Infants and young children naturally and spontaneously reveal what they feel. They are not held back by inhibitions or enmeshed in habits of deception. One effect of babies’ naturalness is that people feel affection towards them, and this kindness that others show them is necessary for their survival. We find small children adorable and loveable, and we are therefore willing to take care of their needs. People stop to admire them and want to caress and hold them. If they cry, we want to discover why so we can give them whatever they lack. When humans are very young, we are naturally open and straightforward. If a small child sees another playing at something, he or she might walk straight up and join the other in the play. Children unselfconsciously wave at people in passing trains or cars. They do not doubt others’ intentions or seek to deceive them. ~ 17th Karmapa

Jendhamuni at the Wachusett Reservoir on September 26, 2020

Measure yourself against the various stages of the path; see if you can bear sufferings such as illness, being undermined, and despised. To be unable to do so is to be ordinary, a sign you have not completed the path. ~ Khenpo Gangshar

This heart of ours is very difficult to soften. But we’d all most probably like our heart to be more soft and compassionate. The way it can ever soften is to be able to put ourselves in others shoes, in the shoes of the person we see suffering, for example.

Then go through what they go through, feel what they feel and experience. Naturally our heart softens and more compassion flows. So don’t resist the suffering you encounter, but take it as a way to train your heart in compassion. ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Jendhamuni at the Quabbin Reservoir on September 19, 2020.

We often think the only way to create happiness is to try to control the outer circumstances of our lives, to try to fix what seems wrong or to get rid of everything that bothers us. But the real problem lies in our reaction to those circumstances. What we have to change is the mind and the way it experiences reality. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

When someone insults us, we usually dwell on it, asking ourselves, ‘Why did he say that to me?’ and on and on. It’s as if someone shoots an arrow at us, but it falls short. Focusing on the problem is like picking up the arrow and repeatedly stabbing ourselves with it, saying, ‘He hurt me so much. I can’t believe he did that.’

Instead, we can use the method of contemplation to think things through differently, to change our habit of reacting with anger.

Imagine that someone insults you. Say to yourself, ‘This person makes me angry. But what is this anger?’ It is one of the poisons of the mind that creates negative karma, leading to intense suffering. Meeting anger with anger is like following a lunatic who jumps off a cliff. Do I have to go likewise? While it’s crazy for him to act the way he does, it’s even crazier for me to do the same. ~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche