postsecret / all the blessings
Suffering is a
special kind of knowledge.
There is something in human life
that it is impossible to convey and preserve
in any other way, especially among us.
That is how the world is made;
that is how we are
made.
Posts Tagged → Book of Changes
do not try to stop your thinking
zen is not something to get excited about
When you are practicing zazen, do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. It something comes into your mind, let it come in, and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you are bothered by it. Do not be bothered by anything. It appears as if something comes from outside your mind, but actually it is only the waves of your mind, and if you are not bothered by the waves, gradually they will become calmer and calmer. In five or at most ten minutes, your mind will be completely serene and calm. At that time your breathing will become quite slow, while your pulse will become a little faster.
It will take quite a long time before you find your calm, serene mind in your practice. Many sensations come, many thoughts or images arise, but they are just waves of your own mind. Nothing comes from outside your mind. Usually we think of our mind as receiving impressions and experiences from outside, but that is not a true understanding of our mind. The true understanding is that the mind includes everything; when you think something comes from outside it means only that something appears in your mind. Nothing outside yourself can cause any trouble. You yourself make the waves in your mind. If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm. This mind is called big mind.
the canon is still full of old paper
it is not something you can attain by embellishment
The Canon is still full of old paper
seventeen-hundred tangled vines
who can see through the mess
one thought is still too many
Red Pine’s “The Zen Works of Stonehouse”
recognizing a teacher
Every instance
of recognizing a teacher
is an authorization of spiritual power.
The most important one of these, and the only
absolutely necessary one on the way to
complete realization, is recognizing
yourself as your own
teacher.
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.
many try to usurp the style of zen
Nowadays many have
lost the old way, and many try to
usurp the style of zen, setting up their
own sects, keeping to cliches, and concocting
standardized formulas and slogans. Since they
themselves are not out of the rut, when they try
to help other people, it is like a rat going into
a hollow horn that grows narrower
and narrower until the rat is
trapped in a total
impasse.