The context of the general teachings is one of talking to a sentient being who is experiencing uninterrupted bewilderment one thought or emotion after another like the surface of the ocean in turmoil, without any recognition of mind essence. This confusion is continuous, without almost any break, life after life.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the continuous turmoil of thoughts and emotions experienced by sentient beings, suggesting a lack of awareness of their true essence.
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's quote addresses the pervasive confusion and chaos experienced by individuals as they navigate through life. It illustrates how thoughts and emotions can create a tumultuous experience, akin to turbulent ocean waters, preventing recognition of one’s deeper mind essence. This state of bewilderment is described as ongoing and repetitive, reflecting the challenges of achieving clarity and understanding in both this life and beyond.
In practice
In a meditation workshop, a facilitator could use this quote to illustrate the nature of distracted thinking.
Don’t let any emotional thought concerning success or failure, fame or gain, overtake you, and don’t dwell upon them. Give up your personal shortcomings, such as foolish talk, distracting activities, and absentmindedness. Train in being totally gentle in all physical, verbal, or mental activities. Don’t ponder the flaws of others; think instead of their good sides.
Being aggressive, you can accomplish some things, but with gentleness, you can accomplish all things.
When remaining in awareness itself, every thought movement, no matter what kind, is like a drawing in air.
The basic nature of all conscious beings is 'self-existing wakefulness'. _x000D_ _x000D_ Self-existing meaning spontaneous or without effort and wakefulness meaning natural awareness. _x000D_ _x000D_ To ignore our basic nature, is to wander in fear and confusion, _x000D_ _x000D_ to directly realise our essential nature is to be Enlightened.
There is a much more exact correspondence between the natural and moral world than we are apt to take notice of.
Meditation, you know, comes by a process imagination. You go through all these processes purification of the elements - making the one melt the other, that into the next higher, that into mind, that into spirit, and then you are spirit.
Principally I hate and detest that animal called man; although I heartily love John, Peter, Thomas, and so forth.
We say that the sun is behind the clouds, but actually it is not the sun but the city from which we view it that is behind the clouds. If we realized that the sun is never behind the clouds we might have a different attitude toward the whole thing.
The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world.
You can't have a world where 50 percent of the people are dieting and 50 percent of the people are starving if you want stability.
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