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@rookie54
Koans are kind of fun.

A koan is a riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists use during meditation to help them unravel greater truths about the world and about themselves. Zen masters have been testing their students with these stories, questions, or phrases for centuries.

The source of truth is within man; he himself is the object of his realization.

~ Bowl of Saki, March 12, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

In point of fact truth is simple; it is man who makes it difficult for himself.
For all other aspects of knowledge he has to get from outside, but truth is something which is within man himself.
It is something which is nearest to us though we imagine it to be farthest; it is something which is within, though we imagine it to be outside; it is knowledge itself we want to acquire.
Thus the seeker is engaged in a continual struggle: struggle with himself, struggle with others, and struggle with life.
And at the end of the journey he always finds that he has traveled because it was his destiny to travel, and he discovers that his starting-point is the same as his final goal.

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

In point of fact truth is simple; it is man who makes it difficult for himself.
For all other aspects of knowledge he has to get from outside, but truth is something which is within man himself.
It is something which is nearest to us though we imagine it to be farthest; it is something which is within, though we imagine it to be outside; it is knowledge itself we want to acquire.
Thus the seeker is engaged in a continual struggle: struggle with himself, struggle with others, and struggle with life.
And at the end of the journey he always finds that he has traveled because it was his destiny to travel, and he discovers that his starting-point is the same as his final goal.

Knowing others is understanding;
Knowing self is wisdom.
Force can master others;
But only strength can master self.

- Lao Tzu

Unless we wean outselves
from this stubborn attachment to "I,"
our inherent wisdom
is clouded,
and our inherent passion
is blocked.

- Morinaga Soko (1925-1995)

You have obstacles only because you have not realized the emptiness of the eons.
Genuine Wayfarers are never like this;
they just dissolve their history according to conditions,
dressing according to circumstances,
acting when they need to act,
and sitting when they need to sit,
without any idea of seeking the fruits of buddhahood.

- Lin Chi (d ~867)

I have a medicine called elixir of mind;
For years it’s been refined in the oven of afflictions,
Till I recognized its unchanging color in the matrix
Shining with radiance, illuminating the universe.
It opens the eye of reality
To see with minute precision;
It can change the ordinary mortal
Into a sage instantly.
To discern the real and the false
To complete the work,
See to refinement at all times.

- Tung-shan (807–869)

Every man,
wherever he goes,
is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions,
which move with him like flies on a summer day.

~ Bertrand Russell
Sceptical Essays (1928), "Dreams and Facts"
British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

" Let us have faith in God and in His only incarnation, Jesus Christ. He is definitely more trustworthy than the mechanism of an aircraft. Let us not continue making dishonest statements like “I will not believe if I cannot understand”. Let us be honest to confess that we can and we have to believe in many things which we do not understand. Faith is more powerful and essential than our reasoning. Blessed is the person who is honest enough to confess it. May God cerate in us such an honesty!"

Bakht Singh (1903 - 2000)

"Secondly, Lazarus is the symbol of resurrection. The same power is meant for you and me. In all your difficulties, poverty and sickness or any situation, come to Him and ask Him for the power of resurrection. We overcome trials, not by will power or Bible knowledge or by long prayers or fasting or wearing simple clothes, but by the power of resurrection. Do not depend upon your human cleverness for victory. You will never succeed. Claim the power of resurrection by faith."

Bakht Singh (1903 - 2000)

It has no shape or form;
It is not square or round.
There are no things in words;
There are no words in things.
Deliberate exploitation is contrary
To true function;
When meditating with no intention,
Everything is Zen.

- Tung-shan (807–869)

My idea is to have no
Particular idea;
My knowledge is to have no
Particular knowledge.
There is no uniformity,
No indifference;
When the appearance does not change,
It’s harder to discern.
When nothing more appears within,
Don’t use anything to stabilize it;
Experiential merging with real emptiness
Is not cultivation.

- Tung-shan (807–869)

There's a light in the mind that doesn't cast shadows.

When the six senses return to the source,
they are thoroughly effective and clear, without compare.
When the physical elements return to their source,
the whole body is pure, without a particle of dust.
Thus you manage to cut off causation,
interrupt its continuity,
merge all time,
and obliterate all differences.


- Hung-chih (1091-1157)

I love my Lord, but with no love of mine,
For I have none to give;
I love Thee, Lord, but all the love is Thine,
For by Thy love I live.
I am as nothing, and rejoice to be
Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in Thee.

Thou, Lord, alone, art all Thy children need,
And there is none beside;
From Thee the streams of blessedness proceed,
In Thee the bless’d abide.
Fountain of life, and all-abounding grace,
Our source, our center, and our dwelling-place.

- Madame Guyon ( 1648 – 1717 )