~ Jonathan Franzen
.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Don't Let Go!
.
Instructions are given, but few practice them.
Don't let go of the instructions!
~ from page 105 of Lion of Siddhas: The Life
and Teachings of Padampa Sangye
Instructions are given, but few practice them.
Don't let go of the instructions!
~ from page 105 of Lion of Siddhas: The Life
and Teachings of Padampa Sangye
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Your Footsteps Are the Road
.
Walker, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more.
Walker, there is no road, the road is made by walking.
Walking you make the road, and turning to look behind
you see the path you never again will step upon.
Walker, there is no road, only foam trails on the sea.
~ Antonia Machado, Proverbs and Songs
(translated by Willis Barnstone)
Walker, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more.
Walker, there is no road, the road is made by walking.
Walking you make the road, and turning to look behind
you see the path you never again will step upon.
Walker, there is no road, only foam trails on the sea.
~ Antonia Machado, Proverbs and Songs
(translated by Willis Barnstone)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Opinions Are Like Playthings
.
Our quaint metaphysical opinions, in an hour of anguish, are like playthings by the bedside of a child deathly sick.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Our quaint metaphysical opinions, in an hour of anguish, are like playthings by the bedside of a child deathly sick.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Monday, May 9, 2011
Witness
by Denise Levertov
Sometimes the mountain
is hidden from me in veils
of cloud, sometimes
I am hidden from the mountain
in veils of inattention, apathy, fatigue,
when I forget or refuse to go
down to the shore or a few yards
up the road, on a clear day,
to reconfirm
that witnessing presence.
Sometimes the mountain
is hidden from me in veils
of cloud, sometimes
I am hidden from the mountain
in veils of inattention, apathy, fatigue,
when I forget or refuse to go
down to the shore or a few yards
up the road, on a clear day,
to reconfirm
that witnessing presence.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Doubts & Dangers
.
The doubts of some are more indicative of a love for truth than the belief of others.
~ John Ker
The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety.
~ Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
.
The doubts of some are more indicative of a love for truth than the belief of others.
~ John Ker
The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety.
~ Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A Prayer to Empty the Six Realms
.
Countless beings are wandering, trapped in cycles
of confusion and struggle.
My heart goes out to them!
Through karma gathered from beginningless time,
The force of reactive emotions creates realms of suffering.
There is no refuge but awakened compassion.
May I fully awaken for the benefit of all beings.
Through reaction and habit, the force of anger
creates the hell realm.
Hot anger and cold hate, attacking and revenge, what torture!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to kindness and harmony.
Through reaction and habit, the force of greed
creates the hungry ghost realm.
Hunger and thirst, craving and grasping, frustrated misery!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to generosity and gratitude.
Through reaction and habit, the force of instinct
creates the animal realm.
Fearful hiding, seeking safety and comfort,
the thick fog of dullness!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to intelligence and creativity.
Through reaction and habit, the force of desire
creates the human realm.
Restless searching, fleeting pleasure,
the stress of constant activity!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to contentment and ease.
Through reaction and habit, the force of jealousy
creates the titan realm.
Stab of envy, furious competition, unjust defeat!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to appreciation and sympathetic joy.
Through reaction and habit, the force of pride
creates the god realm.
Deluded pleasure of self-absorption,
the shock of humiliation when it ends!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to humility, connection, and service.
In all my lives, may I meet whatever arises
with awakened compassion.
Opening to the depths of each realm,
I rest in experience just as it is.
Knowing and freedom arise together;
may I not take birth in the six realms again.
With a heart open to the cries of others,
realms are emptied and beings are freed.
From seeds planted, fruit grows. Seeking to escape from pain, we may discover that others are suffering too. Relying on the teachings of Thangtong Gyalpo and Ken McLeod, George Draffan gathered these words to remind himself and others of a way to meet confusion and turmoil.
printable version here
Countless beings are wandering, trapped in cycles
of confusion and struggle.
My heart goes out to them!
Through karma gathered from beginningless time,
The force of reactive emotions creates realms of suffering.
There is no refuge but awakened compassion.
May I fully awaken for the benefit of all beings.
Through reaction and habit, the force of anger
creates the hell realm.
Hot anger and cold hate, attacking and revenge, what torture!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to kindness and harmony.
Through reaction and habit, the force of greed
creates the hungry ghost realm.
Hunger and thirst, craving and grasping, frustrated misery!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to generosity and gratitude.
Through reaction and habit, the force of instinct
creates the animal realm.
Fearful hiding, seeking safety and comfort,
the thick fog of dullness!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to intelligence and creativity.
Through reaction and habit, the force of desire
creates the human realm.
Restless searching, fleeting pleasure,
the stress of constant activity!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to contentment and ease.
Through reaction and habit, the force of jealousy
creates the titan realm.
Stab of envy, furious competition, unjust defeat!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to appreciation and sympathetic joy.
Through reaction and habit, the force of pride
creates the god realm.
Deluded pleasure of self-absorption,
the shock of humiliation when it ends!
Opening to this experience, knowing it completely,
reaction and struggle come to an end.
May we awaken to humility, connection, and service.
In all my lives, may I meet whatever arises
with awakened compassion.
Opening to the depths of each realm,
I rest in experience just as it is.
Knowing and freedom arise together;
may I not take birth in the six realms again.
With a heart open to the cries of others,
realms are emptied and beings are freed.
From seeds planted, fruit grows. Seeking to escape from pain, we may discover that others are suffering too. Relying on the teachings of Thangtong Gyalpo and Ken McLeod, George Draffan gathered these words to remind himself and others of a way to meet confusion and turmoil.
printable version here
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Emptiness is Full
Sunya: (suna, from sva, swell, akin to English swell): to increase, to become hollow inside.
In a negative sense, no thing is there; in a positive sense, an empty hollow has room for everything -- the fullness of life and everything is experienced as such (suchness, thusness, tathata).
Insight practice is painful or disorienting to the degree that I’m invested and clinging to self and other; it’s a welcome relief to the extent that I can open to the fullness of experience.
In a negative sense, no thing is there; in a positive sense, an empty hollow has room for everything -- the fullness of life and everything is experienced as such (suchness, thusness, tathata).
Insight practice is painful or disorienting to the degree that I’m invested and clinging to self and other; it’s a welcome relief to the extent that I can open to the fullness of experience.
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