The base

"The base, or starting point, of Buddhism is a nagging feeling that something about the way we live is subtly askew – and consequent curiosity about what else might be possible. It is not that there is something particularly wrong with life: dissatisfaction with jobs, marriages, or circumstances. On the one hand, we recognise that such situations can be improved with effort. On the other hand, it seems that no amount of improvement will resolve life completely. We may have experienced some successes, yet there seems to be something tenuous about them. A repeating cycle of identifying areas of dissatisfaction and fixing them is not a history upon which we would reminisce with relish." phases-of-aro, Ngak'chang Rinpoche

Relating as the emptiness to the form of Tantra

"Yab-yum imagery is not telling us that we should be making love with the opposite sex. It is about the union of emptiness and form – concepts which are often seen as opposites but which are in reality in ecstatic union with each other. Tantric imagery arises in the minds of Enlightened Masters; and such imagery cannot be extrapolated, inferred, or logically deduced from what went before. We cannot re-invent Vajrayana according to our personal neurotic need to have the world mirror our form. To attempt to create yab-yab or yum-yum imagery on this basis would be patent nonsense. It is to misunderstand the whole point of Tantra; which is that we allow ourselves to relate as emptiness to the form of Tantra."

being-gay-practicing-tantra, Ngak'chang Rinpoche

Hung

"Om A'a: Hung:The three syllables rain from the dimension of space — and the precipitation manifests as düd-tsi — a treasury of desirable qualities whose colour, taste, and fragrance are powerful."

p483 Wisdom Eccentrics, Kyabjé Künzang Dorje Rinpoche, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, Inc, 2011, 978-0965394864

Truth & Method

"Buddhism is not a religion of truth-it is a religion of method. Its teachings are not overly concerned with expressing truth-but with methods of practice. In a sense, one could actually say that there is only one 'truth' in Buddhism, that form and emptiness are nondual."

p.3, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

The sound of the birds

"If you hear the sound of the birds outside--if you really hear them--then you'll hear Guru Rinpoche's mantra. If you hear this way, you will know the results of the development and completion stages--and Dzogchen is possible."

p449 Wisdom Eccentrics, Kyabjé Künzang Dorje Rinpoche, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, Inc, 2011, 978-0965394864

Energy of emotion

"Your experience of sadness exploding into spaciousness could indeed be an experience of allowing the energy of the emotion to change of itself. The ‘connection’ between distracted and liberated emotion is simply the energy of as it is. In a dualistic, distorted relationship with energy, form is forced as an experience, ignoring emptiness. Energy does not change when you let go of manipulation, but your relationship with it changes - you are able to experience energy from the perspective of nonduality, you are able to experience the energy directly."

p.80, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

Dwell in the natural state

"Samsara exists because of duality. It can easily cease to exist in the moment through changing your view. Dwelling in the natural state would not mean that you lack the ability to act - your actions would be totally appropriate and compassionate. It is possible to be destructive where the situation requires it without this being out-of-control energy. It is possible to make a stand without justification and self protective posturing. To dwell in the natural state would be to be a Dharma warrior."

p.165, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nord'dzin and Ngakpa ö-Dzin

Karma

The Aro gTér