this world is open sky and dustbin

be free from concerns

 

This world

is an open sky and also a dustbin,

giving life to some and death to others;

the outcomes are not controlled

by this world. 

 

Press

your finger into the world

and put it to your nose.  You may smell

sweetness, or you may smell dung. 

Discernment is possible in

these matters.

 

True hearts

stay awake if love is possible. The

others have no need for beauty, nor hope of

it.  If you are holding gold in your hand,

don’t imagine ways to turn it

into mud.

 

Bahauddin, father of Rumi

the drowned book

 

☯️

 

The Old Fool wears

second-hand clothes and fills his belly

with tasteless food, mends holes to make a

cover against the cold, and thus the myriad affairs

of  life, according to what comes, are done. Scolded, the

Old Fool merely says, “Fine.” Struck, the Old Fool falls

down to  sleep. “Spit on my face, I just let it dry;

I save strength and energy and give you no

affliction.” Paramita is his style; he

gains the jewel within.

 

Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch

 

🪷

 

Forget the body.

Let go of sensations

and obsessions and objects.

Do non-doing to the point that thoughts

cease to arise. Releasing mental constructs and

emotional entanglements, you’ll begin

to flow as a sage. Then let go

of that notion on top

of everything

else.

 

Wei wu Wei Ching, Chapter 15

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the result is freedom

hard candy

 

Buddhism

advises you not to implant

feelings that you don’t really have or avoid

feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you

are miserable; that is the reality, that is what is happening,

so confront that. Look it square in the eye without flinching.

When you are having a bad time, examine that experience,

observe it mindfully, study the phenomenon and learn

its mechanics. The way out of a trap is to study the

trap itself, learn how it is built. You do this by

taking the thing apart piece by piece.

The trap can’t trap you if it has

been taken to pieces.

The result is

freedom.

 

Henepola Gunaratana

the shock of unsettling events

 

cling to the power of higher truth

here comes the sun

 
It is in the nature of being human that we are dependent in many ways: dependent on water, air, and food for nourishment; dependent on shelter for warmth and protection; dependent on each other for family life and friendship. We are also spiritually dependent: when challenges arise, each of us must have some place to turn for guidance and support.

The image of the hexagram Li is that of a fire clinging to the wood that it burns. Without a supply of fuel, there can be no fire. Likewise, a person without a source of spiritual sustenance cannot give off light in dark and challenging times.

Difficult situations tempt us to doubt the power of humility, acceptance, and correct behavior. We long to abandon our inner balance and lash out. It is just at such moments that it is most important to cling to what we know to be good and true and correct—like fire clings to the log it burns. By doing this we obtain the aid of the Higher Power.

You are advised to cling to proper principles now. Quietly, willfully, joyfully cling to what is superior in yourself; cling to the possibility of a positive outcome in the situation that faces you, no matter how unlikely it may seem; cling to the good in others, even when it is obscured by inferior influences; and cling to the power of the Deity to deliver truth where it is needed.

Trying times bring us the gift of showing where our devotion to proper principles ends. Deepen that devotion now, cling to truth and acceptance and independence, and you will meet with success.
 

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 30, Li / The Clinging (Fire)

 

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