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Great exaltation is not mortal —

Great exaltation is always immortal.

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With the depth of space is this perfect wisdom deep.  

Being isolated it is hard to see, 

Being empty it is hard to understand.

Those who hear this perfection of wisdom, take it up, study it, spread it and write it — they must be endowed with more than a puny wholesome root.  

Their diligence will be continually supported and sustained by the Tathāgata. 

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Reach  

into

the 

Vision

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It is wonderful to see the extent to which the Tathāgata has well supported the Bodhisattvas, having encompassed and favoured them. 

It is because these Bodhisattvas have practised for the happiness and positive welfare of the many, out of empathy for the world.  Out of deep care and empathy for sentient beings, and for the benefit of a great mass of people, they work to win supreme enlightenment, and thereafter to demonstrate the supreme Dharma.

A Bodhisattva courses in perfect wisdom. He knows form and the remaining skandhas are unthinkable.  When he does not perceive form and the rest, then he courses in perfect wisdom. 

The Bodhisattva does not construct self confidence, nor the state of self knowledge, nor the Buddhadharmas as these powers are unthinkable; this is how the Bodhisattva practises the perfection of wisdom.   

The perfection of wisdom is a vast treasure, and it is as pure as space.  Many obstacles will arise in this practice of the perfection of wisdom.  It is a fact that in respect of very precious things many difficulties will arise, but the Bodhisattva devotes his undivided attention to this practice. 

The Buddhas lend their support for the avoidance of obstacles as they maintain themselves in immeasurable and incalculable world-systems.  Hence the Bodhisattvas train in Thusness. They train in the deep perfection of wisdom, and progress while remaining poised in their decision to win full enlightenment. 

The continual study of the perfection of wisdom, and the mental excitation about it, will greatly benefit them; it is a great advantage, bringing fruit and rewards as they aim at ultimate reality. This wisdom of perfection will be penetrated by all beings into what dharmas truly are.  

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When they have seen a world which is a wilderness, full of famine and disease,

They have no fear, and go on putting on the armour,

For the wise are always joined to the limit, which is further on.

They do not produce the least fatigue in their mind. 

Supported by space is air and, by that, a mass of water;

By that again is supported this great earth and the living world.  
It is the foundation of the enjoyment of the deeds of beings and thus it is established in space. 
How can one think of that object?

Just so the Bodhisattva, who is established in emptiness, 

Manifests manifold and various works for beings in the world,  
And his vows and cognitions are a force which sustains beings.
But he does not experience the Blessed Rest; for emptiness is not a place to stand on. 

— The Prajñāpāramitā

Śākyamuni pronounced this mystic verse, having six mantrarāja and possessing unarisen characteristics, being non-dual in arising and joined with the vocal lord.

A  Ä  I  Ī U Ū E AI O AU AṀ AḤ 

I am Buddha, the embodied knowledge of the buddhas occurring in the three times. 

“OṀ homage to you, 

Embodied Knowledge of Insight, Cutter of Suffering, Sharp as a Vajra. Homage to you, Lord of Speech, Gnostic Body, Arapacana!

Reverence to you, the Buddha, whose womb is emptiness.

Homage to you, the enlightenment of the Buddha.

His great avarice is an exalted festival, subduing all avarice; his great desire is the great delight, grand happiness and great pleasure.

Reverence to you, the desire of the Buddha.
Homage to you, the passion of the Buddha.
Reverence to you, the joy of the Buddha.
Homage to you, the delight of the Buddha.

Of great form and great body, with great colour and grand physique, with exalted name he is very noble, having a grand and expansive mandala.

Reverence to you, the Buddha’s smile.
Homage to you, the Buddha’s laugh.
Reverence to you, the Buddha’s speech.
Homage to you, the Buddha’s internal reality.

Bearing the great sword of insight, with an iron hook for defilements, he is foremost, greatly famous, very renowned, with great light and exalted splendour.

Reverence to you, arisen from nonexistence.
Homage to you, the arising of buddhas.
Reverence to you, arisen from the sky.
Homage to you, the arising of gnosis.

Bearing the grand illusion, he is wise, Accomplishing the object of beings in the grand illusion. Delighted with the pleasure of the grand illusion, he is a conjuror of grand illusions.

Reverence to you, Illusion’s Net.
Homage to you, the Buddha’s dancer.
Reverence to you, the all for all.
Homage to you, the majestic body.

The man of little learning is as if born blind.  

How can he meditate? 

On what can he reflect? 

Study then with diligence, reflect and meditate.

—Through this, vast wisdom will arise. 

Aśvaghoṣa

Pure are your eyes, broad and beautiful, like the petals of a blue lotus.

Pure is your thought, having discovered the supreme transcendence of all rapture.

Immeasurable is the ocean of your virtues, the accumulation of your good deeds. 

You affirm the path of peace. 

Those who are well disciplined by your precious Dharma are free of vain imaginings and always deeply peaceful. 

Oh, Great Ascetic, obeisance to you!  

We bow to you, who stand nowhere, like infinite space.

In the precious palace of the heart,

The pure aspect of the essence of original purity,  
Lies the radiance of the body of emptiness and clear light.
The perfection of the original wisdom body, 
The self-light sphere is there,  
And the colours of compassion are clear and manifest.  

As it is taught in the root tantra of the Great Perfection: 

“Self arising wisdom does not rely upon causes and conditions. Unobstructed wisdom is pure clarity.” 

Endowed with a good heart, 

May all beings cultivate love and compassion for one another.

Without hatred and without fighting or quarrelling,

May they enjoy the glorious resources of great happiness

And swiftly attain the level of supreme understanding. 

Galactic Centre - Constellation of Sagittarius inside the Milky Way

Make offerings to the great assembly for the restoration of vows; body, speech and mind. 

Conceptions of the sky are unborn,

So conception is just like stainless sky.

Whoever is without attachment just dedicates in the sky,

By attaining the state of dharmakāya, great benefit will occur, like sky. 

— Vajrasattva

Tagyegyang —Northern Treasures Temple in Yolmo, Nepal

Even though your nature is naturally free from attachment and aversion, you manifest desirable qualities for those who have desire, and wrath for those who are wrathful.

Always guiding beings by skilful methods,

Oh, Buddha, I bow to you. 

As the Chinese proverb says:  

If we don’t change direction, we are likely to arrive at the place towards which we are going.

"Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds."  — Buddha

Our obdurate self-centeredness,

Engrained in our minds since beginningless time,

Contaminates, defiles and pollutes the environment created by the common karma of all sentient beings.

Lakes and ponds have lost their clarity, their coolness.

The atmosphere is poisoned.

Nature’s celestial canopy in the fiery firmament has burst asunder

And sentient beings suffer diseases, previously unknown.

Perennial snow-mountains, resplendent in their glory,

Bow down and melt into water.

The majestic oceans lose their ageless equilibrium and inundate islands.

The dangers of fire, water, and wind are limitless.

Sweltering heat dries up our lush forests.

The world is lashed by unprecedented storms.

The oceans surrender their salt to the elements.

Though people do not lack for wealth,

They cannot afford to breathe clean air.

Rain and streams do not cleanse, but remain inert and powerless.

Human beings and countless beings that inhabit water and land

Reel under the yoke of physical pain caused by malevolent diseases.

Their minds are dulled by sloth, stupor and ignorance.

The joys of the body and spirit are far, far away.

We needlessly pollute the fair bosom of our Mother Earth,

Rip out her trees to feed our short-sighted greed,

Turning fertile land into sterile deserts  ...

(from “A Buddhist Monk’s Reflections on Ecological Responsibility” by the Dalai Lama XIV)

May the divine Vidyādharas think of us and, with great love, guide us upon the path. 

Since the mind experiences the three times,

The lives of the past, present, and future will occur.

Since the mind changes and transfers,

That is why the body is born and dies.

Since illness, happiness, suffering and so on, are one’s own mind, this ripens as samsāra. 

Praise to the supreme Lord of all phenomena.

All beings are within his retinue.

All things are unborn within the enlightened mind, having the nature of unceasing playful creativity . 

May the natural sound of dharmatā reverberate throughout the ten directions!  

May pure awareness arise!

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. 

Today I am wiser, so I am changing myself.

- Rumi

What is buddha?

This very mind, this is Buddha.

Do not allow this natural awareness of the awakened mind
To become contaminated by a confusion of proliferating thoughts. Abiding in the present freshness of inherent luminosity
And remaining free of attachment to outer objects,
One should grasp at nothing as real – however it appears. 

Without abiding in the view of inherent reality,
One is free of grasping at whatever is displayed
And the entire realm of objective appearances is purified,
Even those mental events generated by the five poisons.

— The Path of Secret Mantra:  Teachings of the Northern Treasures Five Nails

    Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.

Carefulness brings life, the Sage has said,

And carelessness is death.

Therefore to increase your virtue,

With devotion always practise carefulness. 

— The Friendly Letter

"...I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. 

People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion, and the elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed..."

— His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The non-created, self-radiant wisdom being actionless, immaculate, and transcendent over acceptance and rejection, is itself the perfect practice. —Padmasambhava

Do not look back, my friend.

No one knows how the world ever began.

Do not fear the future, nothing lasts forever.

If you dwell on the past or the future you will miss the moment.

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can. 

— John Wesley

 The Red Square Nebula is a bipolar nebula in Serpens notable for its square shape. It is one of the most symmetrical deep sky objects ever discovered.

Wise, indeed, are those who recognise all phenomena as illusory appearances of the non-existent, ever-present unborn.  

Gaining blessings and strength from the glorious guru of your own awakened mind, melt the vital drops of fixed ideas and cleanse the subtle channels by releasing the energy winds from mundane servitude.  

Free at last!  

With blissful clarity, one should strive for the welfare of the world by exquisite demonstrations of reality painted on flowing 

Love, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity pervading the whole of space .

I pray that the wind of genuine insight may move freely across the primordially empty sky and disperse the clouds of ignorance that obscure my mind.  Unveiling the real, may we bask in the glorious sunshine of joyful awareness!

We were abusive and scornful of others,

We were greedy and stingy to many,

We didn’t make even the smallest offerings. 

That’s how we came to enter into the land of the Hungry Ghosts where there is no water and no food.

We were intoxicated with the pride of good health, 

We were intoxicated with the pride of wealth and indulgence.  

By day we crushed the lives of others, by killing and eating animals.

The result of all these actions is that we now experience good and evil.  

We were entranced by other’s wives and committed adultery,

We turned our back on the dharma of morality.

So now we live in this land of Hungry Ghosts. 

The noble Mahākātyāyana, out of compassion for us, came and said to us many times, “Friend, the consequences of your deeds will be most undesirable.  Stop your evil practices that go against the true dharma.”  

But we didn’t take his advice. That is how we came to enter into the land of Hungry Ghosts where there is no water or food.

 — the Divyāvadāna

In the aftermath of meditative equipoise, pure as the sky, the world of interdependent causation appears in perfect clarity as a multitude of images as vivid as a rainbow.  

If these are not probed to the root, such experiences and cognitions may be dangerously deceptive.  

Oh, yogins, remember that none of this is real!