Author: Posts

We have what it takes to wake up, we just need some encouragement to be aware of what we think, say and do.  By cultivating a mind that does not grasp at right and wrong, you will find a fresh state of being.  The ultimate cessation of suffering comes from that.

You are the only one to blame for your habits and your shortcomings.  Equally it is a mistake to lose self esteem simply because you have some flaws.  Looking at your shortcomings and taking steps to eliminate them should be looked at as a dispassionate project. 

If you seek people’s approval you become bound to them.  If you want admiration, give away a fortune.  The response you get will be in proportion to the size of the fortune.  If you want their approval, share these teachings with them and you will be immersed in the blessings that flow from it. 

Being still when it’s time to be still and going forward when it is time to go forward.  In this way rest and movement agree; this will help you quiet the heart.  When you become calm, then you can turn to the outside world, as you no longer see the struggle and tumult of individuals.

Quote: The best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.

Each moment is just what it is, it may be the only moment of our life.  We could get depressed about it, or we could appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.

When you are awake, some say you are no longer dreaming or could it be you are just dreaming another dream?  If life is just shifting from one dream to another, what is truly real?  This strange contrast is something to contemplate.

The natural thing to do is to nourish your community with a benevolent heart.  Be simple and generous, don’t try to control, don’t compare, don’t compete, be content with just being who you are.  This way everybody will respect you.

If a person or persons are annoying you, do not engage, retreat with dignity and reserve. When you carry your retreat out correctly, it is a sign of strength.   It is not good to hate people or situations, for hatred is a form of subjective involvement by which you are bound to the hated object.

Quote: We are told not to cross the bridge until we come to it, but this world is owned by those who crossed bridges in their imaginations far ahead of the crowd.

Being satisfied with what we already have is the key to being alive in a full, unrestricted and inspiring way.  Wake up, become more alert and curious about yourself.  Being who we are rather than trying to change and improve ourselves is all right.  Just be.  Any wisdom that exists, exists in what we already have.

What we do only has meaning in the here and now, it will not remain in the next instant.  Just do what you can for the present and leave everything else to happen naturally.  We all strive to do things, but there is truly nothing to be done. 

Detachment from things results in clarity; clarity expresses itself as love.  Your heart becomes a mirror that reflects all faces, without judgement and exactly as they are.  This clarity will help you understand the universe as a harmonious oneness.

Our task in life is full of responsibility, it is nothing less than leading the world out of confusion and back to order.  We must first investigate the nature of the forces in question and ascertain their proper places.  If we can bring these forces to bear on the right place the desired effect will be achieved. 

Quote: You never fail until you stop trying.   Albert Einstein

What seems undesirable in our lives doesn’t have to trigger habitual reactions.  We can let it show us where we’re at and let it remind us that the ancient teachings encourage gentleness, with loving kindness towards every moment.  We can use it to encourage us to step out into that ambiguity.

Human law is imperfect, there will always be unprecedented circumstances.  Thus, we must go beyond rules and operate instead from pure wisdom.  We must act with experience, flexibility, and insight.  Let us absorb integrity so that we do the right thing intuitively.

Your spirit is always with you, and you can use it in any way you want, it is inexhaustible.  It is the infinite gateway to mysteries within mysteries.  If you attempt to fix a picture of spirit in your mind you will lose it.  Why not be content with simply experiencing it?

An exhausting situation can be caused by not having enough or being overwhelmed by having too much.  If you are stuck in an exhausting situation, discover the cause, and seek a solution.  Merely complaining and being resentful will only make the situation worse.

Quote: Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.

Use the moments, days, years of your life to become wiser and more at home in the world by paying attention to what is happening right now.  We can aspire to be kind, to relax, and to open our heart to what is right in front of us, right at this moment.

On certain days, we seem to come to our limits, our tolerance for a situation ends.  These are the points when our entire lives pivot and turns towards a new phase and it is right, we take advantage of it.  This is why you must engage life fully and maintain your pace.

Settle your mind like the universe settles the stars in the night sky. Connecting your mind to this subtle origin it will become calm, and then it naturally expands. Ultimately your mind becomes as vast and immeasurable as the night sky.

In an unstable situation if you are humble and gentle, you are able to gain peoples support and trust.  The ancients believed that humility and gentleness were the basic moral qualities that you should possess, but they do not equate with inferiority or weakness.

Quote: Search with your heart, not your mind.

Where we are going is unknown, where we have been we can see clearly.  The moment-by-moment experience, what is happening right now, is where we are going.  This is encouraging because the source of wisdom is what is going to happen to us today, in this very moment.

We seek belief systems and philosophies, but true spirituality is far beyond the conception of even the most brilliant human mind.  The need to understand this truth is universal because it is the very essence of life itself.  It is found only in the here and now.

To cleanse oneself of contaminations, such as anger or self-absorption, practice undiscriminating virtue.  To practice virtue, give without limitations, without prejudice, and without expectations.  If your willingness to give is limited, so is your ability to receive.

A project still in its beginning that has not been challenged brings no blame, since there has been no opportunity to make mistakes.  Remain conscious of the difficulties to be overcome and this will keep you from arrogance and wastefulness.

Quote: Nature never says one thing and wisdom another.

The concept of problems and solutions can keep us stuck thinking there is a right way and a wrong way.  We need a more open-ended approach; it is more about keeping your heart and mind open to whatever arises, without hope of fruition.  

When nature and life events do not act according to our wishes, we need to adapt to the circumstances.  Knowing how to put aside personal priorities in order to fill the demands of the times is among the greatest of skills.

To embrace all things means to hold no anger or resistance towards anything, rid yourself of any concept of separation.  Foregoing antagonism and separation, you enter into the harmonious oneness with all things.

All things change, prosperity is followed by decline.  Evil can be checked, but not permanently abolished, it always returns.  This idea might produce melancholy, but should not.  It ought only to keep us from falling into the illusion, when good fortune comes to us it will not last.

Quote: The focus of our awareness becomes the realty or our world.

We are stuck in patterns and our reactions to events.  This is the way we project our world.  When we see these habitual patterns, even if it is just for a moment, we start to discover ways to reverse them.  We can do this by making life personal and explore it wholeheartedly.

Compared to the acts of nature, what we do and create is very insignificant.  Let go of your own self importance and thinking you are the center of the universe.  Let go if the veil that blocks your view of the universe, then we can get to know it better.

When things arise, let them come; when things depart, let them go.  Don’t possess, don’t expect.  Practice undiscriminating virtue.  Take care of those who are deserving, also equally, take care of those who are not.  These time-honored disciplines calm the mind and bring one into harmony with all things.

Set fixed limits on your expenditures, set limits on your actions, also set limits on loyalty and disinterestedness.  If you go too far in setting limits on others they rebel, too far on yourself is injurious.  Therefore, set limits on limitations.

Quote: We have all the power to create the changes we choose.

The journey to peace and happiness is a process of letting go of attachments, opening your heart up and surrendering to living.  But we cannot just do this on certain occasions or situations, our surrender must be constant and genuine all the time.

When we first start our self-cultivation practice, we only get glimpses of the balance it gives you, but in time this understanding becomes deeper.  Continued ongoing practice will balance your body, mind and soul and will eliminate physical and mental constraints. 

The truth is always right there before you, what you need is always right in front of you, all you need to do is open your mind and heart.  You can do this by being present in this moment and accept that you don’t know, and the truth will become clear.

A decline after abundance is the law of nature.  In human affairs we can delay the coming of decline by careful management.  In periods of abundance, we become used to an easy situation, that is the time for caution and careful planning.

Quote: A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimension. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

We have to befriend the elemental struggle with our feeling of being wrong, with our guilt and shame at what we are.  We can dissolve this sense of dualism by moving toward what we find difficult and wish to push away.

It is quite common for people that have a spiritual experience to want to go out and talk about their experiences. This social interaction will only cause contradictions with your spirituality.  We must simply just enjoy the experience of our awakening.

The ancients asked us to transcend every false premise of our culture and be reborn in the form of our essential humanity which needs no test of performance, wealth, or achievements to validate itself.

If we are to lead others, we first must learn to serve.  We must remain accessible and responsive to the views of those we lead. At the same time, we must have firm principles so that we do not vacillate when there is only a question of current opinion.

Quote: Perfection is reached, not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.