The speech of the birds
and the voices of the insects are all
the secret of transmitting mind; the brilliance
of the flowers and colors of the grasses
are all writings on seeing
the Way.
To learn, it is necessary
to have your higher potential clarified
thoroughly and your heart clear as crystal.
Then you will find understanding
of mind whatever you
encounter.
The most
beautiful paintings and
sculptures, the greatest poetry,
have not always been born from torment
or bitterness. Often they have sprung from
contemplation, from joy, from an instinct or wonder
toward all things. To create from joy, to create from wonder,
demands a continual discipline, a great compassion…With time
and sincerity, you will discover a way to work and write that does
not harm you spiritually, that does not tempt you to vanity,
that is the deepest expression of your spirituality. You
will find a voice that is not your voice only, but the
voice of Reality itself. . . If you can be empty
enough, that voice can speak through you.
If you can be humble enough, that
voice can inhabit you
and use you.
Polish what you polish
until it is like gold that has been refined
a hundred times; anything that is done in a hurry
is not deeply developed. Do what you do like
a thousand pound catapult; one who
pops off too easily does not
much.
Your
spiritual light
can be compressed into
a pinpoint, or it can flood and
wash the known and unknown universe.
The principal task of a master is to respect
the oneness of her spiritual light with
all spiritual light and to care for
it accordingly.
Where is
the best place to do this?
In quiet simplicity.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
Rumi
advised me to keep my spirit
up in the branches of a tree and not
peek out too far, so I keep mine in the very tall
willows along the irrigation ditch out back,
a safe place to remain unspoiled by
the filthy culture of greed
and murder of the
spirit.
People
forget their spirits
easily suffocate so they must
keep them far up in tree branches where
they can be summoned any moment. It’s better
if you’re outside as it’s hard for spirits to get into houses
or buildings or airplanes. In New York City I used to reach
my spirit in front of the gorilla cage in the children’s zoo in
Central Park. It wouldn’t come in the Carlyle Hotel, which
was too expensive for its taste. In Chicago it won’t
come in the Drake, though I can see it out the
window, hovering over the surface of Lake
Michigan. The spirit above anything
else is attracted to humility.
If I slept in the streets
it would be under
the cardboard
with me.
