Life and Spirituality

[Nicholas]

This 2019 collection of daily gems from JIgme Phunstok Rinpoche (d. 2004) is by his disciple Khenpo Sodargye.

As one goes from one existence to the next through
samsara, those who stick to pursuing secular activities
in this impermanent world and refuse to seek ultimate
liberation will forever remain trapped in the sea of
afflictions, struggling to remain afloat like the bubbles
that keep rising to the surface and yet bursting into nothingness.

[Brahma Das]

There is a quote from a Purport in the Bhagavad Gita As It Is that your quote reminds me of, the Purport of the 8.17 Verse about Brahma’s Days and Nights:

The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahma, and one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali. The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Treta-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvapara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahma, the creator god, and the same number comprise one night. Brahma lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 million earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahma seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the causal ocean there are innumerable Brahmas rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahma and his creation are all part of the material universe, and therefore they are in constant flux.

...

I know this is a Dzogchen thread but I am wondering if there is any significance to the similarities of the verses. That is all. Thank you.

Om Mani Padme Hum.

[Nicholas]

The Rinpoche quote is aimed at ordinary humans who avoid a spiritual life in preference to a worldly one. Thus they remain in the karmic cycle.
Although the lives of Brahmā and other high devas do not seem "worldly" to us, they too are not liberated from cyclic existence.

[Nicholas]

Here is the link to the book in print or pdf, in several languages. This link also has more bodhisattva teachings from Khenpo Sodargye, a disciple of the Rinpoche:

http://khenposodargye.org/about/books/l ... rituality/

[MarcoAmara]

The Rinpoche quote is aimed at ordinary humans who avoid a spiritual life in preference to a worldly one. Thus they remain in the karmic cycle.
Although the lives of Brahmā and other high devas do not seem "worldly" to us, they too are not liberated from cyclic existence.

As our souls traverse through each of their different lives, they collect karmic debt, which must be repaid in the following life. You can come to understand which debt you're supposed to pay back by noticing the repetitive patterns in your life.

[Ajay0]

The Rinpoche quote is aimed at ordinary humans who avoid a spiritual life in preference to a worldly one. Thus they remain in the karmic cycle.
Although the lives of Brahmā and other high devas do not seem "worldly" to us, they too are not liberated from cyclic existence.

As our souls traverse through each of their different lives, they collect karmic debt, which must be repaid in the following life. You can come to understand which debt you're supposed to pay back by noticing the repetitive patterns in your life.

Insightful post.

Would you say that one's repetitive patterns or habits, are the true indicators or guage of our karma !