Posts Tagged → emptiness

I knew no one worth my envying him


 

A day

so happy. Fog lifted

early, I worked in the garden.

Hummingbirds were stopping over

honeysuckle flowers. There was no thing

on earth I wanted to possess. I knew no one

worth my envying him. Whatever evil I had

suffered, I forgot. To think that once I was

the same man did not embarrass me.

In my body I felt no pain. When

straightening up, I saw the

blue sea and

sails.

 

Czeslaw Milosz

 

scarlett hooft graafland

 

Mind is consciousness

which has put on limitations.

You are originally unlimited and perfect.

Later you take on limitations

and become the mind.

 

Ramana Maharshi

 

yield and you can stay centered

she keeps her heart clear

 

Allow yourself to yield,

and you can stay centered.

Allow yourself to bend, and you will

stay straight. Allow yourself to be empty, and

you’ll get filled up. Allow yourself to be exhausted,

and you’ll be renewed. Having little, you can receive

much. Having much, you’ll just become confused.

Therefore the sage embraces the oneness and

becomes a pattern for the

whole world.

 

She doesn’t display herself, so she becomes illuminated.

She doesn’t justify herself, so she becomes distinguished.

She doesn’t boast, so she is recognized.

She doesn’t claim credit, so she advances and endures.

She doesn’t contend, so no one can contend with her.

 

“Yield and you

can stay centered” —

Is this saying meaningless?

Stay whole, and all things

return to you.

 

The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 22

 

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proper nourishment for self and others

help american bird conservancy

 

Give proper nourishment

to yourself and

others.

 
The image of this hexagram is that of an open mouth. It comes to remind us that the nourishment of our bodies and spirits is important and merits our conscientious attention.

The I Ching teaches us that if we wish to gauge someone’s character, we should notice what he nourishes in himself and in others. Those who cultivate inferior behaviors and relationships are inferior people; those who cultivate superior qualities in themselves and others are superior people. This is a test that we should apply to ourselves as well as to others.

What you put into your body is obviously important. Because it determines your fundamental physical well-being, it is wise to be moderate and thoughtful about the food you eat. What you put into your mind is even more significant, and regulating it is a more subtle art. This hexagram gives us three-part advice on that subject.

The first counsel is that we should not feed our minds on desire. When we forego our equanimity and begin to desire something or someone, a host of other inferior influences comes into play: we become ambitious about obtaining the object of our desire; we become fearful that we will not; if we do achieve it our ego is gratified and strengthened and it soon issues another demand for us to meet. A self-reinforcing cycle of negativity is thus created. Therefore it is wise to hold yourself free from desire.

The second counsel is that we begin and continue in a regular practice of meditation. Sitting quietly with our eyes closed for even as little as ten or fifteen minutes a day begins to “clear the waste” out of our hearts and minds, making room for the nourishment of peace and wisdom to enter in. To sit in meditation is tune your ear to the voice of the Sage, and it is the most powerful way of gaining his assistance.

The final counsel is that we observe tranquility in speech, thoughts, and actions. By cultivating calm and equanimity in all that you say, think, and do, you nourish your superior self and that of those around you. One who follows these three counsels now will meet with good fortune.
 

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 27 / Providing Nourishment