and employees to keep up the illusion and prove it; the wife to be free in front of her bridgeclub has to command her Help, Husband and Heirs. It resolves itself into a battle; whoever wins, the other one loses. For every general in this world there have to be 6,000 privates. — James Jones

When we look in the mirror, the one thing we don't want to see is an ordinary human being. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

In Barcelona, things seem so different. For example, I know that it's traditionally the least Spanish city, but you'd never know they had a monarchy, coming here as a tourist - as opposed to the U.K., where the Queen is probably the best-known animal, vegetable and/or mineral going when it comes to overseas visitors. — Julie Burchill

Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment. — Alexander McQueen

Self-reflection is the gateway to freedom. It also brings greater appreciation and enjoyment. We begin to enjoy spending time with our own mind, and we enjoy reflecting on our experience of the teachings. Like the sun emerging from behind the clouds, the teachings of the dharma become clear. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

By approaching everything with a sense of suspicion and struggle, we like to think we're in control of things. But in truth our past karma is simply playing itself out. Instead of struggling with it, however, we can choose to dance. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

The outer world in all its variety and our inner world of thoughts and emotions are not as they seem. All phenomena appear to exist objectively, but their true mode of existence is like a dream: apparent yet insubstantial. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

The experience of emptiness is not found outside the world of ordinary appearance, as many people mistakenly assume. In truth, we experience emptiness when the mind is free of grasping at appearance. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

When we trust our creativity we encounter a supreme kind of enjoyment - an amazement at the natural unfolding of life beyond our ordinary way of looking at things. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

He was empty within. There was no stimulus, no absorbing task into which he could throw himself. But his nervous activity, his inability to be quiet, ... had indeed taken the upper hand and become his master. It was something artificial, a pressure on the nerves, a depressant, in fact ... This craving for activity had become a martyrdom, but it was dissipated in a host of trivialities. — Thomas Mann

You as a salt-being, made of salt, go to fathom the depth of the ocean, and in the process you yourself dissolve. A great maharishi once said that true meditation is like this. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

A fresh attitude starts to happen when we look to see that yesterday was yesterday, and now it is gone; today is today and now it is new. It is like that - every hour, every minute is changing. If we stop observing change, then we stop seeing everything as new — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Melting our attachment to self is the most powerful medication for bringing mental and emotional imbalances in check. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Seeing that nothing is solid or permanent you begin to make yourself at home in the unknown. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Thoughts and emotions will always arise. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

What good are thoughts and emotions-in fact all of our experiences-if not to increase our realization? — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Imagine craving absolutely nothing from the world. Imagine cutting the invisible strings that so painfully bind us: what would that be like? Imagine the freedoms that come from the ability to enjoy things without having to acquire them, own them, possess them. Try to envision a relationship based on acceptance and genuine care rather than expectation. Imagine feeling completely satisfied and content with your life just as it is. Who wouldn't want this? This is the enjoyment of non-attachment. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

We cannot be fearful all the time; we have to rise above our fear, whatever is to happen to us, however our conditions may challenge us. To be fearless is a decision that one must make. And this fearlessness becomes the fundamental ground of nonviolence. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

There are as many foolhardy ways to grow as there are to downsize. — Gary Hamel

Humour allows us to see that ultimately things don't make sense. The only thing that truly makes sense is letting go of anything we continue to hold on to. Our ego-mind and emotions are a dramatic illusion. Of course, we all feel that they're real: my drama, your drama, our confrontations. We create these elaborate scenarios and then react to them. But there is nothing really happening outside our mind! This is karma's cosmic joke. You can laugh about the irony of this, or you can stick with your scenario. It's your choice. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

The longing for happiness and freedom from suffering
expresses the great natural potential of mind. — Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche