Searching for words,
hunting for phrases, when will it end?
Esteeming knowledge and gathering information
only maddens the spirit. Just entrust yourself
to your own nature, empty and illuminating.
Beyond this, I have nothing
to teach.
Posts Tagged → buddhism
accept three precepts
the paws of the buddha smelled like popcorn
Even if
you know how to recite
the texts, you still have to discern reality
from artificiality. Why? Sound and form dim the mind,
falsehoods fool the ears; personality and ego become second
nature, the disease of self-affirmation is deep-seated.
When the mind is separated from the
Way, the principle is hard to
comprehend.
If you wish
to return to the supreme
Way, have deep faith and first accept
three precepts. If you practice in accord with
these three precepts consistently from
beginning to end, then you will
attain the true Way. The
three precepts
are:
simplifying involvements
not craving anything
quieting the mind
…A scripture says,
“If people can empty their minds
and not contrive anything, it is not that
they want the Way, but the Way
spontaneously reverts
to them.”
Treatise on Sitting Forgetting
concentrate on the higher laws
By concentrating on the higher laws,
you acquire the power that
underlies them.
This hexagram teaches us to set an example for others through our own contemplation of proper principles.
A fundamental fact of consciousness is that we take on the attributes and energy of that upon which we focus our attention. In studying and meditating on the I Ching, we are concentrating on the underlying principles that govern the universe. Through contemplation of the wisdom of such principles as independence, detachment, modesty, acceptance, and tolerance, we begin to embody them in our own lives. Their power informs our actions and practices and we begin to have great influence as a result.
This hexagram comes to indicate that you need to make a self-correction and return to contemplation of proper principles. By sacrificing the harsh judgements of your ego and asking the Sage for guidance, you free yourself from hindering influences and increase your merit—and thereby your ability to have an influence.
It is in the quiet contemplation of what is correct that we become detached from anxious emotions about the situations that face us. This detachment gives us the balance and calm to choose solutions which are in accordance with the higher laws. In so doing we gain the aid of the Creative in everything we do, and others are drawn to this strength. Truly, we gain the ability to lead through contemplation of the principles of our own leader, the Sage.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 20, Kuan / Contemplation
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happiness without sorrow
Just let your
mind be free; don’t
do contemplative exercises,
and don’t think of sorrow or worry.
Clear and unobstructed, free as you will,
not contriving virtues, not perpetrating evils,
walking, standing still, sitting, lying down, whatever
meets the eye, in any circumstance, is all the subtle
function of Buddha. It is called Buddahood
because of happiness without
sorrow.
treasury of the eye of true teaching
patience in the heart of chaos
A sage is subtle,
intuitive, penetrating, profound.
His depths are mysterious and
unfathomable.
The best one can do is
describe his appearance: the sage
is alert as a person crossing a winter stream; as
circumspect as a person with neighbors on all four sides;
as respectful as a thoughtful guest; as yielding as
melting ice; as simple as uncarved wood;
as open as a valley; as chaotic
as a muddy torrent.
Why “chaotic
as a muddy torrent”?
Because clarity is learned by
being patient in the
heart of chaos.
Tolerating
disarray, remaining at rest,
gradually one learns to allow muddy water to
settle and proper responses to reveal themselves.
Those who aspire to tao don’t long for fulfillment.
They selflessly allow tao to use and deplete
them; they calmly allow tao to renew
and complete them.
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and
Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,
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.