Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

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WuMing
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by WuMing »

People should be very concerned with their state of mind at the moment death. Being in a state of anger or attachment at the moment of death can ruin a life of devout practice.
emphasis is mine, source is here: Nichiren on Who Went to Hell
Life is great and death has to be just as great as life.
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WuMing
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by WuMing »

QUESTION: 1)Since ye shes (pristine consciousness), shes rab (wisdom) and rnam shes (consciousness) are different modalities of shes pa.
In this context what is the difference for example between ye shes and shes rab?
2) Aren't they both operative words to describe a knowledge that determines all phenomenon as being empty? (wisdom)
3)Or to the manifest state of the ground? (pristine consciousness)

ANSWER: Shes rab and rig pa are synonyms. Dzogchen is based on the idea found in some Sarma tantras as well, that all phenomena are included in potentiality (rtsal) of ye shes when the basis arises from the basis. When the potential of ye shes is misperceived, this is rnam shes and this in turn cases samsara. When it is correctly perceived (i.e. shes rab) as one's own state, this is the cause for nirvana.
slightly edited from here: Buddhahood in This Life
hope the questioner doesn't mind!
Life is great and death has to be just as great as life.
- Mike Tyson
People not only don't know what's happening to them, they don't even know that they don't know.
- Noam Chomsky
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WuMing
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by WuMing »

You need to observe the mind that cannot find its own nature. When you observe that, that is called "clarity."
here Help! Ran into a problem with meditation

keep 'em comin :bow:
Life is great and death has to be just as great as life.
- Mike Tyson
People not only don't know what's happening to them, they don't even know that they don't know.
- Noam Chomsky
Jeff H
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Jeff H »

Very relevant to certain recurring themes of mine:

"...times change and to take this into account Sākyamuni Buddha either directly taught different teachings for different time periods, or predicted the teachers who would. We now live in the period of the five degenerations, and so the path of renunciation teachings are no longer very effective because the afflictions of sentient beings are too strong."

From here. (Emphasis added.)
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
Kris
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Kris »

Malcolm wrote:
Queequeg wrote:In Dzogchen - is Samantabadra Adi-Buddha?

If so, then

How does Samantabadra relate to Manjusri in terms of AdiBuddha?
Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva, Vairocana, cittavajra, tathāgatagarbha, prajñāpāramitā, mind-essence, ordinary mind, luminosity, emptiness, pristine consciousness, bodhicitta, etc., are all just synonyms for the same thing: one's own unfabricated mind. As Ju Mipham states:
  • That luminosity of the primordial original basis, the original reality, is the ultimate dharmatā of all phenomena. All appearances of samsara and nirvana arise from that state. As soon as they arise, [3/b] it is impossible that there is a single phenomena other than abiding in that state. Since this is the ultimate ground of liberation, this is called “the dharmakāya of ultimate reality.” When the ultimate obscuration along with temporary traces are purified, the truth of cessation of the supreme vehicle is called “the svabhāvakāya that possesses the two ultimate purities.” That basis in which there is neither delusion nor liberation is the totally uniform nature.
The Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra states:

  • Everything is gathered into the essential state of Mañjuśrī,
    the pristine consciousness of all Secret Mantra,
    the measure of the unerring transcendent state.
    Therefore I am called the jñānasattva.
    Everything is part of the family
    of Mañjuśrī no matter where it is,
    utterly pure, issuing from my state.
    I am the Bhagavan victor
But as Norbu Rinpoche said again today, belief is useless because you can believe or have faith in anything. Only direct experience is useful, because then a) you will not need to believe anything and b) you will have no doubt.

From: http://dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=24717#top
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WuMing
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by WuMing »

Malcolm wrote:
RikudouSennin wrote:Is there a non buddhist philosophy that is closest to Vajrayana/Dzogchen?
No, for none of them truly comprehend emptiness even nominally. Since they don't truly comprehend emptiness, their perception of appearances is mistaken.
Non-Duality in Dzogchen vs Advaita Vedanta
Life is great and death has to be just as great as life.
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Karma Dondrup Tashi »

CapNCrunch wrote:I have folders of things I've quietly copied, pasted and enjoyed over and over, or e-mailed to myself, or my wife who's a practitioner. We have spent hours reading these things and discussing together. I won't paste my treasure trove here b/c they are personal to me, and would be necessarily removed from the context in which they were written.
I've also done this over a few years, I wonder how many others have also. I printed out hard copies - I have to confess on several occasions I ended up throwing them against the wall - but always came back to consider and ruminate further. I'm grateful beyond words for Lopon Malcolm's patience, generosity and wisdom.
It has been the misfortune (not, as these gentlemen think it, the glory) of this age that everything is to be discussed. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France.
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Jeff H »

Lots of really interesting stuff going on over at the Primordial Buddha: A Reprise thread! This one really popped for me: "water is always pure".
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
Malcolm
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Malcolm »

Malcolm wrote:Attend all webcasts of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu you can and receive transmission, work with some Dzogchen methods, decide to go somewhere and meet him when you have the chance, and then continue to learn Dzogchen from him directly. He generally spends 6 months a year in Tenerife. He is there presently. He is the most interesting master alive today, without parallel.
binocular
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by binocular »

Malcolm wrote:Only uptight, contracted people have a problem with sensuality.
http://dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f= ... 20#p358240
Malcolm wrote:This is for monks. We are not monks.
http://dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f= ... 20#p358239
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Brev »

There is no dignity in samsara, none whatsoever. It is basically just an exercise in constant humiliation.
http://dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f= ... 40#p338098
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by CapNCrunch »

I've also done this over a few years, I wonder how many others have also. I printed out hard copies - I have to confess on several occasions I ended up throwing them against the wall - but always came back to consider and ruminate further. I'm grateful beyond words for Lopon Malcolm's patience, generosity and wisdom.
An example of the limits of (at least my) mind to meaningfully process the endless information with which it is bombarded - I only just the other day discovered the Atikosha website, and it's probably been in M's sig and elsewhere for god knows how long. I might have spent less time sifting nuggets and more time enjoying them if I'd have known there was a collection available.

Not that I don't appreciate the experience and utility of an interactive forum when there is time, but for years now it's in short supply. Sometimes really interesting stuff or a great translation snippet will appear in the latest iteration of the endless rehash of the same questions & topics that speak to the patience you mentioned.

The work of bringing the Dzogchen Cannon to English in any form, even academically, hasn't yet gone J-shaped on a curve. More rare are translations by masters and those who work with them that have not only mastered the languages involved, but who are also grounded in the transmissions, instructions and practice.

I simply can't think of a single thing that has more importance and will be of greater value for the future of our world than these efforts.
“I say good-bye to hope, but I also say goodbye to hope's disappointment.”

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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

From "The attainment of the Arhats" thread:
For a being with a pure mind, Avici hell is no different than Akaniṣṭha Ghanavyuha, the buddhafield of Vairocana/Vajradhara.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

From "if we are Buddhas are we the 3 kayas" thread:
....you are an advocate of an inert emptiness. But that is not the profound view of mantrayāna.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

From: "Mahamudra or Dzogchen without tantric empowerment?"
There are many practices within Dzogchen that do not involve deity yoga. But one should not be allergic to deity practices if one is a Dzogchen practitioner.

Guru Yoga, however, is indispensable.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

From the "Direct Introduction Always Works" thread:
Dzogchen teachings require a great deal of effort until you actually do decide on on (sic) thing — then you can continue in the confidence of liberation, or as ChNN puts, "continue in that state.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Schrödinger’s Yidam
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

From the "Direct Introduction Always Works" thread:
...when we talk of "the teaching through blessings" or the lineage of the transcendent state of the victors, what is actually meant is that the Sambhogakāya communicates the teachings through light to the buddhas of the five families and so on.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Schrödinger’s Yidam
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

From: "Stream-entry in a Mahayana context"
Malcolm wrote:Nirvana in Mahāyāna is nonabiding nirvana, meaning that buddhas are active in the world and have infinite emanations.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
ItsRaining
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by ItsRaining »

smcj wrote:From: "Stream-entry in a Mahayana context"
Malcolm wrote:Nirvana in Mahāyāna is nonabiding nirvana, meaning that buddhas are active in the world and have infinite emanations.
Since Buddhas (Or Rather Dharmakayas) have infinite emanations as stated here and in the Brahma Net Sutra

"Now, I, Vairocana Buddha, am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; on a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body."

Why does each world system only have one Buddha? Why are is there not a Buddha every generation to uphold the right teachings and keep the Dharma Wheel spinning?
Malcolm
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Re: Illuminating Quotes by Malcolm Namdrol-la

Post by Malcolm »

ItsRaining wrote:
smcj wrote:From: "Stream-entry in a Mahayana context"
Malcolm wrote:Nirvana in Mahāyāna is nonabiding nirvana, meaning that buddhas are active in the world and have infinite emanations.
Since Buddhas (Or Rather Dharmakayas) have infinite emanations as stated here and in the Brahma Net Sutra

"Now, I, Vairocana Buddha, am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; on a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body."

Why does each world system only have one Buddha? Why are is there not a Buddha every generation to uphold the right teachings and keep the Dharma Wheel spinning?
There are. They are however not supreme nirmanakāyas, but they are nirmanakāyas nevertheless.
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