Click here to go to the next issue
Highlights Home Page | Receive the Nondual Highlights each day
#2737 -
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - Editor: Gloria Lee
Nondual Highlights
The theme for this issue is renunciation.
Even if you have nothing,
It is hard to find that contentment
Which comes from renunciation.
I accept nothing.
I reject nothing.
And I am happy.
--Ashtavakra
Gita 13:1
From "The Heart of Awareness: A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita," by Thomas Byrom, 1990
One of the signs of God-realization is joy.
There is absolutely no
hesitancy in such a
person, who is like an
ocean in joyous
waves. But deep
beneath the surface, there
is profound silence
and peace.
--Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna
by Lex Hixon
posted to Along The Way
Arjuna: O Krishna, you
have recommended both the path of
selfless action and sannyasa, the path of renunciation of
action. Tell me definitely which is better.
Sri Krishna: Both
renunciation of action and the selfless
performance of action lead to the supreme goal. But the
path of action is better than renunciation.
Those who have attained
perfect renunciation are free
from any sense of duality; they are unaffected by likes and
dislikes, Arjuna, and are free from the bondage of self-will.
--Bhagavad Gita 5:1-3
Excerpted from The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran
Usually we
think of renunciation as celibacy, poverty,
obedience, shaving your head, going off somewhere and
leaving everything behind. Trungpa Rinpoche gave a Tantric,
nondual interpretation of renunciation: "Renunciation
means
to let go of holding back." Can we let go of holding
back?
Can we relinquish our fears and defenses?
--Lama Surya Das
From the website
http://www.geocities.com/suzakico/dzogchen2.html#_Toc489275816 posted to Daily Dharma
The core of Dharma
practice is freeing oneself from the
attachments of this life. It focuses on the deeper issue of
gaining complete release from discontent by means of
freeing our minds from the afflictions of confusion,
attachment, and anger. In a broader sense, Dharma practice
is concerned with serving others, in terms of both their
temporary and ultimate needs.
Does this mean that one
who is committed to Dharma
suddenly renounces all worldly enjoyments--no more
vacations, no entertainment, no sensory pleasures? No. If
one tries that approach it usually results in spiritual burnout;
and the common rebound is equally extreme sensual
indulgence. For this reason, the practice of Buddhist Dharma
is often called The Middle Way because it seeks to avoid
the extremes of sensual indulgence and severe asceticism.
The former leads to perpetual dissatisfaction and the
latter damages one's physical and mental health.... The
Middle Way is a sensitive exertion of effort that is neither
lax nor aggressive, and from this practice there ultimately
arises an increasing satisfaction and delight in virtuous
activity that is a result of our spiritual transformation.
--B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up
There are those sleeping
who are awake,
and others awake who are sound asleep.
Some of those bathing in sacred pools
will never get clean.
And there are others
doing household chores
who are free of any action.
--Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
posted to Along The Way
Alan Larus photos http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/sorum.htm
http://droppedfeathers.blogspot.com/2007/02/from-camera.html
from a Camera by n.m.rai
Every click is a yes
where we shed
the limits of ourselves
like caterpillar skins.
Wings appear
on our shoulders
for this brief time
this walk through magic
under the sun
captured by the wet
green of leaves
the grace of herons
the laughter in a face.
We are hunter, mendicant
and saint with the grail
in our hands
in this moment
in the quivering space
between All that we taste
but cannot capture.
Our albums are
the footprints of our prayers.
posted to
TrueVision