I am talking to you and you are listening to me. We are generally under the impression that there is a speaker and an audience and there is the sound of words being spoken. But if I search within myself, I will not find the words, and if you search yourselves you will not find them either – they are all void like empty space. Yet they are not completely nonexistent. This paradox relates to the dual nature of truth.

Many creatures have toiled singly or jointly to make our lives comfortable. The food we eat and the clothes we wear have not just dropped from the sky. Many creatures have laboured to produce them. That is why we should be grateful to all our fellow creatures.

Compassion and loving kindness are the hallmarks of achievement and happiness.

If one feels very profound compassion, this implies an intimate connection with another person exists already.

It is said in our scriptures that we are to cultivate love just like that of a mother towards her only child.

There are many female concerns in the highest yoga tantra. For example, one of the root evils for a man is to abuse or to look down upon a woman. If a man does that, his downfall is inevitable. There is no mention of a comparable downfall for a woman who looks down on a man. So we men are jealous.

Look at one person who annoys you, and use the opportunity to counter your own anger and cultivate compassion. But if the annoyance is too powerful – if you find the person so repulsive that you cannot bear to be in his or her presence – it may be better to look for the exit!

Faith reduces your pride and is the root of veneration. With faith, you can. easily traverse from one stage of the spiritual path to another.

Spiritual intimacy is necessary for a practitioner of Buddhism, especially when one is trying to overcome his mental problems.

When you open yourself up mentally, you do so only with someone you trust from the bottom of your heart, someone you feel very close to. To open yourself up in this way is an important step in overcoming mental problems.

The wood-born insects consume the very wood from which they are born. Such utilization of the path to enlightenment is a unique feature of tantra.

In the special dream state, the special dream body is created from the mind and from vital energy within the body. This special dream body is able to dissociate entirely from the gross physical body and travel elsewhere. One way of developing this special dream body is first of all to recognize the dream as a dream when it is over. Then, you find that the dream is malleable, and you can make efforts to gain control over it.

In addition to practising Buddhism in the waking state, if you can also use your consciousness during sleep for wholesome purposes, then the power of your spiritual practice will be all the greater. Otherwise the few hours of sleep each night will be just a waste.

The Sutrayana method is to cultivate a wholesome mental state when you are going to sleep.

When the clear light nature of the mind is veiled or inhibited from expressing its true essence by the conditioning of afflictive emotions and thoughts, one is said to be caught in samsara, the cycle of existence. But when by applying appropriate meditative techniques and practices, one is able to fully experience this state of mind, he or she is on the way to true liberation and full enlightenment.

When a wrong deed has been done, then after learning that it was wrong, one can disclose the deed – in the presence of actual or imagined holy beings – and resolve not to do that action again in the future. This diminishes the force of the ill deed.

Determination, courage and self-confidence are the key factors for success. If we have firm determination, we can work out obstacles and difficulties. Whatever the circumstances, we should remain humble, modest and without pride.

When you create the spiritual space and atmosphere that you are seeking through rituals and formalities, then the process will have a powerful effect on your experience. When you lack the inner dimension for that spiritual experience you are aspiring to, then rituals become mere external formalities and just a good excuse for passing time.

Blessings by themselves are not enough. They must come from within. Without your own effort, it is impossible for them to come.

There are two aspects of the path: the method aspect, which includes such practices as compassion and tolerance; and the wisdom or knowledge aspect, which involves the insight to penetrate the nature of reality. It is the latter aspect of the path that is the true antidote to dispelling ignorance.

Certain physical illnesses improve or worsen according to the state of mind.

It would be much more constructive if people tried to understand their supposed enemies.

Learning to forgive is infinitely more useful than merely picking up a stone and throwing it at the object of one's anger, especially when the provocation is extreme.

The grosser consciousness depends heavily on particles of matter. The subtler consciousness is more independent – it does not depend so much on the brain. In the Buddha state, the grosser mind completely disappears. Luminance, radiance, imminence – the three states of subtle mind – disappear in the clear light of the innermost consciousness.

What is reborn are our habits. Enlightenment is the ending of rebirth, which means complete non-attachment or non-identification with all thought, feeling, perception, physical sensations and ideas.

The observation that good people suffer and evil people enjoy success and recognition is short-signed. Also this conclusion might have been drawn in haste. If one analyses carefully, one finds that troublemakers are definitely not happy. It is better to behave well, take responsibility for one's actions, and lead a positive life.

The greatest degree of inner tranquility conies from the development of love, and compassion.

Cultivating closeness and warmth for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life.

True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Therefore, a truly compassionate attitude towards others does not change even if they behave negatively.

Through universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others and the wish to help them actively overcome their problems.

One should practise spirituality with a motivation similar to that of a child fully absorbed in play. Such a child is so delighted and engrossed in what he is doing that he never feels satisfied or tired. Such should be your mental attitude when practising Dharma.

If a person has a really deep interest in spiritual growth, he or she cannot do away with the practice of meditation. That is the key to spiritual growth.