The true opponent in a debate on emptiness is your own ego.
Dzogchen Ponlop RinpocheRead
To discover your real questions, simply take a time-out. Stop looking ahead of yourself at where you’re going or backward at where you’ve been. When you do stop, there’s a sense of going nowhere. There’s a sense of gap, which is a tremendous relief. You can simply breathe and be who you are.
Interpretation
Taking a pause allows you to identify your true questions and helps you connect with your authentic self.
The quote emphasizes the importance of taking time for self-reflection. By stepping away from the pressures of future expectations and past regrets, one can find clarity and a sense of peace. This stillness can lead to discovering genuine thoughts and feelings that may have been overlooked in the rush of daily life. It suggests that in moments of solitude and absence of distraction, we can breathe and embrace our true selves.
In practice
In a workshop on personal growth, one might share this quote to encourage participants to slow down and reflect.
The true opponent in a debate on emptiness is your own ego.
Sometimes we are too polite with our suffering and allow it to dominate our life.
There is no inherent awakening power in cultural forms that have become dissociated from the wisdom and practicality that gave birth to them. They turn into illusions themselves and become part of the drama of religious culture. Although they can make us happy temporarily, they can't free us from suffering, so at some point, they become a source of disappointment and discouragement. Eventually, these forms may inspire nothing more than resistance to their authority.
It is not about how much you give, it is about how much you can let go with your mind.
It is all up to us. We are the ones who have to keep looking at our thoughts, looking for the nature of our mind. there is nobody else in control of our lives, our experiences, our freedom or our bondage.
There is no emptiness without appearance, and there is no appearance without emptiness. That is what we call the interdependent nature.
One must learn an inner solitude, wherever or with whomsoever he may be.
People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is - just be a little kinder.
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
My prayer became 'May I find peace... May I love this life no matter what.' I was seeking an inner refuge, an experience of presence and wholeness that could carry me through whatever losses might come.
Stand guard at the door of your mind.
From the perfection of Allah's ihsan is that He allows His slave to taste the bitterness of the break before the sweetness of the mend. So He does not break his believing slave, except to mend him. And He does not withhold from him, except to give him. And He does not test him (with hardship), except to cure him.
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