"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)
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