Monday, January 23, 2006

On Samsara
















[Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights, Middle Panel]

When we speak of samsara, it seems to be something bad. What is samsara? What do you point to when you want to identify samsara? Who is samsara? If you're wondering who samsara is, you can point to yourself. Each of us is our own samsara. Is it the same or different from ourselves? It's not be found anywhere else apart from our own existence. We are the ones who experience suffering; we are the ones who experience joy. Moreover, we are the ones who create our own samsara. Is samsara created? Yes, it is, and we're the ones who create it. How does this take place? With such mental afflictions as the three poisons of attachment, hatred, and delusion, we create samsara. The nature of all of these poisons is delusion. That is what creates our samsara.

Gyatrul Rinpoche, "Commentary" on Natural Liberation

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