All of my own making

My situation now—and in the future—would also be all of my own making.  The only realistic mental state was openness to the future – and to whatever the future held.

p340, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

Discovering the nature of reality

“ ... I made the distinction between Truth and reality.  I don’t see Buddhism as owning ‘truth’ – because Buddhism isn't a religion of ‘truth’.  It’s a religion of ‘method’ – and, its methods are ways of discovering the nature of reality.”

p177, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

The words of Dud’jom Rinpoche

I remembered the words of Dud’jom Rinpoche ‘With each life circumstance: whatever is enacted, stare directly into the enactment – with all the senses.’

p194, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

The mechanism of samsara

We do not get stuck in reference points.  We create them and suffer as they collapse and cease to be reference points.  All you can do is ‘be as open as possible to all possibilities’ whilst observing the mechanism of samsara as you play it out.

p81, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

 

Fleeting glimpse

We say ‘only a nyam’ because a nyam is not the nondual state, but one can experience the nondual state momentarily, and the afterglow of that is called a nyam.  This does not detract from there having been a fleeting glimpse of the nondual state.

p87, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7  

Open and embodied

Discovering the nondual state is not a process of internalisation.  We do not cut off from the external world.  Everything we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or ideate is undivided from the nondual state – so, to be present, is to be entirely open and embodied.

p83, 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 

Freedom to manifest

When we dissolve shi-nè—and allow the natural energy of Mind to re-emerge from emptiness—we are not creating anything – we are simply allowing.  As soon as energy begins to re-emerge, all that is necessary is to allow that energy the freedom to manifest.

p52, 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 

Change the world

We can definitely change the world – but the problem is that we often seem unable to smile.  When chaos manifests in our lives we can smile – which is the cure for resentful confusion. 

p241, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7  

Obsessive relationship

To investigate the nature of thought – we need to use some capacity other than thought.  In order to discover what other means there are at our disposal to investigate the nature of thought we need to detach from obsessive relationship with thought. 

p48, 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 

A closed system

Thought cannot examine itself in any ultimate sense – it is a closed system.  Thought can no more examine its own nature than a knife can cut itself, or an eye see itself.  The only way an eye can see itself is to avail itself of a mirror.  The nature of that mirror—vis à vis thought—is the natural reflective capacity of Mind, which is beyond thought.

p48, 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 

Gazing

We can consider the possibility of gazing at the glittering surface of the ocean of Mind – at sun-light and star-light glinting.  Gazing is an openness which sees—with transparence— the nature of our relationship with reference points.

p43-44, 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 

Natural dignity

Warriorship is concerned with the development of dignity – our natural dignity.  Dignity only exists when our sense of appreciation is allowed to be as expansive as it inherently is.  This dignity and appreciation are innate – as is the ethos of Ling Gésar.  If we drop our overweening caution we begin to see whole situations unfolding – and in those situations we know exactly what is demanded of us.

p142-143, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7   

The self-astonishment of reality

All we need to do is gaze affectionately at the vivacious self-astonishment of reality.  We could gaze at what arises – relishing the immensity of that visionary dimension, in which we are all unremittingly self-celebrated in the vast expanse of the inner ying and outer ying.

p218, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

Haunted

We are all beginninglessly aquainted with nonduality, and therefore haunted by our ever present prior condition.  We all look for our ever-present prior condition, whether we know it or not.

p218, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

Transparent

No one can ever understand themselves.  All you can hope to achieve is to be transparent – and allow understanding to occur naturally.

p231, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7   

A natural function of Mind

It may come as a surprise that thought is not antithetical to the nondual state.  Thought is a natural function of mind.  Where nothing arises from emptiness, there is no energy – and, consequently, no clarity.  The reason for continuing in practice in order to arrive at a state without thought is that it provides the space to unlearn the neurotic relationship with thought. 

p50-51, 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 

Karma disappears

The actual meaning of karma is habituated perception and response – which is to say: how we interpret information, objects, situations, or persons dictates how we respond to them.  Karma disappears as soon as the perception-mind-of-karma disappears. 

p94, 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 

No one watching

It only becomes interesting when ‘nothing’ happens – when there’s nothing with no one watching nothing.  That’s what it takes to allow awareness to be what it is.  Our natural awareness only becomes evident when we let the structure of conceptual mind drop – and … it’s a long process because the habit of conceptual mind is well entrenched.  

p194, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

Anything could happen

Anything could happen.  To come to an understanding of my culture and my epoch – I had to be open to anything happening.  If I sheltered myself from the wilder side of existence – I would never be able to teach anyone to live as a tantrika in the West … when, eventually, the time came to teach. 

p147, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

Mind would abide in its natural dimension

Dudjom Rinpoche said that one must keep one’s body in equanimous stasis in order that the spatial nerves would be in natural alignment – and the spatial winds unobstructed.  If the spatial winds were unobstructed, then mind would abide in its natural dimension where the spatial essences manifest as primal creativity.

p73, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4