Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Tilopa

988 – 1069 CE

Born a king, Tilopa - like the Buddha - wasn’t that impressed by fame and fortune and left everything to go on a spiritual search. When he met the teacher Nagarjuna though, he was told to return to his kingdom and kingship. He saved his country during a war with non-violence. He later became a monk and scholar but another teacher, Matongha saw pride remaining from his royal caste and advised him to leave, go into the world, and take a job crushing sesame seeds during the day and procuring for a prostitute at night. This led to him becoming a great Mahasiddha, lineage holder and teacher to Naropa.

Eras

Unlisted Sources

Acintaya-mahamudra

Ganges Mahamudra

Rain of Wisdom

Quotes by Tilopa (14 quotes)

“Don’t recall, don’t imagine, don’t think, don’t examine, don’t control, rest.”

Chapters: 57. Wu Wei

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“I shall kill the fleeing deer of this and that, On the mountain of the body believing in an I.”

Chapters: 5. Christmas Trees

Themes: Egolessness

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“kill the louse of habit-forming thoughts, self-originated and self-destructive”

Chapters: 21. Following Empty Heart

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“The problem is not enjoyment; the problem is attachment.”

Chapters: 81. Journey Without Goal

Themes: Problems

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“The Ultimate in which all become the same is free of habit-forming thought and limitations.”

Chapters: 20. Unconventional Mind

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“The sage who knows all as pure potential leaves the material world for Buddhafields of Bliss.”

from Masters of Mahamudra

Themes: Buddhism Taoism

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“Cease all activity; abandon all desire; let thoughts rise and fall as they will like the ocean waves.”

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“innate coemergent wisdom abides in the heart of all beings... the far-reaching, unfathomable meaning is apparent at this very moment. O how wonderous!”

from Rain of Wisdom

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“In absolute truth, there is no path to be practiced, no difference between what is to be abandoned and the antidote, and nothing abandoned or realized in fruition... everything is produced not by one cause and not by one condition, but rather through the collective force of coincidence.”

from Rain of Wisdom

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“Sesame oil is the essence. Although the ignorant know that it is in the sesame seed, they do not understand the way of cause, effect, and becoming and therefor are not able to extract the essence. In the same way, the guru shows the truth of tathata. If it is not shown by the guru, it cannot be realized just like the sesame oil that remains in the seed”

from Rain of Wisdom

Themes: Teachers Karma

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“The jewel-casket of original mind—free from selfish passions—shines like the infinite sky.”

from Acintaya-mahamudra

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“The true nature of passions has turned out to be the sublime knowledge of emancipation.”

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“Cut through the root of your own mind: Rest within naked awareness.”

from Ganges Mahamudra

Themes: Ordinary Mind

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“Be free from all striving.”

from Ganges Mahamudra

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Quotes about Tilopa (3 quotes)

“Some engaged in lifestyles that ordinarily would have been transgressions of Buddhist ethics. For example, the mahasiddha Saraha worked as an arrow maker and produced weapons in violation of the principle of harmlessness and nonaggression. Tilopa, the founder of the Karyu lineage, worked for a while as a procurer for an Indian prostitute. Virupa was famed for consuming miraculous amounts of liquor...”

Chögyam Trungpa 1939 – 1987 CE
from Rain of Wisdom

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“Then we have Tilopa, Naropa's teacher, a person who did not have to seek for teachings, but discovered that the teachings were founded in himself, so that he could just expose himself.”

Chögyam Trungpa 1939 – 1987 CE
from Selected Talks on Lineage and Devotion (1970)

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“Tilopa is no other than the buddha.”

Marpa Lotsawa 1012 – 1097 CE via Nalanda Translation Committee

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