Golden Dust, Golden Samsara

Résumé: The vast expanse of reality can never be darkened by dust. Everything, even defilements, is already like Golden Dust. Nothing to add nothing to remove. Whatever we experience is in essence an expression of the fundamentally unlimited potential of our Buddha-nature. Everything is already the Buddhaverse. Even disturbing thoughts and emotions have their place in this brilliant landscape. We need to embrace the whole of samsara and nirvana. Just directly realising their true essence & nature & dynamic is enough to purify everything. The perfect truth viewed perfectly and perfectly beheld is liberation.

[Dust, dirt, impurities, defilements, stains, delusions, kleshas, 3 or 5 poisons (ignorance, attachment, aversion, pride, jealousy), obscurations, extremes, grasping, discrimination / dualities like subject vs. object, self vs. others, good vs. bad, pure vs. impure … they are adventitious, temporary, washable, purifiable, by wisdom.

Union samsara <==> Nirvana. Everything is already pure, perfect, equal, divine here & now.]

(i.e. Version 2021-12-30: Union of the Two Truths about all dharmas [U2T]:
The true nature & dynamic of any & all dharmas -- ex. all appearances / fabrications / composites (the five aggregates; body, speech, mind; physical, conceptual, mental fabrications; individual, collective, cosmic; of samsara / impure and nirvana / pure), the three spheres (subject, relation / action, object for any type of relation or action), the opposites of any duality / triad / quad /etc, even the two truths themselves --
is indescribable / inconceivable for our flawed conditioned dualistic conceptual mind(s) based on two erroneous basic assumptions -- inherent existence and opposition / duality --;
it has to be spontaneously personally non-conceptually non-dualistically directly perceived / realised / experienced / abided in.
--
[Uall: ALL DHARMAS ARE EQUAL PURE PERFECT INSEPARABLE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE GROUND:]
All dharmas are spontaneous natural non-dual manifestations of the Ground, inseparable from the Ground: this inconceivable unique all-pervasive unborn unchanging unconditioned unceasing pristine Ground / Basis / Source / Suchness / Dharmata / Dharmadhatu / Buddha-nature / Genuine-emptiness / Ati / Dzogchen / Mahamudra / Intrinsic-awareness / Primordial-empty-awareness / Awakened-mind / Naturally-coemergent-timeless-awareness / Union of the Two Truths [U2T] … the inconceivable unique true nature & dynamic of all dharmas beyond all extremes & middle, beyond all dualistic conceptual proliferations, beyond all limits, beyond all conditioning / karma; beyond all views, methods and goals; beyond all desciption / conceptualisation, discrimination / dualities, causality / production, matter-energy, space & time; beyond both samsara & nirvana.
--
[U2T-All: UNION OF THE TWO TRUTHS ABOUT ANY & ALL DHARMAS:]
[Uopp] Apparent opposites are not really in opposition, but more like inseparable (one cannot exists without the other(s)), interdependent (one implies the other(s)), co-defined (the definition of one defines the other(s)), co-relative, co-dependent, co-emergent (they arise together), co-evolving (they change together), co-ceasing / co-transcended (they cease together), in harmony (not in real opposition) (in the non-dual sense of those terms: ex. not this, not non-this, not both together, not neither).
The true nature & dynamic of any & all dharmas -- ex. the three spheres (subject / mind, relation / action, object / phenomena) [U3S], the opposites of any duality / triad / quad /etc. [Uopp], even the two truths themselves [U2T-2T] --
is like an ineffable / inconceivable Union of being conventionally dependently co-arisen (interdependent) relatively functional ever-changing impermanent appearances [T1 - first truth], co-dependent with their parts (when applicable), with their causes & conditions (when applicable), their conceptual opposite(s) (always), and especially co-dependent with the mind merely labelling / imputing / conceptualising / classifying them [U3S] in dependence of its past / conditioning / karma, not completely non-dependently-arising / non-existent / non-changing / non-functional / non-ceasing / useless / meaningless
<==> and being empty of inherent existence [T2 - second truth], never fixed / independent / separate / universal / absolute, but more like open / free, not really dependently-co-arisen / co-existent / co-changing / co-functional / co-ceasing.
One aspect / truth implies the other (<==>) [U2T], one aspect / truth proves the other (<==>).
’They are there but not there’, like dreams / magical illusions / tricks of the sight / mirages / reflections / echos / Cities of Gandharvas / emanated apparitions. They are 'like them in some aspect(s)' but not exactly the same; all metaphors have their limits.
All dharmas are dependently co-appearing & relatively functional <==> but still empty of inherent existence; empty of inherent existence <==> but still conventionally dependently co-appearing & relatively functional. And that is not grasping at the conventional / relative, or at the ultimate / emptiness, or both together, or neither.
[TETRALEMMA:] All dharmas are not inherently existent (still empty of inherent existence) <==> but still not completely non-existent (still conventionally dependently co-arisen relatively functional ever-changing impermanent appearances), not both existent & non-existent together, not neither existent nor non-existent, and there is no fifth. This is another way to express the inconceivable Union of the Two Truths [U2T].
[BEYOND:] Meaning their true nature is indescribable / inconceivable, beyond all extremes & middle, beyond all dualistic conceptual proliferations, beyond all limits, beyond all conditioning / karma (physical, conceptual, mental) x (individual, collective, cosmic).
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[U2T-2T:] Theses two aspects / truths -- dependent co-origination & functionality [T1] and emptiness of inherent existence [T2] --, like any group of apparent opposites, are inseparable (one cannot exists without the other), interdependent (one implies the other), co-defined (the definition of one defines the other), co-relative, co-dependent, co-emergent (they arise together), co-evolving (they change together), co-ceasing / co-transcended (they cease together), in harmony (not in real opposition) (in the non-dual sense of those terms: not this, not non-this, not both together, not neither) [T1-2T] <==> thus themselves empty of inherent existence [T2-2T].
The two truths are not different / separate / multiple / dual, not identical / united / one / non-dual, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth. So all dharmas are not really arising [T1] or not, not really empty of inherent existence [T2] or not, not really both together [2T], not really neither [1T], and there is no fifth.
The two truths themselves and their Union are mere pointers to the inconceivable, mere tools, mere imperfect temporary adapted skillful means. So there is nothing left here to grasp as independent / universal / absolute / inherently existing. Everything is like luminous space, a limitless & centerless ocean of interdependence and emptiness.
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[The three inseparable qualities of the Ground:] The emptiness of inherent existence [T2] is called the essence of the Ground; the conventionally dependently co-arisen relatively functional ever-changing impermanent appearances [T1] is called the nature of the Ground; the inseparability / interdependence / harmony / Union between those two aspects [U2T] is called the dynamic-energy / compassionate-energy of the Ground.
This primordial unborn unchanging unceasing ‘dynamic-energy’, or inseparability of the two aspects / truths, is the creative potential that accounts for everything in both samsara & nirvana.
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[With/without wisdom:] When directly seen as they really are [U2T], appearances (all dharmas) are said to be pure like the three inseparable pure kayas; this is nirvana. But when seen with ignorance of their true nature & dynamic [U2T], appearances are said to be impure, dependent on karma, and causing more karma; this is the limitless karmic cycle. But, ultimately, Reality is beyond all dualities like: pure & impure, wisdom & ignorance, samsara & nirvana.
--
[Best Approximation / Pointers to their inconceivable true nature & dynamic:]
The true nature & dynamic of any & all dharmas -- ex. the three spheres (subject / mind, relation / action, object / phenomena), the opposites of any duality / triad / quad /etc, even the two truths themselves --
is pointed by concepts like:
– the inconceivable Union of the Two Truths about all dharmas [U2T],
– the inconceivable Union of the three spheres about all dharmas [U3S / U2T-3S],
– the inconceivable Union of opposites about all dharmas [Non-duality / Oneness / Uopp / U2T-opp],
– the inconceivable Middle Way about all dharmas,
– the tetralemma about all dharmas,
– freedom from all extremes & middle, freedom from all dualistic conceptual proliferations, freedom from all limits, freedom from all conditioning / karma,
– the Ground / Basis / Source / Suchness / Dharmata / Dharmadhatu / Buddha-nature / Genuine-emptiness / Ati / Dzogchen / Mahamudra /
– Enlightened-mind / Intrinsic-awareness / Primordial-empty-awareness.
--
[TETRALEMMA:] All dharmas -- ex. the three spheres (subject / mind, relation / action, object / phenomena), the opposites of any duality / triad / quad /etc., even the two truths themselves -- are
-- not inherently existent, not completely non-existent, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not different / separate / multiple / dual, not identical / united / one / non-dual, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not permanent / continuous / eternal, not impermanent / discontinuous / annihilated, and there is no fifth;
-- not purely objective / physical / body, not purely subjective / mental / mind, not purely relational / process / conceptual / speech, not two or three of them together, not none of them, and there is no other possibility;
-- not dependent / caused / produced / functional, not independent / uncaused/spontaneous / unproduced / non-functional, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not composite / contextual / conditioned, not non-composite / non-contextual / unconditioned, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not merely labelled / imputed / conceptualised by the mind, not not-merely labelled / imputed / conceptualised by the mind, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not self-caused, not other-caused, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not changing / evolving, not completely non-changing / evolving, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not empty, not non-empty, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not conventional / relative / false, not absolute / universal / true, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not dependently co-arisen / interdependent / mere-interdependence [T1], not empty of inherent existence / mere-emptiness [T2], not both together [2T], not neither [1T], and there is no fifth;
-- not unequal / impure / imperfect / ordinary / incomplete / bad, not equal / pure / perfect / divine / complete / good, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not unreal / identical to illusions / dreams / mirage / magic tricks, not real / different from illusions / dreams / mirage / magic tricks, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not describable / conceivable / meaningful, not indescribable / inconceivable / meaningless, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth;
-- not this, not non-this, not both together, not neither, and there is no fifth -- for whatever ‘this’ could be -- (this could be generalised for groups of more than two apparent opposites; ex. the three spheres, the three kayas, the three gems, the three times, the four cardinal directions, the five …, the six ...).
-
Meaning their true nature (Ground / Suchness / U2T) is indescribable / inconceivable (in absolute terms) for our flawed conditioned dualistic conceptual mind(s), beyond all extremes & middle, beyond all dualistic conceptual proliferations, beyond all limits, beyond all conditioning / karma; beyond all description / conceptualisation, discrimination / differentiation, causality / production, matter-energy, space & time.
So there is no independent / universal / absolute / inherently existing basis for any discrimination / differentiation in absolute terms, just conventionally / relatively / inter-subjectively.
And there is nothing to accept / affirm / seek / add / do in absolute terms, nothing to reject / negate / abandon / eliminate / subtract / not-do in absolute terms, just conventionally / relatively / inter-subjectively if it helps someone get closer to the inconceivable liberating Truth: the Union of the Two Truths about all dharmas [U2T], the Union of the three spheres [U3S / U2T-3S], the Union of apparent opposites [Uopp / U2T-opp], the Middle Way in everything, the tetralemma, the primordial spontaneity / equality / purity / perfection / divinity / completeness of all dharmas.
In that sense everything is primordially spontaneous, equal, pure, perfect, divine, complete. Everything is like the pristine display of the Ground / Suchness / Union of the Two Truths [U2T].
It may look complicated but all of this can be resumed into one thing: The Union of the Two Truths about all dharmas. Everything else, all these words, is just to help us to stay away from all possible extremes & middle, and create enough room for a possible inconceivable spontaneous individual non-dualistic non-conceptual direct perception / realisation / experience of the true nature of Reality as it is here & now: U2T.
-
[MIDDLE WAY:]
So the best attitude toward all dharmas is the Middle Way free from all extremes & middle:
nothing to accept / affirm / seek / add / do / cause / produce / change / improve / cultivate / perceive / know / experience / acquire / possess / purify / liberate / achieve ... in absolute terms,
nothing to reject / negate / abandon / eliminate / subtract / not-do / not-cause / not-produce / not-change / not-improve or deteriorate / not-cultivate / not-perceive / not-know / not-experience / not-acquire / not-possess / not-purify or stain / not-liberate or enslave / not-achieve ... in absolute terms,
just conventionally / relatively / inter-subjectively if it helps someone to get closer to the inconceivable liberating Truth: the Union of the Two Truths [U2T].
-
Extremes like:
i) existence / realism / causality / dependent origination / karma / relative-truth-only [T1],
ii) non-existence / nihilism / mere-nothingness / mere-emptiness / ultimate-truth-only [T2],
iii) both existence & non-existence together / a form of dualism / the two truths together, in opposition / duality of the two truths [2T],
iv) neither existence nor non-existence / a form of monism / neither of the two truths / oneness of the two truths [1T];
or extremes like
v) subject-only / mind-only / idealism / subjectivism,
vi) object-only / naïve realism / objectivism,
vii) relation-only / process-only / action-only / relationism / processism,
viii) two or three of them together / pluralism,
ix) none to them / monism.
-
For the latest version of this box see:
Madhyamaka Machine - Blog Post #158
https://www.gilehtblog.com/2021/11/madhyamaka-machine.html)

QUOTES:

Mindful awareness and mental afflictions ~ Garchen Rinpoche

Milarepa has taught that, in actuality, mindful awareness and mental afflictions - one's own awareness and mental afflictions - are not separate, because mental afflictions and concepts are in the nature of emptiness. If one realizes this through meditation, then one realizes that actually wisdom and mental afflictions are non-distinct.

We talk about the five types of primordial awareness, such as the individually discriminating awareness and so forth, but they all have one essential meaning, which is mindful awareness. This mindful awareness is similar to fire, and the five mental afflictions are like fuel for the fire, the wood. When wood is burned up by the fire, then the wood itself becomes fire, and the fire gets ever stronger. Therefore the mental afflictions are not separate from one's primordial awareness. They are primordial awareness; this is the view of mahamudra.

– Garchen Rinpoche
https://quotes.justdharma.com/mindful-awareness-and-mental-afflictions/

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Meditation on the illusion-like nature ~ Niguma

This variety of desirous and hateful thoughts

that strands us in the ocean of cyclic existence

once realized to be without intrinsic nature,

makes everything a golden land, child.

If you meditate on the illusion-like nature

of illusion-like phenomena,

actual illusion-like buddhahood

will occur through the power of devotion.

– Niguma
from the book "Niguma, Lady of Illusion"
https://quotes.justdharma.com/meditation-on-the-illusion-like-nature-niguma/

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Nothing to remove, nothing to add ~ Maitreya

Therein is nothing to remove (reject / negate / abandon / not-do in absolute terms)

And thereto not the slightest thing to add (accept / affirm / seek / do in absolute terms).

The perfect truth viewed perfectly

And perfectly beheld is liberation.

– Maitreya
Uttaratantra
quoted in the book "Finding Rest in Illusion: The Trilogy of Rest, Volume 1"
https://quotes.justdharma.com/nothing-to-remove-nothing-to-add-maitreya/

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Essence of all our experiences ~ Mingyur Rinpoche

Whatever we experience (body / physical, speech / conceptual, mind / mental fabrications / appearances) is in essence an expression of the fundamentally unlimited potential of our buddhanature (of the indescribable / inconceivable Reality as it is here & now).

-- Mingyur Rinpoche
from the book Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom
https://quotes.justdharma.com/essence-of-all-our-experiences/

(i.e. Everything is already pure, perfect, equal, divine here & now. Our body / world, speech & mind are already the inseparable pure three kayas. It is just a matter of realising this, and letting them be their true nature; not blocking them.)

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Experiencing the unlimited nature of the mind ~ Mingyur Rinpoche

For most of us, our natural mind or buddha-nature is obscured by the limited self-image created by habitual neuronal patterns (our karma) – which, in themselves, are simply a reflection of the unlimited capacity of the mind to create any condition it chooses.

(i.e. they are natural spontaneous displays of our true nature / of Reality; nothing to accept nothing to reject; just let them be)

Natural mind is capable of producing anything, even ignorance of its own nature. In other words, not recognizing natural mind is simply an example of the mind’s unlimited capacity to create whatever it wants.

(i.e. the good, the bad, all natural displays inseparable from the true nature)

Whenever we feel fear, sadness, jealousy, desire, or any other emotion that contributes to our sense of vulnerability or weakness, we should give ourselves a nice pat on the back. We’ve just experienced the unlimited nature of the mind.

-- Mingyur Rinpoche
from the book The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness
https://quotes.justdharma.com/experiencing-the-unlimited-nature-of-the-mind/

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"Clarity is a sense of being able to see into the nature of things as though all reality were a landscape lit up on a brilliantly sunny day without clouds. Everything appears distinct and everything makes sense. // Even disturbing thoughts and emotions have their place in this brilliant landscape. //"

"The mind is always moving, always processing new ideas, new perceptions, and new sensations. That’s its job. Meditation is about learning to work with the mind as it is, not about trying to force it into some sort of Buddhist straitjacket."

"The most important thing is to learn how to rest your mind – to work with it instead of being worked by it."

-- Mingyur Rinpoche
https://mingyur.justdharma.com/quotes/

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“The reflections of stars and planets in the ocean are the display of the ocean. Space is the matrix of the world as a container and what is contained. The true nature of reality permeates and extends throughout samsara and nirvana. Understand the nature of these metaphors and what they exemplify. Thus, you will become a yogin who embraces the whole of samsara and nirvana.”

Dudjom Lingpa – Buddhahood Without Meditation - Nang-jang (A Visionary Account Known as Refining Perceptions) Chapter VII – pp 83-4, Padma Publishing

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Primordial awareness ~ Dogen Zenji

Primordial awareness is in essence perfect and pervades everywhere. How could it be dependent upon what anyone does to practice or realize it? The movement of reality does not need us to give it a push. Do I need to say that it is free from delusion? The vast expanse of reality can never be darkened by the dust of presumptions. Who then could believe that it needs to cleaned of such dust to be what it is? It is never separate from where you are, so why scramble around in search of it?

-- Dogen Zenji
https://quotes.justdharma.com/primordial-awareness-dogen-zenji/

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Buddhanature ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

If you want to know about buddhanature, then Maitreya’s Uttaratantra Shastra is the text you have to study. It’s important to be careful when establishing the idea of buddhanature, because otherwise it might end up becoming something like an atman, or a truly existing soul. The Mahayana shastras talk about the qualities of freedom, or elimination, such as the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the thirty-two major marks, the eighty minor marks, and so on. If you’re not careful, you might start to think about buddhanature theistically — that is, in terms of the qualities of a permanent god, soul, or essence. But all these qualities talked about in the Mahayana shastras are simply qualities of the absence of dirt.

When we talk about the result of elimination, we automatically think we are talking about something that comes afterward: first there is elimination and then comes its effect. But we are not talking about that at all, because then we would be falling into an eternalist or theistic extreme. “Elimination” means having something to eliminate. But in the Prajnaparamita, we understand that there is nothing to eliminate. And that is the big elimination. The result of that elimination isn’t obtained later. It’s always there, which is why it’s called tantra, or “continuum.” This quality continues throughout the ground, path, and result. The window continues from before the dirt was there, while the dirt is being washed away, and after the cleaning is complete. The window has always been free from the concepts of dirt and freedom from dirt. That’s why the Mahayana sutras say the result is beyond aspiration. You cannot wish or pray for the result of elimination, because it’s already there; it continues all the time, so there’s no need to aspire to it.

-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
https://quotes.justdharma.com/buddhanature-dzongsar-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Like two expressions on the same face ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Samsara and nirvana are like two expressions on the same face, one dark and sullen, the other light and smiling. But, whatever the expression, we are not talking about a different face. It is not degraded when smeared with the dirt of samsara, neither is it improved when the dirt of samsara is washed off. Samsara and nirvana remain within the expanse of the absolute nature in the same way that the universe with its different continents all appear in space.

-- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Zurchungpa's Testament
https://quotes.justdharma.com/like-two-expressions-on-the-same-face-dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Suffering is of the Nature of Bliss ~ Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche

The Buddha taught many times in the Mahayana sutras that the five aggregates, and the suffering that goes along with them, are of the nature of original and perfect purity. There is not the tiniest bit of impurity anywhere within them that needs to be abandoned.

Therefore, Mahayana practitioners do not want to be rid of their samsaric existence, but rather they aspire to take birth in samsara in as many bodies, in as many lifetimes as possible to be of benefit to sentient beings.

In Vajrayana practice, one cultivates the understanding that the five aggregates are of the nature of the five buddha families and that suffering is of the nature of bliss. Since that is the case, why would one ever want to abandon them? They are of the very essence of enlightenment.

-- Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche
from the book The Sun of Wisdom: Teachings on the Noble Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
https://quotes.justdharma.com/suffering-is-of-the-nature-of-bliss-khenpo-tsultrim-rinpoche/

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The stainless expanse of the mind’s true nature ~ Asanga

Space, whose nature is free of concepts;

Encompasses everything;

Likewise, the stainless expanse of the mind’s true nature

Permeates all beings.

-- Asanga
https://quotes.justdharma.com/the-stainless-expanse-of-the-minds-true-nature/

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You can be free ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche

You have to remember buddha nature. In the emptiness of your heart, remember you have buddha nature. Delusions are not permanent, they are not part of you, they are temporary. You can be free from delusions and negative karma. Like a mirror covered by dust, you can clean it. The more you clean it, the clearer the reflection becomes. Your mind becomes clearer the more the delusions are purified.

-- Lama Zopa Rinpoche
https://quotes.justdharma.com/you-can-be-free-lama-zopa-rinpoche/

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Temporary stains ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

When pure gold is covered by dirt it is not obvious that it is gold, even though this dirt is temporary. But once it is removed we realize that the gold is gold. In the same way, when our confusion is purified, the wisdom which is our basic wakefulness is made manifest.

-- Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
from the book Repeating the Words of the Buddha
https://quotes.justdharma.com/temporary-stains-tulku-urgyen-rinpoche/

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Cutting the root of basic confusion ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

In order to cut the root of basic confusion, one should rest in the natural state without altering it. Once one is resting in the genuine natural state, one should neither follow one’s thoughts nor search for an antidote for them. If the intrinsic nature is left in its natural state, as it is said, ‘When water is not stirred, will become clear’, Just as dirty water, if not stirred, will become clear, if the nature of mind is left unaltered, as it is, deluded thoughts will automatically clear up. The natural flow of the intrinsic nature will come automatically.

-- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book The Collected Works of Dilgo Khyentse, Volume Three
https://quotes.justdharma.com/cutting-the-root-of-basic-confusion-dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Becoming the slave of illusions and distractions ~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

Our mind is the basis of everything, and from our mind everything arises, Samsara and nirvana, ordinary sentient beings and enlightened ones. Consider the way beings transmigrate in the impure vision of samsara: even though the essence of the mind, the true nature of our mind, is totally pure right from the beginning, nevertheless, because pure mind is temporarily obscured by the impurity of ignorance, there is no self-recognition of our own state. Through this lack of self-recognition arise illusory thoughts and actions created by the passions. Thus various negative karmic causes are accumulated and since their maturation as effects is inevitable, one suffers bitterly, transmigrating in the six states of existence. Thus, not recognizing one’s own state is the cause of transmigration, and through this cause one becomes the slave of illusions and distractions.

-- Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
from the book The Mirror: Advice on the Presence of Awareness
https://quotes.justdharma.com/becoming-the-slave-of-illusions-and-distractions-namkhai-norbu-rinpoche/

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Kleshas, in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc. Contemporary translators use a variety of English words to translate the term kleshas, such as: afflictions, defilements, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions, mind poisons, etc.

In the contemporary Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions, the three kleshas of ignorance, attachment, and aversion are identified as the root or source of all other kleshas. These are referred to as the three poisons in the Mahayana tradition, or as the three unwholesome roots in the Theravada tradition.

In the Mahayana tradition, the five main kleshas are referred to as the five poisons (Sanskrit: pañca kleśaviṣa; Tibetan-Wylie: dug lnga). The five poisons consist of the three poisons with two additional poisons: pride and jealousy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleshas_(Buddhism)

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Just a single speck of dust ~ Saigyo

On the clear mirror,
just a single speck of dust.
And yet, looking
closely, we see it before
all else — people thinking thus.

-- Saigyo
quoted in the book The Poetry of Zen
https://quotes.justdharma.com/just-a-single-speck-of-dust-saigyo/

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Think of delusions as dust, and No Mind as the natural state of the mirror. That state―a spotless mirror―is Buddha nature, fundamental nature, original face. If you dust off the mirror, you have this natural state. ... If is a state of no delusions, a mirror free of dust, the state where this brilliant light of wisdom pervades everything.

-- “No Mind” is Buddha
http://www.buddhism.org/no-mind-is-buddha/

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Examine your actions very closely ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

It is important to examine your actions very closely. Particularly with minor negative actions, we do not see what the results will be immediately, but it is certain that those actions will mature and that we will have to experience the result. Enlightened beings can see this very clearly. For them even the most minute negative action is like a speck of dust in one’s eye – one has to get rid of it immediately. We ordinary beings, on the other hand, are unable to see the consequences of our actions. We are unaware of our minor deeds and lose track of them like an arrow shot into a thick forest. We act without understanding where our actions will lead. But if we had the vision of an enlightened being, we would see that even the minutest action has a result.

-- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Zurchungpa's Testament
https://quotes.justdharma.com/examine-your-actions-very-closely-dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/

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The impurity of our perception ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

When we see defects in others, people in general but particularly those who have entered the Dharma, who are the banner of the monastic robes, are the support for the offerings of gods and men alike, we should understand that it is the impurity of our perception which is at fault. When we look into a mirror, we see a dirty face because our own face is dirty. In the same way, the defects of others are nothing but our impure way of seeing them.

By thinking this way, we should try to rid ourselves of this perception of the faults of other, and cultivate the attitude whereby the whole of existence, all appearances, are experienced as pure.

-- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the Seven-Point Mind Training
https://quotes.justdharma.com/the-impurity-of-our-perception-dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Temporarily polluted water ~ Mingyur Rinpoche

The Buddha often compared natural mind to water, which in its essence is always clear and clean. Mud, sediment, and other impurities may temporarily darken or pollute the water, but we can filter away such impurities and restore its natural clarity.

-- Mingyur Rinpoche
from the book The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness
https://quotes.justdharma.com/temporarily-polluted-water/

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Buddha Nature ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

You do not wash the cup, you wash the dirt; if you were to wash the cup, it would disappear completely. So, it is the dirt that is washable and has nothing at all to do with the cup.

This example is quite a good illustration of one of the most profound theories of the bodhisattvayana: we all have the potential to become Buddhas because we have Buddha nature. The problem is we have yet to realise it.

-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices
https://quotes.justdharma.com/buddha-nature-dzongsar-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Inseparability ~ Maitreya

The disposition is empty of the adventitious stains,

Which are characterized by their total separateness.

But it is not empty of the unsurpassed qualities,

Which have the character of total inseparability.

-- Maitreya
Uttaratantra Shastra, I, 155
https://quotes.justdharma.com/inseparability/

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Our true nature is like a wineglass ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Our true nature is like a wineglass, and our defilements and obscurations are like dirt and fingerprints. When we buy the glass, it has no inherently existing fingerprints. When it becomes soiled, the habitual mind thinks the glass is dirty, not that the glass has dirt. Its nature is not dirty, it’s a glass with some dirt and fingerprints on it. These impurities can be removed.

But no matter what method we use, the intent is to remove the dirt, not the glass. There is a big distinction between washing the glass and washing the dirt. If we think that the glass is somehow different than it was before, there is a misconception. Because the glass has no inherent fingerprints, when you remove the dirt, the glass isn’t transformed — it’s the same glass you bought at the store.

-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book What Makes You Not a Buddhist
https://quotes.justdharma.com/our-true-nature-is-like-a-wineglass-dzongsar-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Freedom from all systems ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

The Mahayana path is like peeling layers of skin and finally finding out that there’s no seed inside. We have to obtain liberation from the skins, but this is difficult to do — we love our skins. When we’re children, a sand castle is very important to us. Then when we’re sixteen, a skateboard is very important, and by then the sand castle has become a rotten skin. When we’re in our thirties and forties, money, cars, and relationships replace the skateboard. These are all layers of skin. More important, even the paths that we practice are all layers of skin, which we use to help us peel the other skins. The inner skin helps us think about the outer skin and motivates us to peel it. But ultimately in the Mahayana path, you have to be free from all systems, all skins.

So what happens when all these skins have been peeled off? What’s left? Is enlightenment a total negation, like the exhaustion of a fire or the evaporation of moisture? Is it something like that? No, we’re talking about something that is a result of elimination. For example, if your window is dirty, you clean it, you wash the dirt; then the window, in the absence of dirt, is labeled a “clean” window. There’s nothing else. The phenomenon that we are calling a clean window, the quality that is the absence of dirt, is not something we produced by cleaning the dirt. I don’t think we should even call it a clean window, because the window in its original state has never been stained by the extremes of either dirty or clean. Nevertheless, the process of getting rid of the dirt can be labeled as the emergence of the clean window.

-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
https://quotes.justdharma.com/freedom-from-all-systems-dzongsar-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Just leave it alone ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche

When we have any kind of lust or attachment, which is very natural for all of us, then instead of looking at it as an enemy and as being terrible, or embracing it as wonderful and desirable, just leave it alone and look at that state of mind, which is very noticeable and very clear because of the lust and the desire.

We all try to see our mind but we cannot. This is a totally inappropriate example but somehow it helps you to understand. If there was a ghost and you had some special ghost-revealing dust-powder, if you threw the powder on the ghost you would see a powder body with two or four arms and maybe no head; scary. So it is like that – we cannot see our mind but when it is manifesting as second or third generation, as attachment or anger, we can see it, no problem.

So instead of looking at the emotion as negative or embracing and going after it, just look at it. Then you are able to see the nature of your mind, which is manifesting negatively in a form of attachment, but in essence it is the ‘kuntog thobpa yeshe’ (wisdom of perfect discernment or wisdom of great joy) or ‘nyampa nyi kyi yeshe’ (wisdom or equanimity) or ‘so sor tog pai yeshe’ (discriminating wisdom). That way it manifests and is how you are able to transform it ultimately. But relatively it is also very good.

-- Tai Situ Rinpoche
from the book Aspiration of Kuntu Zangpo
https://quotes.justdharma.com/just-leave-it-alone-tai-situ-rinpoche/

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Up to you ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The Buddha is not going to project you to buddhahood, as if throwing a stone. He is not going to purify you, as if washing a dirty cloth, nor is he going to cure you of ignorance, like a doctor administering medicine to a passive patient. Having attained full enlightenment himself, he is showing you the path, and it is up to you to follow it or not. It is up to you now to practice these teachings and experience their results.

-- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva
https://quotes.justdharma.com/up-to-you/

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By oneself ~ Buddha

By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another.

-- Buddha
Dhammapada
https://quotes.justdharma.com/by-oneself-buddha/

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Not fabricated, never stained ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The self-arisen wisdom, which is also called bodhichitta, is not something that has been fabricated, a new product created by the conjunction of causes and conditions. It never has changed, never changes, and never will change. The absolute nature remains what it is, perfectly pure, at all times. Even if it appears obscured for impure beings at the start of the path, it has never actually been obscured. If it seems to be a mixture of pure and impure during the course of the path, it in fact always remains pure. And at the time of the result, perfect enlightenment, it is simply the same ground nature made evident and not something new that was not there before. So even though all the hallucinations that make up existence fall like rain from the sky, it cannot affect one’s confidence: the kinglike bodhichitta that is the doer-of-everything will never be stained or dampened.

-- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Zurchungpa's Testament
https://quotes.justdharma.com/not-fabricated-never-stained-dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/

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Re-awakened ~ 14th Dalai Lama

Rigpa awareness, or Samantabhadra, is a primordially enlightened state, a quality of buddhahood that we all possess from beginningless time. However, this primordial quality of buddhahood is obscured by adventitious mental factors, our afflictions and other thought processes. Through practice, this primordial quality of buddhahood manifests. That is why, when all of the adventitious stains are cleansed, one is said to become re-awakened or re-enlightened.

-- 14th Dalai Lama
from the book Meditation on the Nature of Mind
https://quotes.justdharma.com/re-awakened-14th-dalai-lama/

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Genuine compassion ~ Khandro Rinpoche

Compassion is not about kindness. Compassion is about awareness. Compassion in the general sense of kindness would be an expression of awareness, but one that might not necessarily be free from the stain of ego-grasping. Genuine compassion is egoless. It is the inherent essence expressed, inseparable from awareness. This natural essence, which is genuine compassion, does not need to be formulated or even expressed as something like “compassion.” We see this exemplified in our great teachers. Their genuine compassion does not require phrases and expressions or even actions. Just their presence, who they are, is nothing other than the quintessence of compassion.

-- Khandro Rinpoche
from the book Sacred Voices of the Nyingma Masters
https://quotes.justdharma.com/genuinne-compassion-khandro-rinpoche/

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The essence of mind ~ Chetsang Rinpoche

The essence of mind is somewhat difficult to explain, so we look at it from the negative point of view, that is, what mind is not. First of all, we see that it is not something which arises or ceases or abides. It is free of these three things. From beginningless time, there is no arising, no cessation and no abiding in terms of staying in one place, not moving, or not changing. It is completely free of all three of these.

It is also free of being a thing or a substance composed of particles. The essential entity, or substance, of mind is not something that can be defiled or stained by grasping at subject and object. It is completely free of the stains from those activities.

Further, when we look at the essential substance of mind, we find that no matter how much we search for it, no matter how much we analyze it, there is no thing there to be found. There is no entity that we can come up with by searching, evaluating, and analyzing. No matter how much we seek for its essential substance, we cannot find it. The searcher, the one who does the search for essential substance of mind, cannot find it. Therefore it is said that the essential substance of mind itself is emptiness.

-- Chetsang Rinpoche
from the book The Practice Of Mahamudra
https://quotes.justdharma.com/the-essence-of-mind-chetsang-rinpoche/

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To reject your aggression is a weakness ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

As a Buddhist, you have been taught that aggression is generally considered to be a negative emotion. Therefore your immediate reaction to any aggressive tendency or thought that arises in your mind will be to reject it. And you reject it because you are in love with your “self,” which makes you an egoist. As an egoist, you do not want aggressive feelings or jealousy or any of the other negative emotions to spoil your chances of becoming renowned as a “good” Buddhist. Yet according to the greater view offered by the bodhisattvayana, to reject your aggression is a weakness. To reject the bad and only accept the good shows that you are still stained by the clinging to self that we call “ego.” Instead, when a bodhisattvayana practitioner notices his/her aggressive emotions, he/she should think, “Aggression is really bad! But I am not the only one who suffers from it — all sentient beings do! So, may I take on the aggression, jealousy and pride of all sentient beings.” From a relative point of view, what happens when you take on the pens when you take on the suffering of others in this way? Fundamentally, you go against the wishes of your ego. So, if your ego wants to be the holiest and most sublime of all beings so it can boast it has no desire or jealousy, this is exactly the practice you need to do to oppose and resist it. By continually applying it, the ego becomes smaller and smaller until finally it has nowhere to live.

-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices
https://quotes.justdharma.com/to-reject-your-aggression-is-a-weakness-dzongsar-khyentse-rinpoche/

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