Everyone you meet

  

Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain. A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him. When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeted him at the door. "I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant. The servant smiled and led him inside. As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man. Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside. He stopped and turned to the servant, "But I want to see the Holy Man!"

"You already have," said the old man. "Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man. If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved."

Not Dead Yet

 

The Emperor asked Master Gudo, "What happens to a man of enlightenment after death?"
"How should I know?" replied Gudo.
"Because you are a master," answered the Emperor.
"Yes sir," said Gudo, "but not a dead one."

 

One

 

Where one sees nothing but the One,

hears nothing but the One,

knows nothing but the One--there is the Infinite.

 

Where one sees another, hears another,

knows another--there is the finite.

 

The Infinite is immortal, the finite is mortal.

 

It is written, He who has realized eternal Truth

does not see death, nor illness, nor pain;

 

he sees everything as the Self, and obtains all.

 

Chandogya Upanishad 7.23, 27

 

Let it be

 

Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. 

Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened.   When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. 

Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.   from  'A Still Forest Pool'  by Ajhan Chah 

Life

 

You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.

J.Krishnamurti

    

Conditioning

 

When you look into a mirror you see your face as it is; you may wish that some parts of it were different, but the actual fact is shown in the mirror. Now, can you look at your conditioning in a similar way?

J. Krishnamurti

 

Abandon Every Idea About Enlightenment

 
In order to be successful in your quest for Freedom, it is imperative  that you unconditionally abandon every idea that you have about Enlightenment.  As long as you think that Enlightenment is something that can be understood by the mind, the cycle of blindly perpetuating your own ignorance will never cease.

from "Enlightenment is a Secret"  By Andrew Cohen

  

Q & A

     Emperor Wu of Liang asked the great teacher Bodhidharma, "What is the ultimate meaning of the holy truths?" Bodhidharma replied, "Empty, without holiness." 

'The emperor said, "Who is in my presence? Bodhidharma answered, "Don't know."

From: Kensho - The Heart of Zen,  Ed. Thomas Cleary

Discrimination

 

All that you are attached to, all that you Love, all that you know, someday will be gone.

Knowing this, and that the world is your mind which you create, play in, and suffer from, is known as discrimination.

Discriminate between the real and the unreal. The known is unreal and will come and go so stay with the Unknown, the Unchanging Truth.

All which appears and disappears is not real, and no nectar will come from it so don't cling to it, and once you let go do not turn back to it. Stay as Eternity in your own Being.

Papaji  'The Truth Is'

 

SO WHAT IS THERE TO REALIZE?

 

Peonies bloom on peony trees. A cat doesn't become a chicken. Tulips are tulips, not roses. Why can't we realize this true fact? That to be me is great. I don't have to be anyone but me. I am blooming as I am in my life, just as a peony blooms on a peony tree. Further, a beautiful peony flower does not worry about when it will wilt and fall to the ground. It does not compete with the flower next to it; rather it blooms with its whole self.

Sensie Ogui from "Zen Shin Talks"

 

Believe

 

Acquire the courage to believe in yourself. Many of the things that you have been taught were at one time the radical ideas of individuals who had the courage to believe what their own hearts and minds told them was true, rather than accept the common beliefs of their day.

Ching Ning Chu

 

Through Love

 

Through Love all that is bitter will sweet
Through Love all that is copper will be gold.
Through Love all dregs will turn to purest wine
Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.
Through Love the dead will all become alive.
Through Love the king will turn into a slave!

Translated by Annemarie Schimmel, 'Look! This is Love'

 

You

 

The whole world is you yet you keep thinking there is something else.

Hsueh-Feng

 

Listen to your Heart

 

If you want to love, take the time to listen to your heart.  In most ancient and wise cultures it is a regular practice for people to talk to their heart.  There are rituals, stories, and meditative skills in every spiritual tradition that awaken the voice of the heart.  To live wisely, this practice is essential, because our heart is the source of our connection to and intimacy with all of life.  And life is love.  This mysterious quality of love is all around us, as real as gravity. Yet how often we forget about love..

Jack Kornfield