Otherness

From the perspective of the visionary practices of Vajrayana it is possible to transform every aspect of prejudice against otherness – of every possible description.

p304, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Drala

The practice of Drala is a method of becoming aware of the sentient nature of the world.  This is important at this time of climate change and increasing pollution.

p284, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Meaning

Life is an existential kaleidoscope in which meaning is only found in the moment.  If one tries to extend meaning beyond the moment – meaning often becomes increasingly meaningless. 

p239, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Curiosity

Life is far richer when inquisitiveness is more powerful than anxiety – when curiosity is more powerful than fear. 

p228, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

All one can ‘do’

The journey involves whatever it involves and there is always a sense of time and distance – but with a fruitional path, those aspects of time and space have no direct application.  All one can ‘do’ when one reaches the goal, is to remain.

p74, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

The fruit of any practice

The fruit or result of any practice cannot actually be practised as such, because the end result of anything is theoretically a position of stasis.  One can make a journey and arrive at a destination – but having arrived at one’s destination, all that can be said is that one ‘enjoys being there’.   

p74, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

Perception

When we open our perception, we do not feel constrained to anticipate events or people's possible reactions.  We stop registering every being by our perceptual sonar in terms of our preconceptions.  Perception then begins to expand.  We are led naturally towards the liberation of our responses.    

p33, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2 

How we see what happens

The circumstances which befall us in the world are—generally speaking—the random functioning of the universe.  So merit is not what happens to us – but how we see what happens.  If we have kindness-Mind we initiate kindness-action – and kindness becomes the way in which we perceive the world. 

p81, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2  

Honour

You need to keep agreements with yourself, and with others.  I think this is really fundamental.  You need to be able to stick to some course of action; to see it through in spite of difficult circumstances.  You need to be reliable.  You need to be form for others; rather than being emptiness for them.  That’s one meaning of compassion.

p192, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4  

Infinite variety

‘Infinite variety’ speaks of the limitless, transient nature of form – the way it continually arises out of emptiness and dissolves back into emptiness,  Infinite variety means that there is nothing about the way in which form arises that is predictable according to dualistic perception.  

p102, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4 

On the brink

Non-duality and duality are not disconnected from each other.  If you understand that, then suddenly you’re always perched on the brink of realisation!  Every moment becomes potentiated, because it is seen as a distortion of our intrinsic liberated energy.

p208, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4  

For practice to mean anything

For practice to mean anything, one has to change for the better.  One has to be free—or freer—from habitual responses such as territorial avarice, petulance, selfishness, manipulativeness, and obdurate obfuscatory self-protectiveness. 

p19, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

An unequivocal effect

Practitioners whose experience of the non-dual state has had an unequivocal effect on perceptions in daily life, are people who are no longer subject to sulkiness, sullenness, and surliness.

p19, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

The prison of moodiness

One must be able to remain free of the prison of moodiness – the infantile tendency to the three Ss: sulkiness, sullenness, and surliness.  We employ these three out of resentment that life is not what we feel it should be according to what is fair and just in relation to ‘ME’.

p19, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Everything which moves you

Deliberately name everything which moves you to smiles, laughter, or tears as Guru Rinpoche or Yeshé Tsogyel – because this is precisely what these experiences are.

p205, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

The Lama can conjure

Our personalities are the interface between the patterns of our limitations, and the unconditioned energies of our enlightened condition.  It’s this unique balance which the Lama sees.  It’s this unique balance with which the Lama can conjure.

p148, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4 

The Lama can be relied upon

We should not expect our teacher to be able to know what we are thinking.  The Lama can be relied upon for something different: to know the meaning of liberation, and the meaning of confusion.  The Lama can be relied upon to see the student’s particular patterns of liberation and confusion, and to work with them.  

p148, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4  

How we are

The only difference we can make in the world is through how we are, not what we say and what we try to impose.

p255, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

A heart sensation

In order to establish a connection with the tradition and the lineage, a heart sensation for Guru Rinpoche and Yeshé Tsogyel is indispensable – just as form and emptiness are indispensable in our practice.

p205, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4 

Out of the state of emptiness

After you’ve received empowerment into the practice of a particular awareness-being or yidam, the form of this awareness-being will spontaneously arise out of the state of emptiness when you engage in practice.  Your experience of emptiness is the oven where the bread of vision bakes itself. 

p116, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4