Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche has spent his whole life bringing dharma, love, and benefits to others without question. His teachings transcend space, time, and projected differences.
He spent 20 years in retreat, wrote over 25 volumes on Buddhist practice and philosophy, published and saved countless texts, and initiated numerous projects to preserve and disseminate Buddhist thought, culture, and tradition.
In addition to all these achievements, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche composed many poems, meditation text, and commentaries. He was a tertön, a discoverer of the teaching ‘treasures’ preserved by Padmasambhava.
Here are 31 wise quotes from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:
#1 ”Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good does it do to brood on the past or anticipate the future? Remain in the simplicity of the present moment.”
#2 ”Most people, thinking of the future, make a lot of plans — but the future they plan for is only the very few years of this life. This is very shortsighted; we have such a long way to go in lives to come. Death is just the threshold, which we have to cross alone.”
#3 “Those who seek happiness in pleasure, wealth, glory, power, and heroics are as naive as the child who tries to catch a rainbow and wear it as a coat.”
#4 ”Examine the nature of hatred; you will find that it is no more than a thought.”
#5 ”Sooner or later, you will have to part from even your dearest friends. But one friend will never leave you, even though you may never be aware of its existence. It is the Buddha-nature, pure awareness.”
#6 ”To go beyond samsara (the beginning-less cycle of repeated birth) and nirvana, we will need the two wings of emptiness and compassion. From now on, let us use these two wings to fly fearlessly into the sky of the life to come.”
#7 ”At the moment, we are all caught in the state of delusion, and so we should acknowledge all the negative actions we have perpetrated throughout our many lives until the present time.”
#8 ”Understand this: it is more important to take to heart the key instructions than to receive a great many teachings.”
#9 ”No student … can do without the guidance of an authentic spiritual master.”
#10 ”We should also avoid thinking of ourselves as worthless persons – we are naturally unconditioned and free.”
#11 ”Remember that a thought is only a fleeting conjunction of myriad factors and circumstances. It does not exist by itself. When a thought arises, recognize its empty nature. It will immediately lose its power to elicit the next thought. And the chain of delusion will be broken.”
#12 ”Instead of allowing ourselves to be led and trapped by our feelings, we should let them disappear as soon as they form, like letters drawn on water with a finger.”
#13 ”Like a robe wears out over time and turns to rags, life wears out from day to day, from second to second.”
#14 ”It is very important from the onset to associate with friends that encourage good qualities and avoid harmful qualities.”
#15 ”The whole universe is open and unobstructed – everything is mutually interpenetrating.”
#16 ”To expect happiness without giving up negative action is like holding your hand in a fire and hoping not to be burned.”
#17 ”If we allow our thoughts to arise and dissolve by themselves, they will pass through our mind as a bird flies through the sky, without leaving a trace.”
#18 ”On the day that you were born, you began to die. Do not waste a single moment more!”
#19 ”Recognizing the non-existent, empty, insubstantial nature of the ego is meditation on absolute bodhicitta.”
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#20 ”Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first-morning breeze.”
#21 ”Generosity should always be exercised impartially toward all – the poor, the sick, the aged, and the traveler from afar – without discrimination between stranger and friend.”
#22 ”If you really wish to benefit others, the first step is to attain realization yourself. You must first mature your own mind, otherwise, you will be incapable of helping others.”
#23 ”The more and more you listen, the more and more you hear; the more and more you hear, the deeper and deeper your understanding becomes.”
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#24 ”There is no logical reason why thoughts, which have no substance, should have so much power over you, nor is there any reason why you should become their slave.”
#25 ”Meditation could be said to be the Art of Simplicity: simply breathing, simply sitting, and simply being.”
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#26 ”Positive action is something we have to cultivate ourselves; it can be neither bought nor stolen, and no one ever stumbles on it just by chance.”
#27 ”When performing the meditation practice one should develop the feeling of opening oneself completely to the whole universe with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind.”
#28 ”It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free.”
#29 ”It is crucial to understand and to gain the conviction that the laws of cause and effect govern the universe and all beings”
#30 ”Having this precious human life is like having a well-rigged ship on which to sail across the ocean to an island of treasures.”
#31 “Our lives have no outcome other than death, just as rivers have no end other than the ocean. At the moment of death, our only recourse is spiritual practice, and our only friends the virtuous actions we have accomplished during our lifetime.”
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As a founder and chief author at InsightState.com, Bulgarea Candin helps readers on their spiritual journeys. His writings are designed to inspire creativity and personal growth, guiding readers on their journey to a more fulfilled and enlightened life.