Author: Posts

Meditation is not some special ideal, it’s just being there with the experience whatever it is.  Being aware of pleasure and pain, our confusion, and our wisdom in every moment of our ordinary everyday lives is meditation,. This is the perfect meditation teacher.

It takes insight to be your own disciplinarian, giving thanks for good fortune, and knowing there is no divine retribution for wickedness.  Instead, act with a conscience and lead others without taking advantage of them or manipulating them.

Rushing into action, you fail; trying to grasp things, you lose them; forcing a project to completion, you ruin what is almost ripe.  Therefore, take action by letting things take their course, remain as calm at the beginning as at the end.

Human society should hold together through common interests that allow each person to feel part of the whole.  What is required is that we unite with others.  This is accomplished by sincerity in forming relationships with a common goal.

Quote: Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. – Chief Seattle

Everyday there is more aggression throughout the world and that pain escalates indefinitely.  Ask yourself, “Am I going to add to the aggression in the world?”  When things get edgy take time to ask yourself, “Am I going to practice peace or am I going to war?”

We should do no more than we need to satisfy ourselves, to do more would be foolhardy.  We must remember to look within, lingering there is a shimmering beauty and fantastic movement.  This is the center, the eye of the storm, the still point of existence.                                                                               

Begin a difficult task in its easy stage, because larger problems grow from small ones.  Be aware of those who promise quick and easy solutions, accept problems as challenges, do not dwell on them, take action. You can accomplish great tasks with a series of small acts.

In difficult times do not allow yourself to be turned from your principles.  If you are unable to exert influence because the fundamentals are all wrong and fruitful activity is rendered impossible, do not accept dazzling offers to take part in public activity.  Hide your work and withdraw into seclusion.

Quote: We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. –Plato

When we act out or tell someone off there is some relief for the moment, but it doesn’t last.  If we surrender and drop the story line, there is tenderness under all that harshness.  Being kind to ourselves, we become kind to others.  This will bring us the relief we want.

Your ambitions and goals should not determine your life.  Your goals are merely adjuncts to your humanity and to your basic quest as a person.  The fulfillment of your goals should include the eradication of all fears.  Once this is complete you can live your live fully.

Respond to things in the appropriate way.  If asked, answer; otherwise mind your own business.  A good word can rationalize a selfish act, and a good deed can sometimes serve as a mask for living extravagantly from the misery of others.  Therefore, all words and deeds must come from your heart, no motives.

We must respond to changes and explore the most suitable way to deal with them.  Responding only to isolated changes merely leads to little success.  By responding to all changes appropriately and within the whole process, your success will be achieved.

Quote: Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.

To be fearless is not really to overcome fear, it’s to come to know its nature.  To do this, develop compassion for yourself; not always wanting things to work out on your own terms.  Begin to relax, befriend your feelings, and learn to relate to them.

In our actions we make arrangements that have a center or orientation, but all structure and orientation is arbitrary.  It all depends on the observer and where it is observed from.  There is no center except for that in our consciousness.

Realize and admit when you make a mistake, then set about correcting it.   Consider a person who points out your faults as your most benevolent teacher.  Think of your enemy as the shadow you cast and do not meddle in the affairs of others, and you will be a light to all.

When your vital energy is stuck within, concentration and cooperation with others on a common goal will dissolve all barriers.  If you are free of all selfish exterior motives and are united in a joint task or goal, this will help you dissolve the hardness of egotism.  

Quote: Do what you love and love what you do.

When we think something is going to bring us pleasure or misery, we really don’t know what is going to happen.  Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all.  We don’t know if it is the end of a story or the beginning of a great adventure.

Faith should not be shaken because bad things happen to us.  We need faith, not because there are beings that punish and reward us, but because faith in a supreme being is a wonderful way to describe things that happen to us.   

Without good and evil we simply live totally in our human natures, not compromising anyone else.  Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself, just step out of its way. Do this by living a virtuous, selfless life and being of service to all.

What has been spoiled by man’s fault can be made good through man’s work.  Once we know the causes of decay, we must not recoil from working diligently on them even if it is dangerous. We must work tirelessly towards improving conditions in the world.

Quote: The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.

Practicing being gentle with yourself helps awaken your genuine heart.  This compassion, this clarity, this openness is like something we have forgotten.  Lightening up in your practice, sitting there being gentle with yourself, you are rediscovering something.

Acceptance of things should not signify inertness, stagnation or inactivity.  Ascertain what the situation requires, then implement what you think is best.  As long as your action is in accord with the time and you leave no sloppy traces, then your action is correct.

If you want to reach a state of knowing, you cannot do this by solely striving for it to benefit yourself.   This state of knowing can only be achieved by practicing undiscriminating virtue and service, this way the ultimate subtle truths and inner knowing will follow.

When you undertake an enterprise in extraordinary times, you need to be very cautious.  Enterprises will not succeed unless the utmost caution is taken at the beginning and laying of the foundation.  Once you have a firm foundation, the rest of the enterprise will fall into place.

Quote: Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

Things come together and they fall apart.  We think the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is things never really get solved.  The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen, room for grief, for relief, for misery and for joy.

When we do self cultivation, we should do it without any thought of gain and holding no expectations.  We are taught what to expect from books and teachers so we are prepared for the experiences that will occur, but we cannot learn without experiencing.

Self cultivation involves the holistic integration of mind, body and spirit, this way you achieve unity within and without.  When we emphasise just the body with the exclusion of mind or spirit we are not balanced, and this leads to exhaustion.

Having the courage to face things exactly as they are without illusions, you will be able to recognize the path to success.  This recognition should be followed by resolute and preserving action.  This way you will be able to make the necessary decisions to surmount any obstacles in your path.

Quote: Change, like healing, takes time.

Some say our journey is up the mountain, but in reality, the mountain points down.  Instead of transcending suffering, we should explore the unpredictability of insecurity and pain.  This will awaken us from fear and there we will discover the love and compassion that will not die.

We must discover the path for ourselves, not merely copying the ways of the past.  We must adapt to the times, but it is no excuse for adulteration or shortcuts.  Once we find the true path of today, we must walk it with the same determination as the ancients.

Make no one a foe, then harmony and tranquility will be yours.  If we rule ourselves with felicity, then everyone gains and we can all live in simplicity.  Let go of desire for the common good and good will be as common as grass and the world will in turn govern itself.

If you have opposition do not proceed to brusquely, limit yourself to producing gradual effects in small matters.  Opposition can represent polarity, which is useful and can be important, such as day and night, nature and spirit. Through this kind of opposition order is brought into the world.

Quote: Things never happen the same way twice.

All of us are like eagles who have forgotten we know how to fly and are trapped in our nest of old food, excrement and stale air.  We need to let go of everything and step to the edge of our nest and soar.  The ancient teachings remind us of who we are and what we can do.

Once you realize the learning you need is found within yourself, you shift your attention and then you learn to tap into your true spirit.  If someone had told you what to look for, you might never be sure of your experience.  When you get a glimpse of the source, there is no doubt.

If you want to become a better person, study that which serves the nature of life and then offer it to the world.  If you study with devotion and wholeheartedly, all things in the universe will be in harmony and everything in your life will reflect this practice.

Think about what you are doing and look at your long-term priorities.  You may want to wait for the right time rather than leap at the first opportunity.  If you want and desire without consideration of the consequences, this could lead to all kinds of entanglements.

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine. – Emerson

The more you open your heart, the more challenges come along that make you want to shut it.  The more you practice going deep with loving kindness, the more you are going to see everything about yourself. You cannot do this work in a safety zone. You must go about living your life like everyone else.

We all want to be daring, creative, original and do things in new ways, but unless we return to the basics and remember the root we cannot truly soar.  Without this thorough grounding, we cannot be creative and have harmony in our lives.

Interfering with nature is to seek control, seeking control creates distress.  Creating distress produces exhaustion, this negates live and its longevity.  Let things come and go without desire, without expecting results.  Then you will not be disappointed and your spirit will not grow old.

Fellowship among us should be based on a concern that is universal.  Lasting fellowship is not the private interests of individuals, but rather the goals of humanity.  Fellowship in the open succeeds.  If unity like this prevails, even difficult and dangerous tasks can be accomplished.

Quote: We meet no ordinary people in our lives.