“It is important to realize that all the happiness and suffering, joy and sorrow you are experiencing now have not been decided for you by gods such as Indra, Brahma, and Vishnu, nor have they come about on their own. They are the natural result of your own past actions. So make a promise that even if the whole world rises up as your enemy, you will not wander from the absolute nature. Then, even if someone appears to threaten your life, if you can remain in equanimity within the recognition of the absolute nature, that enemy will be unable to harm you. But if you fall into delusion, thinking that enemies exist truly, and as a result you react by trying to defeat them and to protect others who arouse attachment in you, then you will surely be betraying the Buddhas of the past, present, and future.

Be mindful at all times of what is right and what is not; and be vigilant as to whether you are actually acting accordingly. Mindfulness and vigilance will then be your teachers.”

~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche