Today’s quote comes to us from the Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Tulku, Karma Lodrö Lungrik Maway Senge, one of the great masters of the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.
Born in Kham, Tibet, in 1933, Thrangu Rinpoche was recognized as the ninth Thrangu tulku by His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa and Tai Situpa.
At Thrangu monastery, he undertook the traditional education, and completed two preliminary retreats. His official biography reports: “At sixteen, under the direction of Khenpo Lodro Rabsel, he began the study of the three vehicles of Buddhism while in retreat. At twenty-three he received full ordination from the Karmapa.”
He fled to Tibet in the wake of the Chinese occupation of the country in 1959, he was later summoned to Rumtek Monastery, where he was asked to help with the preservation of the Kagyu teachings.
After earning a Geshe Lharampa degree at a Gelugpa monastic refugee camp and then his Khenchen degree at Rumtek, Thrangu Rinpoche was named abbot of Rumtek and the Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies at Rumtek. In this position, he served as the personal tutor of the four principal Karma Kagyu tulkus: Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, His Eminence the 12th Khentin Tai Situ Rinpoche, His Eminence the Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and His Eminence the Twelfth Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche.
In 1976, he founded the Thrangu Tashi Choling monastery in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal. He also founded the retreat center and college at Namo Buddha in the Kathmandu Valley, and the Tara Abbey nunnery and a medical clinic in Kathmandu. In Sarnath, India, he established the Vajra Vidya monastery as well. In addition, he is the abbot of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, and serves as the teacher at several centers in the United States, including the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, CO.
He currently serves as the senior tutor to His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
His many, many truly remarkable books include Aspirational Prayer for Mahamudra; Buddha Nature: Ten Teachings on the Uttara Tantra Shastra; Buddhist Conduct: The Ten Virtuous Actions; Crystal Clear; Daily Life as Mahamudra; Distinguishing Dharma and Dharmata; Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at the Mind; Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness; Essential Practice; Five Buddha Families and the Eight Consciousnesses; Four Dharmas of Gampopa; Four Ordinary Foundations of Buddhist Practice; Guide to Shamata Meditation; A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life of Shantideva; The History of Buddhism in India; Introduction to Mahamudra Meditation; Je Gampopa’s The Jewel Ornament of Liberation; Journey of the Mind: Putting the Teachings on the Bardo into Effective Practice; King of Samadhi; The Life of the Buddha and the Four Noble Truths; The Life and Spiritual Songs of Milarepa; The Life and Teachings of Gampopa; The Life of Tilopa and the Ganges Mahamudra; Looking Directly at Mind, the Moonlight of Mahamudra; Medicine Buddha Teachings; The Middle-Way Meditation Instructions of Mipham Rinpoche; The Ninth Karmapa’s Ocean of Definitive Meaning; An Ocean of the Ultimate Meaning: Teachings on Mahamudra; On Buddha Essence; On Gurus and Devotion; The Open Door to Emptiness; The Ornament of Clear Realization; Pointing Out the Dharmakaya; The Practice of Tranquility & Insight; The Seven Points of Mind Training; Showing the Path of Liberation; A Song for the King: Saraha on Mahamudra Meditation; Songs of Naropa; A Spiritual Biography of Marpa, the Translator; A Spiritual Biography of Rechungpa; The Spiritual Song of Lodro Thaye; Teachings on the Practice of Meditation; Ten Teachings from the 100,000 Songs of Milarepa; Three Vehicles of Buddhist Practice; The Tibetan Vinaya: Guide to Buddhist Conduct; Transcending Ego: Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom; The Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination; and The Uttaratantra: A Treatise on Buddha-Essence.
His official (and terrific) website is http://www.rinpoche.com.
Here’s the quote:
What then, is the correct Mahamudra practice?
The ordinary mind is itself the correct practice. That is to say, to let the ordinary mind remain in its own natural state.
If to this mind one adds or subtracts anything, it is then not the ordinary mind but the so-called ‘mind-object’ [Yul].
To make not the slightest intention and effort to practice, and yet not to be distracted for a single moment, is to practice the natural mind correctly.
Therefore, as long as you can keep your Self-awareness, no matter what you do, you are still practicing Mahamudra.
I’ve got a new article up at one of my very favorite websites, Religion Dispatches, today. The editors gave the piece this tease:
