Gradually I began to understand
that it does not matter very much what problem,
whether big or small, is tormenting us; the only thing that
matters is that we be tormented, that we find a ground for being
tormented. In other words, that we exercise our minds in
order to keep certainty from turning us into idiots,
that we fight to open every closed door
we find in front of us.
The
non-action of the
wise person is not inaction.
It is not studied. It is not shaken by anything.
The sage is quiet because she is not moved, not because she
wills to be quiet. Her quietness is the mirror of heaven and earth,
the glass of everything. Emptiness, stillness, tranquility,
traceless, silence, non-action: this is the level of
heaven and earth. This is the
perfect Tao.
🪷
The five
colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors overwhelm
the palate.
Fancy things
get in the way of one’s growth.
Racing here and there, hunting for
this and that—good ways to
madden your mind,
that’s all.
Relinquish what is without.
Cultivate what is within.
Live for your center,
not your senses.
☯️ what wondrous function is ☯️
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Mindfulness is not just
watching things coming and going.
As the Buddha said, when mindfulness becomes a
governing principle in the mind, it sees things that are unskillful
and it works toward getting rid of them. It sees things that are
skillful and works toward giving rise to them. It actively
gets involved in making things arise and
making things pass away.
So you are taking sides
as you practice. Hopefully, you’re taking sides
with the right side – right view and all the way down
to right concentration – because it really
does make a difference.
set an example of self-improvement
