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#2355 - Monday, January 2, 2006 - Editor: Gloria Lee
What I Have Learned So Far
Meditation is old
and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.
All summations have
a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of -- indolence, or action.
Be ignited, or be gone.
~ Mary Oliver ~
(New and
Selected Poems Volume Two)
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The Art of
Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task
in the Art of Peace.
Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be
trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow.
You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner
divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment.
Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that
you encounter.”
“One
does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the
Art of Peace.
Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to
train.”
The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969)
The Wisdom of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
"Meet your own self. Be with
your own self, listen to it, obey it,
cherish it, keep it in mind ceaselessly. You need no other guide.
As
long as your urge for truth affects your daily life, all is well
with
you. Live your life without hurting anybody. Harmlessness is a
most
powerful form of Yoga and it will take you speedily to your goal.
This is what I call nisarga yoga, the Natural yoga. It is the art
of
living in peace and harmony, in friendliness and love. The fruit
of
it is happiness, uncaused and endless."
posted to A Net of Jewels
| With Experience You can Practice Even When Distracted |
Experienced riders do not fall off their
horses. In the same way, when unexpected harm or sudden
difficulties befall us, if love and compassion, rather than
annoyance, come welling up in us of their own accord, in other
words, if uncomfortable situations can be used to advantage in
our lives, that is a sign that we have accomplished something in
the Mind Training. So it is vitally important for us to continue
in our efforts.
Experiences like this indicate a familiarity with the Mind Training; they do not, however, mean that the work is finished. For even if such signs occur, we should continue in our endeavor, becoming more thoroughly adept and always joyful. A mind, moreover, which has been subdued and calmed through practice will naturally reveal itself in external activities. As with the different proverbs, 'When you see ducks, you know that water is near' and 'There's no smoke without fire', so too Bodhisattvas can be recognized by outward signs...
Signs like this will arise in us as well, but they do not mean that there is nothing more for us to do.
From Enlightened Courage, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Copyright 1993 by Editions Padmakara (Padmakara Translation Group). Published and distributed by Snow Lion Publications.
After I read my first book on Zen,
I phoned the temple to inquire about
meditation schedules. To my surprise,
the Roshi himself answered the phone.
Instead of telling me when
meditation was available, he asked me,
"Why do you want to come? Are you sick?"
"No, I'm not sick"
"Then, you shouldn't come. I have a
very contagious decease."
"What's its name?"
"I don't know, maybe it has no name."
" How is it caught?
"If you look at me you're in mortal
danger, if you touch me you'll die."
I laughed. "When can I come?"
When I saw him in person, I reminded
him of the conversation. He laughed
good naturally." Yes, it's a matter
of time now. Nothing can save you."
"How long you think I'll last?" I joked.
He shook his head. "A long time. You're
a thinker, they take a long time to
die. Very painful.
He shook his head again, "Not good!"
posted by Pete to Nonduality Salon
Once at Cold Mountain, troubles
cease -
No more tangled, hung-up
mind.
I idly scribble poems on the
rock cliff,
Taking whatever comes, like
a drifting boat.
- Han Shan
"They speak in conventional
terms for the world
Out of compassion for everyone,
Explaining things in provisional terms,
Not explaining even as they explain.”
“The Taoist classic Tao-te
Ching says, “Ways can be articulated, but not a fixed
path; names can be designated, but not fixed terms.”
Mahayana Buddhist teaching emphasizes the conventional and
provisional nature of spoken teachings so that the people will
not quibble over external superficialities but use the words to
direct their minds to the very heart of the matter. To explain
without explaining means to use explanation as a means to
something else, not as an end in itself. Religion is often
associated, even unconsciously, with the holding and promulgating
of certain doctrines, associated with specific verbal
formulations. As noted earlier, this is what people argue and
fight about; insight does not support this sort of religious or
philosophical controversy.”
- Thomas Cleary, Zen and the Art of Insight, p. 27