Tulku Quotes & Sayings

Don't hang on to your failures, because you can always try again. Trying gives hope. Hope gives us life. — Tsem Tulku

If being me offends you, maybe I'm not the problem. — Tsem Tulku

Don't let any emotional thought concerning success or failure, fame or gain, overtake you, and don't dwell upon them. Give up your personal shortcomings, such as foolish talk, distracting activities, and absentmindedness. Train in being totally gentle in all physical, verbal, or mental activities. Don't ponder the flaws of others; think instead of their good sides. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The world will be balanced when we are balanced. — Tarthang Tulku

What you are today is the choice you made yesterday. — Tsem Tulku

Give Happiness, Patience, kindness, and Care, and the PAIN goes away.
Then only LOVE remains ... — Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

As we respond with caring and vision to all work, we develop our capacity to respond fully to all of life. Every action generates positive energy which can be shared with others. — Tarthang Tulku

Don't call for a revolution, but look at yourself honestly and create an evolution. — Tsem Tulku

Never sit under a tree waiting for the apple to fall. Climb the tree, grab that apple!
When it comes, never be inert and take your time, TIME TO MOVE! — Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

Once we truly understand that our waking experience is dreamlike,
we no longer have to treat life as a serious problem. — Tarthang Tulku

When a child encounters something he or she does not want, that child has all kinds of maneuvers to avoid it, such as crying, hiding, or fighting ... Unless we are taught to face our problems directly and work through them, the pattern of avoidance will be repeated; it can be a natural, accepted way to act. — Tarthang Tulku

By means of meditation we can teach our minds to be calm and balanced; within this calmness is a richness and a potential, an inner knowledge which can render our lives boundlessly satisfying and meaningful. While the mind may be what traps us in unhealthy patterns of stress and imbalance, it is also the mind which can free us. Through meditation, we can tap the healing qualities of mind. — Tarthang Tulku

Every kind of work can be a pleasure. Even simple household tasks can be an opportunity to exercise and expand our caring, our effectiveness, our responsiveness. As we respond with caring and vision to all work, we develop our capacity to respond fully to all of life. Every action generates positive energy which can be shared with others. These qualities of caring and responsiveness are the greatest gift we can offer. — Tarthang Tulku

Our human awareness is so powerful that even if we tap only a small part of it we can accomplish more that we ever thought possible. Using our complete potential, we can soar to the height where our accomplishments have great and lasting value for both ourselves and for future generations. — Tarthang Tulku

Always we should appreciate what we are able to do, and not feel bad about what we haven't done. — Tulku Thondup

Ordinary people do not question the commonly accepted version of reality. They conform to the standard values of subduing enemies and cherishing friends and family. Materialism, ambition and mundane achievements are the worldly hallmarks of success. We experience the phenomenal world and our minds as solid and truly existent. Very few people doubt these assertions and question their solidity. Yet, the process of disbelief is the first step on the spiritual path. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Reality is all-encompassing: the absolute nature is one. Although we may feel separate from the original uncreated reality - whether we call it 'God,' 'peak experience,' or 'enlightened mind' - through awareness we can contact this essential part of ourselves. — Tarthang Tulku

When you give in to aversion and anger, it's as though, having decided to kill someone by throwing him into a river, you wrap your arms around his neck, jump into the water with him, and you both drown. In destroying your enemy, you destroy yourself as well. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

It can be helpful to remember that the enlightened mind and the ordinary mind are two sides of the same coin. The mind is like the sea, which can be rough on the surface, with mountainous waves stirred up by ferocious wind, but calm and peaceful at the bottom. Sometimes we can catch sight of this peaceful mind even in times of trouble. These glimpses of peace show us that we may have more inner resources to draw upon than we had realized. With skill and patience, we can learn how to be in touch with our peaceful selves. — Tulku Thondup

Always recognize the dreamlike qualities of life and reduce attachment and aversion. Practice good-heartedness toward all beings. Be loving and compassionate, no matter what others do to you. What they will do will not matter so much when you see it as a dream. The trick is to have positive intention during the dream. This is the essential point. This is true spirituality. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Karma isn't fate. Nor is it a punishment imposed on us by some external agent. We create our own karma. Karma is the result of the choices that we make every moment of every day. — Tulku Thondup

Maturity is about Challenging yourself and Improving!
And then taking that experience to help others ... — Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

If you want to do your best for future generations of humanity, for your friends and family, you must begin by taking good care of yourself. — Tarthang Tulku

Dreams are a reservoir of knowledge and experience yet they are often overlooked as a vehicle for exploring reality. In the dream state our bodies are at rest, yet we see and hear, move about and are even able to learn. When we make good use of the dream state it is almost as if our lives were doubled: instead of a hundred years we live to be two hundred
Tibetan Buddhist Tarthang Tulku from — Stephen LaBerge

When others put you down for who you are or what you're doing, it just means that you're going in the right direction. — Tsem Tulku

It is important to recognize the power of our emotions-and to take responsibility for them by creating a light and positive atmosphere around ourselves. This attitude of joy that we create helps alleviate states of hopelessness, loneliness, and despair. Our relationships with others thus naturally improve, and little by little the whole of society becomes more positive and balanced. — Tarthang Tulku

There is no thing to see: you simply need to see that. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

If we do not create inner peace, outer peace is not possible. — Tsem Tulku

Not everyone can see things the way you see it, so let go. You can't see everything the way they see it either, so let go again. — Tsem Tulku

A persons outer action reflects their inner mind. — Tsem Tulku

Being aggressive, you can accomplish some things, but with gentleness, you can accomplish all things. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Being humble doesn't mean you lose; it means you have won. Give the victory to others. — Tsem Tulku

Eating animals is not our God-given right, but being kind to them is. — Tsem Tulku

Gymnasts, lazy people, complainers and successful people have all practiced to be what they are good at. So if you keep practicing being lazy, you will be lazy. If you keep practicing complaining, you will constantly complain. If you practice compassion, generosity, patience, working hard and having a bigger vision, you will become better at it with time because you will create the causes to become better. You are practicing to become better. — Tsem Tulku

Once our hearts are open, all existence appears naturally beautiful and harmonious. — Tarthang Tulku

When we learn to deal directly with our complaints and difficulties, romanticized ideas about the spiritual path are no longer meaningful. We see that what is important is to take responsibility for ourselves, and to always be aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. — Tarthang Tulku

Even if you have a lot of work to do, if you think of it as wonderful, and if you feel it as wonderful, it will transform into the energy of joy and fire, instead of becoming a burden. — Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

Don't burden others with your expectations. Understanding their limitations can inspire compassion instead of disappointment, ensuring beneficial and workable relationships. Remember that you have only a short time together. Be grateful for each day you share. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

We must be open to our mistakes and grow. Growth isn't based on being perfect, but moving toward the best we can be by being honest. — Tsem Tulku

Energy is our most precious resource, for it is the means by which we transform our creative potential into meaningful action. — Tarthang Tulku

Envy and jealousy are very harmful because you are never ever satisfied with what you have and you never reflect on what you have. You constantly live your life on what you do not have. — Tsem Tulku

When remaining in awareness itself, every thought movement, no matter what kind, is like a drawing in air. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The next time you face a challenge, remember that the cost of success is far cheaper than the price of failure. — Tsem Tulku

Although all of us desire happiness, few of us reach that goal because of the seemingly endless cycle of expectation and disappointment. — Tarthang Tulku

Some might say that looking inside of ourselves for spiritual truths is egocentric and selfish, and that egolessness and selflessness lie in working for others in the world. But until we find our inner truth, our work in the world will always revolve around our 'selves'. As long as we think about the world in terms of 'self' and 'others', our actions will be selfish. Our 'self' follows us wherever we go, so positive results will be limited. — Tarthang Tulku

The basis of the spiritual path is the development in ourselves of what is truly balanced, natural, and meaningful. — Tarthang Tulku

The blessings of stupas are such that they benefit all beings, regardless of their connection and motivation. If one participates in a stupa's construction and ritual activities, or honors the completed stupa with an altruistic resolve to benefit all beings, then the blessings are such that the Buddha himself could not describe them. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

When we cross the gates of death, our karma is all we take with us. Everything else that we enjoyed in this life we leave behind ... Our karma is the only thing that will count in determining our rebirth, for our next life is nothing but the effects of our karmic tendencies that materialize in our perception. — Tulku Thondup

Be different, be altruistic. Be strange, work for others in response to their harm. Raise eyebrows, be generous without agenda. — Tsem Tulku

Complete health and awakening are really the same. — Tarthang Tulku

Find yourself. Be with yourself. Fail and then achieve. — Tsem Tulku

True confidence comes from realizing the view. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Complaining is another way of saying to others, YOU SOLVE THE PROBLEM. — Tsem Tulku

Consistency in life is so important for success. It stems from taking what we are doing seriously. — Tsem Tulku

You are your dreams. Your dreams are what you can become, so don't stop dreaming and believing. Just Do It! — Tsem Tulku

Feeling sorry for yourself for one single minute is okay, but spend all your remaining time on solutions. — Tsem Tulku

Praying is not about asking; it's about listening ...
It is just opening your eyes to see what was there all along. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Know that however difficult experiences may be,
they are part of the truth you seek. — Tarthang Tulku

The minute you say "I can't", it is another wrong affirmation to your subconscious that you choose to lose. — Tsem Tulku

If you say you don't have money to help a animal shelter, why then do you have money to buy meat? — Tsem Tulku

The basic nature of all conscious beings is 'self-existing wakefulness'.
Self-existing meaning spontaneous or without effort and wakefulness meaning natural awareness.
To ignore our basic nature, is to wander in fear and confusion,
to directly realise our essential nature is to be Enlightened. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The balanced energy of patience radiates a friendly and productive attitude
from our hearts into every aspect of our existence. — Tarthang Tulku

The gross elements are earth, water, air and fire, with the fifth being space. Each particle of the body is made up of these five elements, which are manifested in different colors. In their true quality, space is blue light, water is white, earth is yellow, fire is red, and air is green. — Tulku Thondup

Meanings generating meanings - the process has backed us into a particular corner, a kind of cave, where sunlight seldom enters. — Tarthang Tulku

A monk is holy and great until he starts teaching you the real Dharma — Tsem Tulku

Don't always use PAIN that you receive as an excuse to GIVE PAIN ... — Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

In my experience, some Dzogchen masters are better teachers than others. I have been in the presence of several of the most revered Tibetan lamas of our time while they were ostensibly teaching Dzogchen, and most of them simply described this view of consciousness without giving clear instructions on how to glimpse it. The genius of Tulku Urgyen was that he could point out the nature of mind with the precision and matter-of-factness of teaching a person how to thread a needle and could get an ordinary meditator like me to recognize that consciousness is intrinsically free of self. There might be some initial struggle and uncertainty, depending on the student, but once the truth of nonduality had been glimpsed, it became obvious that it was always available - and there was never any doubt about how to see it again. I came to Tulku Urgyen yearning for the experience of self-transcendence, and in a few minutes he showed me that I had no self to transcend. — Sam Harris

If we start worrying whether our nose is too big or too small, we should think, "What if I had no head? - now that would be a problem!" As long as we have life, we should rejoice. If everything doesn't go exactly as we'd like, we can accept it. If we contemplate impermanence deeply, patience and compassion will arise. We will hold less to the apparent truth of our experience, and the mind will become more flexible. Realizing that one day this body will be buried or burned, we will rejoice in every moment we have rather than make ourselves or others unhappy. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Our perception of space alters the space. It is consciousness that finds meanings in all spaces — Tarthang Tulku

May I quickly attain complete enlightenment, and having attained the state of a buddha, may I guide all sentient beings to liberation and the awakened state itself. — Tulku Urgyen