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#2721 - Monday, February 5, 2007 - Editor: Gloria Lee
Nondual Highlights
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There is really
nothing you must be and there is nothing
you must do. There is really nothing you must have and
there is nothing you must know. There is really nothing
you must become. However, it helps to understand that
fire burns, and when it rains, the earth gets wet.
--Zen saying
Most people think of enlightenment as a kind of magical
attainment, a state of being close to perfection. At this
level, one can perform amazing feats, see past and future
lives of others, and tune in to the inner workings of the
universe. This may be possible for a number of special
beings, but for most of us enlightenment is much more in
line with what Suzuki Roshi describes. It means having a
quality of "beginningness," a fresh, simple,
unsophisticated
view of things. To have "beginner's mind" in how we
approach things is a major teaching. In many ways, the
process of enlightenment is clearing away the thoughts,
beliefs, and ideas that cloud our ability to see things as
they really are in their pristine form.
--David A. Cooper, Silence, Simplicity and Solitude
After you wake up
you probably open the curtains and look
outside. You may even like to open the window and feel
the cool morning air with the dew still on the grass. But is
what you see really "outside"? In fact, it is your own
mind.
As the sun sends its rays through the window, you are not
just yourself. You are also the beautiful view from your
window. You are the Dharmakaya.
Dharmakaya literally means
the body (kaya) of the
Buddha's teachings (Dharma), the way of understanding
and love. Before passing away, the Buddha told his
disciples, "Only my physical body will pass away. My Dharma
body will remain with you forever." In Mahayana Buddhism,
the word has come to mean "the essence of all that
exists." All phenomena--the song of a bird, the warm rays
of the sun, a cup of hot tea--are manifestations of the
Dharmakaya. We, too, are of the same nature as these
wonders of the universe.
--Thich Nhat Hanh, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment
As great as the
infinite space beyond is the space within
the lotus of the heart. Both heaven and earth are
contained in that inner space, both fire and air, sun and
moon, lightning and stars. Whether we know it in this world
or know it not, everything is contained in that inner space.
--Chandogya Upanishad From The Upanishads, translated by Eknath Easwaran
"The emergence
and blossoming of understanding, love and
intelligence has nothing to do with any tradition, no matter
how ancient or impressive - it has nothing to do with time.
It happens completely on its own when a human being
questions, wonders, listens and looks without getting stuck
in fear, pleasure and pain. When self concern is quiet, in
abeyance, heaven and earth are open. The mystery, the
essence of all life is not separate from the silent openness
of simple listening."
--Toni Packer
From her website: http://www.stillwater.com
posted to Daily Dharma
Alan Larus photo http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/Feathers&petals2.htm
A monk was walking in the
monastery grounds one day
when he heard a bird sing.
He listened, spellbound.
It seemed to him that never
before had he heard, really heard, the song of a bird.
When the singing stopped
he returned to the monastery
and discovered, to his dismay, that he was a stranger to his
fellow monks, and they to him.
It was only gradually that
they and he discovered that he
was returning after centuries. Because his listening was
total, time had stopped and he had slipped into eternity.
 |
A Spiritual Journey By Wendell
Berry And the world
cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, |