Posts Tagged → practice

wake up! don’t waste time

tassajara zen center

 

I often see

those who are trying

to study Buddhism just use

their worldly intelligence to sift

among the verbal teachings of the buddhas

and ancestral teachers, trying to pick out especially

wondrous sayings to use as conversation pieces to display

their ability and understanding. This is not the correct view

of  the matter. You must abandon your world view and sit

quietly with mind silent. Forget entangling causes

and investigate with your whole being. When

you are thoroughly clear, then whatever

you bring forth from your own

inexhaustible treasure of

priceless jewels is sure

to be genuine and

real.

 

So first

you must awaken

to the Fundamental and

clearly see the essence where

mind equals buddha. Detach from

all false entanglements and become free

and clean. After that respectfully practice all

forms of good, and arouse great compassion to bring

benefits to all sentient beings. In all that you do, be even and

balanced and attuned to the inherent equality of all things —

be selfless and have no attachments. When wondrous

wisdom manifests itself and you penetrate through

to the basic essence, all your deeds will

be wonder-working. Thus it is said,

“Just manage to accept the

truth — you won’t be

deceived.”

 

Make

enlightenment your

standard, and don’t feel bad

if it is slow in coming.

Take care!

 

Yuanwu

 

strong within, gentle without

shaun tan

 

True joy is

experienced by those who

are strong within and

gentle without.

 

The hexagram Tui teaches us how to come into possession of joy. In our search for success and happiness we are prone to think that we must take aggressive actions to achieve them. The instruction of the I Ching is just the opposite: only those who practice innocence, acceptance, and detachment inherit true joy in this world.

We often see around us how forcible effort brings about what appears to be progress. Our egos tempt us to believe that these gains are lasting and valuable, but the truth is otherwise. Whatever is won by the desirous, ambitious, demanding manipulations of the ego will soon be lost. Others can always be temporarily browbeaten into doing things our way, but only hearts won by friendliness and sincere goodwill are true over time.

The I Ching teaches us again and again that joy and success cannot be forced or stolen. They are achieved gradually—but steadily—by those who relate correctly to others and to the Higher Power. To relate correctly means to steadfastly practice innocence, detachment, acceptance, modesty, and gentleness. Life is full of shortcuts, but this is the only route that leads to true joy.

The image of the hexagram is that of two lakes joined together to keep from drying up. It is an encouragement to us to join with like-minded friends now in the discussion and contemplation of higher things. If we engage in an ongoing conversation about proper principles with our friends, our relationship to truth is steady and our ego cannot seduce us into the doubt, fear, and anxiety that lead away from joy.

In your heart, be firm in holding to what is good and honest and correct. In your thoughts and actions, be gentle and accepting. Those who persevere on this path will meet with true joy and lasting success.

 

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 58, Tui / The Joyous

 

FIFTH CHANGING LINE
One who dabbles in inferior emotions,
attitudes, and actions will be undone by them.
Let these things go and return to
innocence and truth.

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let this monkey go

nacho libre

 

The ego

is a monkey

catapulting through

the jungle. Totally fascinated

by the realm of the senses, it swings from

one desire to the next, one conflict to the next,

one self-centered idea to the next. If you threaten it,

it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go.

Let the senses go. Let desires go. Let conflicts

go. Let ideas go. Let the fiction of life and

death go. Just remain in the center,

watching. And then forget

that you are

there.

 

from Hua hu Ching, Chapter 10

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for

iPad, Phone, Kindle, Nook,

or Android

 

You

can now buy

Hua hu Ching as part of a

five-app bundle of Taoist classics 

for iPhone or iPad for less than

the cost of one hardcover

book.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

 

everything has the same value

the shaggy dog

 

There is no distinction

between heaven and earth, man and woman,

teacher and disciple. Sometimes a man bows to a woman;

sometimes a woman bows to a man. Sometimes the disciple bows

to the master; sometimes the master bows to the disciple. A master

who cannot bow to his disciple cannot bow to Buddha.

Sometimes the master and disciple bow together

to Buddha. Sometimes we may bow

to cats and dogs.

 

In your big mind,

everything has the same value.

Everything is Buddha himself. You see something

or hear a sound, and there you have everything just as it is.

In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to

each thing the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there

is Buddhahood. Then Buddha bows to Buddha,

and you bow to yourself. This is

the true bow.

 

Shunryu Suzuki

zen mind, beginner’s mind

 

create from joy

hamid sardar-afkhami

 

The most

beautiful paintings and

sculptures, the greatest poetry,

have not always been born from torment

or bitterness. Often they have sprung from

contemplation, from joy, from an instinct or wonder

toward all things. To create from joy, to create from wonder,

demands a continual discipline, a great compassion…With time

and sincerity, you will discover a way to work and write that does

not harm you spiritually, that does not tempt you to vanity,

that is the deepest expression of your spirituality. You

will find a voice that is not your voice only, but the

voice of Reality itself. . . If you can be empty

enough, that voice can speak through you.

If you can be humble enough, that

voice can inhabit you

and use you.

 

Thuksey Rinpoche