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Words Of Wisdom {Page Eighteen}
The real way circulates everywhere; how could it require practice or enlightenment? The essential teaching is fully available; how could effort be necessary? Furthermore, the entire mirror is free of dust; why take steps to polish it? Nothing is separate from this very place; why journey away? ~Dogen~
When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes. ~John A. Shedd~
To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things. To be enlightened by all things is to remove the barriers between one's self and others. Then there is no trace of enlightenment, though enlightenment itself continues into one's daily life endlessly. ~Dogen~
Good people come to worship me for different reasons. Some come to the spiritual life because of suffering, some in order to understand life; some come through a desire to achieve life's purpose, and some come who are men and women of wisdom. Unwavering in devotion, always united with me, the man or woman of wisdom surpasses all the others. To them I am the dearest beloved, and they are very dear to me. All those who follow the spiritual path are blessed. But the wise who are always established in union, for whom there is no higher goal than me, may be regarded as my very Self. ~Bhagavad Gita~
Buddhas of the past and future only talk about this mind. The mind is the buddha. And the buddha is the mind. Beyond the mind there's no buddha. And beyond the buddha there's no mind. If you think there's a buddha beyond the mind, where is he? There's no buddha beyond the mind, so why envision one? You can't know your real mind as long as you deceive yourself. As long as you're enthralled by a lifeless form, you're not free. If you don't believe me, deceiving yourself doesn't help. It's not the buddha's fault. People, though, are deluded. They're unaware that their own mind is the buddha. Otherwise, they wouldn't look
for a buddha outside the mind. ~Bodhidharma~
To be "viable", livable, or merely practical, life must be lived as a game -and the "must" here expresses a condition, not a commandment. It must be lived in the spirit of play rather than work. ~Alan Watts~
Coming or going, Day or night, You must just strive to Face the incomprehensible. ~Daito~
There is nothing wrong in your life, there never has been. Your whole life is teaching you who you are. Your whole life is awakening you to the truth of who you are. ~Samarpan~
Nature may be compared to a vast ocean. Thousands and millions of changes are taking place in it. Crocodiles and fish are essentially of the same substance as the water in which they live. People are crowded together with the myriad other things in the Great Changingness, and their nature is one with that of all other natural things. Knowing that I am of the same nature as all other natural things, I know that there is really no separate self, no separate personality, no absolute death and no absolute life. ~T'ien T'ung-Hsu~
Transformation in nature are not due to deliberation. In actual fact, what we call life and death in nature is not the beginning or ending of something, but merely an eternal natural process. ~Xu You~
Conscious spirit and unconscious matter Both have existed since the dawn of time, With maya [illusion] appearing to connect them, Misrepresenting joy as outside us. When all these three are seen as one, the Self Reveals his universal form and serves As an instrument of the divine will. ~Shvetashvatara~
See the world as it is and divest yourself of all desire and fear. When the world does not hold and bind you, it becomes an abode of joy and beauty. You can be happy in the world only when you are free of it. ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj~
Whoever clings to mind sees not the truth of what's beyond the mind. Whoever strives to practice Dharma finds not the truth of Beyond-practice. One should cut cleanly through the root of mind and stare naked. One should thus break away from all distinctions and remain at ease. ~Tilopa~
All things in the world, whether big or small, valuable or not, have their uses. Each has its place. It has always been so. ~Pangyun~
Death and life are looked on As but transformations; The myriad creation is all of a kind, There is a kinship through all. ~Huai Nan Tzu~
Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. NIRVANA is the greatest joy. ~Dhammapada~
The Original Self
Even those who have set aside all judgments of right and wrong and do not view people in terms of self and other cannot be said to be truly on the Way as long as they have not seen the original state before personal history. ~Muso Kokushi~
It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of doom. ~William Dean Howells~
If you love what you do, you'll never work another day in your life. ~Unknown~
Mind cannot see itself- Subject and object cannot be dual; Therefore, to see the mind You must look and probe with the eye of wisdom. When probed and examined analytically With such analytic investigation The mind is like the wick of a lamp Illumined only through its own radiance. ~Milarepa~
Zen-sitting is the way of perfect tranquility: inwardly not a shadow of perception, outwardly not a shade of difference between phenomena. Identified with yourself, you no longer think, nor do you seek enlightenment of the mind or disburdenment of illusions. You are a flying bird with no mind to twitter, a mountain unconscious of the others rising around it. ~Meiho~
Ordinary-mindedness is the way. Do not delude yourself by seeking truth elsewhere. Just pay close attention to the small daily happenings, and gain insight from life. ~Kasyapa~
Your notion that thoughts arise Leads to a notion that you Must prevent them From arising. These conflicting ideas Are both wrong. Look well at the source Beyond mental activity. ~Daito~
>If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who live under the same roof. If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. ~Thich Nhat Hanh~
When one has nothing to lose, one becomes courageous. We are timid only when there is something we can still cling to... ~Carlos Castaneda~
To be free from the idea of being someone - that is illumination. The human form is a microcosm of the universe. All that supposedly exists outside us in reality exists in us. The world is in you and can become known in you, as you. ~Jean Klein~
The individual does not finally merge with his original nature any more than a wave merges with water. They were not different to begin with. A wave is nothing more than the shifting shape of the water itself. It is not a question of joining separate things but of the abandonment of something inessential and superficial, the false identity of a separate individual entity. ~Ramesh S. Balkesar~
If you desire to meet the real Buddha, you must see your True-nature. Unless you see your True-nature, even if you recite the Buddha's name, read sutras, and uphold the precepts, you will just be wasting your time ~Daito~
"I can't do it" never yet accomplished anything: "I will try" has accomplished wonders. ~George P. Burnham~
Stop searching for phrases and chasing after words Take the backward step and turn the light inward. Your body-mind of itself will drop off and your original face will appear. If you want to attain just this, immediately practice just this. ~Dogen~
The enlightened leader lacks nothing and so he prays for his people. But if he lacks nothing, then he knows that in truth they also lack nothing, and if so, for what is he praying? He prays they should have open eyes to see and open hearts to know that in truth they lack nothing. But how can one who lacks nothing pray? Because deep inside he lacks nothing, but deeper, at his very core, he is his people. ~Tzvi Freeman~
Beyond the point where the rivers End and the mountains vanish You have kept on walking Originally the treasure lies Just under one's feet You made the mistake of thinking That now you would be able To retire in peace
Look: in your own hut the Meditation mat has never been warm. ~Muso Soseki~
What you think upon grows. Whatever you allow to occupy your mind you magnify in your life. Whether the subject of your thought be good or bad, the law works and the condition grows. Any subject that you keep out of your mind tends to diminish in your life, because what you do not use atrophies. The more you think of grievances, the more such trials you will continue to receive; the more you think of the good fortune you have had, the more good fortune will come to you. ~Emmet Fox~
If you don't use ordinary life as a method to meditation, your meditation is bound to become something of an escape. If your ordinary life becomes extraordinary, only then are you spiritual. ~Zen~
Virtues and powers are mere tokens for children to play with. They are useful in the world, but do not take you out of it. To go beyond, you need alert immobility, quiet attention. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj~
Never give up No matter what is going on Never give up Develop the heart Too much energy in your country is spent Developing the mind instead of the heart. Be compassionate not just to your friends but to everyone Be
compassionate. Work for peace in your heart and in the world. Work for peace and I say again Never give up. No matter what is happening, No matter what is going on around you,� Never give up. ~The Dalai Lama~
All the explanations of past patriarchs about the practice of no-mind are unique. Now, I will give a synopsis of these different techniques and briefly describe ten of them.
One: attention. This means that when we are practicing, we should always cut off thoughts and guard against their arising. As soon as a thought arises we destroy it through attention. As a patriarch stated, "Do not fear the arising of thoughts; only be concerned lest your awareness of them be tardy." A gatha says, "there is no need to search for truth; you need only put all views to rest." This is the method of extinguishing delusion through attention. ~Chinul~
See the world as it is and divest yourself of all desire and fear. When the world does not hold and bind you, it becomes an abode of joy and beauty. You can be happy in the world only when you are free of it.
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj~
You should be an island to yourself, a refuge to yourself, not dependent on any other but taking refuge in the truth and none other than the truth. And how do you become an island and a refuge to yourself? In this way. You see and contemplate your body as composed of all the forces of the universe. Ardently and mindfully you steer your body-self by restraining your discontent with the world about you. In the same way, observe and contemplate your feelings and use that same ardent restraint and self-possession against enslavement by greed or desire. By seeing attachment to your body and feelings as blocking the truth, you dwell in self-possession and ardent liberation from those ties. This is how you live as an island to yourself and a refuge to yourself. Whoever dwells in this contemplation, islanded by the truth and taking refuge in the truth--that one will come out of the darkness and into the light. ~Digha Nikaya~
People who look for specific results from meditation but do not get them, become discouraged and conclude that meditation has done them no good; to them the Sage says: "It does not matter at all whether these results are attained or not. The attainment of steadiness is the main thing; it is the great gain. ~Maharshi~
When we are practicing, we do not think of either good or evil. As soon as any mental state arises, we rest; when meeting with conditions, we rest. The ancients said: Be like a strip of unbleached silk cloth. Be like cool, clear water, Be like an incense burner in an old shrine. Then you can cut through the spool of silk And leave behind all discrimination. This is the method of extinguishing delusion through rest. ~Chinul~
So if you really want to participate in the evolution of consciousness, that means you have to say "yes" to that, you have to be willing to change now. But if you're not willing to change now, if you say "no," you can't possibly be participating in the evolutionary process. In fact, you're actually inhibiting it. You see, there is so much latent potential in humanity - imagine it as a sea of energy and consciousness that's swimming inside us and between us. But it needs conscious participation. Human beings are like portals. And if the person says "no" then the door won't open.
But the person that says "yes" becomes an open door through which this unimaginable potential can emerge. ~Andrew Cohen~
Everything in nature contains all the power of nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff... ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
Efface the mind but leave the objects. This means that when we are practicing, we extinguish deluded thoughts and do not concern ourselves with the external sense-spheres.
Layman P'ang said:
You need only keep no-mind amid the myriads of things Then how can you be hindered by the things which constantly surround you? ~Chinul
You cannot depend on anybody. There is no guide, no teacher, no authority. There is only you -- your relationship with others and the world -- there is nothing else. ~J. Krishnamurti~
Efface objects but preserve the mind. This means that when we are practicing, we contemplate all internal and external sense-spheres as being void and calm. We preserve only the one mind, signaling solitarily and standing alone. As the ancients said, "Don't be friends with the myriads of dharmas. Don't be partners with the world of dust." If the mind is attached to the sense-spheres, it becomes deluded. The true mind shines alone and is unobstructed in regard to the path. ~Chinul~
We are not compelled to meditate by some outside agent, by other people, or by God. Rather, just as we are responsible for our own suffering, so are we solely responsible for our own cure. We have created the situation in which we find ourselves, and it is up to us to create the circumstances for our release. ~Lama Thubten Yeshe~
Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty. It merely moves from their faces to their hearts. ~Martin Buxbaum~
All too often people come to meditation in the hope of extraordinary results, like visions, lights, or some supernatural miracle. When no such thing occurs, they feel extremely disappointed. But the real miracle of meditation is more ordinary and much more useful. ~Sogyal Rinpoche~
All people fundamentally Possess the wisdom of Bodhi-prajna. If they cannot be Awakened to it, It is because their minds Are under delusion. You should know that The Buddha nature of the Ignorant and of the Enlightened are the same, The only difference being That the former are deluded whereas The latter are awakened to it. ~Altar Sutra~
Meditation is not a way to enlightenment, Nor is it a method of achieving anything at all. It is peace itself. It is the actualization of wisdom, The ultimate truth of the oneness of all things. ~Dogen~
Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
Truth's naked radience, Cut off from the sense and the world, Shines by itself. No words for it. ~Pai-chang~
He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who doesn't ask is a fool forever. ~Anon~
So don't be in a hurry and try to push or rush your practice. Do your meditation gently and gradually step by step. In regard to peacefulness, if you become peaceful, then accept it; if you don't become peaceful, then accept that also. That's the nature of the mind. We must find our own practice and persistently keep at it. ~Ajahn Chah~
The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration. ~Pearl S. Buck~
The state we cAll day long people repeat the Word prajna aloud, But do not know their Self-natured prajna. They are like one who Cannot satisfy their hunger By only talking about eating. Just talking of voidness Will not enable one to Perceive one's nature for Myriads of eons, and there Will be no advantage in the end. ~Altar Sutra~
When I identify myself with the body, O Lord, I am Thy creature, eternally separate from Thee. When I identify myself with the soul, I am a spark of that Divine Fire which Thou art. But when I identify myself with the Atman, I and Thou art one. ~Hanuman to Shri Rama~
Most people view themselves as waves and forget that they are also water. They are used to living birth-and-death, and they forget about no-birth-and-death. A wave also lives the life of water, and we also live the life of no-birth-no-death. We only need to know that we are living the life of no-birth-no-death. All is in the word 'know.' To know is to realize. Realization is mindfulness. All the work of meditation is aimed at awakening us in order to know one and only one thing: birth and death can never touch us in any way whatsoever.
~Thich Nhat Hanh~
Preserve both mind and objects
This means that when we are practicing, mind remains in its place and objects remain in their place. If there is a time when the mind and the objects come in contact with each other, then the mind does not grasp at the objects and the objects do not intrude upon the mind. If neither of them contacts the other, then, naturally, deluded thoughts will not arise and there will be no obstacles to the path. ~Chinul~
No problem ever comes to you that does not have a purpose in your life,� that cannot contribute to your inner growth. ~Peace pilgrim~
If you understand the first word of Zen You will know the last word. The last word or the first word, Is not a word. ~Wu-men~
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