The central benefit of zen,
in the context of ordinary ups and downs
of life, is not in the context of preventing the minus
and promoting the plus, but in directing people
to the fundamental reality that is not
under the sway of ups
and downs.
The central benefit of zen,
in the context of ordinary ups and downs
of life, is not in the context of preventing the minus
and promoting the plus, but in directing people
to the fundamental reality that is not
under the sway of ups
and downs.
Die
the great death,
and in the cool ashes of the
funeral pyre you will
meet what never
dies.
How is
this accomplished?
By letting go of thoughts,
sacrificing all sentiment,
abandoning emotion,
ignoring the
senses.
Solitary,
transcendent, unseeking,
absorbed in stillness and doing
non-doing, you will find that
the universe comes
to you.
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When people
find one thing beautiful,
another consequently becomes ugly.
When one man is held up as good,
another is judged
deficient.
Similarly, being and
non-being balance each other;
difficult and easy define each other;
long and short illustrate each other;
high and low rest upon each other;
voice and song meld into harmony;
what is to come follows upon
what has been.
The wise person
acts without effort and teaches
by quiet example. She accepts things as they
come, creates without possessing, nourishes without
demanding, accomplishes without taking credit.
Because she constantly forgets herself,
she is never forgotten.
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A change in attitude
delivers you from
difficulties.
The hexagram Hsieh signals the beginning of a deliverance from danger, tensions, and difficulty. The I Ching instructs you here on both the cause of deliverance and how you must act in order to fully benefit from it.
Deliverance is always caused by a change in our attitude. The Higher Power uses conflicts and obstacles to teach us lessons that we refuse to learn in an easier way, but they only darken our doorstep until we have acknowledged the lesson. So long as we ignore or resist difficulty it remains our constant companion; as soon as we accept its presence as a sign that some self-correction is needed, our deliverance begins. Truly, the only way to dispel trouble and regain peace of mind is to change our attitude.
The I Ching also teaches us that we have several responsibilities once our deliverance begins. The first is to forgive the misdeeds of others. The image of the hexagram is that of a powerful rainstorm washing away what is unclean. This, then, is a time to clean every slate and begin anew, meeting others halfway with gentleness and patience.
Next, we are advised to restore our inner balance and see that it is maintained. Deliverance offers us a return to equanimity, and we must avail ourselves of the opportunity conscientiously. Finally, we are counseled not to try to force progress, even though the time is beneficial. If we have truly changed our attitude, we have become detached, innocent, modest, and accepting. In this state we allow progress to unfold naturally according to the will of the Sage.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 40, Hsieh / Deliverance
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Milarepa,
the twelfth-century Tibetan
yogi who sang wonderful songs about
the proper way to meditate, said that the mind
has more projections than there are dust motes in a
sunbeam and that even hundreds of spears couldn’t put
an end to that. As meditators we might as well stop struggling
against our thoughts and realize that honesty and humor
are far more inspiring and helpful than any
kind of solemn religious striving
for or against
anything.