Mingyur Rinpoche's Pith Instructions

These photos and sayings are from a beautiful 2004 calendar produced by the Yongey Buddhist Center in California. Each month has a different pith instruction.

Art design and English editing: Samanta
Photographs: "Mingyur Rinpoche at Yosemite waterfall" by Lama Tashi
other photographs by Samanta
Transcription and organization of pith instructions: Chuni
Pith instructions based on oral translations of Rinpoche's teachings
during 2002 and 2003 in Northern California by:
Lama Tashi, Chojor Radha, Richard Barron and Jeremy Morrel
© Crowd, Inc.

(Click the images below to view a larger version.)


Happiness and unhappiness are not primarily created
by the material world or the physical body.
First and foremost, they are decisions of the mind.


Without meditation,
our mind is like a crazy monkey that we cannot control.


The untrained mind moves like a string of beads.
Hopes and fears come one after another.
In tranquility meditation, just drop the chain of beads...
but once the beads are dropped, don't try to rearrange them!


Purify the mind to the subtlest level.
Bit by bit, develop the qualities of realized beings.
The mind becomes naturally free, clear and vast.


Buddha taught us wisdom and skillful means.
These are like the two wings of a bird!


Devotion to the spiritual teacher brings us blessings
when we practice the teachings of the lineage
and trust in our innate Buddha nature.


If we try too hard, meditation becomes difficult.
But it is so easy... Meditation is resting in our own natural awareness.


By nature, the essence of our mind is total peace.
Therefore, we can find true peace of mind through meditation.


Taking a drink of water by grasping with hope and fear
only causes the water to spill and leaves the arm sore.
We function best when relaxed and mindful.


Anger needs no training to grow.
On the relative level, compassion requires training.
Relative compassion is like an illusion,
but a good illusion that causes other illusions to dissipate.


At the beginning of meditation training,
we identify (1) the observer, (2) the observed, and (3) the observing act.
As our practice matures, these three become indistinguishable.


To diminish grasping at appearances as if they have a real essence,
watch all things as if they were reflections in a mirror.