Self-Immolation

"Listen to the teachings with one-pointed faith and respect. Do not censure or deride the speaker; Honor your instructors — Develop the idea that they are like a buddha." The Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra

I find funny the Western mystification usually done by middle aged and "good vibes" people about Buddhism, and especially about Tantrism in general. It is a very "colorful" Buddhism, where there is no danger at all, reigning only a kind of illusory "good vibes", which historically is not so. The Tantric practices that gave rise to the various lineages of Tibetan Buddhism were as transgressive as the Aghor practices recorded in India centuries ago — which is, meat-eating, bathing in crematory ashes, etc. — and even in the "non-Tantric" Buddhism, you will find a lot that would make the average Western left-handed practitioner's hair stand on end. Buddhism is not and never has been a place where the so-called "safe space" reigns, giving us a sense of illusory peace and security. Buddhism transcends moral illusions and goes beyond modern false security.

"To be praised by fools—that is the greatest shame." — Nichiren Above: Nichiren in exile on Sado Island.

"There are those with misunderstanding who hold that some teachings are methods for becoming a buddha and some teachings are obstacles to becoming a buddha.They then differentiate the words of the Buddha into good and bad, reasonable and unreasonable, and great and small vehicles. Finally, they hold that some teachings are to be cast aside, saying, "A bodhisattva should train in this and should not train in that." Thus, they abandon the teachings." Je Tsongkhapa

"Further, what you meditate on with the wisdom arisen from meditation is just that which you know with the wisdom that has arisen from study and reflection. You do not meditate on something else. This is similar to how you show a horse a racetrack, and then race it there." Kamalasila

"The excellent teaching of the Teacher [Buddha] is twofold: Those teachings having a nature of scripture and those having a nature of realization." Vasubandhu

"There are those who conclude that any classic text should be considered only an explanatory teaching, therefore lacking the key points for practice. They hold that there are separate personal instructions that teach the core meanings that are the heart of practice. They then imagine that there are two separate forms of the excellent teaching — a teaching that is explained to you and a teaching that you practice. Know that this attitude precludes the development of great respect for the stainless sutras and tantras as well as the flawless treatises that comment on their intent. Know also that you accumulate the karmic obstruction of abandoning the teaching when you see those classic texts as objects of contempt and say, "Those are merely for promoting one's superficial knowledge and eliminating others' misconceptions; they do not teach the deep meaning." Therefore, for those who desire liberation, the supreme and authentic instructions are indeed the classic texts. However, due to your limited intelligence and so forth, you may be unable to recognize those texts as the supreme instructions through depending on them alone. Thus, you must seek out personal instructions, thinking, "I will seek certain knowledge of those texts based on the per-sonal instructions of an excellent being." But do not think, "The texts are without substance, since they merely promote a superficial knowledge and eliminate others' misconceptions; yet the personal instructions, since they reveal the deep meaning, are supreme." Je Tsongkhapa

"Mañjusri, the karmic obstruction of abandoning the excellent teaching is subtle. Mañjusri, whoever distinguishes some of the words spoken by the Tathāgata as good and some as bad abandons the teaching. One who abandons the teaching, by having abandoned it, deprecates the Tathāgata and speaks badly of the community. If you say, "This is reasonable; this is unreasonable," you abandon the teaching. If you say, "This was set forth for the sake of bodhisattvas; this was set forth for the sake of srāvakas," you abandon the teaching. If you say, "This was set forth for the sake of pratyekabuddhas," you abandon the teaching. If you say, "This is not a training of bodhisattvas," you abandon the teaching." Sarva-vaidalya-samgraha-sutra

"Thus, it is contradictory to propound that you should not train in the scriptural collections of the Hinayana because you are a Mahayana practitioner. There are shared and unshared paths to enter the Mahayana. Since the shared are those things that come from the scriptural collections of the Hinayana, how could they be something to set aside? Therefore, Mahayana followers must practice all those things taught in the Hinayana scriptural collections, with only a few exceptions, such as diligently seeking a blissful peace for oneself alone. This is the reason for extensively teaching all three vehicles in the very vast scriptural collections of the bodhisattvas." Je Tsongkhapa

"Bodhisattvas should produce all paths-whatever is a path of a sravaka, a pratyekabuddha, or a buddha-and should know all paths. They should also perform the deeds of these paths and bring all of them to completion." The Eighteen-Thousand-Verse Perfection of Wisdom Sutra

"Concerning "teachings," the scriptures of the Bhagavān accurately teach that which is to be thoroughly known, that which is to be eliminated, that which is to be manifested, and that which is to be cultivated by deities and humans who wish to attain the ambrosial state [of a nonabiding nirvarna]." Avalokitavrata

"I came alone into this world and am departing alone to the next world. If there were no compassion toward me from the Other-power, my past, present, and future would not exist. To protect and to guide me, there are countless powers. For example—my parents, my society, my nation, the air, earth, sun, etc.—all these powers of compassion are called Oya-sama. I cannot live in this world without Oya-sama. Oya-sama and I are in Oneness. Oya-sama is the infinite light and life that is called Amida Buddha." Rev. Hozen Seki