Buddhism is a statement of our intrinsic goodness; and the possibility of discovering
that intrinsic goodness. This is the simple answer, but complex questions can
arise from that. Giving a simple answer is not always that simple. When I use
the word goodness, I am not using it in the sense of nicey-nicey goodness, or
piety, or sanctity, or holiness – ‘goodness’ here relates to complete value.
This goodness is the goodness of freshly baked bread; the goodness of seeing a
field of sunflowers; the goodness of birth and death; the goodness of being
present. There is a basic goodness, a basic sanity with which we can connect.
We have that – we simply need to allow ourselves the non-referential space to
find it.
Aro Encyclopaedia Index: Ah, but I was so much older then – I'm younger than that now. Ngak'chang Rinpoche interview 1993
The theme that runs through the levels of Buddhist Refuge is the refuge of no refuge. Through practice we come to understand that there is no state or
object that can give us safety from the neuroses of our own minds; that the
only way we can be liberated from conditioned perception and response, and the
confusion that arises from our attempts to separate emptiness and form, is to
aspire to the enlightened state. This
confidence and Refuge can only remain alive and of use to us through practice Living the View is Refuge: recognising the frustration and irritation we experience as opportunities for realisation, as much as the joy and love.
Aro Encyclopaedia Index: Refuge by Ngakma Nor’dzin Pamo
Enlightenment is our natural state, and so it is not surprising that it manifests from time to time. Unenlightenment is the constant activity with which we engage. We have to work at it all the time. So when life circumstances intervene, in terms of short-circuiting this continual effort, we experience glimpses of realisation. These glimpses can radically change people’s lives, but it is a hit-or-miss affair to hope that life is going to ‘do it for you’ when the time is ripe. You have to cooperate with the sparkling-through of enlightenment by disengaging from referentiality and continuing with presence of awareness.
p122, Roaring Silence: Discovering the Mind of Dzogchen, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Shambhala, 2002, ISBN 1-57062-944-7
As an awakened-mind warrior, one takes responsibility for being ‘the one who has to forgive’. As an awakened-mind warrior, one takes responsibility for being ‘the one who makes the first move towards better relationships.’ As an awakened-mind warrior, one takes responsibility for being ‘the one who does not become angry in the face of those who are locked in neurotic patterns’.
A mother forgives the child who drops his dinner on the floor. She acknowledges her child’s incapacities. Her generosity provides instantaneous forgiveness. Her generosity provides opportunities for her child to acquire greater motor skills.
In this way the awakened-mind warrior develops infinite generous capacity to act for the benefit of everyone and everything, everywhere.
Aro Buddhism: Generosity - a teaching by Khandro Déchen
Buddhism is a statement of our intrinsic goodness; and the possibility of discovering
that intrinsic goodness. This is the simple answer, but complex questions can
arise from that. Giving a simple answer is not always that simple. When I use
the word goodness, I am not using it in the sense of nicey-nicey goodness, or
piety, or sanctity, or holiness – ‘goodness’ here relates to complete value.
This goodness is the goodness of freshly baked bread; the goodness of seeing a
field of sunflowers; the goodness of birth and death; the goodness of being
present. There is a basic goodness, a basic sanity with which we can connect.
We have that – we simply need to allow ourselves the non-referential space to
find it.