Secret of the Vajra World

the buddha-nature does not particularly care what our personalities have to go through or how difficult the process may be.

“empty” nature of the yidam, which appears but cannot be in any way objectified or pinned down.

Atisha’s approach, derived from his training in India, is important because it established another of the major ways in which the Vajrayana was understood and practiced in Tibet.

the experience of mahamudra represents the fulfillment of a journey downward, from our lofty ideas about the ultimate to the raw truth and reality of our lives, to the most basic, unadorned experience of what life is.

the more one’s love and appreciation for the teacher grow, the less one is able to fulfill that love in any concrete way.

In the Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet, the teachings on buddha-nature are considered a source of unbounded confidence, certainty, and joy. One may wonder, particularly in light of the more daunting aspects of the buddha-nature, how this could be so. The reason is simple: the buddha-nature doctrine shows us that the seemingly problematic aspects of our

By contrast, individuality is the unique person that we actually are, complete with the vast web of interconnected relationships of which we are a part, entirely apart from who we think we are or should be.

the resistance we all feel toward taking the welfare of another person truly to heart.

“Ground mahamudra” is the buddha-nature that is the foundation of all our experience.