The search
for happiness is not
about looking at life through
rose-colored glasses or blinding oneself
to the pain and imperfections of the world.
Nor is happiness a state of exultation
to be perpetuated at all costs; it is
the purging of mental toxins,
such as hatred and
obsession.
Nothing,
nothing at all is born,
dies, the shell says again and
again from the depth of its hollowness.
Its body swept off by tide — so what? It sleeps
in sand, drying in sunlight, bathing in moonlight.
Nothing to do with sea or anything else.
Over and over it vanishes
with the wave.
Can you
marry your spirit and
body to the oneness and
never depart
from it?
Can you
ride your breath until
your entire being is as supple
as the body of an
infant?
Can you cleanse
your inner vision until you
see heaven in every
direction?
Can you love
people and govern them
without conniving and
manipulating?
Can you bear
heaven’s children in all
that you do and
are?
Can you give
the wisdom of your heart
precedence over the
learning of your
head?
Giving birth,
nourishing life,
shaping things without
possessing them, serving without
expectation of reward, leading without
dominating: these are the profound
virtues of nature, and of nature’s
best beings.
from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,
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We already
have what we need.
The wisdom, the strength,
the confidence, the awakened heart
and mind are always accessible here and now.
We are just uncovering them. We are rediscovering
them. We’re not inventing them or importing
them from somewhere else.
They’re here.
That’s why
when we feel caught
in darkness, suddenly the clouds
can part. Out of nowhere we cheer up
or relax or experience the vastness
of our minds. No one else
gives this to
you.
They say there is
a pure land where everything
is only mind, and that there’s a buddha of light
in your own body. Once that buddha of light appears,
mountains, rivers, earth, grass, trees, and forests
suddenly glow with a great light.
To see this,
you have to look inside
your own heart. Then what should
you be looking out for? When you are looking
for something that is only mind, what kind of special
features would it have? When you are looking for
the buddha of infinite light in your own body,
how would you recognize it?
Inside your own heart.
Trees shine with a great light.