Rebel Buddha Quotes

“What is drama, and what is dharma? I guess you could say drama is illusion that acts like truth, and dharma is truth itself—the way things are, the basic state of reality that does not change from day to day according to fashion or our mood or agenda.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“When you have no hope, you have nothing to fear, nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing to lose.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Transcendent generosity is simply a willingness to be open and do whatever is necessary in the moment, without any philosophical or religious rationale. Seeing someone in need, you’re willing to share your wealth, your happiness, or your wisdom, and you’re also willing to share in the pain of others. Yet when you give, you need to do so with the awareness that your gift will be both appropriate and helpful.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“In Buddhism, we aren’t trying to look at the physical world by itself; instead, we’re looking at the mind and its relationship to the appearances of the world. We observe the mind to see what the mind itself is and how it acts in relation to our internal and external experiences of everything—from thoughts and emotions to actual things.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“From this perspective, we can say that genuine faith is simply confidence and trust in ourselves, in our own intelligence and understanding, which then extends to the path we’re traveling.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“never give up on anyone. Even if you can’t help someone now, don’t abandon him or her mentally or close the door to your heart. That is the direct word of the Buddha, our ancient revolutionary friend, and if you forget it, you’ll hear it again from the mouth of the rebel buddha you’re living with right now.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“In the beginning, our one-pointed focus on our goal of personal freedom is necessary; however, if carried to extremes, it can also lead to a kind of narrow-mindedness and sense of claustrophobia.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“the mind’s true nature of selflessness. We must see that, in the end, the root of all our suffering, all our pain, all our confusion is our own self-clinging, our sense of self-importance. That self is always causing us pain. There is no other root cause. It is just ego—that flash of “I” that’s the central reference point in our personal universe. No matter what we’re doing, our actions always come from and reflect back to this sense of self-consciousness. It’s the starting point of duality, the splitting apart of what’s naturally whole.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“When your own painful experiences inspire you to the extent that you become truly determined to break free of suffering, that is what the Buddha taught as the attitude of “renunciation.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Whatever our desires may be, getting the object of our desire is not the same thing as contentment, which comes from within. In the end, we’ll never find complete contentment, a perfect sense of peace, if our mind isn’t content and at peace.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“The Buddhist view asserts that the nature of all beings is primordially pure and replete with positive qualities. Once we wake up enough to see through our confusion, we see that even our problematic thoughts and emotions are, at heart, part of this pure awareness.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Buddhist spiritual path is the mind. The closest thing to the notion of a god in Buddhism is probably the state of enlightenment. But even enlightenment is regarded as a human accomplishment: the development of consciousness to its highest state. The Buddha taught that every human being has the capacity to achieve that level of realization. That’s the difference in the approaches of nontheistic and theistic traditions. If I said, “I want to become God,” it would sound crazy or even blasphemous to a theist. It would be considered a very ambitious, very ego-centered thought. But in the Buddhist tradition, we’re encouraged to become like Buddha—awakened ones.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Buddhism is primarily a study of mind and a system for training the mind. It is spiritual in nature, not religious. Its goal is self-knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not heaven. It relies on reason and analysis, contemplation and meditation, to transform knowledge about something into knowledge that surpasses understanding.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“The Buddha said long ago that when anyone in the future met with his teachings, it would be the same as meeting him in person. Therefore we can “meet the Buddha” today in the form of teachers, teachings, or our own practice. Saying we want to meet the Buddha is like saying we want to meet the awakened state of our own mind. We don’t have to change who we are in order to meet the Buddha in this way. The purpose of our meeting is not to become a student of another culture or to discover someone else’s wisdom. We’re not practicing Indian culture to become Indian, or practicing Japanese or Tibetan culture to become Japanese or Tibetan. Our purpose is to discover who we truly are, to connect with our own wisdom.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Buddhism is primarily a study of mind and a system for training the mind. It is spiritual in nature, not religious. Its goal is self-knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not heaven. It relies on reason and analysis, contemplation and meditation, to transform knowledge about something into knowledge that surpasses understanding. But without your curiosity and questions, there is no path, no journey to be taken, even if you adopt all the forms of the tradition.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Maybe you think you can wake up 50 percent, just enough to get beyond the “crazy” stage but not all the way to “wisdom.” However, it’s not the message of the Buddha or the intention of Buddhism to provide a partial recovery from confusion. The message of the Buddha is that you’re awake now and that you can, if you apply yourself, realize it.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“However, whatever your own path is, wherever it takes you, there is one instruction you should protect and always carry with you: never give up on anyone. Even if you can’t help someone now, don’t abandon him or her mentally or close the door to your heart. That is the direct word of the Buddha, our ancient revolutionary friend, and if you forget it, you’ll hear it again from the mouth of the rebel buddha you’re living with right now.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“You’ll never find just emptiness or just compassion alone. On this elemental level, they are never divorced. It’s a somewhat romantic image—this universe of space and energy as passionate, loving, and selfless all at once.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“We can also lose our way if we misunderstand selflessness or emptiness. When we confuse relative reality with ultimate reality, or misinterpret ultimate reality as something that destroys the conventional world, then we fall into the trap of the nihilists who see no meaning or purpose in life. Then our view of emptiness is inspired by sadness and depression, and it becomes just another tool to shut everything down. Instead of looking at the world with joy, we see it as hopeless.”
― Dzogchen Ponlop, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“All of our training relies on these two practices: mindfulness and awareness. Awareness is our consciousness of being in the present. Mindfulness means “to remember” or “not to forget” to watch the mind and see when it drifts away from the present. The moment we see that, we’re back again. Without the activity of mindfulness, we get lost in the mind’s continual flow of thoughts, and our awareness becomes like a child lost in a thick forest. Of the two, mindfulness is usually emphasized more because it’s responsible for maintaining the continuity of our awareness. Mindfulness means to remember again and again. It has a certain quality of repetitiveness. That’s how we develop all of our habitual patterns, negative or positive—through repetition. So in this case, by cultivating a sense of mindful presence, we’re establishing a positive tendency that has the power to transform any negative tendency.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Once we walk through that door, however, we’re met with a paradox: the forms disappear. On the other side, there are no statues of buddhas, no incense bowls, no sound of gongs or chanting, no tatami mats or brocades, no meditation cushions, and no meditators. Why? These forms and activities are simply the means to enter the open dimension of our own mind. The wisdom they point to has no tangible form of its own.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Our blind faith in our mundane reality is no different from religious blind faith: someone tells you that heaven and hell exist, and consequently you fix your hopes on one and live in fear of the other. But what do “heaven” and “hell” really mean? Where are they? What act will push you across the line into one or the other? If you die at the age of eighteen or eighty, will you be forever young or forever old in heaven? Buddha’s advice to us is to challenge our blind faith wherever it manifests.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Buddhist spiritual path does not fit neatly into the category or general understanding of religion, except perhaps in an academic sense. You can practice Buddhism as a traditional religion, if that’s what suits you. There are Buddhist churches that provide a sense of community for their members and a regular schedule of social activities and meditation practice. The values of harmonious, compassionate living are cultivated, and there’s a sense of reverence for the Buddha and the great teachers who came after him. This is a valuable aspect of the tradition as well, and it’s the way Buddhism is practiced in many places around the world. However, the essence of Buddhism transcends all these forms. It is the pure wisdom and compassion that exists in inconceivable measure within the minds of all beings, and the Buddhist spiritual path is the journey we take to fully realize this true nature of mind.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“Although Buddhism can be practiced “religiously,” in many respects, it isn’t really a religion. Because of its emphasis on questioning and working with the mind, it is spiritual in nature. But because it relies on logical analysis and reasoning, as well as on meditation, many Buddhist teachers regard Buddhism as a science of mind rather than a religion.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“The word buddha, however, simply means “awake” or “awakened.” It does not refer to a particular historical person or to a philosophy or religion.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“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.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

“This emptiness, it turned out, was a revolutionary discovery, full of possibilities to free me from my lifelong blind faith in realism, which suddenly seemed so naïve and simpleminded.”
― Ponlop Rinpoche, Dzogchen, Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom