...

if you meet the buddha, kill him
Linji Yixuan

If the conditions occur,
then give forth one's spiritual charity;
when the conditions cease then be silent.

- Huang Po (857)

Embracing Tao, you become embraced.
Supple, breathing gently, you become reborn.
Clearing your vision, you become clear.
Nurturing your beloved, you become impartial.
Opening your heart, you become accepted.
Accepting the World, you embrace Tao.
Bearing and nurturing,
Creating but not owning,
Giving without demanding,
Controlling without authority,
This is love.

― Laozi

Though the mystic mechanism
Is right before us,
We need to look for it;
Only when you set eyes
On it do you know
The depths of the ultimate design.
The study of essence
Can hardly be directed by words;
When the conditions of karma
Are wrapped up,
You see the real true mind.

- Tang Guangzhen (960-1278)

Knuckles white before my time,
today I intended to refrain
from causing trouble on the internet.
A few birds now, but no rain.

@kevin-eleven said
Knuckles white before my time,
today I intended to refrain
from causing trouble on the internet.
A few birds now, but no rain.

If you are not able to believe resolutely that this mind is the Buddha but attempt spiritual training while attached to characteristics, your quest for spiritual efficacy will be entirely based on false thoughts and contrary to the enlightenment of Buddhahood. This mind is the Buddha; there is neither any separate Buddha nor any separate mind.

- Huang Po (857)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


whirling with the dervish
stripped of the illusion
atop a cloudclad mountaintop
laughing at hurled derision

@divegeester said
In dread we beneath the stairs we crouch
Preserve us lord for we are lowly
Take from our backs this dreadful ouch
We look to you for you are holy

Amen.

I am not a victim of others, but rather a victim of my expectations, choices and dishonesty. When I expect others to be what I want them to be and not who they are, when they fail to meet my expectations, I am hurt. When my choices are based on self-centeredness, I find I am lonely and distrustful. I gain confidence in myself, however, when I practice honesty in all my affairs. When I search my motives and am honest and trusting, I am aware of the capacity for harm in situations and can avoid those that are harmful.

From the book Daily Reflections

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

does this apply to me?

I brought along just a basket of books,
And sit reading all day long in the deserted woods.
Whenever I see the monks about their business,
The mind of serenity arises within.
Empty pavilion—cloud-slivers moor here;
Slanting pathways—tree roots invade.
It's not really that far from the city walls:
If you have a moment's leisure,
Come chant poems with me.

- Weng Chuan (d 1214)

buddha: holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other guy to die

*me taking notes : buddha says to make sure to give the poison to the other guy

Man (is) placed in the midst of this ever-changing world yet appreciates and seeks for constancy somewhere.
He does not know that he must develop the nature of constancy in himself; it is the nature of the soul to value that which is dependable.
But is there anything in the world on which one can depend, which is above change and destruction?
All that is born, all that is made, must one day face destruction.
All that has a beginning has also an end; but if there is anything one can depend upon it is hidden in the heart of man, it is the divine spark, the true philosopher's stone, the real gold, which is the innermost being of man.

Through motion and change, life becomes intelligible; we live a life of change, but it is constancy we seek.
It is this innate desire of the soul that leads man to God.

Bowl of Saki, June 25, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

what the trout fisherman sees as important
what he sees as significant
what he sees as beautiful

means nothing to the trout

Clear dawn enters the ancient temple.
First sun brightens the lofty grove.
Winding paths: lead off toward secret places.
Chan chamber: Flowers deep among the trees.
Mountain light: joy, the bird's nature.
Pool shadows: empty, the hearts of people.
All sounds, here fall to silence.
All that remains, the bell stone's tone.

- Chang Jian (708-765)

like pixels drifting in the air


Good Dharmas arise, and evil karmas too,
Yet both are but illusions.
The body is like foam,
Like wind the mind;
Illusion has no base and no reality.

- Sikhin Buddha