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#2602 - Monday, October 2, 2006 - Editor: Gloria Lee
"our
lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter."
--Martin Luther King
Not Passive
The basic precepts are not
passive. They can actively express a compassionate
heart in our life. Not killing can grow into a reverence for
life, a protective caring
for all sentient beings who share life with us. Not stealing can
become the basis for
a wise ecology, honoring the limited resources of the earth and
actively seeking
ways to live and work that share our blessings worldwide. From
this spirit can come
a life of natural and healing simplicity. Out of not lying we can
develop our voice to
speak for compassion, understanding, and justice. Out of
nonharming sexuality, our
most intimate relations can also become expressions of love, joy,
and tenderness.
Out of not abusing intoxicants or becoming heedless, we can
develop a spirit that
seeks to live in the most awake and conscious manner in all
circumstances. At first,
precepts are a practice. Then they become a necessity, and
finally they become a
joy. When our heart is awakened, they spontaneously illuminate
our way in the
world.
--Jack Kornfield, in A Path with Heart
"No one sees a truth he does not want to see."
--Vernon Howard
A Life Beyond Problems
One characteristic of a
life lived from a thoroughly nondualistic
perspective is that we no longer have any problems. That is,
we
no longer divide our life into the good parts and the
problematic
parts; there is simply life, one moment after another.
Problems
don't disappear from our life, they disappear into our
life.
--Barry Magid in Ordinary Mind
"Most people
run for cover whenever a negative feeling is exposed to the
light of
consciousness, consequently, they remain in darkness. You can be
a hero. Dare to
stand in the light. After a while you will see that the
very light you once feared is
the very light of your life."
--Vernon Howard
Simple Attention
The secret of beginning a
life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our
willingness to pay attention. Our growth as conscious, awake
human beings is
marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as
by extending
loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives. Every
relationship, every
thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the
wholehearted attention
we bring to it. In the complexities of our minds and lives we
easily forget the power
of attention, yet without attention we live only on the surface
of existence. It is
just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song
of a bird, to see
deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another
and be touched.
We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing
wholeheartedly. We
need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and
respond to the
learning inherent in it.
--Christina Feldman and
Jack Kornfield, in Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the
Heart
From: 'Transformation and Healing' by Thich Nhat Hanh
Life is filled with
suffering, but it is also filled with many wonderful things.
There is
spring as well as winter, light as well as darkness, health as
well as sickness, gentle
breezes and delightful rains as well as tempests and floods. Our
eyes, ears, hearts,
half- smiles, and breathing are wonderful phenomena. We only need
to open our
eyes and we can see the blue sky, the white clouds, the rose, the
clear river, the
golden fields of wheat, the shining eyes of a child. We only have
to attune our ears
to hear the whispering pines and the waves washing up on the
shore. Everything is
impermanent. Everything is in a temporary form. Nevertheless,
there are many
wonderful things. In us and around us, there are so many wondrous
phenomena in
nature which can refresh and heal us. If we can be in contact
with them, we will
receive their healing benefits. If peace and joy are in our
hearts, we will gradually
bring more peace and joy to the world.
Flower by Alan Larus http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/islands/27.htm