Lamrim Quotes

“When you accomplish calm abiding, not only does it counteract the fault of your wisdom consciousness wandering off while correctly investigating selflessness. The fault of distraction to other objects stops for all analytical meditations that you do with the wisdom of individual investigation: on impermanence, actions and their effects, the disadvantages of cyclic existence, love, […]

“All of the mundane and supramundane good qualities of the Mahayana and Hinayana are the result of serenity and insight…. An undistracted mind is mental one-pointedness, the serenity aspect, while accurate reflection on facts and meanings refers to discerning wisdom, the insight aspect.  Thus, you must achieve all good qualities of the two vehicles through […]

“From this moment onwards Until I attain enlightenment, I shall not harbor harmful thoughts, Anger, avarice or envy. I shall cultivate pure conduct, Give up wrong-doing and desire And with joy in the vow of discipline Train myself to follow the buddhas.” From Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Jowo Je Atisha As translated in: The […]

“The importance of compassion at the beginning: The responsibility for liberating migrating beings depends on compassion Compassion is the preliminary of all the paths of the Mahayana Compassion is the beginning of the conduct of bodhisattvas The importance of compassion in the middle: If you do not cultivate compassion again and again, you will fall […]

“When at the top of the ladder kings, ministers, and whole countries fight, or when on the bottom rung their subjects, families, etc., argue – or even when monks squabble – self-cherishing is at fault…. When you die from poison, or from undigested food, you do not really die of poison: because of your self-cherishing […]

“If you wonder how you are to help them [living beings], think: ‘I will care for them by providing the hungry with food , the thirsty with drink, those suffering from illness with medicine, the poor with material goods and so forth, which will alleviate each of these kinds of temporary suffering.  However, more importantly, […]

“Those who now appear to be enemies have been my mother many times in former lives.  They have nursed me with milk, cared for me with love, worked for my welfare, and protected me from all harm.  Those who now appear to be friends have been my worst enemy in former lives.  Numerous times they […]

“With the darkness of confusion concerning the points to adopt or reject Not dispelled by the lamp of perfect learning, If you do not know even the path, what need to speak Of entering the supreme city of liberation! Therefore, not content with a partial or superficial understanding Of the treatises of the Invincible Lord […]

“I request inspiration to take to heart, with mindfulness, alertness, And great care, induced by this pure motivating thought, The practices for individual liberation, The root of the teachings.” From Foundation of All Good Qualities by Je Tsong Khapa As translated in: Foundation of All Good Qualities by Tsongkhhapa. Translated by Alex Berzin. PDF available from The Berzin Archives. […]

“By thinking over and over again That actions and their effects are unbetraying And repeatedly contemplating the miseries of cyclic existence, Attraction to the appearances of future lives is reversed.” From The Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Je Tsong Khapa As translated in: The Three Principles of the Path by Lama Tsong Khapa. Translated by Lama Zopa […]