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Words Of Wisdom {Page Nineteen}
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming. ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe~
Seekers on the spiritual path are curious to know about Enlightenment. What is Enlightenment? I say, ''Enlightenment is like a joke!'' It is like a fish in the ocean searching for the ocean. ~Sri Sri Ravishankar~
Internal and external are all the same essence. This means that when we are practicing, the mountains and rivers of the great earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the constellations, the internal body and the external world, as well as all dharmas, are all viewed as being the same essence of the true mind. That essence is clear, empty and bright without a hair's breadth of differentiation. The world systems of the chiliocosm, as numerous as the grains of sand, have fused into one whole: where would the deluded mind be able to arise? Dharma Master Seng-chao said, "Heaven and earth and I have the same root. The myriad things and I have the same essence." ~Chinul~
Since your mind is not physical, No one else can destroy it. But because of its attachments to the body, It is harmed by physical suffering. ~Bodhicharyavatara~
If you wish to move in the One Way do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas. Indeed, to accept them fully is identical with true Enlightenment. ~Sosan~
Blind one, how can you stumble on a straight spontaneous path? Be spontaneous in your own self and find the way that is born in you. ~The Bauls~
Substance and function are identical. This means that when we are practicing, although we conform with the true essence which has the single taste of void-calmness, numinous brightness is still concealed there. Hence essence is identical to function. Since blankness is not present in calmness, and distracted thoughts are not engaged during alertness, how will any deluded thoughts be able to arise? ~Chinul~
Who is to say good is right and evil is wrong? Why should I be servant when I can be Master? What makes people think blind faith is superior to the knowledge of science and nature? Only the elite know true power stems from the inner self, and those who oppose are weak and shall be trampled under foot. ~Vincent Crowley~
Transcend essence and function. This means that when we are practicing, we do not divide the internal and external. Nor do we discriminate north, south, east, and west. Rather, we take the four quarters and the eight directions and simply transform them all into a great gate to liberation. Clearly, then, essence and function are not divided. As there is not the slightest outflow, the entire body becomes fused into one whole. Where, then, would delusion be able to arise? ~Chinul~
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could, some blunders and absurdities have crept in. Forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
The great end of art is to strike the imagination with the power of a soul that refuses to admit defeat even in the midst of a collapsing world. ~Friedrich Nietzsche~
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~
Let things happen naturally and do not try to force a certain outcome. That which is not natural will not be right. ~Lao Zi~
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. ~Dale Carnegie~
It matters not Who you love, Where you love, Why you love, When you love, or How you love, It matters only that You love. ~John Lennon~
Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place. ~Mark Twain~
Buddhas don't save buddhas. If you use your mind to look for a buddha, you won't see the buddha. As long as you look for a buddha somewhere else, you'll never see that your own mind is the buddha. And don't use a buddha to worship a buddha. And don't use the mind to invoke a buddha. Buddhas don't recite sutras. Buddhas don't keep precepts. And buddhas don't break precepts. Buddhas don't keep or break anything. Buddhas don't do good or evil. ~Bodhidharma~
It has taken me all my life to understand it is not necessary to understand everything. ~Rene Coty~
Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. ~Dogen~
Nobody can give a meaning to your life. It is your life, the meaning must also belong to you. It is your life and only you can access it and understand it. It is only living it that you will discover its mystery. ~Chandran Mohan~
Speak harshly to no one, or the words will be thrown right back at you. Contentious talk is painful, for you get struck by rods in return. ~Dhammapada~
Some people live closely guarded lives, fearful of encountering someone or something that might shatter their insecure spiritual foundation. This attitude, however, is not the fault of religion but of their own limited understanding. True Dharma leads in exactly the opposite direction. It enables one to integrate all the many diverse experiences of life into a meaningful and coherent whole, thereby banishing fear and insecurity completely. ~Lama Thubten Yeshe~
Is there anything more satisfying, more healing, more enjoyable, more important in your life than your next breath? Don't let it go by unnoticed. Take your time and savor it. ~Beth Johnson~
This body's existence is like a bubble's May as well accept what happens Events and hopes seldom agree Who can step back doesn't worry We blossom and fade like flowers Gather and part like clouds Worldly thoughts I forgot long ago Relaxing all day on a peak ~Stonehouse~
It is crucial to know when it is appropriate to withdraw our attention from things that disturb our mind. However, if the only way we know how to deal with certain objects is to avoid them, there will be a severe limit as to how far our spiritual practice can take us. ~Lama Thubten Yeshe~
When we are mindful of every nuance of our natural world, we finally get the picture: that we are only given one dazzling moment of life here on Earth, and we must stand before that reality both humbled and elevated, subject to every law of our universe and grateful for our brief but intrinsic participation with it. ~Elizabeth Gilbert~
Worldly ups and downs Should be treated As lightly as clouds Gathering and breaking up. ~Anon~
Since before anyone remembers It has been clear Shining like silver Though the moonlight penetrates it And the wind ruffles it No trace of either remains Today I would not dare To expound the secret Of the stream bed
But I can tell you That the blue dragon Is coiled there ~Muso~
Aim at the sun and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if you had aimed at an object on a level with yourself. ~F. Hawes~
Who would have expected that the Self nature is fundamentally Pure and clean? Who would have expected that the Self nature is fundamentally Beyond birth and death?
~Altar Sutra~
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. ~Marianne Williamson~
You are a seeker. Delight in the mastery Of your hands and your feet, Of your words and your thoughts. Delight in meditation and in solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker. ~Buddha~
A little foolishness, enough to enjoy life and a little wisdom to avoid the errors, that will do. ~Osho~
Contemplate the mind; This king of emptiness Is subtle and abstruse. Without shape or form, It has great spiritual power. It can eliminate all calamities And accomplish all merits. Though its essence is empty, It is the measure of dharmas. ~Master Fu~
Tibetan lamas often say: "Not seeing is the perfect seeing." Strange words, perhaps, but they have a profound meaning. They describe the advanced meditator's experience of spacious, universal reality, the experience beyond dualism. ~Lama Thubten Yeshe~
The completion of knowledge will lead you to amazement and wonder. It makes you aware of this existence. Mysteries are to be lived, not understood. One can live life as fully in its completeness, in its totality.
~Sri Sri Ravishankar~
Good deeds stand tall Like a green pine, While evil deeds Bloom like flowers It seems the pine is not As brilliant as the flowers. When the frost comes, The pine will still stand tall, While the flowers, withered, Can be seen no more. ~Anon~
We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship. ~General Omar Bradley~
Our own sun, relative to Earth is a gigantic thermal power plant; but relative to our galaxy, the Milky Way, it is a tiny luminous point of medium brightness that would be hard to find in the outer arms of the spiral. And this point of light is orbited by a tiny blue speck, hundreds of thousands times smaller, on which a very strange species roams of late, regarding itself as very big and important. ~Gerald Staghun~
Fantasized ideals often do not work in real life. When people cannot reach their preset goals, most of them can only blame themselves for not knowing the limits of their own capabilities. Know yourself and stay within your capabilities. ~Tsai Chih~
But peace can be made only by those who are peaceful, and love can be shown only by those who love. No work of love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now. ~Alan Watts~
Those who own a mental energy possess a thing of worth. Material wealth is an unenduring possession that goes away. Those who possess persevering industry will never say in despair, "We have lost our wealth." Good fortune of its own accord ferrets out and finds the man of unflagging energy. ~Tirukkural~
Our capacity to draw happiness from aesthetic objects or material goods in fact seems critically dependent on our first satisfying a more important range of emotional or psychological needs, among them the need for understanding, for love, expression and respect. ~Alain De Botton~
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world. ~Thomas Carlyle~
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you'll never walk alone. ~Audrey Hepburn~
One brings nothing along with him at birth, and takes nothing away at his death. You can take nothing away at death though you are a millionaire or a high ranking official. But cultivation energy can be taken away because it grows on the body of your Main Consciousness. ~Li Hongzhi~
Good is to practise the Way And to follow truth. Great is the heart that Is in accord with the Way. ~Sutra of Forty Two Chapters~
The mighty ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt. Even so, the true way has but one savor, the savor of freedom. ~Majjhima Nikaya~
The problem with many things is the pre-conceived ideas we have about them! ~Tishan~
It is crucial to know when it is appropriate to withdraw our attention from things that disturb our mind. However, if the only way we know how to deal with certain objects is to avoid them, there will be a severe limit as to how far our spiritual practice can take us. ~Lama Thubten Yeshe~
Pleasure or pain are aspects of the mind only. Our essential nature is happiness. But we have forgotten the Self and imagine that the body or the mind is the Self. It is that wrong identity that gives rise to misery. ~Sri Ramana Maharshi~
Those who have strong passions are never able to perceive the Way. It is like stirring up clear water with your hands; you may come wishing to find a reflection of your face, but you'll never see clearly in disturbed waters. A mind troubled and vexed with the passions is never able to see the Way. ~Sutra of Forty Two Chapters~
Understanding comes into being from the now, the present, which is always timeless. ~J. Krishnamurti~
I see people chanting a sutra Who depend on its words for their ability to speak Their mouths move but their hearts do not Their hearts and mouths oppose each other Yet the heart's true nature is without conflict So don't get all tangled up in the words Learn to know your own bodily self Don't look for something else to take its place Then you'll become the boss of you mouth Knowing full well there's no inside or out. ~Han Shan~
Truth is no theory, no speculative system of philosophy, no intellectual insight. Truth is exact correspondence with reality. For man, truth is the unshakeable knowledge of his real nature, the Self. ~Paramhansa Yogananda~
My world is an open world, common to all, accessible to all. In my world there is community, insight, love, real quality; the individual is the total, the totality � in the individual. All are one and the One is all. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj~
Seeing the Way is like going into a dark room with a torch; the darkness instantly departs, while the light alone remains. When the Way is attained and the truth is seen, ignorance vanishes and enlightenment abides forever ~Sutra of Forty Two Chapters~
The bonds that good men share, like good bound books, Reveal new enjoyments at each new encounter. The object of friendship is not merrymaking But a stern rebuking when friends go astray. It is not constant meeting and companionship But mutual sensibilities that confer the alliance of friendship. Friendship is not seen on a friendly face, But felt deep within a friendly heart. ~Tirukkural~
The sage has the sun and the moon by his side. He grasps the universe under his arm. He blends everything into a harmonious whole, casts aside whatever is confused or obscured, and regards the humble as honorable. While the multitude toil, he seems to be stupid and non-discriminative. He blends the disparities of ten thousand years into one complete purity. All things are blended like this and mutually involve each other. ~Chuang Tzu~
If you want to learn the Principles, Don't study fine bound books. The True Pearl's in a hemp sack The Buddha nature rests in huts. Many grasp the sack But few open it. ~Shih Te~
Not by harming life Does one become noble. One is termed noble For being gentle To all living things. ~Dhammapada~
The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one. ~Russell Lynes~
If you are waiting for acknowledgment from the crowd to feel complete - you will wait forever. If you are waiting for something outside of you to change so you can feel secure, safe or satisfied - stop. ~Beth Johnson~
Negative feelings, such as violence, are damaging to life, whether we act upon them ourselves, or cause or condone them in others. They are born of greed, anger, or delusion, and may be slight, moderate, or intense. Their fruit is endless ignorance and suffering. To remember this is to cultivate the opposite. ~The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali~
Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible. ~Cherie Carter-Scott~
Look up to heaven and down on earth, and they will remind you of their impermanency. Look about the world, and it will remind you of its impermanency. But when you gain spiritual enlightenment, you shall then find wisdom. The knowledge thus attained leads you to the Way. ~Sutra of Forty Two Chapters~
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress. ~Joseph Joubert~
If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. ~Steve Bartkowski~
Moved by their selfish desires, people seek after fame and glory. But when they have acquired these, they are already stricken in years. If you hanker after worldly fame and practice not the Way, your labors are wrongfully applied and your energy is wasted. It is like burning a stick of incense. However much its pleasing fragrance is admired, the fire that consumes is steadily burning up the stick. ~Sutra of Forty Two Chapters~
Joshu asked Nansen: "What is the path?" Nansen said: "Everyday life is the path."
Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway. ~Harper Lee~
There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; my philosophy is kindness. ~Dalai lama~
It is precisely because our present life is so inseparably linked with desire that we must make use of desire's tremendous energy if we wish to transform our life into something transcendental. ~Lama Thubten Yeshe~
We gossip about others because we are not sufficiently interested in the process of our own thinking and our own action. ~J. Krishnamurti~
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