How to Transform Sickness and Other Circumstances
Gyalsé Tokmé Zangpo
This illusory heap of a body, which, like others, I possess—
If it falls sick, so be it! In sickness I’ll rejoice!
For it will exhaust my negative karma from the past.
And, after all, many forms of Dharma practice
Are for the sake of purifying the two obscurations.
If I am healthy, so be it! In freedom from sickness I’ll rejoice!
When body and mind are well and at ease,
Virtuous practice can develop and gain strength.
And, after all, the way to give meaning to this human life
Is to devote body, speech and mind to virtue.
If I face poverty, so be it! In lack of riches I’ll rejoice!
I will have nothing to protect and nothing to lose.
Whatever quarrels and conflicts there might be,
All arise out of desire for wealth and gain—that’s certain!
If I find wealth, so be it! In prosperity I’ll rejoice!
If I can increase the stock of my merits that will suffice.
Whatever benefit and happiness there might be, now and in the future,
All result from merits I have gained—that’s certain!
If I must die soon, so be it! In dying I’ll rejoice!
Without allowing negative circumstances to intervene,
And with the support of positive tendencies I have gathered,
I will surely set out upon the genuine, unerring path!
If I live long, so be it! In remaining I’ll rejoice!
Once the crop of genuine experience has arisen,
As long as the sun and rainfall of instructions do not diminish,
If it is tended over time, it will surely ripen.
So, whatever happens then, let us always cultivate joy!
Setting Up a Shrine
Drupon Khen Rinpoche
Student’s question: What to consider when setting up a shrine at home?
Rinpoche’s answer: “Personally, I don’t think having many different statues and sacred representations is necessary. It is customary for Tibetan shrines to be filled with many different statues and so on. I think one should have a single, excellent quality and inspiringly beautiful statue or image. The image we chose is a personal matter, but it makes sense that it would be of Buddha Shakyamuni, for us as Buddhists.
Then the offerings should be equally well-made and good quality without being over the top. Again, not loads of different things, but neat, moderate, and exquisite offerings are better in my opinion.
In the best-case scenario, your image will inspire faith or at least it will be regarded as beautiful by almost anyone who beholds it. The same applies to the offerings; they should be pleasing. What we should avoid is a display where people look at it and think, ‘What on earth is this!?’ If it doesn’t inspire faith and awe, it at least shouldn’t turn people off.”
Cutting the Three Ties
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
“To help others you must first perfect yourself, and to perfect yourself you first have to cut these three ties: obeying important people, getting entangled in futile attempts to help others, and listening to what people say.
Trying to gratify important people only leads to emotional upheavals. Trying to help people with the things of this life only fuels the fires of samsara. At best, whatever satisfaction you may bring about in these ways will only be temporary; it won’t help anyone at the moment of death.
These, in fact, are mistaken notions of compassion. True compassion is to establish beings in the deathless bliss of perfect Buddhahood.”
Everything Is the Guru
Guru Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
“Everything is the Guru. Try imagining Guru Rinpoche above your head, or sitting in front of you, or in your heart. As you chant the mantra, imagine an uninterrupted stream of nectar flows down from the Guru and dissolves into you.
At night visualise your Guru sitting on a lotus in your heart. As you eat, imagine your Guru in your throat. If you are facing an obstacle, perhaps a dispute in your family, or if you are depressed, visualise your Guru on your shoulder, wrathfully baring his fangs.
Longchenpa Nyingtik Ngöndro practitioners can imagine sparks of fire and scorpions shooting out from Guru Rinpoche’s vajra, the scorpions snapping up each and every obstacle and swallowing them until they are all completely annihilated.
As death approaches, visualise your Guru in the form of red Amitabha and transfer yourself into Amitabha’s heart, again and again. Imagine that everyone and everything you encounter throughout the day is none other than Guru Rinpoche. This is quite a profound practice, and beginners may find it a little difficult at first, so start by doing it on an aspirational level.”
The Attitude of Great Practitioners
Guru Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Milarepa said, “When I get sick, if no one asks after me, and when I die, if no one cries for me, and if I manage to die alone in an isolated retreat place, then I, as a yogi, will be satisfied.”
He was not interested in how deeply someone bowed to him or how big his tombstone would be. Such is the attitude of great practitioners. They don’t care about outer displays; they have no need for social etiquette.
Excerpt from The Guru Drinks Bourbon?
Samsara cannot be fixed
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
“To believe that life’s problems will somehow work themselves out, everything bad is fixable and something about samsara has to be worth fighting for makes it virtually impossible to nurture a genuine, all-consuming desire to practice the dharma.
The only view that truly works for a dharma practitioner is that there are no solutions to the sufferings of samsara and it cannot be fixed. It is vital to understand that however positive this worldly life, or even a small part of it, may appear to be, ultimately it will fail because absolutely nothing genuinely works in samsara.”
From Not For Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices