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SRI SRI SRI MELODY ANDERSON QUOTES
OSHO

"Meditation has two parts: the
beginning and the end. The
beginning is called 'dhyana' and the
end is called
'samadhi'.
Dhyana is the seed, samadhi is the
flowering. Dhyana means
becoming aware of all workings of your
mind, all the layers
of your mind - your memories, your
desires, your thoughts,
dreams - becoming aware of all that
goes on inside you.

Dhyana is awareness, and samadhi is
when the awareness has
become so deep, so profound, so total that it is like a fire
and it consumes the whole mind and all its functionings. It
consumes thoughts, desires, ambitions, hopes, dreams. It
consumes the whole stuff the mind is full of.

Samadhi is the state when awareness is there, but there is
nothing to be aware inside you; the witness is there, but
there is nothing to be witnessed.

Begin with dhyana, with meditation, and end in samadhi, in
ecstasy, and you will know what God is. It is not a
hypothesis, it is an experience. You have to *live* it -
there's no other way to know it."
________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI MARCIA

There are three or four things that irritate the heck out of
me. If I am sincere, I have to admit that they are
character traits which I myself possess. So right before I
blast somebody I do a personality check on myself and I
usually find that it is just exactly in that very situation
that I am employing some form of the trait I am about to
blast the other guy for.

Just like our "me's" are fragments of our consciousness, we
as individuals are fragments of God's consciousness.

SRI SRI SRI DAN

Yes. And the awareness "we" call "God" is actually unsplit
and all there is. So, our "me's" aren't "really" in the
position that they tend to form beliefs around - a position
of autonomous separate existence. This "one being" Alone is
the fact. Just don't get fooled by the way people talk and
act - they'll do everything they can to convince you these
"fragments" really have a separate existence all their own.
:-)

it's all one Voice, all the "fragments" are one Voice
speaking infinitely different tones. Just like those Tibetan
monks who can pronounce three distinct tones at once.
______________________________________________________________

GENE, JERRY, ED, AND LARRY ON ABIDING

JERRY: Abide has many meanings. Quoting the dictionary: To
wait patiently for. To be in store for; await. To
withstand, persevere under. To accept the consequences of.
To put up with; tolerate. To remain in one place or state.
To continue. Endure. To dwell or sojourn. To conform to;
comply with.

GENE: Yes, those all fit. Try this:

Abide: A behaviour which allows notice of the entire
spectrum of observable phenomena.

JERRY: I make no comment on the above definition, simply
offer it.
I only remind the reader what it is that is being abided:
the Self: I Am, Ground of Being, etc. Abidance is that of
one's fundamental nature. It is Self-abidance. In that
way, it is seen that there are no conditions; there are
arisings.

GENE: Arisings are taken for conditions, and thus reacted
to.

Buddha (a most excellent 'abider') noted, from his clear
space, that all arisings arise together. He thus originated
the 'doctrine of interdependent arisings'. All arisings,
taken together, may be considered to be the 'voice of God'.
This point is universally ignored. It is by abiding, and not
deciding, that the 'voice of God' may be heard and
understood.

JERRY: Abidance is that of the Self, the I Am. You abide in
what you know most deeply to be the Truth, even though that
knowledge is always deepening. Abidance is Self-abidance is
meditation.

GENE: Allow me to 'correct' this paragraph:

It is Self which abides, and in that abiding, is the
unfiltered statement of I AM. All statements which can be
made, devolve from this primary statement; 'knowledge' is
the fading echo of that primary statement.

JERRY: It is one part of four fundamental forms of practice,
all of which are implicitly offered and supported here
without intention or planning or via one teacher, but by
Grace they are all simply and abudantly made available by
everyone:
meditation (Self-abidance), study, self-discipline, and
service.

GENE: Yes. In this context, there is indeed a meditator.
In the previous paragraph, there is no meditator.

JERRY: All four intimately and immediately mix when one sits
at their computer and opens to certain electronic
communities.
So this list work is a good practice, I offer. It requires,
supports, engages, instructs on abidance.

GENE: "All paths lead to abiding". Sooner or later, someone
has the experience of translating their desire to 'get it',
into abiding; it is then, in abiding, that one 'gets it',
and what one may really get at a much deeper level of
knowing, is that it is abiding which is the doorway to
'getting' anything. I am saying that on the journey, one
may reach many desired destinations, but at some point, will
realize that it is their feet which are allowing this
fulfillment to occur.
In the same way, any understandings gleaned on our journey,
result from abiding, even if that means to abide in ways
that later prove to have been truly 'stupid' or 'a waste of
time'.

The ship that abides on the sea, will be propelled onward by
the wind which fills the sails of that ship.

Motion is (measured as being) relative to an observer. The
one who is moving cannot measure their own motion, except by
noting the passage of apparently stationary objects.

Abiding means that by allowing the universe to pass by,
one's own motion can be noted. This motion/momentum is
usually unnoticed; when it is noticed, the noticer, the one
abiding, is then finally able to adjust both momentum and
direction. Abiding allows the captain to awaken from his
coma, and take the wheel in hand. Navigation is possible
only when true relative motion is perceived.

Of special interest to some readers, will be the concept of
the speed at which one moves from idea to idea. Is it
possible to navigate deliberately in the realm of ideas? Is
it possible to 'hang out' with an idea, without moving away
to a 'similar' or 'opposite' idea, for a period of time, as
an exercise?

Is it possible to detect, in this exercise of 'abiding with
an idea', just which _values_ have been attached to that
idea? Is it possible to then, 'manually remove' those
values, to denude the idea of any _attractiveness_ or
_aversiveness_, which may trigger desire and/or aversion?

Consider the possibility of abiding in a universe of ideas
(or people), in which there is no desire or aversion. This
is possible, and allows deliberate navigation between
points. It is in this act of deliberate navigation that one
may finally 'arrive'. In abiding, one 'arrives'
continually. In abiding, one is 'already here'.

ED AARONS: In serenity I abide...attached to nothing. I am
a vehicle and its navigator, a conveyance or an "abidance"
which moves freely within all aspects of duality and
nonduality.

LARRY: (Buddha) did indeed teach interdependent origination
(arising) but later, in the madhyamika (middle way
philosophy) "he" taught that because of the nature of
interdependence nothing actually exists, therefore nothing
arises. The easiest way to see this is to look at any kind
of group. Where does a forest exist? How does a pretty face
arise?
....
To me, abidance only makes sense as no abidance. But then,
that magical word "no" makes sense out of everything. So
maybe that's too easy. What continues is _that_ there is no
me, even when I forget :-)
__________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI JAN BARENDRECHT

The strain caused by any emotional unbalance can be eased by
finding a perspective where the situation would be comical.
How or even if that works with North-American teenagers, I
don't know. Here in "sunshine paradise" (Canary Islands) it
would be easy although due to what I call "miami-ization" it
is likely to change rapidly.
-----------
It isn't difficult to understand a teacher can have value:
when the veils are removed, it can be easier to see the Self
via a teacher than directly "in oneself". This is rather
different from oral teaching though.
--------------
The only teaching that can be considered worthwhile is to
show "who I am"; in principle that is possible without using
words. That is the traditional role of a guru, still alive
in India; a plethora of words can at best produce
intellectual understanding which in the course of time will
be forgotten. Western society does favor egalitarian
intellectualism with the predictable result that spiritual
life won't last for another millennium :) Another difference
is that no teacher will be able to motivate "beyond"
recognition of "who I am"
wheres a traditional guru wouldn't have to :)
-------------
Although knowledge on Advaita is abundant, few mention that
99% of "practice" consists of dedication, love and
devotion. Within the framework of nature this makes a lot
of sense: one's practice will enable or ease the practice of
others. Man is designed to function optimally in small
communities (so that all members can be known)...
---------------
As the essence of nondualism is that there isn't an "I", it
is useful to differentiate longing and desire into "natural
or I-less" and "egocentric". Eating and drinking to keep the
body in good condition is natural whereas smoking or boozing
isn't. When properly understood, a natural longing / desire
can be extended to become spiritual; the arranged marriages
in India were intended this way, to see the divine in a
partner as soon as possible.
-------------
1. With the present availability of spiritual knowledge,
who is waiting for another Buddha who will essentially say
the same as the "old" one?
2. When performing "miracles" like walking on water,
levitation, healing the sick given up by the MD's, it is far
more likely to get a job as the successor of magician James
Randi then to be seen as another Jesus :)
3. With the present status of moral and ethics, an
incarnation of Krishna would only be flooded with responses
of cupidity, not bhakti :)
___________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI HANS

sometimes i am walking around for a while with a certain
feeling in the background. Then, suddenly, for some unknown
reason, this feeling is pulled into another level of
awareness, is looked at and then just fades away (it
literaly feels so !)
_________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI DAN B.

Discrimination with love *as* original awareness is
manifested as a universe of open learning with no fixation.
--------------
this reality is no one's possession.
--------------
There is one awareness, it isn't possessed by any being. No
one "has" It. "It" has everyone and everything. And "It"
has All by being All. There is only "It" itself, nothing
anywhere apart from It. "I" am not "seeing" this to be
true, and it has not "become true" for "me". It is and has
always been the only Truth. It's not dependent on "me"
seeing "It" for "It" to be Real. "It" sees "me" and
therefore "I" have the appearance of being real for a time.

The reason that "I" am perceptually and literally the
universe is because "you" are perceptually and literally the
universe. Although you may claim that "you" don't perceive
this, so it's not true for "you" doesn't change the Reality
that "makes" you real by perceiving "you". It's true right
now, right here, regardless of whether "you" or "I" perceive
It or not. It will never, can never be an "object" of our
perception or knowledge. "It" Alone is. Now.
--------------------
Jesus pumping gas!
Buddha shopping for clothes!!

Yes - let's remember to smile and say "hello" :-)
__________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI JILL, DITTO HARSHA

HARSHA: There is no Harsha, as you see Harsha, apart from
your imagination Melody. Therefore, any explanation of
Harsha's imagination giving life to Ramana would become only
part of your imagination.

Indeed only our own imagination can give life and power to
others.
Imagination is the most beautiful veil and yet cannot
completely contain the nature of reality and hide the
Radiance of the Self. The seeds and power of awakening lie
in this profound understanding that you yourself constitute
all the characters in your dream and you yourself always
permeate imagination in all its forms.

Ramana Maharshi once said beautifully that just as the
elephant wakes up upon seeing a lion in his dream, the
devotee wakes up upon seeing the Guru in his dream.

JILL EGGERS: Hi Harsha and Melody and everyone,

This immediately made me think about how I felt when my dad
died two years ago. I love my dad very much but he had a
life of extremes--alcoholism, mental illness, some serious
breaches of ethical behavior--in short, he was a difficult
person to love at times, and it was very emotionally trying
to keep coming back to that great love and desire to trust
him, to which my sisters and brothers and I continually
returned.

When he died, I soon had the thought, that now I can live in
that state of love for him, and forget the other stuff--no
more trials. I hope this does not sound callous or
mean-spirited--what I am trying to say is that after his
death, my dad remained a teacher to me in the best sense. I
could continue to learn and mull over the spiritual lessons
he taught in his best moments and actions, without the
struggle of the real ups and downs, the contradictions
inherent in his behavior.

So with our spiritual teachers--we build our cosmologies
around the long ago and far away, and love our spiritual
teachers the more when they are removed to the realm of the
archetype, don't you think? Then we can begin to, as you
say, Harsha, make them in our own image, imparting to them
all that we need them to be.

HARSHA: Yes, nicely put. What you say Jill makes perfect
sense both psychologically and spiritually. I will forward
this to other lists.

My feeling is that Imagination appears as both the veil on
Reality as well as the way to understanding. It contains
within it the power to awaken because Consciousness
permeates it and Consciousness is always aware of its own
light even in the thickest fog and the darkest night. The
ancient sages called this power of imagination, which
appears to veil the Self-Radiance, Maya.

Maya cannot be said to be real or unreal and yet when it
disappears, Revealing Reality, One Sees Clearly that Reality
has Never been Absent and Imagination has never existed
apart from the Reality of One's Own Consciousness.
___________________________________________________________________

XAN QUOTES BERNADETTE

One possible way of envisioning the human passage is the
following. We think of ourselves as originally emerging
from the unknown, from darkness, nothingness or
non-existence into the light of consciousness. But as
consciousness develops we discover the increasing ability to
see in the dark, see into the nothingness or mystery within
ourselves and eventually realize that this darkness and
nothingness is the divine from which we emerged and with
which we are one. Thus we discover that our original
darkness IS true light.

Midway in this passage, divine light (darkness or unknowing)
and the light of consciousness are in balance, with neither
outshining the other. But as we move beyond this mid-point,
divine light begins to outshine the light of consciousness
until, in the end, the light of consciousness goes out and
only divine light remains. From this vantage point we look
back on the passage and see that although consciousness was
the veil that dimmed the light, this dimming was necessary
in order to make the human dimension possible.

But if consciousness makes human existence possible, it is
also not separate from the divine, nor does it completely
hide it; on the contrary, consciousness or self is man's
faculty or medium for experiencing the divine -- so long as
it remains, that is [this is key]. Our passage through
consciousness is the gradual return to the divine; we leave
the divine unknowingly and in darkness, but we return
knowingly and in light.

--Bernadette Roberts
_________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI XAN

Tony: I tend to think that there are few Jesus's and Buddhas
on the planet.

XAN: ~ What joy to run across another awakening mind While
pumping gas or shopping for this and that Or reading between
the lines on the internet.

No names No certificates No funny clothing Or dietary rules.

No insistance that some imagined level of enlightenment has
been reached.

Just mutual silent recognition .........

What Joy !!!!!!!!!
____________________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI MAYA

HARSHA: I don't know anything about meaning being separate
from the one who gives meaning to anything (including the
writing). With Maya, without Maya? Maya does not exist
apart from the Self. But to get a completely accurate
answer, perhaps Maya Her Self can be asked later. She is
currently skipping rope.

JODYR: That's funny, I just saw her in a peep show booth
down the street. ;)

BRUCE: In the movie "Kama Sutra," she was played by the
breathtakingly beauteous Indira Varma. Ms. Varma was
definitely *not* featured in Jodyji's "peep show booth"
experience.

JODYR: Neither was Harsha's skipping girl, but all 3 embody
qualities of Maya. She's always at play, She uses sex as a
means to an end, and She can be exceedingly beautiful.
___________________________________________________________________

HANS: Hi Marcia, sometimes i am walking around for a while
with a certain feeling in the background. Then, suddenly,
for some unknown reason, this feeling is pulled into another
level of awareness, is looked at and then just fades away
(it literaly feels so !).
Is that the same thing as you described ?

MARCIA: It could be but what I am describing doesn't feel to
me to be background. It is intense foreground. I am pissed
and feeling sorry for myself and I am primed to emote and
dump or discharge. It feels as if instead of the energy
going out it gets cycled inside and the reaction feeds
something inside me. I internally stop, relax and press the
reset button. In the relaxation part I feel this throbbing
in my crown. It is as if my heart is beating in my crown
but also I can feel the circulating energy throughout my
body not just in the crown.

There is still the teenager in the car having a fit cause
her lipstick isn't right or some such thing. It seems as if
I have given myself some choices. I can choose to get angry
or I can choose to try to talk about how false being so
preoccupied with appearances is or I can choose to just let
it be. But I am choosing and not being run by reactions I
am having. I have created some space around my reactions;
some breathing room.
______________________________________________________________

SRI SRI SRI LINK

<A
HREF="http://www.geocities.com/zoofence/theo004.html">Click
here: More Brother Theophyle </A>

contributed by Bhagvan Sri John Metzger
__________________________________________________________________

LIST SOUP

MICHAEL: Everywhere i go I AM. I am no better than anyone
else. There really nothing to do. There really is no
enlightenment. A vegetarian is no better that a meat
eater. Both take life to live. All life is concious, even
plants. And if you could see it even the stones live and
think thier slow stony thoughts!

ANNIE: Michael, to see my being so perfectly portrayed here
shows me again that all/you and I AM... even those slow
stony thoughts.

MICHAEL: Have you ever heard the story of how to make stone
soup? The story comes out of the depression era. It goes
something like this:

One day two men were hungry. All they had was a large iron
pot with no food to cook in it. One of the men said that
they were going to go hungry again. The othe man said no,
start a fire and set up the pot - I'll get a stone and we'll
have stone soup. The first man thought his friend was crazy
but built a fire and set up the pot as instructed.

Soon a crowd gathered to see what the men were up to. They
had a big fire and a big pot of water boiling but no food.
The second man announced loudly that they were making stone
soup! They were cooking a stone in the pot! The two men
invited evryone to share in the soup as soon as it was done.

Well, someone said, the soup would be better with some
carrots in it
- so he added some. A woman remarked that some potatoes
would go well
- she added some. Some body else added a chicken. Then
some salt was brought and.... Well you get the idea. Soon
a feast was had by all!

Isn't that like these lists? :-)

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