A Flower In Space

In essence, ignorance is nothing more than a supposition. Like something invisible, it only seems to be there. Gampopa describes ignorance in his Jewel Ornament of Liberation as "a flower in space."

Imagine that you and I are sitting together, and I begin describing for you a very beautiful flower that I'm holding - which you may or may not be able to see. I go on and on about the qualities and magnificence of this flower, but the flower is imaginary, a flower in space. You might call this daydreaming, and because you can't see any flower you find it difficult to believe in it. In the same way, ignorance is the assumption that there is a "flower" in space when in fact there is nothing there.

Similarly, the thoughts and feelings that seem so real - my ignorance, my anger, my desires, my actual existence - are like this imaginary flower, and we can be just as obsessed by them. Certainly these emotions have a definite feeling and texture, but there is no real evidence to prove their existence. They are like flowers in space. From that perspective, we spend our entire lives enslaved by invisible thoughts and emotions with no actual existence. And another lifetime goes by - accumulating even more karmic causes that bring more fruition. This cycle of suffering is never exhausted, and we're unable to pull out of it. This is the essence of samsara. We must truly understand that suffering is caused by the ignorance of sentient beings who are unable to see their true nature.

This world is definitely filled with great suffering - birth, sickness, old age, and death, as well as hatred, violence, pain, and other difficulties - but the intensity of that suffering is up to us. We are all very accustomed to making things difficult, complicated, and "necessary." Grasping at such intense illusions, we allow formless thoughts to become so real that they completely overpower us and our human sensibility to just be - simple human beings, honest and kind.

- This Precious Life by Khandro Rinpoche

Taking Control Of Your Life

Because ignorance doesn't allow our human sensibilities to develop or express themselves fully or properly, it creates a prison-like situation. In this conditioned world of samsara, why can we not express our real truth and potential completely? It's because we're unable to control our bodies, our speech, or our minds. Understanding this, we begin to see what the suffering of samsara is really about.

Since you have this precious human life, you must have some control over it. If you decide, for example, that you'd really like not to harm others physically, it should be possible not to do so.

There should be no obstacle to physically expressing flexibility and kindness. And there should be no real obstacle to kindness arising in your speech. You should be able to use your speech properly, with discipline, in a way that truly benefits others. And, if you're generating thoughts in your mind, you need to have some control over your mind.

Having control over your body, speech, and mind is like being a skillful rider. You can go where you want to go; the horse goes in the direction that you want to go in. And unskilled rider trying to ride a wild horse eventually ends up wherever the horse wants to go. in the same way, you may find your body going in one direction, your speech in another - and the rest of your sensibilities not waking up until quite a bit later, if then.

The whole framework of the Buddhist path - the various levels and practices and forms for sitting, standing, thinking, and behaving - is a support for learning to work with our mental concepts and developing the ability to maintain awareness. And from a Buddhist point of view, training the mind through meditation is essential.

- This Precious Life by Khandro Rinpoche

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Irreversible Confidence

Irreversible confidence comes from recognizing and being sure of the presence of our fundamental ground. With growing confidence, we are no longer distracted by laziness, disappointments, sadness, enthusiasm, and so on. We no longer have to succumb to ignorance - or aggression, attachment, selfishness, or habitual tendencies such as irritation, jealousy, or aggravation. Recognizing our core essence, we appreciate the preciousness of our existence.

Source: Khandro Rinpoche