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Nondual Highlights Issue #2470, Saturday, May 13, 2006
The invisible nature of reality
fills the mind when searching stops;
stressing about the what and wherefore,
inhibits its spontaneous arising.
The Fulfillment of Non-meditation:
The delusion of a material environment and the
existence of animate beings cannot arise in the
perceptual nonduality of pure mind. This reality is an
absence of appearances. Simply by relaxing,
unstressed, wanting nothing - which is the supreme
meditation or non-meditation - there it is! The
attempt to pin down essentially nonexistent
appearances, to insist upon something concrete where
nothing substantial exists, to seek any definitive
meaning: this is similar to trying to put a solid roof
on an imaginary house. Nothing can come of nothing.
Thus searching for something that is already there and
the counter-result of anxious striving is futile.
There is only the Inexpressible Timeless Moment.
- Vairotsana, from the new book, Eye of the
Storm: Vairotsana's Five Original Transmissions,
translated by Keith Dowman, posted to DailyDharma
The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace,
wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't
have
to gain, develop, or attain them.
Like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut
tight,
there's no need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds and sky,
we
merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here,
who
we already are--as soon as we stop pretending we're small or
unholy.
I could characterize nearly any spiritual practice as simply
being ... Identify the myriad forms of delusion we place upon
ourselves, and muster the courage to stop each one.
Little by little deep inside us, the diamond shines, the eyes
open,
the dawn rises, we become what we already are.
- Tat Twam Asi (Thou Art That), Bo Lozoff, posted to MillionPaths
To each person that way is the best which
appears easiest or appeals most. All the ways
are equally good, as they lead to the same goal,
which is the merging of the ego in the Self.
What the bhakta [devotee] calls surrender, the
man who does vichara calls jnana. Both are trying
only to take the ego back to the source from which
it sprang and make it merge there.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi, Be As You Are: The
Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, edited by
David Godmam, posted to AlongTheWay
We give value to a piece of ground
for the same reason we give food to the poor.
The ground has external dullness
and internal luminosity.
The two seem opposed like a jewel
embedded in common rock.
The outside says,
'This is all I am.'
The inside,
'Look further. Look everywhere.'
The outside,
'There's nothing inside.'
Inside,
'Wait. I'll show you what's true.' . . .
Parts of earth have stolen bits of God.
We make them confess.
- Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks, posted to Poetic_Mysticism
We Can See the Truth in Your Eyes
For ages you have come and gone
courting delusion.
For ages you have run from the pain
and forfeited the ecstasy.
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Although you appear in earthly form
Your essence is pure Consciousness.
You are the fearless guardian
of Divine Light.
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
When you lose all sense of self
the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish.
Lose yourself completely.
Return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
You descended from Adam, by the pure Word of God,
but you turned your sight
to the empty show of this world.
Alas, how can you be satisfied with so little?
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Why are you so enchanted by this world
when a mine of gold lies within you?
Open your eyes and come -
Return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
You were born from the rays of God's Majesty
when the stars were in their perfect place.
How long will you suffer from the blows
of a nonexistent hand?
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
You are a ruby encased in granite.
How long will you deceive Us with this outer show?
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
After one moment with that glorious Friend
you became loving, radiant, and ecstatic.
Your eyes were sweet and full of fire.
Come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Shams-e Tabriz, the King of the Tavern,
has handed you an eternal cup.
And God in all His glory is pouring the wine.
So come! Drink!
Return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
- Rumi, version by Jonathan Star, Rumi - In
the Arms of the Beloved, posted to Sunlight