Do not fear mistakes.
There are none.
--Miles Davis
Showing posts with label zen buddism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zen buddism. Show all posts
2/10/12
1/25/12
1/21/12
1/19/12
"Leaving Things As They Are"
I instruct my students that the natural state of mind is the main thing: awareness itself. We should not limit that to any particular object of meditation or goal or physical posture, and it has to be brought into everyday life. Of course we try to meditate daily and so forth—sitting, chanting, praying. But I would say that not doing too much is the important thing. We tend to try to overdo everything. Such conceptual actions just create more karma. Consider nondoing, nonaction, for a while, and leaving things as they are.
--His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa
Via Tricycle.com
1/13/12
Zen lesson: "unshaken by praise or blame"
Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind,
so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame.
--The Dhammapada
via Zen Calendar
1/12/12
There is no ultimate destination
Everyday is a journey and the journey itself is home.
--Matsuo Basho
via Tricycle.com
1/11/12
"One"
The truth is that everything is One, and this of course is not a numerical one.
--Philip Kapleau-Roshi
via Zen Calendar
1/7/12
Shoulder to shoulder, hand to hand
In a sense, all of Buddhist practice takes place here, in this most intimate realm: here, in the family, shoulder to shoulder with fellow workers, beside each other on the cushion. Even alone in a cave, there is no way out of the sense object we call the body. We meet each other face to face, and so have all our teachers and ancestors met each other. In this way have all the Buddhas taught. Hand to sweating hand.
–-Sallie Tisdale
Via Tricycle
1/4/12
1/2/12
Zen lesson on self
The perfect man has no self.
--Chuang-Tzu
As one of my teachers told me once, if your life is full of the words "me", "my" and "I", you will suffer. --Joe
12/16/11
On generosity: "We become what we practice and do in daily life"
The movement from ordinary states of self-concern to selfless giving always involves a gradual transformation of character, not a sudden leap. Like any form of strength, generosity needs to be intentionally cultivated over time, and everyone must begin in whatever state of mind they already happen to be. Understanding and accepting who you really are right now is as important as the commitment to become someone more open and generous. Whatever the quality of motivation, when we intentionally reach out to others in giving, some degree of transformation occurs. We become what we practice and do in daily life.
--Dale Wright, "The Bodhisattva's Gift"
Via Tricycle
12/10/11
"The sun glints through the pines and the heart is..."
Soon the child’s clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions, and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor of the ego. Not until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. After that day, we become seekers.
--Peter Matthiessen
12/8/11
This is reality
Other religions suggest there may be a miracle, or you may go to heaven. But it is strangely comforting to hear from Buddha’s teaching that there is no such thing. This is what it is. This is reality. The Buddha’s teaching says that hope is just the flip side of fear, and fear the flip side of hope. The best thing is just to stay awake and watch it, watch yourself, and feel everything as it is right now.
--Kaz Suzuki, "A Caregiver's Story"
12/6/11
11/28/11
To be a warrior...
To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine
in every moment of your life.
--Chogyam Trungpa
11/27/11
Dogen-wisdom: "You lack nothing."
You lack nothing. You lack nothing, therefore you practice. Therefore you must realize and manifest this no-lack, this realized life, this awakened life that you are. Manifest the wisdom compassion functioning that you are. To paraphrase Dogen Zenji, if you want to be such a person, as you are such you must do such. You must do this person that you are, then you will be this person that you are.
--Elihu Genmyo Smith
11/25/11
How to stop numbing our anxiety with food
From Tricycle magazine:
When we are able to fully appreciate the basic activities of eating and drinking, we discover an ancient secret, the secret of how to become content and at ease. The Zen teachings talk about the exquisite taste of plain water. Have you ever been very, very thirsty? Maybe you were on a long hike, or sick, or working without a break in the summer heat. When you were finally able to drink, even plain water, you remember how wonderful it was. Actually, each sip of liquid and each bite of food can be that fresh and delicious, once we learn again just to be present.
--Jan Chozen Bays
11/23/11
11/22/11
The essential prayer: "Thank you"
If the only prayer you say in your life is "Thank you," that would suffice.
--Meister Eckhart
11/18/11
Meeting & making friends with fear
"Genuine spiritual practice offers a way to face both our inner and outer worlds and to bring these two related realms into living, loving dialogue. Making friends with our fear—tasting it, chewing it, becoming intimately familiar with it—opens a doorway. We can develop an inner strength and confidence not based on the ups and downs of our contemporary world with its 24/7 rhythm of getting and spending. In the midst of outer and inner famine, violence, intolerance, and cowardice, the Natural Bravery approach invites you to walk the path of courage along with our spiritual ancestors, the brave women and men throughout history who have manifested..."
--Gaylon Ferguson, Daily Dharma for November 18, from Tricycle.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)