The moment we stop letting greed make us chase after what we do not have and take for granted all that we do have, we can feel a deep and joyful sense of appreciation. We truly have everything we need already. ~ 17th Karmapa
Red Tail Hawk Circling Me! Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
Contentment is a wealth that gives the highest satisfaction, and we can gain it simply by mining our own mental resources, and knowing our own mind. We can cultivate the perspective that what we have is enough. We can see that we do not actually need more than we already have, and can be completely satisfied with that. ~17th Karmapa
The priority we give to material goods in our life is up to each of us to determine. This is also part of deciding how we want to define ourselves. If we are looking to our jobs and to material things to tell us how we are, what we are worth, and where we fit in the world, this is a sign that we have become profoundly confused about the order of things. It shows we have missed the point about how we human beings stand in relation to the material world. ~ 17th Karmapa
Most living beings seek mental happiness and want to eliminate suffering, but just wishing will not bring this about. We may even create the opposite. So we must search for the cause of suffering and the cause of happiness. The afflictions are the cause of samsara, of all mental discomfort and suffering. The remedy is meditation. ~ 17th Karmapa
When it comes to the true nature of mind, this isn’t something that we get from a spiritual tradition or religion. It’s not something that we need to seek from a guru or that we need to find by going to a sacred place, but it’s a matter of recognizing who we are, whatever that it is. When we see this completely clearly, when who we actually are becomes completely evident and obvious to us, and we recognize it and appreciate it in a completely perfect way, then that I think is what is called recognizing the true nature of mind. Then we fully make this a reality for ourselves. ~ 17th Karmapa
The essence of Buddhism is being able to distinguish
what it is that we need to do from what it is that we need
to give up. It is taking up virtue and giving up non-virtue.
We need to identify what it is that will bring benefit to ourselves
and others, and then we need to do that. We also need to identify
what it is that will harm ourselves and others, and then we need
to give that up. So you can condense it all into doing what is beneficial
and giving up what is harmful. We need to know what the essence
of dharma is, and then bring it into our lives. ~ 17th Karmapa
Sariputta ordained Prince Rahula, Buddha’s son.
Once you have committed to a particular path, I suggest that you look for the simplest way forward. You should make things accessible and approachable in your religious community and in your personal practice, rather than more complicated.
Keep it simple. The life of the spirit is actually very basic and easy. We often don’t appreciate that. In the beginning, our spiritual path may strike us as very simple and perfectly clear. But then, after we have been practicing it for a few years, we sometimes find ourselves going backward, and moving away from that initial simplicity. The spiritual breakthrough we experience may simply consist in rediscovering what we had seen in the beginning.
Spiritual discovery is not a matter of finding wisdom out there somewhere. It is a matter of discovering what already exists within us. Like cleaning the surface of a stone inscription, the more you clean it, the more the original carving becomes apparent. We are like that stone. With spiritual practice, instead of gaining something we did not have before, we gradually make ourselves clearer to ourselves. ~by 17th Karmapa
17th Karmapa
