Posts Tagged → truth

the practice of repaying wrongs

enzo massa micron

 

What is the

practice of repaying wrongs?

When receiving suffering, a practitioner

who cultivates the Path should think to himself:

“During countless ages past I have abandoned the root

and pursued the branches, flowing into the various states

of being, and giving rise to much rancor and hatred—the

transgression, the harm done, has been limitless.

Though I do not transgress now, this suffering

is a disaster left over from former lives —

the results of evil deeds have ripened.

This suffering is not something

given by gods or

humans.”

 

You should willingly

endure the suffering without anger

or complaint. The sutra says: “Encountering

suffering, one is not concerned. Why? Because one

is conscious of the basic root.” When this attitude toward

suffering is born, you are in accord with inner truth,

and even as you experience wrongs, you advance

on the Path. Thus it is called “the practice

of  repaying wrongs”.
 

Records of the Teachers and Students of the Lanka

full text here

 

there is one clear truth


 

Anyone

can say anything.

Eyes look without obstruction,

And the nose, it sniffs everything.

Legs go where they want to.  Hands reach.

The mind respects nothing.  Even the heart

Is unsure where to stand.  This is how

Things are.  Is something missing?

A human being can walk in different ways,

Deliberately, as though going somewhere,

Or strolling with no purpose, or marching,

Or limping, or pretending to be a gorilla

With arms hanging down.

He or she can curse you or trust you, comfort you,

Or act without considering anything or anyone.

Truth and lies, both glitter in the eyes.

He or she can hear and enjoy and embrace

The language coming in, but to understand everything

With divine wisdom is hard.

There is one clear truth, the pure loving.

When people do not have that, they are

Disconnected.  Words are just words,

And good actions are done for wrong reasons.

Paint on a red dot like the dancing Shiva,

But if you don’t know how to open your heart

With modesty, dignity, and respect for others,

It’s just collecting more honors and robes.

It’s easy to explain the condition of being human,

What’s missing and what’s here, but if

You don’t know God exists,

It’s foolishness.

To know this and act accordingly is difficult.

Saying the words is easy.

                        

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

 

 

discover the harmony in your own being

alfred eisenstaedt

 

Why scurry

about looking for the truth?

It vibrates in every thing and every

not-thing, right off the tip of your nose.

Can you be still and see it in the

mountain? the pine tree?

yourself?

 

Don’t imagine

that you’ll discover it by accumulating

more knowledge. Knowledge creates doubt,

and doubt makes you ravenous for more

knowledge. You can’t get full

eating this way. 

 

The wise person

dines on something more subtle:

He eats the understanding that the named

was born from the unnamed, that all being flows

from non-being, that the describable world emanates

from an indescribable source. He finds this subtle

truth inside his own self, and becomes

completely content. 

 

So 

who can be

still and watch the

chess game of the world?

The foolish are always making

impulsive moves, but the wise know

that victory and defeat are decided by

something more subtle. They see

that something perfect exists

before any move

is made.

 

This

subtle perfection

deteriorates when artificial

actions are taken, so be content not

to disturb the peace. Remain quiet.

Discover the harmony in

your own being.

Embrace it.

 

If you

can do this, you will

gain everything, and the world

will become healthy again.

If you can’t, you will be

lost in the shadows

forever.

 

from Hua hu Ching, Chapter 38

 

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if you can penetrate “i don’t know”

 

Emperor Wu

of Liang asked Bodhidharma,

“I have built temples and had monks

ordained without number: what merit is there

in this?” Bodhidharma said, “There is no merit.”

The emperor said, “Why no merit?” Bodhidharma

said, “These are just the lesser fruits of gods

and men, causes of defilement: like

shadows following shapes,

though they’re there,

they’re not

real.”

 

The Emperor

said, “What is true merit?”

Bodhidharma answered, “The subtle

perfection of pure wisdom, its essence naturally

empty and still. Such merit is not to be sought with worldly

means.” Only then did the Emperor ask, “What is the

highest meaning of the holy truths?” Bodhidharma

answered, “Empty, without holiness.”

The Emperor said, “Who is facing

me?” Bodhidharma replied,

“I don’t know.”

 

The Emperor

did not understand, so

Bodhidharma crossed the river

into Wei. If you want to see real merit

right now, don’t look for it anywhere else,

just comprehend it in “I don’t know”.

If you can penetrate those three

words, the task of your whole

life’s study will be

completed.

 

Dahui

 

gradual cultivation

lori andrews

 

You must keep this

mind balanced and equanimous,

without deluded ideas of self and others,

without arbitrary loves and hates, without grasping

or rejecting, without notions of gain and loss.

Go on gradually nurturing this for

a long time, perhaps twenty

or thirty years.

 

Whether you encounter

favorable or adverse conditions,

do not retreat or regress — then when you

come to the juncture between life and death,

you will naturally be set free and be not afraid.

As the saying goes, “Truth requires sudden

awakening, but the phenomenal

level calls for gradual

cultivation.”

 

Yuanwu

zen letters