“Be like a medieval knight walking weaponless in a forest of swords. Be like a lion, going forward with slow, gentle, and firm steps. Only with this kind of vigilance can you realize total awakening.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh
March 2011
February 2011
“The things that you own end up owning you.”
—Tyler Durden
A Simple Daily Meditation
If you have never meditated before and want to learn, this is the technique to start with.
Pledge ten minutes a day to sitting in a comfortable position in a comfortable place. Eyes open. Just be present and attend to the sense ‘I am’. Watch and look at your surroundings. Watch your thoughts. Catch and release them. Don’t give any one thought more attention than a moment and then let it go. The aim is to slip into the silence between thoughts.
You can do this during the day or whenever but do it sitting for ten minutes a day as well. Over time, you’ll learn the true nature of stillness and silence. Then you’ll know the real value of meditation.
“External objects do not exist,
Mind appears as various things,
Such as bodies, enjoyments, and places;
I explain these only as mind.” —
Mind appears as various things,
Such as bodies, enjoyments, and places;
I explain these only as mind.” —
Buddha (via wisdomnectar)
Nondual perspective
Little by Little
Radiohead
Radiohead’s new tune Little by Little. It’s all a process.
“Directly upon encountering the dharma, we will abandon the law of the world. ~ Dogen”
—
Our laws need to be enforced by one “authority” or another. They’re a good thing, but they are breakable and they are generally a reflection of cultural norms.
The dharma is immutable, the dharma is science. The dharma is gravity, the gravity of Newton and the gravity of awareness as it inevitably falls back into the cycle of samsaric rebirth after death.
The dharma is the transient nature of all experiences and all phenomena, and it is the permanence beyond it all.
Jesus taught the dharma, Krishna taught the dharma, and the Buddha taught the dharma. When all trappings and tradition and ceremony are dropped, dharma is what remains.
So seek the dharma, the truth, in whatever it is you are cultivating and doing. Buddhist or not.
Western Yoga?
- Questioner: Am I allowed to smoke in your presence? I know that it is not the custom to smoke before a sage and more so for a woman.
- Nisargadatta: By all means, smoke, nobody will mind. We understand.
- Q: I feel the need of cooling down.
- N: It is very often so with Americans and Europeans. After a stretch of sadhana they become charged with energy and frantically seek an outlet. They organize communities, become teachers of Yoga, marry, write books--anything except keeping quiet and turning their energies within, to find the source of the inexhaustible power and learn the art of keeping it under control.
“Pray constantly for Grace. If the mind surrenders by not trying to analyze anything, its concentration happens. Then automatically it has to get introverted and that is when it is able to touch its origin, inner guide, the Divine Guru. Then Automatic Divine Activity happens and Grace starts flowing. Until then you have to put in efforts with Dedication, Devotion, Discipline, and Patience. No hurry, No rush. Peacefully and tactfully.”
—~ Sri Shivarudrabalayogi
“Actually, your mind is connected to the Divine, just like the sun’s rays come out of the sun and are part of the sun only. In the same way, the mind has come out of the actual Divine, so it is part of the Divine. But, because the mind’s consciousness is in the universe, it is unable to touch the Divine. That’s why prayers are taught and also meditation is taught. If you pray, your mind gets concentrated. If you can pray with all your concentration, your mind can go introvert. When it touches the Divine, the mind’s original source, then the Divine’s Grace starts flowing automatically. It is called “Automatic Divine Activity”.”
—~ Sri Shivarudrabalayogi
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” —Mother Teresa (via urmi7)
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” —Mother Teresa (via urmi7)
