Nilasarasvati wrote:
Nobody can do better than their best.
Sounds like trying to climb higher then the top of the mountain. Ouch, well........
Nilasarasvati wrote:
Nobody can do better than their best.
Sometimes you just need some rest. Dharma isn't meant to be a slavedriver. Nothing wrong with being good to yourself.Gyaltsen Tashi wrote:I'm in a war zone. I'm angry. I used to have psychosis. I live under a dictatorship. I'm so tired. I just want to go home....
I like that, can you provide a reference?ReasonAndRhyme wrote:Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche writes, if the only motivation to do the Ngondro is that you think you have to do it, it is better for you not to do it.
Ha ha, that just isn't true. Tibetans don't think Ngondros is a big deal, westerners do.ReasonAndRhyme wrote:Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche writes, if the only motivation to do the Ngondro is that you think you have to do it, it is better for you not to do it.
Will take you a very long time...ReasonAndRhyme wrote:I'll see if I can find it, but it may take me a while.
A little bit of logical thinking might also do the trick. Or do you really think it's your ass that's doing the meditation when you sit on your cushion? If the Ngondro has a positive effect depends mostly on the attitude with which you practice, and only practicing it because you think you have to is not a particularly positive attitude."It should also be understood that to do prostrations as though paying a tax serves no purpose and will only bring the wrong results.
ReasonAndRhyme wrote:Well, I have the entire 10 volumes of his Treasury of Knowledge to comb through, plus 5 other books by JKLT. If I find that passage or not basically depends on if I was smart enough to underline it when I read it.
Indeed...ReasonAndRhyme wrote: don't worry, I only underline in my own books and normally I use a pencil with very little pressure. The advantage is it helps you find the important passages and you don't look like a complete idiot after quoting from memory
P.S.: but nothing beats the search function of an e-Reader...
The intention to step onto the path is the first step onto the path.I feel I haven't even stepped onto the path.
Of course it depends on your attitude. Practcing tögal with the wrong attitude will not work either. Wrong attitude is in no way limited to practice "because you think you have to do it". Not actually following the timely instructions of your Guru is at the heart of all wrong attitude.ReasonAndRhyme wrote:Well, I have the entire 10 volumes of his Treasury of Knowledge to comb through, plus 5 other books by JKLT. If I find that passage or not basically depends on if I was smart enough to underline it when I read it.
Meanwhile a similar passage on prostrations from Patrul Rinpoche's Words of my Perfect Teacher, p. 320:
A little bit of logical thinking might also do the trick. Or do you really think it's your ass that's doing the meditation when you sit on your cushion? If the Ngondro has a positive effect depends mostly on the attitude with which you practice, and only practicing it because you think you have to is not a particularly positive attitude."It should also be understood that to do prostrations as though paying a tax serves no purpose and will only bring the wrong results.
So which is it?heart wrote:Of course...
... you just misunderstood...
Eh, perhaps I misunderstood to? No, impossible. I think I did. ReasonAndRhyme is right, no point in doing something you don't put your heart in.Pero wrote:So which is it?heart wrote:Of course...
... you just misunderstood...
You all are incredible.heart wrote:Eh, perhaps I misunderstood to? No, impossible. I think I did. ReasonAndRhyme is right, no point in doing something you don't put your heart in.Pero wrote:So which is it?heart wrote:Of course...
... you just misunderstood...
/magnus
To continue along the same lines using wisdom gleaned from 12 step programs; try the key of "willingness".gregkavarnos wrote:fake it 'til you make it. Initially the "atmosphere of practice" may have to be contrived. This is where numbers/accumulations are important, they get you to sit your ass down and practice. After a (long) while you feel an urge to practice. It becomes a type of addiction. You don't have to force it, it forces you. After a (longer) while the distinction between practice and post practice blurs. You do not feel obliged, yet your state of mind is a "practice" state anyway. Now you are really practicing!Gyaltsen Tashi wrote:How do you create an atmosphere of practice as Rinpoche says?
I am sorry to hear this, GT.Gyaltsen Tashi wrote: I don't know. I used to take comfort lovey-dovey compassion. But now no guru is badass enough to inspire me. I'm going through the motions. Maybe I should leave Buddhism for good.
I'm in a war zone. I'm angry. I used to have psychosis. I live under a dictatorship. I'm so tired. I just want to go home....
Regards,
Gyaltsen Tashi
To continue along the same lines using wisdom gleaned from 12 step programs; try the key of "willingness".gregkavarnos wrote:fake it 'til you make it. Initially the "atmosphere of practice" may have to be contrived. This is where numbers/accumulations are important, they get you to sit your ass down and practice. After a (long) while you feel an urge to practice. It becomes a type of addiction. You don't have to force it, it forces you. After a (longer) while the distinction between practice and post practice blurs. You do not feel obliged, yet your state of mind is a "practice" state anyway. Now you are really practicing!Gyaltsen Tashi wrote:How do you create an atmosphere of practice as Rinpoche says?
MalaBeads wrote:I am sorry to hear this, GT.Gyaltsen Tashi wrote: I don't know. I used to take comfort lovey-dovey compassion. But now no guru is badass enough to inspire me. I'm going through the motions. Maybe I should leave Buddhism for good.
I'm in a war zone. I'm angry. I used to have psychosis. I live under a dictatorship. I'm so tired. I just want to go home....
Regards,
Gyaltsen Tashi
I don't have anything to offer you except maybe this. In English we have saying: home is where the heart is. Even the Buddha said: hatred will never cease by hatred but only through love. In my own life, it has taken many, many years to get to a place where I could even remotely imagine the possibility of actual love. I have seen the faces of stone cold hatred and it is an awful sight.
I hope for you to see and understand the difference between what you are calling lovey-dovey compassion and actual love. Love is very healing but it is often quite difficult to see. Its something that is in very short supply here in the west but we are working on it.
All the best to you.