Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

Dharma Quote of the Week

Focusing the mind on the object of meditation is like planting a seed for the arisal of the realization…. Even in the beginning stages one might become impatient, thinking, “I really want to get this done quickly.” One might think that by exerting more effort, by adding more and more stuff, by changing things this way or that way the process can be made to go faster.

The good gardener knows that too much water or fertilizer is harmful, not helpful. The mature meditator must understand this as well. The Kadampa masters of old gave this counsel: First, pay great heed to getting the proper causes and conditions together. Next, engage in the practice without agitation and without anxiety. Then, with the mind at ease, carry on to the end.(p.20)

–from How to Practice Shamatha Meditation: The Cultivation of Meditative Quiescence by Gen Lamrimpa, translated by B. Alan Wallace, published by Snow Lion Publications

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