a priceless jewel in your own body

caris reid

 

Each of you has a

priceless jewel in your own body.

It radiates light through your eyes, shining

through the mountains, river, and earth. It radiates light

through your ears, taking in all sounds, good and bad.

It radiates light through your six senses day

and night. This is also called

absorption in light.

 

You yourself do not

recognize it, but it is in your

physical body, supporting it inside

and out, not letting it tip over. Even if you

are carrying a double load of rocks

over a single-log bridge,

it still doesn’t let

you fall over.

 

What is it?

If you seek in the slightest,

it cannot be seen.

 

Ta-an

nothing occupying the mind

bottomless yuanwu

 

The wondrous path

of the enlightened ones is straight

and direct. They just pointed directly to

the human mind so we would work to

see its true nature and achieve

enlightenment.

 

This mind-source

is originally empty and peaceful,

clear and wondrous, and free from the slightest

obstruction. But we screen it off with false thoughts

and give rise to defilements and blockages in this

unobstructed one. We turn our backs on the

fundamental and pursue the trivial

and foolishly revolve on the

cycle of routine.

 

If you

have great capacity,

you won’t seek outside anymore.

Right where you stand you will come forth in

independent realization. When the transitory blinders

of false perception have been dissolved away, the

original correct perception is complete and

wondrous. This is called the identity

of mind and buddha. 

 

From this,

once realized, it is realized

forever. It is like the bottom falling out of a

bucket: you open through and merge with the Way,

and there is nothing occupying your mind.

Beholding the essence, pure and still,

you receive the use of it and

have no more

doubts. 

 

Yuanwu

zen letters

🪷

 

like the moon reflected in water

koho shoda

 

My teaching

which has come down

from the ancient Buddhas

is not dependent on meditation

(dhyana) or on diligent application

of any kind. When you attain the insight as

attained by the Buddha, you realize that Mind is

Buddha and Buddha is Mind, that Mind, Buddha,

sentient beings, Bodhi (enlightenment),

and Klesa (passions)  are of one and

the same substance while

they vary in names.

 

You should know that

your own mind−essence is neither subject

to annihilation nor eternally subsisting, is neither

pure nor defiled, that it remains perfectly undisturbed and

self−sufficient and the same with the wise and the ignorant, that it

is not limited in its working, and that it is not included in the

category of mind (citta), consciousness (manas), or

thought (vijnana). The three worlds of desire,

form, and no−form, and the six paths

of existence are no more than

manifestations of your

mind itself.

 

They are all like the moon

reflected in water or images in the

mirror. How can we speak of them as being

born or as passing away? When you come

to this understanding, you will be

furnished with all the things

you are in need of.

 
Shih−t’ou
 

a highly evolved individual

prince rogers nelson

 

The first

integration of yin and yang

is the union of seed and egg within the womb.

The second integration of yin and yang is the sexual union

of the mature male and female. Both of these are

concerned with flesh and blood, and all

that is conceived in this realm must

one day disintegrate

and pass

away.

 

It is only

the third integration

which gives birth to something immortal.

In this integration, a highly evolved individual joins

the subtle inner energies of yin and yang under the light of spiritual

understanding. Through the practices of the Integral Way he refines his

gross, heavy energy into something ethereal and light. This divine

light has the capability of penetrating into the mighty

ocean of spiritual energy and complete

wisdom that is

the Tao.

 

The new life

created by the final integration

is self-aware yet without ego, capable of

inhabiting  a body yet not attached to it, and guided

by wisdom rather than emotion. Whole

and virtuous, it can

never die.

 

from Hua hu Ching, Chapter 66


all good comes when we are innocent

kirvan baldassari

 

In the

very center of each

of us there dwells an innocent

and divine spirit. If we allow ourselves to

be guided by it in every situation, we can never

go wrong. Wu Wang comes to remind us that

we must actively disengage our egos

before we can obtain the vast

rewards that come from

living in a state of

innocence.

 

The nature

of the ego is that when

we exercise it, it takes us out

of the present. When we engage in

ambitions, anxieties, or anticipations,

our ego is skipping ahead, and we miss the

guidance of the Creative in the present moment.

When we engage in anger, judgment, and condemnation —

whether toward ourselves or others — our ego is looking

backward, and we cannot see the Sage’s clear solution

to the present situation. In either case, the result is

misfortune. Only by stilling the ego and accepting

life in its entirety can we become innocent.

In this state we are receptive to the

help of the Higher Power and

can meet with good fortune

wherever we go.

 

You are

advised now to stop

looking forward and backward,

to abandon your ambitions, to disengage

from judgments and critical thinking. If a thought,

attitude, or action is not in accord with the principles of

acceptance, equanimity, humility, and gentleness,

do not indulge in it. The I Ching encourages you

to actively practice innocence. Because

the  ego is strong, you must make a

conscious and conscientious

effort to be innocent.

 

If you

willfully unstructure

your attitude, open your heart

to the Deity, and allow yourself to be

guided by that which is innocent

and pure, you will meet with

success in the coming

time.

 

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 25, Wu Wang / Innocence (The Unexpected)

FIFTH LINE
do not act against it. If you remain innocent
and disengaged, it will pass quickly
on its own.

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