Saturday, January 24, 2009

Dharma Quote - Dualistic Thinking


This weeks Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications is a nice passage from Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche on the practice of Vajrakilaya.
Dharma Quote of the Week

Even though supreme awareness is the basic nature of reality, because we do not realize this, as sentient beings we develop dualistic thinking. We start making distinctions between subject and object, near and far, and so forth, and then we cling to those as real. The twelve links of interdependence arise, and, beginning with ignorance, we develop the notions of "me" and "mine," and all sorts of deluded thinking. The great master Chandrakirti taught that you begin by clinging to the ego, then you cling to "what is mine," then to "what is other," such that there is an ongoing state of delusion. Due to clinging, our habitual patterns become stronger and stronger, and all our conceptions become regimented and solid.

In order to dispel ignorance and dualistic thinking, Vajrakilaya arises in a wrathful form. The wrath of Vajrakilaya is not the wrath of anger or jealousy; it is the wrath that destroys anger and jealousy. It is not like being angry with enemies and being attached to friends. This wrath is totally based upon great compassion. Directed toward duality, ego-clinging, grasping, and ignorance, Vajrakilaya's anger demolishes the causes of delusion throughout the six realms. Since it is based on immeasurable loving-kindness and immeasurable compassion, it is known as the phurba of immeasurable compassion.

To apply this phurba in a practical way, rather than becoming angry toward external situations, we begin by feeling great compassion for sentient beings. Then we start working with our own emotions to demolish ignorance, attachment, anger, jealousy, pride, fear, and doubts. We remove these emotions according to the way we interact with the world. At the same time, we expand our compassion for all beings in the six realms.

~ From The Dark Red Amulet: Oral Instructions on the Practice of Vajrakilaya by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, published by Snow Lion Publications.


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