Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen - Unbroken Practice

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO
THE BUDDHIST PATH
by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen
edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron
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Dharma Quote of the Week

Unbroken practice is like a watchful guard.
It is simply unscattered and is free from acceptance or rejection.
There is no duality of things to be abandoned and their antidotes.
This is my heart's advice.

This verse and the following instructions concern how to continue with Mahamudra practice. Once we have received instructions, we have to accomplish them and perfect the practice. Continuity of practice is essential for the perfection of enlightenment.

Unbroken practice means that one is mindful all the time, like a watchful guard. Thieves and robbers may come at any time, so the guard of a mansion containing great treasure must be alert twenty-four hours a day. In the same way, it is important to watch our mind since the thieves of attachment, desire, anger, and forgetfulness can come at any time and steal the wealth of our compassion and wisdom, along with our realization of Mahamudra.

Once mindfulness is continuously established, an unscattered mind is "just there," on the spot, whether we are walking, eating, driving, or performing other activities. We can watch the mind and see how our mental state shapes our world. But when we watch it, we should just relax. Milarepa advises us in a vajra song:

Rest naturally, like a small child.
Rest like an ocean without waves.
Rest with clarity, like a candle flame.
Rest without self-concern, like a corpse.
Rest unmoving like a mountain.

--from A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron, published by Snow Lion Publications

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The Jewel Treasury of Advice: A Hundred Teachings from the Heart!
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Tags: Buddhism, meditation, A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path, Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, Khenmo Trinlay Chodron, Snow Lion Publications, mindfulness, Unbroken Practice, Mahamudra practice