Meditations of a Yogin
11.05.202505:32
“Namo Lokeśvaraya!
You see that all things are beyond coming and going,
Yet you still strive solely for the sake of living beings—
To you, my precious guru inseparable from Lord Avalokita, I offer perpetual homage, respectfully, with body speech and mind.”
You see that all things are beyond coming and going,
Yet you still strive solely for the sake of living beings—
To you, my precious guru inseparable from Lord Avalokita, I offer perpetual homage, respectfully, with body speech and mind.”
Reposted from:
MahaYog - Yoga 🔱 and Buddhism ☸️
06.05.202516:00
If one of your things breaks, you won't walk around with that thing in your hands all the time, but instead put it aside until you are ready to fix it.
Similarly, if a problem arises in your life, try not to worry about it all the time. But instead, put it off and come back to it when you are ready to deal with it, or just accept the fact that nothing can be done.
Worrying takes away a tremendous amount of energy that could instead be used on your path to Enlightenment.
Chamtrul Rinpoche
Similarly, if a problem arises in your life, try not to worry about it all the time. But instead, put it off and come back to it when you are ready to deal with it, or just accept the fact that nothing can be done.
Worrying takes away a tremendous amount of energy that could instead be used on your path to Enlightenment.
Chamtrul Rinpoche
23.04.202520:17
16.04.202506:18
25.03.202509:24
Longchenpa said in his work, A Treasure of Wish-Fulfilling Jewels, regarding yogins that confuse the experience of Rigpa with what it is not:
Not knowing how the two truths are united, they come to blank vacuity.
They say that from both “is” and “is not” they are free,
But of the ground of such a freedom they are ignorant,
And have a view that takes them to the zenith of existence. (The formless realms or the arūpa-loka)
Such teaching is not Buddhadharma.
They say they have a space-like mind.
But let them rather daub themselves with ashes. (I.e. behave like a sadhu. Their view, in other words, resembles that of the Hindu schools.)
Not knowing how the two truths are united, they come to blank vacuity.
They say that from both “is” and “is not” they are free,
But of the ground of such a freedom they are ignorant,
And have a view that takes them to the zenith of existence. (The formless realms or the arūpa-loka)
Such teaching is not Buddhadharma.
They say they have a space-like mind.
But let them rather daub themselves with ashes. (I.e. behave like a sadhu. Their view, in other words, resembles that of the Hindu schools.)
03.02.202515:52
For the sake of world peace, the esteemed leaders of the Nyingma tradition, representatives of Guru Rinpoche, initiated and continue to conduct the annual Nyingma Monlam Chenmo (World Peace Ceremony) in Bodhgaya. This sacred event is held every year from the 1st to the 10th day of the 12th month in the Tibetan calendar.
This year marks the 36th Nyingma Monlam Chenmo, with 215 monasteries registered to participate in the event. The gathering includes over ten thousand participants, including monks, nuns, yogis, and devoted practitioners from various regions.
This year marks the 36th Nyingma Monlam Chenmo, with 215 monasteries registered to participate in the event. The gathering includes over ten thousand participants, including monks, nuns, yogis, and devoted practitioners from various regions.
Reposted from:
Chintanam
10.05.202517:09
Just as lightning on a cloudy night illuminates the darkness for a moment, likewise, through the power of the buddhas, a rare wholesome thought appears in the world.
Therefore virtue is perpetually weak, while evil is very strong and quite unbearable.
Therefore virtue is perpetually weak, while evil is very strong and quite unbearable.
Reposted from:MahaYog - Yoga 🔱 and Buddhism ☸️
06.05.202515:06
When something undesirable happens to you, your mind tries to get rid of it, falling into anger, resentment, envy, worry, anxiety, despondency, paranoia, depression, or fears of death and rebirth.
Realizing that all of this is just a manifestation of the energy of awareness,
don't avoid it,
don't get involved,
don't try to improve or change it,
don't contemplate
or even meditate on it.
Instead, relax into the unified equanimity of natural presence without mental projections or concentrations.
Everything will disappear without a trace by itself, and with it you will experience the heavenly expanse of pure mind, irresistibly rising from within with even greater clarity.
Longchenpa
Realizing that all of this is just a manifestation of the energy of awareness,
don't avoid it,
don't get involved,
don't try to improve or change it,
don't contemplate
or even meditate on it.
Instead, relax into the unified equanimity of natural presence without mental projections or concentrations.
Everything will disappear without a trace by itself, and with it you will experience the heavenly expanse of pure mind, irresistibly rising from within with even greater clarity.
Longchenpa
22.04.202507:31
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.
Space, whose nature is free of concepts;
Encompasses everything;
Likewise, the stainless expanse of the mind’s true nature
Permeates all beings.
15.04.202501:39
"Anuyoga uses the transformation method, however, it explains how our real nature is. There is no difference between Anuyoga and Dzogchen. Anuyoga explains how our real nature is the three primordial wisdoms: essence, nature and energy. What is essence? It is emptiness, kadag. What is nature? Clarity. What is energy? Without interruption. When we explain about energy we talk about three primordial potentialities: sound and light and rays. Since the beginning all sentient beings have these perfected potentialities. But even though we have these potentialities from the beginning, we are ignorant of having that knowledge and because of this ignorance, there is no benefit. We are always in samsara."
- Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
https://melong.com/anuyoga-system-dzogchen-guruyoga/
- Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
https://melong.com/anuyoga-system-dzogchen-guruyoga/
22.03.202508:10
In the Nyingma tradition, the peak known as Blazing Meteoritic Mount Malaya (Wyl. ri bo ma la ya gnam lcags 'bar ba Skt. malayagiri) is the most important sacred place for Vajrayana practitioners. Vajrayana teachings originated in our world when Vajrapani, the Lord of Secrets and of the yakshas, taught the Nyingma Mahayoga and Anuyoga tantras. He expounded the teachings to five noble beings: the god Yashasvi Varapala, the naga king Takshaka, the yaksha Ulkamukha, the rakshasa Matyaupayika, and a human, the Licchavi Vimalakirti.
According to Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche, Vimalakirti then transmitted the teachings to King Dza and to Nyak Jñanakumara (one of the 25 disciples of Guru Rinpoche).
It is also the place where the Buddha descended from heaven and taught the Lankavatara Sutra.
Situated in present day Sri Lanka, it is known as Adam's Peak or Shripada.
According to Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche, Vimalakirti then transmitted the teachings to King Dza and to Nyak Jñanakumara (one of the 25 disciples of Guru Rinpoche).
It is also the place where the Buddha descended from heaven and taught the Lankavatara Sutra.
Situated in present day Sri Lanka, it is known as Adam's Peak or Shripada.
03.02.202515:52
10.05.202500:40
"The one who sees only the literal, does not see reality—like one who wants to see the moon, gazing at the finger [pointing at it]."
- Candrakīrti, Pradīpoddyotana-nāma-tīkā
- Candrakīrti, Pradīpoddyotana-nāma-tīkā
04.05.202506:47
The Kagyu Yogis are dedicated spiritual practitioners within the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, known for their profound meditation and yogic disciplines. The Kagyu lineage is one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and emphasizes direct transmission of wisdom from teacher to student, often orally, which is reflected in the name "Kagyu," meaning "oral lineage" or "whispered transmission."
This lineage traces back to the Indian masters Tilopa and Naropa, whose teachings were transmitted to Tibet by Marpa the Translator. Marpa’s most famous student was Milarepa, one of Tibet’s greatest yogis and poets, who achieved full realization through extreme austerity and years of solitary meditation. Milarepa’s disciple, Gampopa, integrated the yogic teachings with monastic practices and established a structured path followed by later Kagyu masters.
Kagyu yogis are characterized by their commitment to solitude, intensive retreat, and mastery of advanced tantric practices. They often live in isolated mountain hermitages or caves, far from society, dedicating their lives to inner transformation. Traditionally, they wear simple cotton robes, and many are known as "white-robed yogis." Some wander freely without attachment to institutions or possessions.
Their practices focus on Mahamudra meditation, a direct path to realizing the true nature of mind, which is described as empty, luminous, and inherently aware. Alongside Mahamudra, they train in the Six Yogas of Naropa, which include techniques such as tummo (inner heat), dream yoga, illusory body, clear light, bardo yoga, and transference of consciousness (phowa). These methods are meant to purify obscurations and develop deep experiential understanding of the nature of reality.
The lifestyle of a Kagyu yogi involves strict discipline, often following a traditional three-year retreat cycle. Their day is filled with meditation sessions, mantra recitation, guru yoga, and practices aimed at transforming the mind and body. Though miracles like melting snow through tummo are sometimes reported, the real achievement of a yogi is inner awakening, not external displays.
Famous Kagyu yogis like Milarepa, Rechungpa, and more recently Tenzin Palmo, who spent years in solitary retreat, continue to inspire both monastics and lay practitioners. Their legacy is preserved through the various Kagyu sub-schools, including Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, and Drukpa Kagyu. Today, the influence of Kagyu yogis extends worldwide through retreat centers and teachers who uphold the spirit of direct realization and inner freedom.
This lineage traces back to the Indian masters Tilopa and Naropa, whose teachings were transmitted to Tibet by Marpa the Translator. Marpa’s most famous student was Milarepa, one of Tibet’s greatest yogis and poets, who achieved full realization through extreme austerity and years of solitary meditation. Milarepa’s disciple, Gampopa, integrated the yogic teachings with monastic practices and established a structured path followed by later Kagyu masters.
Kagyu yogis are characterized by their commitment to solitude, intensive retreat, and mastery of advanced tantric practices. They often live in isolated mountain hermitages or caves, far from society, dedicating their lives to inner transformation. Traditionally, they wear simple cotton robes, and many are known as "white-robed yogis." Some wander freely without attachment to institutions or possessions.
Their practices focus on Mahamudra meditation, a direct path to realizing the true nature of mind, which is described as empty, luminous, and inherently aware. Alongside Mahamudra, they train in the Six Yogas of Naropa, which include techniques such as tummo (inner heat), dream yoga, illusory body, clear light, bardo yoga, and transference of consciousness (phowa). These methods are meant to purify obscurations and develop deep experiential understanding of the nature of reality.
The lifestyle of a Kagyu yogi involves strict discipline, often following a traditional three-year retreat cycle. Their day is filled with meditation sessions, mantra recitation, guru yoga, and practices aimed at transforming the mind and body. Though miracles like melting snow through tummo are sometimes reported, the real achievement of a yogi is inner awakening, not external displays.
Famous Kagyu yogis like Milarepa, Rechungpa, and more recently Tenzin Palmo, who spent years in solitary retreat, continue to inspire both monastics and lay practitioners. Their legacy is preserved through the various Kagyu sub-schools, including Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, and Drukpa Kagyu. Today, the influence of Kagyu yogis extends worldwide through retreat centers and teachers who uphold the spirit of direct realization and inner freedom.
16.04.202515:18
"The real Buddha is the nature of our mind.
Right now, our Buddha nature is covered by obscurations that we need to purify.
We also need to gather the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.
A practice in which we think that the Buddha is outside of ourselves, while ignoring the Buddha within, will, by itself, never bring complete enlightenment.
If we expect an external Buddha up there in the sky to give us all the common and supreme accomplishments, we are merely placing our hopes on an external object.
The ultimate deity is within our own mind.
We attain enlightenment by recognising our true nature and training in that recognition."
~
- Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Vajra Speech: A Commentary on the Quintessence of Spiritual Practice, the Direct Instructions of the Great Compassionate One
Right now, our Buddha nature is covered by obscurations that we need to purify.
We also need to gather the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.
A practice in which we think that the Buddha is outside of ourselves, while ignoring the Buddha within, will, by itself, never bring complete enlightenment.
If we expect an external Buddha up there in the sky to give us all the common and supreme accomplishments, we are merely placing our hopes on an external object.
The ultimate deity is within our own mind.
We attain enlightenment by recognising our true nature and training in that recognition."
~
- Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Vajra Speech: A Commentary on the Quintessence of Spiritual Practice, the Direct Instructions of the Great Compassionate One
Reposted from:MahaYog - Yoga 🔱 and Buddhism ☸️
06.04.202507:08
Guru is the nature of our mind. If we have realized the nature of mind, there is no need for an external guru. If comprehension of [the nature of] the mind is maintained in and out of meditation, then the guru is beyond meeting and parting.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
06.03.202505:40
Tibetans’ growing sense of their geographic importance could only have been strengthened by the decline of Buddhism in India. Already in the late twelfth century, Tibetans were beginning to report on the Muslim depredations in northern India.
The Kagyupa master Jigten Gönpo (1143 - 1217) included the following lines in a prayer for the success of the Buddhist teachings: “In this world, a great devastation has arisen. Enemies of the teachings have come. As the power of the Turks has increased, they have conquered the eastern Indian [regions] of Magadha, destroying the outward and inward sacred objects."
- From "The Taming of the Demons" Chapter Six, Buddhist Warfare
The Kagyupa master Jigten Gönpo (1143 - 1217) included the following lines in a prayer for the success of the Buddhist teachings: “In this world, a great devastation has arisen. Enemies of the teachings have come. As the power of the Turks has increased, they have conquered the eastern Indian [regions] of Magadha, destroying the outward and inward sacred objects."
- From "The Taming of the Demons" Chapter Six, Buddhist Warfare
19.01.202507:18
Meditate - Familiarize Yourself with the Dharma Practice
"It is not enough simply to look at food: you need to eat it.
It is not enough simply to hear the teachings: you must meditate."
ཟས་མཐོང་བས་མི་ཆོག་ཟ་དགོས་པར་འདུག །
ཆོས་གོ་བས་མི་ཆོག་སྒོམ་དགོས་པར་འདུག །
Naldjorpa Wangchug Milarepa
Note: On the first glance, this quote of Tibet's Great Yogi simply states 'Meditate! - not just hear about dharma teachings.' Moreover, the whole of buddhist learning is structured around the threefold training in listening, reflecting and meditating, tö sam gom sum (thos bsam sgom gsum/śruta cintā bhāvanā). However, the term gom (sgom), 'meditate' or 'contemplate', means also 'to train', 'to familiarize yourself with', 'become familiar, 'have real knowledge of', and so on. In this respect Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso states.
"While Buddhist scholars concentrate on studying or listening to the Buddha’s doctrine, the logicians study valid means of knowing and reasoning, the tools with which one reflects and is able to discern what is true and false. This corresponds to the stage of reflection. The yogins or meditators are those who have established through listening and reflection what must be the case and who are now engaged in training themselves in the art of abandoning their delusions. It is one thing to decide through reasoning what must be true and another actually to see the world in that way."
"It is not enough simply to look at food: you need to eat it.
It is not enough simply to hear the teachings: you must meditate."
ཟས་མཐོང་བས་མི་ཆོག་ཟ་དགོས་པར་འདུག །
ཆོས་གོ་བས་མི་ཆོག་སྒོམ་དགོས་པར་འདུག །
Naldjorpa Wangchug Milarepa
Note: On the first glance, this quote of Tibet's Great Yogi simply states 'Meditate! - not just hear about dharma teachings.' Moreover, the whole of buddhist learning is structured around the threefold training in listening, reflecting and meditating, tö sam gom sum (thos bsam sgom gsum/śruta cintā bhāvanā). However, the term gom (sgom), 'meditate' or 'contemplate', means also 'to train', 'to familiarize yourself with', 'become familiar, 'have real knowledge of', and so on. In this respect Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso states.
"While Buddhist scholars concentrate on studying or listening to the Buddha’s doctrine, the logicians study valid means of knowing and reasoning, the tools with which one reflects and is able to discern what is true and false. This corresponds to the stage of reflection. The yogins or meditators are those who have established through listening and reflection what must be the case and who are now engaged in training themselves in the art of abandoning their delusions. It is one thing to decide through reasoning what must be true and another actually to see the world in that way."
Reposted from:
𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 & 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆
07.05.202510:03
The Ganges basin and the Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India. Illustration by Willa Davis
23.04.202520:17
Practice According to Your Own Capacity
"For the most part, what we practice and how much we practice are determined by our capacity, work and family situation, and how much time we have available—all perfectly valid criteria, as they were sanctioned by the Buddha himself, for example in the story of the village butcher. During the Buddha’s lifetime he permitted a butcher to take a vow not to kill animals at night, although he continued to kill them during the day in order to make a living. As a result, the butcher was born into an ephemeral hell where he suffered excruciating agonies during the daytime and at night his pleasures knew no bounds.
In this story Buddha is telling us that although this man earned his living by murdering animals, his profession did not bar him, and those like him, from also becoming spiritual practitioners. Yet one of the most widely held misconceptions about students of Buddhadharma is that we have to be either solitary yogis, like Milarepa—who practised all day, every day, for years on end—or celibate monks. If butchers can become practitioners, so can soldiers, fishermen and prostitutes. In fact anyone can be a Buddhist practitioner, because whatever your situation in life and regardless of your lifestyle, there is nothing to stop you from also practicing Buddhadharma. And although most people are unable to do everything recommended in the teachings, adopting one or two activities or attitudes will make a big difference to your life. Therefore, does a person have to become a monk, a nun or a yogi in order to be a Buddhist? Absolutely not!
Perhaps one aspect of the story about the butcher needs some clarification. It would be a mistake to assume that the Buddha was sanctioning murder when he asked the butcher not to kill during the night. That was not the case at all. Taking a vow was simply a stepping-stone that would eventually lead the butcher to a situation in which he no longer had to kill to earn a living. In fact, all Buddhist practices are like stepping-stones along the path to enlightenment, not an end in themselves. For example, the Buddha taught his monks a meditation on ugliness that reduces women to their fundamental physical constituents of pus, blood, meat, piss and shit, not as a way of sanctioning the denigratation of all women but to help monks detach themselves from their desire. He was certainly not trying to turn his monks into misogynists.
Buddhadharma is generally very permissive, and of course, as you take your first tentative steps along the Buddhist path, it goes without saying that you will do as much or as little as your situation allows. This is how it should be. It would be such a shame if those attracted to Buddhism were immediately put off because they felt compelled to become a monk or take hundreds of vows."
- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
(From the book "Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices")
"For the most part, what we practice and how much we practice are determined by our capacity, work and family situation, and how much time we have available—all perfectly valid criteria, as they were sanctioned by the Buddha himself, for example in the story of the village butcher. During the Buddha’s lifetime he permitted a butcher to take a vow not to kill animals at night, although he continued to kill them during the day in order to make a living. As a result, the butcher was born into an ephemeral hell where he suffered excruciating agonies during the daytime and at night his pleasures knew no bounds.
In this story Buddha is telling us that although this man earned his living by murdering animals, his profession did not bar him, and those like him, from also becoming spiritual practitioners. Yet one of the most widely held misconceptions about students of Buddhadharma is that we have to be either solitary yogis, like Milarepa—who practised all day, every day, for years on end—or celibate monks. If butchers can become practitioners, so can soldiers, fishermen and prostitutes. In fact anyone can be a Buddhist practitioner, because whatever your situation in life and regardless of your lifestyle, there is nothing to stop you from also practicing Buddhadharma. And although most people are unable to do everything recommended in the teachings, adopting one or two activities or attitudes will make a big difference to your life. Therefore, does a person have to become a monk, a nun or a yogi in order to be a Buddhist? Absolutely not!
Perhaps one aspect of the story about the butcher needs some clarification. It would be a mistake to assume that the Buddha was sanctioning murder when he asked the butcher not to kill during the night. That was not the case at all. Taking a vow was simply a stepping-stone that would eventually lead the butcher to a situation in which he no longer had to kill to earn a living. In fact, all Buddhist practices are like stepping-stones along the path to enlightenment, not an end in themselves. For example, the Buddha taught his monks a meditation on ugliness that reduces women to their fundamental physical constituents of pus, blood, meat, piss and shit, not as a way of sanctioning the denigratation of all women but to help monks detach themselves from their desire. He was certainly not trying to turn his monks into misogynists.
Buddhadharma is generally very permissive, and of course, as you take your first tentative steps along the Buddhist path, it goes without saying that you will do as much or as little as your situation allows. This is how it should be. It would be such a shame if those attracted to Buddhism were immediately put off because they felt compelled to become a monk or take hundreds of vows."
- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
(From the book "Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices")
Reposted from:MahaYog - Yoga 🔱 and Buddhism ☸️
30.03.202506:59
Oral instruction does not mean many books but rather a few words that hit the target and convey the essence of meaning into your mind.
Vision does not mean just a philosophical opinion; it is freedom from the limitations of mental constructs.
Meditation does not mean mental concentration on something; it means that your mind remains steadfast in its natural ability to know, free from mental effort.
Spontaneous action does not mean licentious behavior; it means freedom from the habit of clinging to illusory sensations as reality.
Distinguishing knowledge (prajña) does not refer to the sharp faculties of mistaken thinking; it is the realization that all dharmas are unborn and free from mental constructions.
Guru Padmasambhava
Vision does not mean just a philosophical opinion; it is freedom from the limitations of mental constructs.
Meditation does not mean mental concentration on something; it means that your mind remains steadfast in its natural ability to know, free from mental effort.
Spontaneous action does not mean licentious behavior; it means freedom from the habit of clinging to illusory sensations as reality.
Distinguishing knowledge (prajña) does not refer to the sharp faculties of mistaken thinking; it is the realization that all dharmas are unborn and free from mental constructions.
Guru Padmasambhava
14.02.202517:58
"In general, if one is a realized yogin, one should be like the sky that can accommodate all good and bad, benefits and drawbacks. One should be like the earth that can bear all good and bad, happiness and suffering. One should be like a child who knows how to get along with people of all ages and sizes. One should be like food placed at the bedside of a sick person, having turned away from internal attachment. Compassion should arise spontaneously, like seeing one's only child. All qualities should arise spontaneously, like the earth in summer. Delusion of material grasping should dissolve, like ice melting into water. One should be fearless and confident, like a lion leaping into the snow or an elephant entering a lake. To develop such qualities, mere realization is not enough. One must train in equalizing the taste of experiences. There is no other taste to equalize; one must equalize the taste of the eight worldly concerns."
— Je Gampopa
Garland of Amrita Advice
— Je Gampopa
Garland of Amrita Advice
19.01.202507:17
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