Lamrim Quotes

“Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all suffering; They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, Please bless me to generate the strong wish for the bliss of liberation.” Verse 5 from Foundation of All Good Qualities by Je Tsong Khapa as published in Essential Buddhist Prayers: An FPMT Prayer Book, volume 1. Translated […]

“Swept away by the current of the four powerful rivers, Tied by the tight bonds of karma, so hard to undo, Caught in the iron net of self-grasping, Completely enveloped by the total darkness of ignorance, Endlessly reborn in cyclic existence, Ceaselessly tormented by the three sufferings – Thinking that all mothers are in such […]

“What is the Lamrim Tradition? It is the essence of all teachings of Buddha, the one path traveled by the high beings of the past, present and future, the legacy of the masters Nagarjuna and Asanga, the religion of supreme people traveling to the earth of omniscience, the unabridged synthesis of all practices included within […]

“This life of leisure is even more precious than a wish-granting jewel; That I have found such an existence is only this once; So hard to find yet like a flash of lightning it is easy to vanish; Contemplating this situation it’s vital to realize that all mundane pursuits Are like the empty grain husks […]

“As everything the Buddha did–in the beginning the generation of the mind of enlightenment, in the middle the accumulation of the collections, and at the end the manifestation of complete buddhahood–was done for the welfare of sentient beings only, all his Dharma teachings also only accomplish the welfare of sentient beings.” From Middle Length Lam-Rim by Lama Tsongkhapa. […]

“As Shantideva says, you have been sick for a long time with the illness of the afflictions such as attachment–an illness that is long-lasting, intractable, and causes strong suffering…. Sick persons know that their illness cannot be cured without taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor. They then take the medicine. Likewise, earnestly engage in […]

“I prostrate to the Bodhisattva Youthful Manjushri. Having prostrated most respectfully to all the Triumphant of the three times, To their Dharma and to the Sangha community, I shall light a lamp for the path to enlightenment, Having been urged by my excellent disciple, Jangchub-wo. Since (practitioners) come to have small, intermediate, and supreme (scopes), […]