Joseph Josephson

“Without hope, Chöd practitioners are freed from the limits of hope and fear; having cut the ropes of grasping, definitely enlightened, where does one go?”
― Machik Labdrön, Making the Old New Again and Again: Legitimation and Innovation in the Tibetan Buddhist Chöd Tradition

“If there is destruction of hope, there is freedom from gods [lha]; if there is destruction of fear, there is freedom from spirits ['dre, demons].”
― Machik Labdrön, Making the Old New Again and Again: Legitimation and Innovation in the Tibetan Buddhist Chöd Tradition

“Where would I find enough leather
To cover the entire surface of the earth?
But with leather soles beneath my feet,
It’s as if the whole world has been covered.”
― Shantideva

“Oh, noble child, everything is severing the mind. As for the mind, it is severing pride. There is nothing whatsoever that is not included in pride. If one simply understands that it is merely the production of pride, then, for example, one is like a thief in an empty house: by simply recognizing [the situation], grasping is impossible. Having correctly understood, there is no practice with an intentional objective. Because it crushes any hesitations (mi phod), it is explained as Chöd.”
― Machik Labdrön, Making the Old New Again and Again: Legitimation and Innovation in the Tibetan Buddhist Chöd Tradition