this love is beyond

flow like water

 

Those

who do not feel this

love pulling them like a river,

those who do not drink dawn like a cup

of springwater or take in sunset

like supper, those who do not

want to change, let

them sleep.

 

This love

is beyond the study

of theology, that old trickery

and hypocrisy. If you want

to improve your mind

that way, sleep

on.

 

I have

given up on my brain.

I have torn the cloth to shreds

and thrown it away. If you are not

completely naked, wrap your

beautiful robe of words

around you, and

sleep.

 

Jalal al-Din Rumi

the essential rumi

 

guide others by relying on tao

actblue

 

The

best leader is one

whose existence is barely known.

Next best is one who is loved and praised.

After that, one who is feared. Worst

of all is a leader who is

despised.

 

If you

fail to trust people,

you won’t inspire their trust.

Therefore, guide others by quietly

relying on Tao. Then, when the

work is done, the people can

say, “We did this

ourselves.”

 

Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu

Chapter 17

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for

iPad, Phone, Kindle, Nook,

or Android

 

You

can now buy

Tao te Ching as part of a

five-app bundle of Taoist classics 

for iPhone or iPad for less than

the cost of one hardcover

book.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

 

moderate temperature is needed


 
Zen is not something to get excited about. Some people start to practice Zen just out of curiosity, and they only make themselves busier. If your practice makes you worse, it is ridiculous. I think that if you try to do zazen once a week, that will make you busy enough. Do not be too interested in Zen. When young people get excited about Zen they often give up schooling and go to some mountain or forest in order to sit. That kind of interest is not true interest.

Just continue in your calm, ordinary pratice and your character will be built up. If your mind is always busy, there will be no time to build, and you will not be successful, particularly if you work too hard on it. Building character is like making bread — you have to mix it little by little, step by step, and moderate temperature is needed. You know yourself quite well, and you know how much temperature you need. You know exactly what you need. But if you get too excited, you will forget how much temperature is good for you, and you will lose your own way. This is very dangerous.

Buddha said the same thing about the good ox-driver. The driver knows how much load the ox can carry, and he keeps the ox from being overloaded. You know your way and your state of mind. Do not carry too much! Buddha also said that building character is like building a dam. You whould be very careful in making the bank. If you try to do it all at once, water will leak from it. Make the bank carefully and you will end up with a find dam for the reservoir.

Our unexciting way of practice appears to be very negative. This is not so. It is a wise and effective way to work on ourselvweas. It is just very plain. I find this point very difficult for people, especially young people, to understand. On the other hand it may seem as if I am speaking about gradual attainment. This is not so either. In fact, this is the sudden way, because when your practice is calm and ordinary, everyday life itself is enlightenment.
 

Shunryu Suzuki

zen mind, beginner’s mind