There is no inherent awakening power in cultural forms that have become dissociated from the wisdom and practicality that gave birth to them. They turn into illusions themselves and become part of the drama of religious culture. Although they can make us happy temporarily, they can't free us from suffering, so at some point, they become a source of disappointment and discouragement. Eventually, these forms may inspire nothing more than resistance to their authority.
Interpretation
Cultural forms lose their power when disconnected from their original wisdom, leading to temporary happiness but eventual disappointment.
This quote by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche explores the idea that cultural practices and beliefs can start with deep wisdom and practicality but can become diluted and disconnected over time. While they may bring temporary joy, they ultimately fail to alleviate deeper suffering and can even become sources of frustration and resistance, highlighting the importance of staying connected to the original intent and wisdom behind such forms.
In practice
In a lecture about the impact of culture on spirituality, this quote could illustrate the need for authentic connections to wisdom.
To discover your real questions, simply take a time-out. Stop looking ahead of yourself at where you’re going or backward at where you’ve been. When you do stop, there’s a sense of going nowhere. There’s a sense of gap, which is a tremendous relief. You can simply breathe and be who you are.
The true opponent in a debate on emptiness is your own ego.
Sometimes we are too polite with our suffering and allow it to dominate our life.
It is not about how much you give, it is about how much you can let go with your mind.
It is all up to us. We are the ones who have to keep looking at our thoughts, looking for the nature of our mind. there is nobody else in control of our lives, our experiences, our freedom or our bondage.
There is no emptiness without appearance, and there is no appearance without emptiness. That is what we call the interdependent nature.
There are more important things than finding the murderer. And justice is a fine word, but it is sometimes difficult to say exactly what one means by it. In my opinion, the important thing is to clear the innocent. - Hercule Poirot
Made as we were in the image of God we scarcely find it strange to take again our God as our All. God was our original habitat and our hearts cannot but feel at home when they enter again that ancient and beautiful abode.
There is no God any more divine than Yourself.
The only alternative to coexistence is codestruction.
Genocide is not just a murderous madness; it is, more deeply, a politics that promises a utopia beyond politics - one people, one land, one truth, the end of difference. Since genocide is a form of political utopia, it remains an enduring temptation in any multiethnic and multicultural society in crisis.
Renunciation - non-resistance - non-destructiveness - are the ideals to be attained through less and less worldliness, less and less resistance, less and less destructiveness. Keep the ideal in view and work towards it. None can live in the world without resistance, without destruction, without desire. The world has not come to that state yet when the ideal can be realised in society.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.