Great Throughts Treasury

"I have never valued word-knowledge set down in books in conventionalized form."

"I have no desire for wealth or possessions, and so I have nothing. I do not experience the initial suffering of having to accumulate possessions, the intermediate suffering of having to guard and keep up possessions, nor the final suffering of losing the possessions."

"I live the way I please; I worry not about property."

"I study my mind and therefore all appearances are my texts."

"I prostrate myself at the feet of Marpa the Translator. Disciples gathered in this place, Listen to this song of final instruction. By the compassion of Marpa of the Southern Cliffs, the aged hermit has accomplished the whole of his task."

"I realize that even though I should possess the whole world, at my death I should have to give up everything; and so it will confer happiness in this and the next life if I give up everything now. I am thus pursuing a life which is quite opposite to that followed by the people."

"I want no books. I do not intend to be a learned man."

"If one does not forswear hypocrisy and pretense, what is the use of keeping discipline?"

"If from the depths of your heart you want to practice, if hard and long you meditate, Buddhas will be well-pleased."

"I was born naked; therefore there is no shame in it."

"If there is heresy or error in my speech, pardon it."

"If one does not realize the nature of non-sickness, the suffering of sickness is inconceivable."

"If one passes a lifetime here doing nothing but committing the ten impious acts and the five unlimited sins, there is not the least doubt that such a one will fall into the most miserable of the Hells."

"If one stays too long with friends they will soon tire of him; Living in such closeness leads to dislike and hate. It is but human to expect and demand too much when one dwells too long in companionship."

"If you choose to help an ungrateful foe, you will gain not a friend but damage."

"If you crave for pleasures, your troubles but increase."

"If you do not acquire contentment in yourselves, Heaped-up accumulations will only enrich others."

"If you do not know the Secret and the Subtle Methods, Mere exercise of zeal will make the [Yogic] Pathway long."

"Illusoriness makes me to seek the contemplative life."

"In repentance be sincere."

"In brief, without being mindful of death, whatever Dharma practices you take up will be merely superficial."

"In seeking secrets, be like a child. That is, having "delicate ears" should work for you."

"In the end relatives cause anger, craving and bitterness; they are a fountain of regret and unhappiness."

"In the monastery of your heart and body, you have a temple where all Buddhas unite."

"In this world the truly wise and learned are not prized."

"It is good for the jungle tiger to stay in the deep forest."

"It is noble to practice charity."

"It is sad to see that Blindness veils all men who cherish sinful deeds."

"It is said to be undesirable to drink of the same fountain with a person with whom a breach of faith has taken place."

"Just as fog is dispelled by the strength of the sun and is dispelled no other way, preconception is cleared by the strength of realization. There?s no other way of clearing preconceptions. Experience them as baseless dreams. Experience them as ephemeral bubbles. Experience them as insubstantial rainbows. Experience them as indivisible space."

"Kind kinsmen circle round the bed of the dying."

"Knowledge for realizing the Dharma-Kaya in your own minds is the holiest of relics and ashes."

"Like a calm ocean without waves, adhere to peace."

"Know the important similarities that lead to error; do not forget them, but keep them in your hearts, and thus hold to the right, abandoning the wrong. [cf Tm 298]"

"Let your study and penance be directed toward the right path."

"Long accustomed to contemplating compassion, I have forgotten all difference between myself and others."

"Luminous mind itself, free of fixation, is naturally blissful."

"Maintain the State (of yoga) and distraction will fly off."

"May all who are sincerely seeking Truth, untroubled be by obstacles."

"May I be far removed from arguing creeds and dogmas."

"Marpa held the superhuman Gurus of his Sect to be more capable of helping the devotee . . . because of the direct guidance thus telepathically given by them."

"May I cling successfully to solitude. May pleasures of the world illusory not tempt me. May tranquility of Meditation be increased. May I not lie steeped in Unconsciousness of Quietude; but may the Blossom of Super-consciousness bloom forth in me."

"Meditate with perseverance."

"Meditation in solitude is, in itself, a service to the people."

"Mind-arrows shot from the Bow of Spiritual Wisdom, as shot forth, fall among all the nations. They strike the faithful ones and slay selfishness."

"Mental impulses of the heart are as unruly as a wild horse."

"My mind is always happy. With or without associates, always happy and contented."

"My fear and doubts have vanished like mist into the distance, never to disturb me again. I will die content and free from regrets. This is the fruit of dharma practice."

"Mindful, remain serene."

"My religion is not deceiving myself."