Khenchen Thrangu > Quotes

“Resting in the natural state does not mean that you cannot think about things or work. The idea is to rest in the natural state and think at the same time. If you can do that, you can think things through and work but there are no painful or sharp feelings.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar

“What is clinging to a self rooted in? Actually, it is not rooted in anything. If we see that, then naturally ego-clinging will not happen. The reason it has no root is that when we look for the object that we are clinging to as “me,” as a self, we cannot find it.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar

“The root of all happiness is the mind; the root of all suffering is the mind. The root of all afflictions and the root of all faith, devotion, love and compassion come down to the mind. If we know the nature of our mind, we can make use of the great treasure and eventually gain perfect happiness and the ultimate result of liberation and omniscience.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Advice from a Yogi: An Explanation of a Tibetan Classic on What Is Most Important

“We experience many different joys and sorrows. When we do, we have a lot of thoughts. This produces a lot of afflictions, and many feelings arise. So we need to make sure that joy and sorrow do not harm us. If fact, we can even use them as a way to develop our experience, realization, and samadhi meditation. If we can take joy and sorrow as the path, this life will be peaceful and happy.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar

“In considering the substantial self, it is important to make a clear distinction between the self itself and the mere attribution of self.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, The Open Door to Emptiness

“Whether we are happy or unhappy, it is important that we contemplate the nature of our minds. If we can practice in this way, it will be like the saying on mind training: In happy times, it bows our neck; When bad times come, it is a friend. When things are good, meditating on the nature of the mind will prevent us from playing too many games. When times are bad, we won’t wallow in despair and depression. If we meditate on the nature of our mind, we will not have such a hard time and things will go well; this is extremely helpful.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar

“The five aggregates are a way of talking about the past, present, and future.”
― Kenchen Thrangu, The Four Dharmas of Gampopa

“When anger arises in us, there is a danger that we will be mistaken in the moment. We might start to fight, or we might say something harsh or unpleasant that we will regret in the future. Thus it is important that we take control of our minds. If we reduce the intensity of the afflictions, it is extremely helpful, and in the future we will be able to think, “Things actually worked out back then.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar

“So if we want to get rid of our suffering, what we have to do is eliminate this conception of a self or “I.” Now, we are very fortunate because it is possible to get rid of this concept of “I.” The reason it is quite possible to eliminate this concept is that the object we conceive of as a self doesn’t exist.”
― Kenchen Thrangu, The Four Dharmas of Gampopa

“Whenever we study the Dharma or do any Dharma practice, the most important thing is to have a pure motivation. If we have a pure motivation, whatever we do with our body, speech, and mind will turn out well. But if our motivation is not pure, then even if what we do with our body, speech, and mind seems good from the outside, it will actually not turn out well in the end.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar

“The five aggregates are form, feeling, discrimination, formations, and consciousness.”
― Kenchen Thrangu, The Four Dharmas of Gampopa

“You live in illusion and in the appearance of things. There is a reality and you are that reality, but you don't know it. But if you should ever wake up to that reality, you will realize that you are nothing [empty], and being nothing [empty], you are everything. That's all.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, The Ninth Karmapa's Ocean of Definitive Meaning

“Happiness is impermanent and will eventually become a source of suffering because of loss of this desired event or object.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, The Five Buddha Families and the Eight Consciousnesses

“What exactly does discernment mean in this context? It means understanding what is possible in terms of loving and compassionate action. The attitude of love is understood in the Buddhist tradition as an aspiration for the happiness of another.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, Cultivating True Compassion: Bodhichitta and the Bodhisattva Vow

“The Buddhist view is not like that. Rather the Buddhist view is that if the causes of suffering have been created, then there will be suffering. It is not that some external being has decided to make us miserable for some reason. The Buddhist view is that the causes have come together completely and manifested their result. Likewise, when we experience happiness, it is because the various factors that give rise to happiness have come together, not because some external being decided that we should be happy.”
― Khenchen Thrangu, The Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination