You
could become a
great horseman and help
to free yourself and this world though
only if you and prayer become sweet lovers.
It is a naive man who thinks we are not engaged in a
fierce battle, for I see and hear brave foot soldiers
all around me going mad, falling on the ground
in excruciating pain. You could become a
victorious horseman and carry your
heart through this world like a
life-giving sun though only
if you and God become
sweet lovers.
bud walker, 17 april 1925 ~ 27 january 2017
Which
is more precious,
fame or health? Which is more
valuable, health or wealth?
Which is more harmful,
winning or
losing?
The more
excessive your love,
the greater your suffering.
The longer you hoard,
the heavier your
losses.
Knowing
what is enough is freedom.
Knowing when to stop is safety.
Practice these, and
you’ll endure.
from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,
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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.
the shock of unsettling events
Put aside the
crazy and false mind that
has been concocting your knowledge
and understanding, and make it so that
nothing whatsoever is weighing
on your mind.
🪷
Darkness
has been given as
a nightshirt to sleep in.
Remember how human beings
were composed from water and dust
for blood and flesh with oily resins heated
in fire to make a skeleton. Then the soul, the divine
light, was breathed into human shapes. The work now is
to help our bodies become pure light. It may look like
this is not happening. But in a cocoon every bit
of worm-dissolving slime becomes silk.
As we take in light, each part
of us turns to
silk.
We
made the night
a darkness, but we bring
shining dawnlight out of that.
In the same way the mound of your
grave will bloom with resurrection. Sufis
and those on the path of the heart use darkness
to go within. During the night vigil the universe
is theirs. With all the kings and sultans and
their learned counselors asleep, everyone
is unemployed, except those wakeful
few and the divine
presence.