Self Improvement Health, Fitness, Diet, Exercise, Religion, Meditation, Beauty, & Attire. In addition to seeking advice on how to deal with social, psychological, and physiological issues.
<dl><dd>Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?</dd><dd>— Hakuin Ekaku</dd></dl> <dl><dd>"...in the beginning a monk first thinks a koan is an inert object upon which to focus attention; after a long period of consecutive repetition, one realizes that the koan is also a dynamic activity, the very activity of seeking an answer to the koan. The koan is both the object being sought and the relentless seeking itself. In a koan, the self sees the self not directly but under the guise of the koan...When one realizes ("makes real") this identity, then two hands have become one. The practitioner becomes the koan that he or she is trying to understand. That is the sound of one hand." — G. Victor Sogen Hori, Translating the Zen Phrase Book</dd></dl>Break Free
The Commitment to the Whole not the Part -
4th April 2007
Paradise
Two people are lost in the desert. They are dying from hunger and thirst. Finally, they come to a high wall. On the other side they can hear the sound of a waterfall and birds singing. Above, they can see the branches of a lush tree extending over the top of the wall. Its fruit look delicious.One of them manages to climb over the wall and disappears down the other side. The other, instead, returns to the desert to help other lost travelers find their way to the oasis.
Two people are lost in the desert. They are dying from hunger and thirst. Finally, they come to a high wall. On the other side they can hear the sound of a waterfall and birds singing. Above, they can see the branches of a lush tree extending over the top of the wall. Its fruit look delicious.One of them manages to climb over the wall and disappears down the other side. The other, instead, returns to the desert to help other lost travelers find their way to the oasis.
I'd prefer to call it "The key to Paradice" since I believe there are two of them... one leads to the other...
Allow me to disagree with what you wrote. IMHO, what give the lake the sense in life are the ripples which I don't see it as distortions. For example, if you have a white paper and you didn't write on it and "pollute" it with ink, it will stay "clean" and calm but just a white paper!
When the lake reflects the moon it will be just a mirror no more no less. It needs ripples and even waves to create its own truth, its own face or identity.
If the calm mind is the opposite of angry and aggressively then I agree. Otherwise, what's the importance of a calm mind without the worried questions & paradoxes?
I don't want my mind to reflect other things, I want to understand it, and then recreate its meanings and mine!
Have you ever noticed that resistance leads to persistence. And behind all resistance is self-created fear. The only way to relax and stay relaxed is acceptance. You don't have to agree, or follow, or condone, but acceptance means you begin any interaction with a serenity, which invites others to engage with you. And out of engagement comes the satisfaction of creative expression and an enriching relationship.
That's a relaxation in action.
Another year about to end
In my empty mountain abode;
Rivers and clouds,
Their trails indistinct;
Pines and cedars,
Their nature’s the same.
I arise from my nap
To find the taro roots done;
As the incense fades out,
I finish a scripture.
Who knows that real pleasure
Lies within stillness and silence?
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
Vivekananda
This I have seen in life, he who is overcautious about himself falls into dangers at every step; he who is afraid of losing honor and respect, gets only disgrace; he who is always afraid of loss always losses.
Vivekananda
In wealth is the fear of poverty, in knowledge the fear of ignorance,in beauty the fear of age, in fame the fear of backbiters, in success the fear of jealousy, even in body is the fear of death. Everything in this earth is fraught with fear. He alone is fearless who has given up everything.
Vivekananda
Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
Water and Non-Duality. -
17th March 2007
4th April 2007
