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Words Of Wisdom {Page Twenty One}
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy. ~Howard W. Newton~
We should cultivate Buddhahood Within our own nature and should Not seek it outside the body. If deluded, the self-nature is a living being. If enlightened, the self-nature is a Buddha. Kindness and compassion are Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Joy and indifference or renunciation are Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva. The ability to purify self is Sakyamuni Buddha. Impartiality and straightforwardness Are Amitabha Buddha. ~Altar Sutra~
There would be no chance at all of getting to know death if it happened only once. But fortunately, life is nothing but a continuing dance of birth and death, a dance of change. ~Sogyal Rinpoche~
Without beginning or ending, your original wisdom has been shining forever, like the sun. To know whether or not this is true, look inside your own mind. ~Padmasambhava~
A good motivation is what is needed: compassion without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their human rights and dignities. That we humans can help each other is one of our unique human capacities. ~The Dalai Lama~
Seek respect mainly from thyself, for it comes first from within. ~Steven H. Coogler~
If you want to attain intimate realization of Zen, first of all don't seek it. What is attained by seeking has already fallen into intellection. The great treasury of Zen has always been open and clear; it has always been the source of power for all your actions. ~Yuan wu~
In short, no matter what takes place in your mind, let it rest without fabricating anything. ~Paltrul Rinpoche~
The samadhi of universality is the Unceasing state of one straightforward Mind in all places, while walking, Standing, sitting and lying. The straightforward mind is the holy site; The straightforward mind is the Pure Land. ~Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra~
Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence? ~Sai Baba~
Our own life is the instrument with which we experiment with truth. ~Thich Nhat Hanh~
We loosely talk of Self-realization, for lack of a better term. But how can one real-ize or make real that which alone is real? All we need to do is to give up our habit of regarding as real that which is unreal. All religious practices are meant solely to help us do this. When we stop regarding the unreal as real, then reality alone will remain, and we will be that. ~Ramana Marharshi
Things you are looking for...Often aren't what you need. ~Frey~ Frey is one of Pagan_Outlook's family members
When you stop your compulsive mind, to reach the point where not asingle thing is born, you pass through to freedom, no longer falling into feelings and now dwelling on concepts, transcending all completely. Then Zen is obvious everywhere in the world, with the totality of everything everywhere turning into its great function. Everything comes from your own heart. This is what one ancient called bringing out the family treasure.
~Yuan wu~
Self-inquiry is vigilance. If in any moment you feel pulled towards identification with suffering, ask yourself the question, Who is suffering? ~Gangaji~
Just be straightforward and do not cling to Anything. Deluded people grasp the Dharma and hold on to the samadhi of Universality. They claim that the samadhi Of universality consists of sitting Motionless all the time without Any uprise in the mind. Such an interpretation makes the Meditators inanimate and hinders The realization of self-nature. ~Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra~
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~
When you realize the unborn, uncreated, unconditioned, you are liberated from everything born, created, and conditioned. ~Buddha~
As free human beings we can use our unique intelligence to try to understand ourselves and our world. But if we are prevented from using our creative potential, we are deprived of one of the basic characteristics of a human being. ~The Dalai Lama~
Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace? Yes. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not. ~Eckhart Tolle~
Zen originally is not established on slogans, it just points directly to the human mind. Direct pointing is just pointing to that which is inherent in everyone, though in a shell of unawareness. When the whole being appears responsively, it is no different from that of the sages since antiquity. This is what is called the originally pure subtle luminosity of naturally real essence, which swallows and spits out the whole universe, individually freed from material senses. Only by detaching from thoughts and cutting off feelings, utterly transcending ordinary parameters, with great perceptivity and great insight, using inherent power, can this be directly experienced in your present situation. ~Yuan wu~
Let to of all your previous imaginings, opinions, interpretations, worldly knowledge, intellectualism, egotism, and competitiveness; become like a dead tree, like cold ashes. When you reach the point where feelings are ended, views are gone, and your mind is clean and naked, you open up to Zen realization. After that it is also necessary to develop consistency, keeping the mind pure and free from adulteration at all times. If there is the slightest fluctuation, there is no hope of transcending the world. Cut through resolutely, and then your state will be peaceful. When you cannot be included in any stage, whether of sages or of ordinary people, then you are like a bird freed from its cage. ~Yuan wu~
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention. ~Duguet~
Vow to achieve the perfect Understanding that the Illusory body is like Dew and lightning. ~Hsu Yun~
There is only one real failure in life that is possible, and that is, not to be true to the best one knows. ~John Farrar~
Just still the thoughts in your mind. It is good to do this right in the midst of disturbance. When you are working on this, penetrate the heights and the depths. ~Yuan wu~
The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. Those who succeed are those who have thoroughly learned the immense importance of plan in life, and the tragic brevity of time. ~W.J. Davison~
The ancient masters slept without dreams and woke up without worries. Their food was plain. Their breath came from deep inside them. They didn't cling to life, weren't anxious about death. They emerged without desire and reentered without resistance. They came easily; they went easily. They didn't forget where they were from; they didn't ask where they were going. They took everything as it came, gladly, and walked into death without fear. They accepteded life as a gift, and they handed it back gratefully, ~Chuang-tzu~
No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave. ~Calvin Coolidge~
Good friendships are fragile things and require as much care as any other fragile and precious thing. ~Randolph S. Bourne~
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. ~Mother Teresa~
If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to enhance and develop tolerance, patience and understanding. ~The Dalai Lama~
To be ready to die, we have to be ready to live - to live with such care, humility, passion and fearlessness that the future disappears in the fullness of the eternal present. ~Andrew Cohen~
Mind has no color, Is neither long nor short, Doesn't appear or disappear; It is free from both purity and impurity; It was never born and can never die; It is utterly serene. This is the form of our Original mind, Which is also our original body. ~Hui-hai~
The Way is arrived at by enlightenment. The first priority is to establish resolve-it is no small matter to step directly from the bondage of the ordinary person into transcendent experience of the realm of sages. It requires that your mind be firm as steel to cut off the flow of birth and death, accept your original real nature, not see anything at all as existing inside or outside yourself, so all actions and endeavors emerge from the fundamental. ~Yuan wu~
What I am teaching here is: No Way. There is really no way, because truth is not a goal. All ways lead away from where we are. There is no way of being here and now but to be here and now. ~Osho~
Man has no nobler function than to defend the truth. ~Ruth McKenney~
We come into this world crying while all around us are smiling. May we so live that we go out of this world smiling while everybody around us is weeping. ~Persian proverb~
Mind has no color, Is neither long nor short, Doesn't appear or disappear; It is free from both purity and impurity; It was never born and can never die; It is utterly serene. This is the form of our Original mind, Which is also our original body. ~Hui-hai~
The people with whom you work reflect your own attitude. If you are suspicious, unfriendly and condescending, you will find these unlovely traits echoed all about you. But if you are on your best behavior, you will bring out the best in the persons with whom you are going to spend most of your waking hours. ~Beatrice Vincent~
The wise ones of old had subtle wisdom And depth of understanding, So profound that they could not be understood. Because they could not be understood, I can only describe how they appeared in the world: Cautious, like crossing a wintry stream, Watchful, like one facing danger on every side, Ceremonious, as one who pays a visit; Yielding, like ice beginning to melt, Genuine, like a piece of uncarved wood, Open-minded, like a valley, And mixing freely, like murky water. Which of you can assume such murkiness, To become in the end still and clear: Which of you can make yourself still, To become in the end full of life? Those who possess this Tao do not try to Fill themselves to the brim, And because they do not try to
Fill themselves to the brim They are like a garment that endures All wear and need never be renewed. ~Lao Tzu~
If you seek after truth, you should investigate things in such a way that your consciousness as you investigate is not distracted by what you find, or diffused and scattered; neither is it fixed and set. For the one who is not swayed, there will be a transcending of birth, death, and time. Whether you walk or stand or lie down, Stretch your limbs or draw them in again, Let you do all these things attentively, Above, across, and back again. Whatever your place in the world, Let you be the one who views the movement Of all compounded things with attention. ~Itivuttaka Sutta~
Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains. ~Emilie Cady~
Heaven and hell are not places one goes after death, but in the here and now! Good and evil are all in the thought, and the gates of heaven and hell will open to you at any time. ~Hakuin~
The Way is arrived at by enlightenment. The first priority is to establish resolve-it is no small matter to step directly from the bondage of the ordinary person into transcendent experience of the realm of sages. It requires that your mind be firm as steel to cut off the flow of birth and death, accept your original real nature, not see anything at all as existing inside or outside yourself, so all actions and endeavors emerge from the fundamental. ~Yuan wu~
A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. ~Basil~
One instant is eternity; When you see through this one instant, You see through the one who sees. ~Wu-men~
We should not seek revenge on those who have committed crimes against us, or reply to their crimes with other crimes. We should reflect that by the law of karma, they are in danger of lowly and miserable lives to come, and that our duty to them, as to every being, is to help them to rise towards Nirvana, rather than let them sink to lower levels of rebirth. ~The Dalai Lama~
There is hope in men, not in society, not in systems, not in organized religious systems, but in you and in me. ~J. Krishnamurti~
The essential point in learning Zen is to make the roots deep and the stem firm. Twenty-four hours a day, be aware of where you are and what you do. When no thoughts have arisen and nothing at all is on your mind, you merge with the boundless and become wholly empty and still. Then your actions are not interrupted by doubt and hesitation. This is called the fundamental matter right at hand. As soon as you produce any opinion or interpretation, and want to attain Zen and be a master, you have already fallen into psychological and material realms. You have become trapped by ordinary senses and perceptions, by ideas of gain and loss, by ideas of right and wrong. Half drunk and half sober, you cannot manage effectively. ~Yuan wu~
I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit--such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others. ~The Dalai Lama~
Mind exists in desiring; hence mind can never leave you without desire. If you are without desire, mind dies immediately. That's the whole secret of meditation. ~Mojud~
Science is not a sacred cow. Science is a horse. Don't worship it. Feed it. ~Aubrey Eben~
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. ~Albert Einstein~
The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice. ~Mahatma Gandhi~
Man can't help hoping even if he is a scientist. He can only hope more accurately. ~Dr. Karl Menninger~
Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic. ~Thomas Szasz, M.D.~
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. ~Albert Einstein~
Only two things are certain: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not certain about the universe. ~Albert Einstein~
When the solution is simple, God is answering. ~Albert Einstein~
Hate the sin and love the sinner. ~Mahatma Gandhi~
Liberation is understanding that you are already liberated. ~Osho~
It is all pervading, spotless beauty; It is the self-existence and uncreated Absolute Then how can it even be a matter Of discussion that the real Buddha Has no mouth and preaches no dharma, Or that real hearing requires no ears, For who could hear it? Ah, it is a jewel beyond all price. ~Huang-po~
I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going but I'm on the way. ~Carl Sandburg~
Know that nothing is more precious for you to realize your inner silence. This silence is a by-product of the harmony between your body, your heart and your intellect. ~Omraam Mikha�l A�vanhov~
This matter (Zen) is like a great mass of fire: when you approach it your face is sure to be scorched. It is again like a sword about to be drawn; when it is once out of the scabbard, someone is sure to lose his life. The precious vajra sword is right here and its purpose is to cut off the head. ~Tai-hui~
Awakening does not mean that this particular form you inhabit should or will be a saint,or a great artist, or king of the world. It means you can know without a doubt that who you are is not limited to form. Who you are is what the world appears in, what the cosmos appears in, what space itself appears in. ~Gangaji~
When you are free and independent, you are not bound by anything, so you do not seek liberation. Consummating the process of Zen, you become unified. Then there are no mundane things outside of Buddhism, and there is no Buddhism outside of mundane things. ~Yuan wu~
Weigh a man's merits and weigh his faults Then judge him according to the greater. The touchstone which discloses a man's greatness Or smallness is simply this--his deeds. ~Tirukkural~
The only thing constant in the world is change that is why every day I take life as it comes. ~I. Simpson~
The body does not know how to discourse or to listen to a discourse. This which is unmistakably perceivable right where you are, absolutely identifiable yet without form, this is what listens to the discourse. ~Rinzai~
All the faults of our mind � our selfishness, ignorance, anger, attachment, guilt, and other disturbing thoughts � are temporary, not permanent and everlasting. And since the cause of our suffering � our disturbing thoughts and obscurations � is temporary, our suffering is also temporary. ~Zopa Rinpoche~
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