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 

The practice of yidam

The word 'yidam' can be translated as 'awareness-being' or 'meditational deity'.   To arise as the awareness-being, is to wear the body of visions.  The form of the yidam gives us the opportunity to enter the world of form as the yidam.  This is what is called living the view.  Living the view means that we retain the feeling that we are the yidam in whatever we do.  We experience the world around us as the realised dimension of the yidam.   

p96-97, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4 

A good horse which can be ridden with joy

rLung is the wind principle – which is powerful and direct.  rTa means horse – the energy which can be ridden.  rLung rTa is a sophisticated energy. which is clean, decent, honest, honourable, and committed – a good horse which can be ridden with joy.  The situation resplendent with rising rLung rTa is fresh and exuberant – but only eminently rideable once you have mucked out, groomed thoroughly, and cared for the tack with assiduous patience.               

p197, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Self-sustainingly cheerful

rLung rTa is the cheerful uplifting quality which resides as a natural aspect of our lives.  One could define it as authentic existential appreciation.  It is spontaneously present and self-created as an aspect of awareness.  When rLung rTa is present—or if we wish to encourage rLung rTa—we give phenomena the attention they deserve.  

p197, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Likes and dislikes

We feel it is important for people to be open and forthright about their subjectivity – and at the same time to acknowledge their subjectivity as being just that: subjectivity.  If you regard your likes and dislikes as subjective, there is never any clash with another person – no matter how strongly worded your like or dislike happen to be.

p192, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Assume kindness

It is important to observe ourselves and understand our condition.  It is also important not to observe others with a judgemental eye because we probably have no conception of their condition or motivation.  It is always better to assume that other people have kind motivation – especially when they are acting in ways we would not act.  We all see the world in different ways – and so it is not possible to judge someone else’s actions or words on the basis of our own way of seeing.

p73, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2  

Communicating with dignity

When it can take as long to spell out an acronym or letterisation in speech – there is more dignity in using the words the initials represent.  A Vajrayana practitioner needs to communicate with dignity – because Mind, Speech, and Body need to be the focus of practice in every arena of life.

p56, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Transparent to ourselves

 

The experience of meditation practice is essential as a means of realising the view.  It is only within the development of the meditational experience that we become transparent to ourselves.  When we become transparent to ourselves, we can witness the mechanics of stylised perception – and only then can we free ourselves from restriction.

p49, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4 

Dance with the situation

The dance costume of Vajrayana is demanding in terms of personal responsibility, integrity, and honour.  One can don the costume and enter the dance – but to sustain the dance throughout one’s life requires a degree of familiarity with the pattern of motivation.  Life resembles dance – and a piece of advice which Trungpa Rinpoche gave was to ‘dance with the situation’.

p42, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4 

Both imposters

Neither cynicism nor naïveté should be taken as reference points for one’s identity.  If one wishes to impress people with one’s intellect one opts for cynicism.  If one wishes to impress people with one’s spirituality one opts for naïveté.  If one has no desire to impress anyone, one opts for treating both imposters just the same.

p35, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Karma

Karma is pattern.  Karma is the pattern through which we apprehend our existential / experiential environment.  Karma evaporates as soon as we see the pattern.

p60, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

The meaning of ‘accident’

The Nyingma are indeed called ‘the accident lineage’, but not because they are accident prone.  The meaning of ‘accident’ is more concerned with working with chaos than surviving calamity.  The nature of reality is the dance of chaos and order.  Order arises out of chaos and dissolves back into chaos—and this is why Nyingmas are not overly concerned with establishing institutions.

p7, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Continually breaking through

Becoming a Buddhist is a process of continually becoming a Buddhist – of continually breaking through limitations and conditioned perception.

p86, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

The basic ground of being

The essence is empty.  The nature is clear and unimpeded.  The energy is free of all barriers and is boundlessly compassionate.  We have arrived at what is known as the kun-zhi – the basic ground of being beyond duality and non-duality.

p102, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2