This day my life is fruitful.
I have claimed my human heritage.
Today I am born into the family of the awakened.
Now I am a child of buddha.
From now on I will do only what befits this family.
I will do nothing to disgrace this noble and faultless family.
When wanting and grasping hold sway
The dakini has you in her power.
Wanting nothing from outside, taking things as they come,
Know the dakini to be your own mind.
It doesn’t exist: even buddhas do not see it.
It doesn’t not exist: it is the basis of samsara and nirvana.
No contradiction: the middle way is union.
May I know the pure being of mind, free of extremes.
All the matter of the world,
living and not living,
Appear as objects to my eyes.
Let me rest in the appearance of things,
without seeing them as things.
In these ways, all experience, appearance, sound, or thought,
Are signs that point me to know directly the nature of being.
They are solely expressions of my magnificent teacher.
In recollecting your great kindness, I pray to you.
Give me the energy to know directly the nature of all experience.
Whatever appearances of happiness and suffering arise,
Look at their essence and they will spontaneously subside.
This is the mahamudra of making all tastes equal
Now, as you experience this vague knowing in which there is no thought or movement, look at what knows that this is happening, look at what is mentally or emotionally inert, and rest there. Then you experience an awareness that is free from thought and movement, has no sense of inside or outside, and is utterly clear and transparent, like space. Experience and experiencing are not separate. Yet you are unshakeable about what you are, thinking, “This is all there is!”
The happiness of the three worlds disappears in a moment,
Like a dewdrop on a blade of grass.
The highest level of freedom is one that never changes.
Aim for this — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.
Fear is a reactive mechanism that operates when our identity is threatened. It works to erode or dissipate attention. We move into one of the six realms and react: destroy the threat or seek revenge (hell being), grasp at safety and security (hungry ghost), focus on survival (animal), pursue pleasure as compensation (human), vie for superiority (titan), or protect status and position (god). Because we are less present to what is actually taking place, our actions are correspondingly less appropriate and less effective. We go to sleep in our beliefs and ignore the consequences of maintaining them.
Verses for the practice of the four immeasurables (or the four brahmaviharas). These verses incorporate elements from Theravada, Mahayana, and Dzogchen approaches to the four immeasurables.
Pairs of verses for each of the five elements. The first verse in each pair describes the elemental reaction chain and the second one the transformation of reaction into the corresponding aspect of timeless awareness.