The Nature of Mind

No words can describe it 

No example can point to it 

Samsara does not make it worse 

Nirvana does not make it better 

It has never been born 

It has never ceased 

It has never been liberated 

It has never been deluded 

It has never existed 

It has never been nonexistent 

It has no limits at all 

It does not fall into any kind of category.

~ Dudjom Rinpoche

External guru and the guru in our heart.

"The illustrative guru, who is the external form of the guru, illustrates through his teachings the actual guru, which is the luminosity within your own heart. The guru's instructions awaken the ultimate guru within."

In this statement, the outer guru called "the illustrative guru," the one who has realized the nature of mind (Buddha nature) and shows this nature to you so that you can then realize the nature of mind. The outer guru is called the illustrative guru because he gives us the indication that leads us to realize the ultimate guru. When this happens, you will realize the bond between your mind and the mind of the guru. It is like the string of a mala. You will realize the nature of your own mind and the nature of the guru's mind to be the same by nature, an inseparable union. When this awareness occurs, you will see your own true nature, which is when you see the ultimate guru being your Buddha nature. But because we do not recognize it, we just ignore our true nature. That is why we rely on the master, on the outer guru, the rupakaya "master who appears in an ordinary form with a face and hands." The illustrative lama manifests to us in order to help us realize the ultimate guru, which is the clear light in the center of our hearts. Once this is awakened through the teacher's instructions, it is precisely this that we put into practice: the ultimate teacher beyond any arising.

~ Garchen Rinpoche

We are not separate!

Though primordially we are not separate, not recognizing me, you experience me externally.

~ Yeshe Tsogyal

It's all a matter of motivation!

Be ambitious about the magnitude of the motivation you arouse. Don't settle for simple kindness when nothing less than the fully-fledged mind of bodhicitta is what is needed. Kyabje Dudjom Rinpopche said that dharma practice is really not that difficult, it's all a matter of motivation. So never forget to arouse the motivation of wanting to bring all sentient beings to complete enlightenment. And the more magnanimous your motivation, the more merit you will accumulate, even when all you do is light a candle. If you light a candle merely as a decoration for the living room, your motivation is that of an ordinary person. If you light it with the wish to accumulate merit and eventually destroy samsara, you share the attitude cultivated by shravakayana practitioners. To light the candle with the wish that any merit attained be dedicated to the enlightenment of all sentient beings, your attitude is the same as that of bodhisattvayana practitioners. To consider the candle to be the light of wisdom that ilmuinates all sentient beings, with the aspiration that wherever its light falls becomes the mandala, is the attitude of a tantric practitioner.

~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Bliss that you experience upon realizing the nature of mind.

If you were to gather all the glory, enjoyment, pleasure and happiness of the world and put it all together, it would not approach one tiny fraction of the bliss that you experience upon realizing the nature of mind.

~ Kyabje Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche