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#2218 - Monday, August 1, 2005 - Editor: Gloria Lee  

I GOT KIN

Plant
So that your own heart
Will grow.

Love So
God will think,

“Ahhhhh,
I got kin in that body!
I should start
inviting that soul over
For coffee and Rolls.”

Sing
Because this is a food
Our starving world
Needs.

Laugh
Because that is the purest
Sound.

(“The Gift” – versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)    

"Speak Kindly To Yourself"

“What is this self inside us, this silent observer,
Severe and speechless critic, who can terrorize us,
And urge us on to futile activity,
And in the end, judge us still more severely,
For the errors into which his own reproaches drove us?”

-- T. S. Eliot
posted by Kathy Hankenson to nondualnow    

    "What allows us to stop negative behaviour is a basic feeling that we
do not have to be afraid of what we are feeling right now, that we do
not have to look for alternatives, that we aren't ashamed of what we
are feeling in this moment. We are scared of what we are feeling.
Instead, we can just let our warmth toward that instant of time just
be there as the working basis.
Compassion for ourselves is settling down with the situation without
looking for alternatives."
~Pema Chodron

"Whatever is causing us a 'problem,' let's take a deep look at it. Are
we just trying to make things turn out the way we want them to? Are we
trying to manipulate the situation to avoid pain and bring us
pleasure?  Are we afraid of what might happen if we do not exert
control - change things to be the way we think is best?

Ironically, the Buddha tells us that to stop all the effort, the
trying to make things be different than they are and just accept
whatever is presented to us is what brings us true happiness.

Let go, dears. As an old friend told us, 'Let it be.'"
~dg


From DailyDharma Archives
 

photo by Alan Larus http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/twentyfour.htm  

The State of Peace  

A questioner asked the Buddha: "I would like to know about the state of peace, the state of solitude and of quiet detachment. How does a person become calm, independent, and not wanting to grasp at anything?"

"A person does this," replied the Buddha, "by eradicating the delusion of 'I am.' By being alert and attentive, he begins to let go of cravings as they arise. But whatever he begins to accomplish, he should beware of inner pride. He must avoid thinking of himself as better than another, or worse or equal, for that is all comparison and emphasizes the self.

"The person should look for peace within and not depend on it in any other place. For when a person is quiet within, the self cannot be found. There are no waves in the depths of the ocean, it is still and unbroken. It is the same with the peaceful person. He is still, without any longing to grasp. He has let go the foundations of self and no longer builds up pride and desire."

-Sutta Nipata
From "Buddha Speaks," edited by Anne Bancroft, 2000  

www.beliefnet.com  

Jackie the dog, who was eventually buried alongside the deer and the crow, was
brought to the ashram when he was very young. He never mixed with other dogs,
nor did he play much. Instead, he lived the life of a sadhu. He would sit in
front of Bhagavan on an orange cloth that had been provided by a devotee and
stare intently at Bhagavan’s eyes. Because Bhagavan had a lot of love for him,
and because he always behaved in such an exemplary fashion, he was always very
well looked after. Ramaswami Pillai in particular took good care of him. Every
day he would wash Jackie with soap and water and remove any insects that had
attached themselves to his body. Whenever prasad was distributed, Jackie would
not eat until Bhagavan began to eat his own portion. On such occasions he would
watch Bhagavan’s face intently. As soon as Bhagavan put a morsel into his mouth,
Jackie would start to eat his own portion.

I remember one incident concerning Jackie that occurred while Bhagavan was
sitting by the well, surrounded by devotees. Jackie was sitting with the
devotees, looking intently at Bhagavan, when a stray dog entered the ashram
through the back gate. Jackie, distracted by the newcomer, began to bark.
Bhagavan gently chided him by saying, ‘You just close your eyes. You just
close your eyes. You just close your eyes. If you do this you will not be able
to see the dog.’

Jackie obeyed at once but some of the rest of us continued to look at the
stray dog.

When I saw what was happening I laughed and remarked, This is a good
teaching. It is not only for Jackie, it is for everyone.’

Jackie lived in the ashram for many years but I cannot remember how he
finally passed away. It must have happened sometime in the 1930s while I was
supervising the building works because I remember constructing, at Bhagavan’s
request, the small samadhi shrine that is over his body.

I found the following account of Jackie’s death in an unpublished account by
Narasimha Rao:

‘In the early days of our going to the ashram [early 1930s] there was a dog
by name Jack. It was then very sick. Bhagavan arranged a soft bed for it and was
attending it very affectionately, attending to his wants. After a few days it
grew more weak, and was emitting a bad smell. It made no difference to
Bhagavan’s attention to it. He used to take it in his arms, and holding it to
himself, caress it lovingly. Finally it expired in his hands. It was buried in
the ashram precincts with a monument over it. The dog did not show any sign of
suffering and bore it bravely.’

From “Living by the Words of Bhagavan”

posted by David Godman to RamanaMaharshi    

Virtual Prakshina of Arunachala  

1) Go to: http://earth.google.com/

2) Download the software

2) Search India, then Tamil Nadu, then (s/w of Chennai--) Tiruvannamalai, then Arunachala.

3) You can go round the mountain in 3d by tilting down the satellite picture.

posted by Ben Hassine to MillionPaths