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#2931 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - Editor: Gloria Lee
Nondual Highlights
Enlightening beings are
like lotus flowers,
With roots of kindness, stems of peace,
Petals of wisdom,
Fragrance of conduct.
Enlightening beings turn the wheel of teaching
Just like what the buddhas turn;
Conduct is its hub, concentration the spokes;
Knowledge is their adornment, wisdom is their sword.
- The Flower Ornament Scripture, trans. by Thomas Cleary
Thanks
to Joe Riley for sharing so many outstanding poems over the
years.
This is the fifth anniversary
of Panhala so I thought I would repost the Official Mascot Poem.
Having Come
This Far
I've been through what
my through was to be
I did what I could and couldn't
I was never sure how I would get there
I nourished
an ardor for thresholds
for stepping stones and for ladders
I discovered detour and ditch
I swam in
the high tides of greed
I built sandcastles to house my dreams
I survived the sunburns of love
No longer
do I hunt for targets
I've climbed all the summits I need to
and I've eaten my share of lotus
Now I give
praise and thanks
for what could not be avoided
and for every foolhardy choice
I cherish
my wounds and their cures
and the sweet enervations of bliss
My book is an open life
I wave
goodbye to the absolutes
and send my regards to infinity
I'd rather be blithe than correct
Until
something transcendent turns up
I splash in my poetry puddle
and try to keep God amused.
~ James
Broughton ~
(Packing Up For Paradise: New and
Selected Poems 1946-1996)
Web version:
www.panhala.net/Archive/Having_Come_This_Far.html Web
archive of Panhala postings: www.panhala.net/Archive/Index.html To subscribe to Panhala, send a
blank email to Panhala-subscribe@yahoogroups.com music link (left button
to play, right button to save)
PLEASE NOTE: IF
YOU ARE GETTING ADVERTISEMENTS THAT OBSCURE THE PHOTOGRAPH AND WANT TO
ELIMINATE THEM, CLICK THIS LINK TO CHANGE FORMAT BY EMAIL.
You notice how much more
frequently the great teachers usually stay in the background.
They don't even want to be known. They don't even care to be
known. They send out others to do it.
- Anthony Damiani 2/22/84 posted to Wisdom-l
Photographs by Ragna.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/RoseLee/GreenButtBug.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/RoseLee/TinyHoveringBee.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/RoseLee/GhostSpider.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/RoseLee/ApparentPathUnfolding.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/RoseLee/SagoPalmFronds.jpg
"Life is, by nature, constant flow and interaction of numberless elements. Nothing ever stays the same, even from one moment to the next. Everything is on its way to becoming something else, and therefore, nothing can be held onto. If you see this clearly, if you consider and examine this deeply and fully, then letting go is the only thing left to do. How can you hold on? What is there to hold onto?
So the art of spiritual surrender is really the art of not knowing. Then it doesn't make any difference at all whether you are walking down the street or eating lunch or responding to your email or making love or sitting alone on your couch. This is the first and last time you will ever be doing this. If you truly understand that, it changes everything."
- Scott Morrison From personal archive, source unknown. posted to DailyDharma
The hallmark of the enlightenment process is in being "here" and not "there." Indeed, the focal point of continuity is in being here at all times. The famous message of Ram Dass to "Be here now" is what results when one is adept in this practice. It is laborious in that it requires great perseverance -- we are up against lifelong patterns -- but it is a major enlightenment practice because it can break through our basic conditioning. The secret of success in continuity practice is to eliminate any sense of failure. From the moment we begin, we are successful. The only measure of success is this moment, right now. Are we here? If we are here, our practice is perfect. The fact that we have just returned from out yonder, or that we might take off again in a few seconds, is not relevant. Without this practice, we would always be spaced out. We would rarely experience being here. Thus, each moment we are able to break the pattern, we have succeeded.
- David A. Cooper, Silence, Simplicity and Solitude
Mangalam. . . . . .
May there be tranquility on earth, on water, in fire, in the
wind,
in the sky, in the sun, on the moon, on our planet, in all living
beings, in the body, in the mind and in the spirit. May that
tranquility be everywhere and in everyone.
"CHANTS" Ravi Shankar. Produced by George Harrison.
posted by Tom
Alan Larus
http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/Heart.htm
