_____________________________________________________

Sometime in your life, hope that you might see one starved man, the
look on his face when the bread finally arrives. Hope that you might
have baked it or bought or even kneaded it yourself. For that look on
his face, for your meeting his eyes across a piece of bread, you
might be willing to lose a lot, or suffer a lot, or die a little, even.

--Daniel Berrigan, SJ
_____________________________________________________

True and False are attributes of speech, not of things. And where
speech is not, there is neither Truth nor Falsehood.
-- Thomas Hobbes
_____________________________________________________

Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is
tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to
them.

--Antoine de Saint-Exupery, "The Little Prince"
_____________________________________________________

There is hope in men, not in society, not in systems, not in organized
religious systems, but in you and in me.

-- J. Krishnamurti

_____________________________________________________

Yes, it's tough, but not as tough as doing comedy.
When asked if he thought dying was tough.
--Edmund Gwenn, actor, d. September 6, 1959

_____________________________________________________


VIORICA WEISSMAN
from MILLION PATHS

No Mirror Can Ever Shave By C. K. Anavema Reddy

There is a small piece of conversation from the life of Sri Bhagavan
which, as far as I am aware, has not been recorded. Though brief, it
has remained very vivid in my memory.It was in 1940 that one day
one of the devotees sitting in the hall raised the topic regarding the
utility of reading books on religion and philosophy. In reply Sri
Bhagavan said, "You wake up in the morning and look into the mirror
and the mirror shows you that you have a growth and that you have
to get rid of it. You may go on looking into any number of mirrors;
every mirror will tell you the same thing, but no mirror can ever
shave you. You have to shave yourself. Instead of wasting time
looking into mirror after mirror it is best to start shaving after having
looked into the first mirror and known the truth. "So also all books
will tell you the same truth, perhaps in slightly different ways. Instead
of wasting time reading book after book why not realize for yourself
what was obvious from the very first book."

( taken from the 1972 issues of the Mountain Path magazine.)

The Maharshi Newsletter , sep/oct 2002

_____________________________________________________

DAN BERKOW
from NISARGADATTA


Elizabeth G Wells: Did you ever hear of a pointer?


Dan:

Also, to be fair to all concepts involved:

Did you ever point to a hearer?

Did hearing ever point?

Did pointing ever hear of you?

_____________________________________________________

BOB ROSE
from Meditation Society of America

New Concept of Meditation

A new Concept of Meditation titled "Let It Go" has been posted on
our web site, Meditation Station, http://www.meditationsociety.com
It deals with not carrying the anger, suffering, negativity, and so on,
from the past with us.
_____________________________________________________


ERIC ASHFORD
from TrueVision

Baby Love

Time was, when the green fields ran winding round
the planet of being, just so.
Just so, in their meandering misbehaving way,
with no thought for the way of it. Just so.

We were deep and delved, and free running on the
legs of this world, with heart ease that knew not of
heart or soul or any distinction between the two.
The sun rose in our heads. Just so.

Ah, but not knowing, was being known, in all this
trip-lighting vagabond sway-laying, flown into being
baby love days of our liking. Green as the tea of a
magical leaf set upon this drop-in place of our
drinking. Mind mistook. Time tooled. Oh yes, time took just so.

A taste became made in the mind memory.
Misbegotten mask of I and you. A go between my
love and I. The world was saying its prayers by rote,
and even making grammatical notes. Ah poor baby love,
we lost you just so.

And so, this belly of time was filled to surfeit, and no
one saw the Beloved walk away to tend another
garden, while the winking stars played their love
songs to the milk white breasts of the moment of our
forgetting. Just so.

And so, and so and even so, the husk of the sun flower
that had once seeded the heart, opened space in the
womb white waste, with such a secret, a sowing grace in
the once upon a time of you again returning. Love
came begging round the ground of you. Just so.

And so my dears, we speak of this and that, while
discarding coat and hat, and diving deep into longing
like this. Unmasking the scale of this fish flashing
skinny dipping two of us. Sweet ass flip over of pretense of
heart holding, and find a living in life again. Just so.

We all get to be pregnant now my love, my love. This time,
the timing is moon struck on the mint of perfection. I
carry your baby love, and you got mine. Just so.


love

eric


Copyright. 2002. Eric Ashford.

_____________________________________________________

MICHAEL
from HARSHA SATSANGH

Rose

We sat outside the convalescent hospital and watched the passing cars.

She was dying.

Her eyes were unfocused.

The sunlight moving through the eucalyptus brought her awareness back.........

she looked in my direction.......and smiled.

"What were you thinking Rose?" I asked.

"Nothing".........she said.

"And it felt so nice"
~~~~~
Mantras

I first saw her working in her garden.
She was wearing an old sweatshirt with a dancing zen skeleton.

Her easy motion mixed with the shadows and she became almost invisible.

Yesterday, I saw her sitting alone in the coffee shop.

"Will you join me?" she asked.

We talked for an while................

"Who is your Teacher?" I asked.

After a long pause, apologetically, she said.............."Rasneesh".

When she knew that I had only kind thoughts for him she recounted the following story.

She was sitting with Rasneesh when a young man approached and said that he needed a mantra.

His request was apparently unheard.......

"I need a mantra........please give me a mantra......" he said.

Rasneesh looked kindly in his direction.....
and said.........


"How about Coca-Cola?

We laughed and laughed.............

She looked into my eyes......and I looked into hers....
_____________________________________________________

MANUEL HERNANDEZ
from A NET OF JEWELS

Gems from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj's Conversations


"Love is will, the will to share your happiness with all. Being happy,
making happy, this is the rhythm of love."


_____________________________________________________

HARSHA
from HARSHA SATSANGH

It Matters Not

If nothing is wanted,
it matters not
whether you have what it takes.

Whatever it takes
to get whatever
is itself completely false
and has no foundation.

And whatever you accomplish
can only satisfy some delusion
until the next one takes hold.

So see where you are.
Clearly.
It's easy.
There is nothing else to do.


Love,
Harsha
_____________________________________________________


AL LARUS
from HARSHA SATSANGH

Harsha,

I know I am a bit slow, on a second glance I saw
your first sentence was

'If nothing is wanted'

As I love this question consuming itself.
I had to ask 'Is this not exactly what it takes?'


Satisfied : )

thank you
Alan

_____________________________________________________

GARY MERRILL
from CONSCIOUSNESS IS ALL


Silent contemplation is not the pursuit of 'silence' of some
experience called silence.

It is not the contemplation of 'silence' of some thing.

Rather silent contemplation happens when there is nothing left to
contemplate.

_____________________________________________________

SUFI POETRY: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sufi_Poetry


'The Silent Articulation of a Face'


Love comes with a knife, not some shy question,
and not with fears for its reputation! I say

these things disinterestedly. Accept them in
kind. Love is a madman, working his wild schemes,

tearing off his clothes, running through the
mountains, drinking poison, and now quietly

choosing annihilation. A tiny spider tries to
wrap an enormous wasp. Think of the spider web

woven across the cave where Muhammad slept!
There are love stores, and there is obliteration

into love. You've been walking the ocean's edge,
holding up your robes to keep them dry. You

must dive naked under and deeper under, a thousand
times deeper! Love flows down. The ground

submits to the sky and suffers what comes. Tell
me, is the earth worse for giving in like that?

Don't put blankets over the drum! Open completely.
Let your spirit ear listen to the green dome's

passionate murmur. Let's the cords of your robe
be united. Shiver in this new love beyond all

above and below. The sun rises, but which way
does night go? I have no more words. Let the

soul speak with the silent articulation of a face.


(Rumi - "The Soul of Rumi" - Coleman Barks)