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Words Of Wisdom {Page Ten}
Before you begin meditation take several slow, deep breaths. Hold your body erect, allowing your breathing to become normal again. Many thoughts will crowd into your mind, ignore them, letting them go. If they persist be aware of them with the awareness, which does not think. In other words, think non-thinking. ~Dogen~
Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it. ~Lou Holtz~
In spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; In summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you. ~Ekai~
A person getting enlightened is like the moon reflecting in the water. The moon does not get wet, the water is not disturbed. Though it is a great expanse of light, it reflects in a little bit of water; the whole moon and the whole sky reflect even in the dew on the grass; they reflect even in a single drop of water. Enlightenment not disturbing the person is like the moon not piercing the water. A person not obstructing enlightenment is like the dewdrop not obstructing the heavens. ~Dogen~
There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.�~Aldous Huxley~
A man of peace is not a pacifist, a man of peace is simply a pool of silence. He pulsates a new kind of energy into the world, he sings a new song. He lives in a totally new way his very way of live is that of grace, that of prayer, that of compassion. Whomsoever he touches, he creates more love-energy. The man of peace is creative. He is not against war, because to be against anything is to be at war. He is not against war, he simply understands why war exists. And out of that understanding he becomes peaceful. Only when there are many people who are pools of peace, silence, understanding, will the war disappear. ~Osho~
The Buddha said: 'If outsiders speak against me, the Teaching or the Order, you should not be angry for that would prevent your own self-conquest. Similarly if they praise us. But you should find out what is false or true, and acknowledge the fact. And even in praise it is only of trifling matters that an unconverted man might speak of me.' ~Digha Nikaya~
It is possible that the scrupulously honest man may not grow rich so fast as the unscrupulous and dishonest one; but success will be of a truer kind, earned without fraud or injustice. And even though a man should for a time be unsuccessful, still he must be honest; better to lose all and save character. For character is itself a fortune. ~Samuel Smiles~
If you give up being a doer, if you give up being in control and you accept yourself as a happening in Existence the way Existence wants you to be, all guilt and all shame are suddenly left behind. ~Rabia~
Don't be afraid of doing good. It's another name for happiness, for all that is dear and delightful this phrase "doing good." Whoever would live well, Long lasting, bringing bliss. Let him be generous, be calm, And cultivate the doing of good.� By practicing these three, These three bliss-bringing things, The wise one lives without regret His world
infused with happiness. ~Itivuttaka Sutta~
Fulfillment of desire is an illusion; desire leads to more desire, not satisfaction. ~Kathleen McDonald~
We can do no great things,only small things with great love. ~Mother Teresa~
Closing their eyes, steadying their breathing, and focusing their attention on the center of spiritual consciousness, the wise master their senses, mind, and intellect through meditation. Self-realization is their only goal. Freed from selfish desire, fear, and anger, they
live in freedom always. Knowing me as the friend of all creatures, the Lord of the universe, the end of all offerings and all spiritual disciplines, they attain eternal peace. ~Bhagavad Gita~
There exists something that cannot be described. ~Maharamayana~
Subhuti asked: "If one wants to know emptiness, how should one do it?"
"The one who wants to realize emptiness should adore reality, develop a skill in living in the world, and cultivate friends of the same mind. Skill can only be developed in the presence of reality, not otherwise. Endowed with skill, the person gives without the idea of a giver and lives in the realization that all the factors of existence have no ultimate substance."
~Prajnaparamita~
It is critical to serve others, to contribute actively to others' well-being. I often tell practitioners that they should adopt the following principle: regarding one's own personal needs, there should be as little involvement or obligation as possible. But regarding service to others, there should be as many possible involvements and obligations as possible. This should be the ideal of a spiritual person. ~The Dalai Lama~
Your duty is to be and not to be this or that. 'I am that I am' sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in the words 'Be still'. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that 'I am so and so'. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that? ~Sri Ramana Maharshi~
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~
The true Light of who we are does not exist in memory, but in the infinite expression of All-That-Is. We are not finite creatures - we are the breath and life of the Divine in form. We are at once created and creating. We are the flow of creation that is Life, and as we open to this Light, time dissolves . . . . . and we remember. ~Annelle Frison~
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. ~George Bernard Shaw~
The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood. ~Buddha~
If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who is willing to destroy his own heart? ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn~
Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip. ~Will Rogers~
I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful. ~Bob Hope~
Learn to live without self-concern. For this you must know your own true being (swarupa) as indomitable, fearless, ever victorious. Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination, you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas and live by truth alone. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj~
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Nelson Mandela~
Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual. ~Arthur Koestler~
Transforming appearances is easy; keeping it to the end is hard. ~Godrakpa~
Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred. ~Thich Nhat Hanh~
There Is No Religion Greater Than Truth ~Elena Petrovna Blavackja~
When you hear the words renunciation and austerity, they refer to this - the renunciation of the insanity of the ego. That's what has to be given
up. And that's where true freedom is found. ~Andrew Cohen~
When other beings, especially those who hold a grudge against you, abuse and harm you out of envy, you should not abandon them, but hold them as objects of your greatest compassion and take care of them. ~The Dalai Lama~
Love is the art of being one with the whole. ~Osho~
If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun. ~Katherine Hepburn~
When subjective feelings arrange your effort, and activity is obsessed with objects, the matter of your self is neglected; not believing in true universal knowledge in oneself, you'll never attain true awakening. ~Chen-ching~
Our own life is the instrument with which we experiment with truth. ~Thich Nhat Hanh~
I don't let go of my concepts - I meet them with understanding. Then
they let go of me. ~Byron Katie~
It is hard to be born as a human being and hard to live the life of one. It is even harder to hear of the path and harder still to awake, to rise, and to follow. Yet the teaching is simple: "Cease to do evil, learn to do good. And purify your mind."
~Dhammapada~
The fool will never find freedom By practicing concentration. But the master never fails. Just by knowing how things are, He is free and constant. Because the fool wants to become God, He never finds him. The master is already God, Without ever wishing to be. ~Ashtavakra Gita~
I don't let go of my concepts - I meet them with understanding. Then they let go of me. ~Byron Katie~
It is hard to be born as a human being and hard to live the life of one. It is even harder to hear of the path and harder still to awake, to rise, and to follow. Yet the teaching is simple: "Cease to do evil, learn to do good. And purify your mind."
~Dhammapada~
The fool will never find freedom By practicing concentration. But the master never fails. Just by knowing how things are, He is free and constant. Because the fool wants to become God, He never finds him. The master is already God, Without ever wishing to be. ~Ashtavakra Gita~
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. ~Alexander Pope~
I come from the East, most of you [here] are Westerners. If I look at you superficially, we are different, and if I put my emphasis on that level, we grow more distant. If I look on you as my own kind, as human beings like myself, with one nose, two eyes, and so forth, then automatically that distance is gone. We are the same human flash. I want happiness; you also want happiness. From that mutual recognition, we can build respect and real trust of each other. From that can come cooperation and harmony. ~The Dalai Lama~
It's helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now ... with its aches and its pleasures ... is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive.� ~Pema Chodron~
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. ~Buddha~
The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true. In ruling, be just. In business, be competent. In action, watch the timing. No fight: No blame. ~Lao-tzu~
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
When you're deluded, every statement is an ulcer; when you're enlightened, every word is wisdom. ~Zhiqu~
Instead of seeing things as imagined, learn to see them as they are. When you can see everything as it is, you will also see yourself as you are. ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj~
Just as vessels made of clay by a potter all have breaking as their end, so is the life of mortals. ~Sutta Nipata~
Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement. ~Florence Scovel Shinn~
Instead of seeing things as imagined, learn to see them as they are. When you can see everything as it is, you will also see yourself as you are. ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj~
Just as vessels made of clay by a potter all have breaking as their end, so is the life of mortals. ~Sutta Nipata~
Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement. ~Florence Scovel Shinn~
Amid accumulated millions a man remains poor If he neither gives nor enjoys his wealth. Vast wealth can be a wretched curse to one who neither Gladdens himself in its worth nor gives to the worthy. ~Tirukkural~
You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere. ~Buddhist Saying~
Existence is very generous, always forgiving, never punishing. But the only way to reach to existence is through your own innermost silence. ~Unknown~
Imagine yourself as a child lying on your back, gazing up into a cloudless sky, and blowing soap bubbles through a plastic ring. As a bubble drifts up into the sky, you watch it rise, and this brings your attention to the sky. While you are looking at the bubble, it pops, and you keep your attention right where the bubble had been. Your awareness now lies in empty space.
~B. Alan Wallace~
A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.�~Buddha~
The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't have to gain, develop, or attain them. We're like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don't need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are. ~Unknown~
Like water is within soda and is its essence awareness is within experiences and is its substance your body does not get purified by soda but by pure water your mind does not get purified by experiences but by pure awareness ~Clara Ibanez~
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
Close your eyes and let the mind expand. Let no fear of death or darkness arrest its course. Allow the mind to merge with Mind. Let it flow out upon the great curve of consciousness. Let it soar on the wings of the great bird of duration, Up to the very Circle of Eternity. ~Hermes~
I urge you not to throw away time, for it's swift as an arrow, fast as a stream. Distraction is entirely due to lack of concentration; stupidity and blindness are caused by lack of true knowledge. ~Yung-Ming~
Well done is that action of doing which one repents not later, and the fruit of which, one reaps with delight and happiness. ~Dhammapada~
I suddenly realized that in the language, or at any rate in the spirit of the Glass Bead Game, everything actually was all-meaningful, that every symbol and combination of symbols led not hither and yon, not to single examples, experiments, and proofs, but into the center, the mystery and innermost heart of the world, into primal knowledge. Every transition from major to minor in a sonata, every transformation of a myth or a religious cult, every classical or artistic formulation was, I realized in that flashing moment, if seen with truly a meditative mind, nothing but a direct route into the interior of the cosmic mystery, where in the alternation between inhaling and exhaling, between heaven and earth, between Yin and Yang, holiness is forever being created.
~Hermann Hesse~
The universe is a labyrinth made of labyrinths. Each leads to another. And wherever we cannot go ourselves, we reach with mathematics. ~Stanislaw Lem~
That which is the source of the sun And of every power in the cosmos, beyond which There is neither going nor coming, Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme! ~Katha~
The most important thing I have learned is trust. Trust in the knowledge that I do have the ability to make choices and trust that living in the moment will take me through my decision cycle quite naturally. ~Lynda Standley Richardson~
Intelligent people know others. Enlightened people know themselves. You can conquer others with power. But it takes true strength to conquer yourself. ~Lao Tzu~
Living alone where none other dwells, Shrine among the pines where mountain tints encroach, Old man's been ninety years a monk: Heart beyond the clouds a lifetime long. White hair hangs down, his head's unshaven: Clear black pupils smile deep mysteries. He can still point to the orphan moon For me alone, relaxes his discipline, this moment. ~Kuan Hsiu~
Between the banks of pain and pleasure the river of life flows. It is only when the mind refuses to flow with life, and gets stuck at the banks, that it becomes a problem. ~Manuel Hernandez~
Sermons there are, must be a million
Too many to read in a hurry.
If you want a friend,
Just come to T'ien T'ai mountain
Sit deep among the crags
We'll talk about the Principles
And chat about dark Mysteries
If you don't come to my mountain,
Your view will be blocked
By the others.
~Shih Te~
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