The Writings of Shabkar

The Writings of Shabkar zhabs dkar tshogs drug rang grol (1781-1851) – A descriptive catalogue – Shechen Publications

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The benefits of meditating on impermanence

Even if you are extremely beautiful, you cannot seduce death. If you are very powerful, you cannot hope to influence death. Even being incredibly wealthy cannot buy a few minutes more life. At present we cannot bear the small discomfort caused by a prickly thorn or the heat of the sun. What about the anguish… Read more »

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Why do Buddhists venerate the Buddha?

The Buddha is not venerated because devotees see him as a God and worship him, but rather because he’s the ultimate teacher, the embodiment of enlightenment. The Sanskrit word Buddha means “the awakened one,” he who has realized the truth. In Tibetan, the word by which it’s translated, Sang-gyé, has two syllables, sang meaning that… Read more »

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Inner peace is not apathy

It’s very important not to confuse serenity and apathy. One of the characteristics of a stable spiritual practice is not to be vulnerable to outer circumstances, whether favorable or unfavorable. The practitioner’s mind is likened to a mountain that the winds can’t shake; he’s neither tormented by the difficulties he may come across nor elated… Read more »

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A Piece of Advice

The thoughts of happiness and suffering, desire and aversion,Are none else than the clear voidness of mind.Without modifying whatever arises,Look at its nature, and it will manifest as great bliss. Now that you obtained this human existence,Focus all your energy on practicing the sublime Dharma. There is no way you can complete all your works;… Read more »

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Impermanence

When his mother dies, the remarkable nineteenth-century Tibetan yogi Shabkar sees the impermanence of all things, and the importance of practicing dharma: When they placed in my hands my mother’s bones, I thought, “A ho! Things of this world really are nothing. In the past, my old mother, overwhelmed by affection and thinking of her… Read more »

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Emptiness

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of the great Tibetan masters of the twentieth century, talks about the Buddhist concept of emptiness: When a rainbow appears vividly in the sky, you can see its beautiful colors, yet you could not wear it as clothing, or put it on as an ornament. It arises through the conjunction of… Read more »

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The Science of the Mind

Matthieu Ricard is a member of the Mind and Life Institute, an organization that advances the collaboration between modern science and Buddhism. He is a participant, both as a subject and as a collaborator, in research programs on the effects of meditation and mind training on the brain. He shares some thoughts on the topic:… Read more »

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