If you’ve been following my blog you’d know how thrilled I was to read “A Cave in the Snow” by Vicky MacKenzie a few years ago. It was a bunch of synchronicities that pulled me to Dharamshala the same day that this amazing woman, Tenzin Palmo was speaking.

A couple of days ago I attended Tenzin Palmo’s talk in Upper Dharamkot at the Tushita Meditation Center. She’s quite humorous and a joy to listen to. She spoke on meditation as she read ancient scriptures.

As she spoke I was typing on Microsoft Word on my phone. Here’s some quotes from her talk. I apologize if they are plucked out of context, but I’m hoping you still gain insight from them.

“Genuine happiness is within”

“Take time at least every year to go within”

“Our minds are not peaceful when we feel angry”

“See more deeply inside what’s happening to your own state”

“Tame the mad monkey mind. *just like the real monkeys out there*”, she says.

“Concubate the ability to be aware”

“We have no clarity of what’s going on inside us. To culvate the ability to be aware”

“We can train our mind by observing the breath”

“Try to develop a more subtle state of consciousness”

“Once we develop this awareness we can then start to observe the mind”

“One problem is we believe our thoughts”

“Where does a thought come from, where does it go to?”

“We then use our thoughts to analyze our thoughts. And this leads to a deeper level of consciousness”

“First get the mind clear, consciousness, present…. Then we can gain insight”

“Go for a short retreat at least”

“The problem is the attachment, rather than the person”

“Be present within yourself in all condition. Not craving, hoping, desiring. We can only do this ourselves.”

“The Buddha felt we should be very careful with the people we hang out we because we are influenced by people around us. So it’s very important not to associate with childish people. And to hang out with people who inspire us by their conduct and speech. Good companionship is of utmost importance. Be with people who are on a spiritual path with their minds looking upwards “

“When good karma and synchronicities come to you don’t get caught up too much in that”

“In every moment your body and mind are transformed.

“Everything changes . You can not grasp it.”

“Nothing we associate with ourselves will be taken after death. Only our karma. ”

“Why do we care what other people think or say? There are going to be people who praise you and people who put you down. It has nothing to do with you. If we can see what they are saying is a projection of their nature. It’s just other people’s opinions. We have to look at our own heart. We can look and see if it’s true for ourselves. We have to be true to ourselves”

“If we throw a lump of mud at someone else it may or may not hit them, but your own hands are dirty.”

“Projections are always a difficulty. People project so much. They’re just looking into a mirror of their own mind.”

“People are very dismissive of the poor and envious of the rich. Have you noticed that?”

“There is no reason for you to stay with people who are negative. Even the Buddha couldn’t do that.”

“We can irritated and angry when things don’t go our way. Like little children”

“When we think about it what’s so important about being attached to the physical body. We are all bound to decay, bound to die. What was all that about?”

“The body is compared to a hotel room. It might be funky, but you know it’s just temporary accommodation. We don’t associate ourselves with it. We only stay it in because it’s useful, has things we need.”

“When some is dying don’t tell them to stay. That will distract them. Help them focus on the light or on what they believe. Don’t tell them what you believe. Help them focus on what they believe. It is ideal to die alone so no one will distract you on your focus.”

“What you’re desiring is not so desirable. Sexual desire is based on physical attraction. We project our own fantasies onto it. Our body is not nearly as glamorous as it appears to be. You’ve been warned.“ crowd laughs

“Desires impels us to do things we would normally do. There are good desires and bad desires. More patience, kindness and to help the planet are good desires. This is called something different in sanskrit.”

BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP
“If suddenly your beloved was a skeleton would you embrace it? There’s nothing adorable about seeing the human body when it’s opened up. Nothing coming from our body is delightful. We might put delicious food in our body but it does not come out delicious. So, what we actually fall in love with is the skin. If you sit and meditate on this and removed the skin and saw the body without the skin you’ll no longer be enchanted with the physical form. So, this way of thinking was to help the Monks produce a sense of weariness so they’re no longer dreaming about the physical body and sex. So they appreciate what they’re studying and doing. The Buddha himself was not against marriage. He wrote beautiful sutras on the relationship of marriage. So this talk was for Monks.”

To me the point here is that if you are to dedicate yourself to a certain path in life you need to steer your thoughts towards that path.

“Why do I desire other bags of flesh? When some has died do we still desire to embrace them? So, what you’re really attracted to is the mind.”

“People are so attached to their bodies, especially in this day and age. There are so many spas and yoga retreats that focus on the physical body.”

“Let’s put our energy someplace else other than working working working”