Tibetan Quotes

“Hit the goat to scare the sheep.”
― Tibetan proverb

“By the power of this, may the obstacles of those great beings who are doctrine holders be dispelled!!!
May the lives of those who adhere to the teachings be prolonged and may benefactors power increase!
May sentient being be joyfully happy and always practice the Dharma!
May the fruit of benefiting oneself and other ripen like that of a wish~fulfilling tree!
May good deeds and enlightened activity PROLIFERATE and be auspicious!
I wrote this myself.
May virtue prevail! May virtue prevail! May virtue and excellence prevail!”
― Sarah Jacoby Khandro

“To approach the finality of our bodies while paying no attention to the mini-deaths of daily life is like confusing diamonds with pebbles and throwing them away.”
― Yongey Mingyur, In Love with the World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying

“Gegyen told us that the sound of the bell was the sounds of emptiness and represented feminine wisdom.

Leaning back and squinting so that his eyes practically disappeared, he said, "All that appears as solid is merely appearing and has no essential nature. What we think of as real is like the places and people we see in dreams."

Then he laughed, grinning toothlessly, and looked at us nodding, "Ok, let's do that again.”
― Tsultrim Allione, Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict

“Apo Rinpoche had four children and a wonderful wife, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. When I told him I was having repeated dreams about a baby he laughed so hard he almost fell off his seat, and then he said, "All nuns should have babies." I didn't know quite how he meant this, and I continued to struggle with my decision until one day I told him I was having a lot sexual thoughts and feelings and that I really felt I could not continue as a nun. I asked him when he thought I should give back my vows. He said: "It depends how much longer you can wait!" Then he laughed so hard that tears were streaming down his face.”
― Tsultrim Allione, Women of Wisdom

“Teaching the Dharma to people who are skilled in dry intellectual speculations and cling to mere words of sophistry will result in slandering the Dharma. By slandering the Dharma the slanderer will accumulate evil karma, and you yourself, by being angry, will also gather misdeeds. Thus both teacher and recipient will gather evil karma through the Dharma. There is no need for that.
Do not make the profound instructions into a sales item but practice with perseverance in remote places and mingle your mind with the Dharma.”
― Padmasambhava, Dakini Teachings: A Collection of Padmasambhava's Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal

“Here is the explanation of how buddhahood acts for the welfare of sentient beings. Numerous reflections of the sun appear on the surface of many waters without leaving behind the single circle of the sun. Similarly, the truly and completely Enlightened One, the dharmakaya, without leaving behind the equality of the innate nature, magically appears, through the sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya, in accordance with the particular inclinations of those to be tamed in a number as great as the infinite space. Although acting for the benefit of beings, the dharmakaya holds no conceptual thinking.
For example, the sunlight does not conceive of benefiting beings. In the same way the two kayas hold no concepts of acting for the welfare of beings. The welfare of beings results from the power of aspiration.”
― Padmasambhava, Dakini Teachings: A Collection of Padmasambhava's Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal