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#2730 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - Editor: Gloria
Nondual Highlights
Happy Valentine's Day to all our readers. This issue is made of hearts, that is, heart quotes.
Sound arises in the
inner sky of pure consciousness, the
heart-space in the head, the sky of the heart. What
manifests is Life-Power, the One.
--Nityananda, (Sutra 37)
"The ancient,
effulgent being, the indwelling spirit, subtle,
deep-hidden in the lotus of the Heart, is hard to know. But
the wise man following the path of meditation, knows him
and is freed alike from pleasures and pain."
--Katha Upanishad, p. 17-18
Learning how to
love is the goal and the purpose of spiritual
life — not learning how to develop psychic powers, not
learning how to bow, chant, do yoga, or even meditate, but
learning to love. Love is the truth. Love is the light.
--Lama Surya Das, in
Awakening to the Sacred
The practice of
metta, uncovering the force of love that can
uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending
ourselves. The foundation of metta practice is to know how
to be our own friend. According to the Buddha, "You can
search throughout the entire universe for someone who is
more deserving of your love and affection than you are
yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You
yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve
your love and affection." How few of us embrace ourselves
in this way! With metta practice we uncover the possibility of
truly respecting ourselves. We discover, as Walt Whitman put
it, "I am larger and better than I thought. I did not think
I
held so much goodness."
--Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness
Sonnet XVII
I don't
love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you
as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you
without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of
loving
but this,
in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close
~ Pablo Neruda ~
(100
Love Sonnets: Cien Sonetos De Amor, trans. by Stephen
Tapscott)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Sonnet_XVII.html
To subscribe to Panhala, send a blank email to Panhala-subscribe@yahoogroups.com music link (left button to play, right button to save)
Bark Scar
Heart by Rick Ruggles
www.foundhearts.com
from Awake
Mind, Open Heart by Cynthia Kneen
The Strong Heart
"When we
say a person has HEART, it doesn't mean they
are weak and sentimental. We mean they are willing to be
exposed, willing to be touched nakedly by the world. They
are strong enough not to wear a suit of armor. They are not
afraid of their own experience. In this sense heart is the
one hundred percentness of experience. It is a strength and
fullness in you that come from putting your awareness in
the actual experience you are experiencing. This is true
even of negative experiences. With a strong heart you are
able to be gentle and sympathetic to all your experiences,
not only the pleasant ones."
from Zen 24/7
by Philip Toshio Sudo
The Humble Heart
"Masters
of the Japanese tea ceremony use the term
kokoro ire, or, 'inclusion of the heart's spirit.' The best tea
ceremonies have nothing to do with fancy surroundings or
making a good impression; the determinant of success is the
sincere and humble heart of the host."
from Heart by
Gail Godwin
Largeness of Heart
"The
prime virtue in the Confucian system is jen. Jen is the
combination of 'human being' and 'two.' It is best
translated as 'human-heartedness.' In the sociable
Confucian ethic, one cannot become a person by oneself.
Jen simultaneously embraces humanity toward others and
respect for yourself. If you are a person of jen, you have
the capacity to measure the feelings of others by your own.
In public and private life, this means you have a largeness of
heart that seeks to affirm others as you yourself would
wish to be affirmed."
All That Matters
It doesn't matter what
Consciousness (or consciousness) means.
It doesn't matter what subject/object or duality means.
It doesn't matter what non-duality means.
First must come Freedom.
Understanding will follow.
All that matters is following your own heart.
That is the only way to be free.
And being free is all that matters.
No one can stop you from
following your heart.
So no one can stop you from being free.
That is the only *real* choice...to follow one's own heart.
To follow your heart your must know your heart.
So first is Inquiry into
one's heart.
Inquiry means to go *into* one's heart,
and to go deeper, and deeper, and deeper...
And Inquiry means to
*abide* in one's heart.
When speaking, let the speaking be from the heart.
When looking, let the looking be from the heart.
Even when thinking, let your heart be in the
thinking.
And in the end one is
living the heart in everything,
one is following the heart in everything,
one becomes Heart.
And there is nothing
outside of Heart.
Heart is all.
It is who you are.
--Bill Rishel posted on AdvaitaToZen
from #1508 - Wednesday,
July 30, 2003 - Editor: Joyce (Know_Mystery)
http://www.nonduality.com/hl1508.htm