"Life is fragile, like a dewdrop poised on the tip if a blade of grass carried away by the first breath if the morning breeze. A sincere desire to practice the Dharma is not enough. Do not wait passively for the wind if death to carry away all your plans before you have got around to them."
"How to practice? We should be like a hungry yak, browsing one tuft of grass with its eyes already fixed on the next. Filled with joy, we ought to burn with enthusiasm for practice, never falling into indolence or apathy, or thinking that we have made enough effort."
"a child thinks, "I could walk on the clouds!" If he could actually reach the clouds!, however, he would find nowhere to set foot. In the same way, our thoughts appear to be solid until we examine them. Then we find that they are without substance. Thus we say phenomena are empty and apparent at the same time. "
The Indian yogi and spiritual master Padampa Sangye was a great traveler. Chronicles sat that he crossed the Nepal-Tibet border in 1091. Having remained ten years in Tibet, he traveled for twelve years in China, and returned to the Land and Snow until his death. Before passing away at Tingri in 1117, as a last teaching, he gave these Hundred Verses Advice to the People of Tingri. Soon after, he said : "My mind has blended with phenomenal world," thus showing that all-dual perceptions had disappeared from his mind. He then fixed his gaze on the sky and passed away.
Each of these verses is generously commented by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1191) in a most lucid and direct way, showing that the "people or Tingri" are none others than all seekers of truth. With great love, but without any concession, Khyentse Reinpoche give us a magnificent teaching on how to turn our thoughts to what truly matters in life, practice with our whole being, and discover the ultimate nature of mind. |
