Akong Tulku Rinpoche - Collected Quotes

"Another misconception is to see the path of compassion and self development as a means or justification for cutting oneself off from society. This is a negative attitude, however, rather than something useful and beneficial to all. There is something essentially wrong with the motivation when our practice of meditation is used to preserve and confirm our own negativity towards society." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987) 

"As human beings there is a great deal of desire and attachment in our lives. This can cause much suffering, both to ourselves and to others. If the desire is unfulfilled we become unhappy. Even when we get what we want the happiness is only temporary, because invariably a new desire arises to take its place. Time after time all we are doing is trying to satisfy desires which are limitless, shapeless and as vast as the sky." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"Avoiding or escaping situations merely takes our mind off our problems without actually doing anything to solve them." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"Before we can tame the tiger we must first track it down." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"Compassion means the wish to benefit all beings and free them from the causes of suffering." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"First we have to tame our minds and build a solid foundation for our further development." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"Impermanence, then, pervades all of the outer world and all our inner experience. We can neither prevent it nor avoid it. It happens all the time. What we can do is to acknowledge it. Accepting it in this way will help us to appreciate what we already have whilst lessening our involvement with it. Realising impermanence will enable us not to get sidetracked in useless pursuits. Instead we can mature our minds by simply applying this under- standing throughout our lives. (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"Nowadays many people come to meditation with the wrong motivation. They wish to use meditation to further their own ends, without thinking of anyone else. But hoping to achieve clairvoy- ance, astral travel, special powers and similar attainments only feeds and strengthens the ego, without increasing understanding at all. Rather than pursuing exciting experiences, our task is to learn how to deal with the mind and help others. Even if such experi- ences were to occur, they are not the goal or the target and should be left alone."(Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"The correct approach is to train the tiger in a dignified way, in a very accepting way. We accept the tiger even if we can’t directly see it. The important thing is to face the situation as it is." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"The mind is the root of all our experience, both of ourselves and of others. If we perceive the world in an unclear way, confusion and suffering will surely arise. It is like someone with defective vision seeing the world as being upside down, or a fear- ful person finding everything frightening. We may be largely unaware of our ignorance and wrong views, yet at present the mind can be compared to a wild tiger, rampaging through our daily lives. Motivated by desire, hatred and bewilderment this untamed mind blindly pursues what it wants and lashes out at all that stands in its way, with little or no understanding of the way things really are." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)   

"The mistake is that we expect to find happiness outside our- selves, failing to realise that it can only come from within." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"The right motivation is the wish for the happiness and well- being of everyone, so that all may attain peace and freedom from the causes of suffering." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"The way forward is to identify and ripen the positive qualities that exist within ourselves and all others, and to develop them whenever and however we can. How is this to be achieved? In the first place we shouldn’t try to run before we can walk, so we must learn to go forward step by step. First, we generate the right attitude towards ourselves, second to our friends and families, then it is extended to include everyone." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

"What we learn from looking into ‘the mirror’ can be very useful on the path, but first it has to become part of our general experience and not remain separate from it. For if we don’t inte- grate the understanding and compassion that is awakened, we are merely putting on another mask." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987) 

"[...] whatever we see inside ourselves as bad arises from ignorance, which can and must be transformed into wisdom. When we begin to turn our mind inward and purify what we find there, the way will have been found, and all external situations will automatically become easier to deal with in a useful, positive way." (Akong Tulku Rinpoche, "Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life", 1987)

⛩️Week 2026-43: Chögyam Trungpa - Collected Quotes

"Actual meditation practice is a constant act of freedom in the sense of being without expectation, without a particular goal, aim, and object. But as you practice meditation, as you go along with the technique, you begin to discover your present state of being. That is, we could almost say, a by-product of meditation. So it does happen that way, but is no good looking for it and trying to fit it into different degrees or patterns. That doesn’t work." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"Another attitude to karma is that it is connected with rebirth, life after death - which is pure blind faith. That approach brings a certain amount of psychological comfort: this is not the only life, but there are a lot more to come; other situations will come up so you don’t have to feel fatalistic any more. That kind of attitude to karma is not dealing with the root of the karmic situation but is purely trying to play games with it or else trying to use karma as a comforter. It is based on distrust in oneself. Knowing that you are making mistakes, you think that even if you do make mistakes, you can afford to correct them, because you have a long, long time, endless time to do so." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"Bardo is a Tibetan word: bar means 'in between' or, you could say, 'no-man’s-land', and do is like a tower or an island in that no-man’s-land. It’s like a flowing river which belongs neither to the other shore nor to this shore, but there is a little island in the middle, in between. In other words, it is present experience, the immediate experience of nowness - where you are, where you’re at. That is the basic idea of bardo." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"Bardo is generally associated with samsaric mind, not necessarily with the awakened state of being. There is a background of bardo experience, which is like a river. A river does not belong to the other shore or to this shore; it is just a river, a no-man’s-land. Such a no-man’s-land, or river, has different characteristics: it may be a turbulent river or a gently flowing river." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"Bardo is that sudden glimpse of experience which is constantly developing. We try to hold on to it, and the moment we try to hold on to it, it leaves us, because of the very fact that we are trying to hold on to it, which is trying to give birth to it. You see something happen and you would like to give birth to it. You would like to start properly in terms of giving birth, but once you begin to prepare this birth, you realize you can’t give birth anymore. You lost your child already by trying officially to adopt it. That is the kind of bardo experience which happens in everyday life. It is operating in terms of space as well as in terms of ego." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"Each bardo is individual, an independent thing, like an island; but each island has some connection with the other islands. The presence of the other islands allows us to see the perspective of any one island. So they are related as well as not related." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"[...] from the point of view of anatman, nothing reincarnates. It is more of a rebirth process rather than reincarnation. The idea of reincarnation is that a solid, living quality is being passed on to the next being. It is the idea of some solid substance being passed on. But in this case, it’s more of a rebirth. You see, something continues, but at the same time, nothing continues. In a sense we’re like a running stream." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"It is good to make use of speculative mind. That is exactly why the whole idea of studying scriptures and going through disciplines or practices is extremely important. It is a way of using these living materials that we have. Whether we try to quiet ourselves or not, these things come up constantly and do happen. Therefore, making use of such thought processes as a way of learning is extremely necessary and good and helpful and important [...]" (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"[...] the ultimate idea of rebirth is not purely the idea of physical birth and death. Physical birth and death are very crude examples of it. Actually, rebirth takes place every moment, every instant. Every instant is death; every instant is birth. It’s a changing process: there’s nothing you can grasp onto; everything is changing. But there is some continuity, of course - the change is the continuity. The impermanence of the rebirth is the continuity of it. And because of that, there are possibilities of developing and possibilities of regressing."(Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"There seems to be a misconception as to the idea of bardo, which is that it is purely connected with the death and after-death experience. But the experience of the six bardos is not concerned with the future alone; it also concerns the present moment. Every step of experience, every step of life, is bardo experience." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

⛩️Week 2026-43: Ayya Khema - Collected Quotes

"As long as we fail to realize that we have to go beyond the sensual aspect of ourselves, we will look in vain for satisfaction, not only because all our sense contacts are bound to be both pleasant and unpleasant, but also because they are necessarily short-lived. They must not last under any circumstances." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991) 

"By practicing letting go of our reactions we can find the doorway out. Each time we fail to respond to something, we have taken a big step toward freedom. Until we have done that, we are constant victims of our feelings [...]" (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991) 

"Contemplation means that we stay with one subject, and although we have known the subject ever so long, a new realization may arise. We see the same thing in a different light. We experience an intuitive knowing, which comes from having discarded discursive thinking and from concentrating on one subject alone. This is how wisdom arises: not by thinking about a subject, but by contemplating its truth and realizing its application to our own life; seeing all its facets and connections to our reality, and gaining a brand new viewpoint." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"In meditation we drop all thoughts. When they recur, we drop them again." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"In meditation we try to focus and become one-pointed on the subject of meditation, so that the mind eventually becomes very calm and serene, and gains the power and strength to realize insights." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991) 

"Meditation is the means by which we can practice mindfulness to the point where insight becomes so strong that we can see absolute reality behind the relative. Mindfulness trained in meditation can then continue in every activity." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991) 

"Meditation is therefore a means, and not an end in itself. It is a means to change the mind’s capacity in such a way that it can perceive entirely different realities from the ones we are used to. The recognition that meditation is a tool is important, because it is often wrongly considered to be an end in itself." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"Most people sit down to meditate in order to make their minds peaceful. But a calm mind is only one of the two essential aspects of meditation. Insight (vipassanā) is the other. The goal of meditation is insight, and tranquility (samatha) is the means to that end." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"Nature proliferates, and as long as we go along with that, we are looking for something other than what we have. This alone is unsatisfactoriness. It means that there is an emptiness within that wants to be filled. Unless we see this quite clearly, we will always try to fill this void from outside, through our sense contacts. But it can’t be done that way; only when we realize we must fulfill ourselves from within can we begin to take the spiritual path." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"No one can really teach us to be mindful. We teach ourselves, using landmarks and signposts. [...] Being mindful means that mind and body are in the same place." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"So we need to remember that karma is always initiated in the mind and then followed up by speech and action. We only have these three doors: thought, speech, and action. Since all starts in the mind, that’s our first and foremost focus of attention. Meditation is the means by which the mind can be made sharp, clear, and insightful enough for us to change from the negative to the positive. We don’t have to carry on with thinking negative thoughts; it’s totally unnecessary." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"The acceptance of ourselves is the first step toward loving-kindness. It has to exist within us, for ourselves, because only then can we feel it, only then do we know what it is like." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"The Buddha said, 'The way to liberation is the way of letting go of clinging.' 'Letting go' is our spiritual growth process. There’s nothing to gain, nothing to get. In order to meditate we have to let go of all sensual desires, no matter how subtle. If we don’t let go of hopes, ideas, thoughts, worries, and problems during our meditation periods, we can’t concentrate. 'Letting go' is the key phrase for the spiritual path. Knowing that all is impermanent, cannot last, and is moving toward dissolution helps us to let go. Wanting always results in anxiety, because we don’t know whether we will get what we desire, and even if we do, we don’t know whether we can keep it."(Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"The whole of the spiritual path is one of purification, which means a constant letting go. It is a matter of seeing our inner difficulties and learning to drop them. Meditation is our vehicle for practicing the art of letting go." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991) 

"There’s only one way of dealing with suffering when it arises, and that’s to drop the wanting; suffering will then disappear. Such insight is only possible when we stop going outward, through communication and through our many activities. We must have quiet times when we can really look inside ourselves." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

🅽Week 2026-42: On Noise

"At all events it is certain that I seem to see light, hear a noise, and feel heat; this cannot be false, and this is what in me is properly called perceiving, which is nothing else than thinking. From this I begin to know what I am with somewhat greater clearness and distinctness than heretofore." (René Descartes, "Meditations on First Philosophy", 1641)

"Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision, too great prolixity or brevity weakens an argument, too much pleasure gives pain, too much accordance annoys." (Blaise Pascal, "Pensées", 1670)

"The mind of the greatest man on earth is not so independent of circumstances as not to feel inconvenienced by the merest buzzing noise about him; it does not need the report of a cannon to disturb his thoughts. The creaking of a vane or a pully is quite enough. Do not wonder that he reasons ill just now; a fly is buzzing by his ear; it is quite enough to unfit him for giving good counsel." (Blaise Pascal, "Pensées", 1670)

"Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision, too great prolixity or brevity weakens an argument, too much pleasure gives pain, too much accordance annoys." (Blaise Pascal, "Pensées", 1670)

"None of you could say that you heard the sounds because you had made up your minds to hear them beforehand. If you did, you wouldn’t be telling the truth. All of you are looking this way intent upon hearing me. You’re concentrating single-mindedly on listening. There’s no thought in any of your minds to hear the sounds or noises that might occur behind you. You are able to hear and distinguish sounds when they do occur without consciously intending to hear them because you’re listening by means of the unborn Buddha-mind." (Bankei Yōtaku, cca. 1690)

"The nearer you come to God, the less you are disposed to questioning and reasoning. When you actually attain Him, when you behold Him as the reality, then all noise, all disputations, come to an end." (Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, [recorded] 1882)

"So long as the bee is outside the petals of the lily, and has not tasted the sweetness of its honey, it hovers around the flower emitting the buzzing sound; but when it is inside the flower, it noiselessly drinks the nectar. So long as a man quarrels and disputes about doctrines and dogmas, he has not tasted the nectar of true faith; when he has tasted it, he becomes quiet and full of peace." (Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, "Râmakrishna: His Life and Sayings", 1898)

"The fish in the water is silent, the animals on the earth is noisy, the bird in the air is singing. But man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth and the music of the air." (Rabindranath Tagore, "Stray Birds", 1916)

"Virtue lies in being absorbed in one's prayers in the presence of din and noise." (Mahatma Gandhi, "Young India", 1924)

"One can suffer a convulsion of one's entire nature, and, unless it makes some noise, no one notices. It's not just that we are incurious; we completely lack any sense of each other's existences." (Elizabeth Bowen, "The Death of the Heart", 1938)

"Still the noise in the mind: that is the first task - then everything else will follow in time." (R Murray Schafer, "The Tuning of the World", 1977) 

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls." (Mother Teresa, "A gift for God", 1975)

"Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain." (Eckhart Tolle, "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment", 1997)

"To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment." (Eckhart Tolle, "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment", 1997)

"Meditation is not the pursuit of pleasure and the search for happiness. Meditation, on the contrary, is a state of mind in which there is no concept or formula, and therefore total freedom. It is only to such a mind that this bliss comes unsought and uninvited. Once it is there, though you may live in the world with all its noise, pleasure and brutality, they will not touch that mind." (Jiddu Krishnamurti, "Freedom, Love, and Action", 2001)

"He who can listen to the music in the midst of noise can achieve great things." (Vikram Sarabhai)

See quotes on noise in Literature