The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 36

The supreme thing to know is bodhicitta.

The supreme thing to learn is bodhicitta.

The supreme thing to practice is bodhicitta.

The supreme thing to meditate on is bodhicitta.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

Book Review: Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

In Rebel Buddha, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche give us a guidebook for leaving behind the status-quo and becoming the rebel that's inside you.  No not like a James Dean rebel but a rebel from the world of illusion that we create.  DPR drops all the tradition Buddhist lingo and lays out the path to achieving freedom in an more accessible language.  I have to admit I initially was having difficulty resonating with the book  but about halfway it started to click and after re-reading it,  I really appreciate what he is writing much more.  The book offers a challenge to our normal habits, traditions, view of self and practice and truly discover the why of Buddhism.

What frees us from being stuck?  What cuts through our psychological blockages?  We need the courage of our rebel buddha heart to leap beyond forms, to go deeper into our practice and find a way to trust ourselves.  We must become our own guide.

The book has a wonderful appendix with an incredible explanation of meditation.  He describes mindfulness and analytical meditation practices and how to work with problems during the session.  He ends with some great poems like the following:

You are so creative
And your tricks are so original
Look at your magic
So deceptive, real, and endless

You are a great storyteller
So dramatic, colorful, and emotional
I love your stories
But do you realize that you're telling them over and over and over?

You are such a dreamer
And you're tirelessly so passionate
For your dream characters and the world
But do you see that you're just dreaming

You are so familiar
Yet no one knows who you really are
Are you not called "thoughts" by some?
Are you really there-or simply my delusion

Are you not taught to be the true wisdom mind?
What a beautiful world this could be
If only I could see through this mind.

Well, it doesn't really matter
Because I don't exist without you!
"Who am I?" is perhaps the right question
After all, I'm just one of your many manifestations!