There Is No Such Thing as "Miracles", Only Undiscovered Laws

In the history of the Nyungne tradition, many practitioners have been able to overcome incurable disease through the practice of Nyungne. We could say miracles like this literally do take place, although in the Buddhist understanding, overcoming great obstacles and disease would be considered blessings. A miracle is something else. It is the enlightened power that is demonstrated by enlightened masters. A true miracle in the Buddhist sense would be like the miracle of Milarepa entering into a little horn while his student, Rechungpa, sees him in his usual size yet he is inside the horn. Or like the miracle of Milarepa sitting on a lake and people seeing that he hasn't become any larger nor has the lake shrunk in size, yet he is completely covering it. These are real, enlightened miracles.
--from Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand Armed Chenrezig by Wangchen Rinpoche, published by Snow Lion Publications

The Dalai Lama's Way to a Meaningful Life

When I was a boy, Ling Rinpoche, who was then my junior tutor, was always very stern; he never smiled, not even a little. This bothered me a lot. By wondering why he was so humorless, I examined more and more what I was doing in my own mind. This helped me develop self-awareness with regard to my motivation. By my early twenties when I had matured, Ling Rinpochay completely changed; he always had a big smile when we were together.
Effective practice of the morality of individual liberation depends upon sound, long-term motivation. For example, one should not become a monk or a nun to avoid having to work at a worldly job for food and clothing. Also, it is not sufficient merely to seek to avoid difficulty in this lifetime. To be motivated by such trifling purposes does not help to achieve freedom from cyclic existence--the ultimate reason to practice the morality of individual liberation.
This is confirmed by Buddha's life story. One day Shakyamuni slipped outside the palace wall to experience life for himself. For the first time he saw a sick person, an old person, and a corpse. Deeply troubled by the suffering of sickness, aging, and death, he came to the conclusion that worldly life is without substance. Later, inspired by several religious practitioners, Buddha became captivated by the possibility of a higher, more meaningful, spiritual life. At that point he escaped from the palace, leaving his ordinary life behind to pursue that vision.
What does this teach us? Like Buddha we need to begin by becoming concerned about the suffering of cyclic existence and by turning away from temporary distractions. Influenced by this new attitude, we must take up a system of morality by renouncing cyclic existence and by taking vows of pure behavior through seeking to avoid the ten nonvirtues. (p.29)
--from How to Practice : The Way to a Meaningful Life by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins

Calm-Abiding of the Mind

For achieving calm abiding...your mind must have two qualities:
- great clarity of both the object and the consciousness itself
- staying one-pointedly on the object of observation.
Two factors prevent these from developing--laxity and excitement. Laxity prevents the development of clarity, and excitement prevents the stability of staying with the object.
That which interferes with the steadiness of the object of observation and causes it to fluctuate is excitement, which includes any scattering of the mind to an object other than the object of meditation. To stop that, withdraw your mind more strongly inside so that the intensity of the mode of apprehension of the object begins to lower. If you need a further technique to withdraw the mind, it helps to leave the object of meditation temporarily and think about something that makes you more sober, such as the imminence of death. Such reflections can cause your heightened mode of apprehension of the object, the mind's being too tight, to lower or loosen somewhat, whereby you are better able to stay on the object of observation.
It is not sufficient just to have stability; clarity is also needed. That which prevents clarity is laxity, which is a case of the mind's becoming too relaxed, too loose, lacking intensity--the tautness of the mind having become weak, caused by over-withdrawal inside. Heaviness of mind and body can lead to becoming lax, which can lead to a type of lethargy in which, losing the object of observation, you have as if fallen into darkness; this can lead even to sleep. When this begins to occur, it is necessary to raise, to heighten, this excessive declination of the mind by making it more taut, more tight. To accomplish this, it helps to brighten the object of meditation or, if that does not work, to leave the object of meditation temporarily and think on something that makes you joyous, such as the wonderful opportunity that a human lifetime affords for spiritual practice. If that does not work, you can even leave off meditating and go to a high place or where there is a vast view. Such techniques cause your deflated mind to heighten, to sharpen.
While holding the object of observation with mindfulness, investigate with introspection from time to time to see whether the mind has come under the influence of laxity or excitement and determine the best practice for lowering or heightening it. In time, your will develop a sense of the proper level of tautness of the mind such that you will be able to catch laxity and excitement just before they arise and prevent their arising.

from :Yoga Tantra: Paths to Magical Feats by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Dzong-ka-ba and Jeffrey Hopkins, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications

Our Self-Centeredness is the Real Source of Our Sufferings

The real source of my suffering is self-centeredness: my car, my possession, my well-being. Without the self-centeredness, the suffering would not arise. What would happen instead? It is important to imagine this fully and to focus on examples of your own. Think of some misfortune that makes you want to lash out, that gives rise to anger or misery. Then imagine how you might respond without suffering. Recognize that we need not experience the misery, let alone the anger, resentment, and hostility. The choice is ours.
Let's continue with an example. You see that there is a dent in the car. What needs to be done? Get the other driver's license number, notify the police, contact the insurance agency, deal with all the details. Simply do it and accept it. Accept it gladly as a way to strengthen your mind further, to develop patience and the armor of forbearance. There is no way to become a Buddha and remain a vulnerable wimp.
Patience does not suddenly appear as a bonus after full enlightenment. Part of the whole process of awakening is to develop greater forbearance and equanimity in adversity. Santideva, in the sixth chapter of his Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, eloquently points out that there is no way to develop patience without encountering adversity, and patience is indispensable for our own growth on the path to awakening.--from The Seven-Point Mind Trainingby B. Alan Wallace, edited by Zara Houshmand, published by Snow Lion Publications