Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Quotes

“When we wake up from our confused state of mind, that is enlightenment.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“To discover your real questions, simply take a time-out. Stop looking ahead of yourself at where you're going or backward at where you've been. When you do stop, there's a sense of going nowhere. There's a sense of gap, which is a tremendous relief. You can simply breathe and be who you are.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“In each meditation session, we gather knowledge about the mind through observation, questioning, and testing. We do this over and over, until we gradually develop a meaningful understanding of our own mind.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his own experience - free from the clouds of religiosity that often surround them Yet it's difficult to distinguish the tools themselves from their cultural packaging.

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“The truth about who we really are, beyond all appearances, is knowledge worth seeking.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“Sometimes we are too polite with our suffering and allow it to dominate our life.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“There is no emptiness without appearance, and there is no appearance without emptiness. That is what we call the interdependent nature.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“That is the essence and mission of 'rebel buddha': to free us from the illusions we create by ourselves, about ourselves, and from those that masquerade as reality in our cultural and religious institutions.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“True wisdom is free of the dramas of culture or religion and should bring us only a sense of peace and happiness.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

In the end, we have nothing to lose by opening our hearts.

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

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. Although they can make us happy temporarily, they can't free us from suffering, so at some point, they become a source of disappointment and discouragement. Eventually, these forms may inspire nothing more than resistance to their authority.

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

You fall in love with your heart; you fall out of love with your head.

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“It is all up to us. We are the ones who have to keep looking at our thoughts, looking for the nature of our mind. there is nobody else in control of our lives, our experiences, our freedom or our bondage.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“We actually need intelligent doubt and skepticism; they protect us against mistaken views and propaganda.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“It is not about how much you give, it is about how much you can let go with your mind.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Meditation is simply getting to know your mind.

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“When we recognize that the seemingly object nature of reality is nothing different than the subject nature of mind, which is rigpa, it is called enlightenment.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

The true opponent in a debate on emptiness is your own ego.

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“Two aspects to the relative world: relaxation and time management.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“I still noticed that little streak of rebelliousness coming up in me again - the same sense of dissatisfaction I had felt earlier with the empty rituals and institutionalized values of all religious traditions.”

— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche