Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Gayatri Mantra
The Gayatri Mantra
Om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yonah prachodayat
English Translation:
We meditate on the transcendental Glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of Heave. May He stimulate and illuminate our minds.
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Other Translations:
Through the coming, going and the balance of life the essential nature which illumes existence is the adorable one may all perceive through subtle intellect
the brilliance of enlightenment
May we meditate on the effulgent Light (or Power)
of the Worshipful One Who Has given birth to all worlds.
May this One direct our Mind-rays towards the path of Good.
O Lord, Thou are the protector of life and of breath,
dispeller of miseries and bestower of happiness.
Thou are the creator and the most acceptable intelligence,
possessing eternal qualities. May Thine qualities and Thy inspiration pass to us.
"Enlightenment is a process of peeling back the many layers of the ego to experience your true radiant Infinite Self. It is a process of opening to your innermost being, and as a result to the entire Universe! Reaching towards the center of "you" you may find a spiritual cyclone. Yet, keep diving, beyond that there is a deep stillness. In the very essence of your being is where your true spiritual knowledge resides. This is the Source of your Reality and Universe. As you continuously rest deeper into the quiet peaceful still center in the heart of your being, you will eventually awaken to the Divine being you truly are. The longer you can abide in this center, the faster you'll find yourself manifesting a rich life, full of depth, meaning, clarity, love and abundant with bliss."
~Jafree Ozwald
Original translations found here:
http://www.enlightenedbeings.com/gayatri-mantra.html
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Death. Pronoia. Pg. 247
...
excerpt from "Pronioa," by Rob Breszney (http://www.freewillastrology.com/)
.
.Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Happiness & suffering
Suffering
Happiness.
Is suffering a choice?
Can I practice being happy?
Finding things to be happy about?
What if it doesn't work?
What if it does?
Where can I start?
Do I really like my job?
Do I really need to like it to start?
I like some things. Security. People. Thinkers. Variety.
Interdependence.
How deeply are all actions and beings linked?
If one being kills another, is there an effect on some level that each killer experiences?
If I give away money to a church, do I get a benefit? Now? Soon? In Heaven? Next life?
If I give but hate doing it and only do so to keep up appearances, do I get the same benefit?
So if intent matters....
What do I do to fix my intent?
The three things
Wake up and intend to do what you do for the good of others. At least one other. A mother. A father. A son. A daughter.
Do what you do mindfully. Without concept or attachment to a result. Just stay with it. See Tolstoy's story told by Thich Nhat Hanh in an earlier post.
Dedicate any merit or benefit from your day to all others. Any other being. Imagine wrapping this merit up and giving it away.
Some call this the three supreme methods. I think Ben Franklin had a similar philosophy but did not call it by that name.
Practice.
Practice watching.
Practice listening.
Practice smelling.
Practice tasting.
Practice touching.
Practice silence.
Practice listening.
Practice smelling.
Practice tasting.
Practice touching.
Practice silence.
Doing Yoga
Doing Yoga
I'm holding my position.
Thinking what's next
Wait
Reminding myself to wait.
How long do I wait?
Why wait?
Watch what comes up
I'm anxious.
I'm stiff.
I'm uncertain.
Is this the right way?
If I do more, will tomorrow be better?
If I push harder will I be stronger?
Why am I doing this.
I'm holding my position.
Thinking what's next
Wait
Reminding myself to wait.
How long do I wait?
Why wait?
Watch what comes up
I'm anxious.
I'm stiff.
I'm uncertain.
Is this the right way?
If I do more, will tomorrow be better?
If I push harder will I be stronger?
Why am I doing this.
Wait.
Is it ok to count?
How deeply should I breathe?
Can I close my eyes?
Relax~~~
Is it ok to stop now?
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Beauty of Spring Blocks My Way - Poem by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Beauty of Spring Blocks My Way
Spring comes slowly and quietly
to allow Winter to withdraw
slowly and quietly.
The color of the mountain afternoon
is tinged with nostalgia.
The terrible war flower
has left her footprints-
countless petals of separation and death
in white and violet.
Very tenderly, the wound opens itself in the depths of my heart.
Its color is the color of blood,
its nature the nature of separation.
The beauty of Spring blocks my way.
How could I find another path up the mountain?
I suffer so. My soul is frozen.
My heart vibrates like the fragile string of a lute
left out in a stormy night.
Yes, it is really there. Spring has really come.
But the mourning is heard
clearly, unmistakably,
in the wonderful sounds of the birds.
The morning mist is already born.
The breeze of Spring in its song
expresses both my love and my despair.
The cosmos is so indifferent. Why?
To the harbor, I came alone,
and now I leave alone.
There are so many paths leading to the homeland.
They all talk to me in silence. I invoke the Absolute.
Spring has come
to every corner of the ten directions.
Its, alas, is only the song
of departure.
1951. This was written less than twelve hours after I fell in love
with a nun. It happened at the Vien Giac Temple on New Year's
Eve in the beautiful village of Cau Dat in the highlands. She was
twenty. Both of us realized that we wanted to continue being a
monk and a nun. So we decided to depart from each other. This
was not easy. I was lucky to having a loving and understanding
sangha with me at that time that made it possible. Forty-one years
later, I told this story in a twenty-one day retreat at Plum Village
in English, on the theme of Vipassana meditation in the Mahayana
tradition.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Spring comes slowly and quietly
to allow Winter to withdraw
slowly and quietly.
The color of the mountain afternoon
is tinged with nostalgia.
The terrible war flower
has left her footprints-
countless petals of separation and death
in white and violet.
Very tenderly, the wound opens itself in the depths of my heart.
Its color is the color of blood,
its nature the nature of separation.
The beauty of Spring blocks my way.
How could I find another path up the mountain?
I suffer so. My soul is frozen.
My heart vibrates like the fragile string of a lute
left out in a stormy night.
Yes, it is really there. Spring has really come.
But the mourning is heard
clearly, unmistakably,
in the wonderful sounds of the birds.
The morning mist is already born.
The breeze of Spring in its song
expresses both my love and my despair.
The cosmos is so indifferent. Why?
To the harbor, I came alone,
and now I leave alone.
There are so many paths leading to the homeland.
They all talk to me in silence. I invoke the Absolute.
Spring has come
to every corner of the ten directions.
Its, alas, is only the song
of departure.
1951. This was written less than twelve hours after I fell in love
with a nun. It happened at the Vien Giac Temple on New Year's
Eve in the beautiful village of Cau Dat in the highlands. She was
twenty. Both of us realized that we wanted to continue being a
monk and a nun. So we decided to depart from each other. This
was not easy. I was lucky to having a loving and understanding
sangha with me at that time that made it possible. Forty-one years
later, I told this story in a twenty-one day retreat at Plum Village
in English, on the theme of Vipassana meditation in the Mahayana
tradition.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
.
.Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Anza Borrego
My friends are hiking here:
Does it really look like this? How have I never put this on my list of places to be?
Image from:
http://www.my-photo-blog.com/anza-borrego-wildflowers
Does it really look like this? How have I never put this on my list of places to be?
Image from:
http://www.my-photo-blog.com/anza-borrego-wildflowers
What is happiness - What is happiness - TED.com
What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard says we can train our minds in habits of well-being, to generate a true sense of serenity and fulfillment.
"Law" of Attraction?
http://bit.ly/ftE7cL
Interesting...
& mentions this...
http://www.dharma.org/ij/archives/1999a/christina.htm
Interesting...
& mentions this...
http://www.dharma.org/ij/archives/1999a/christina.htm
Most Important Time, Most Importan Place ...
In "Miracle of Mindfulness," Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that even the most spiritual passages can be found in writings we don't often use to fuel our sermons. ~~~
Sunday, April 10, 2011
You have already been enlightened a million different times and in a million different ways (Rob Brezsny)
Friends gave me this great book. (PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia)
I took a picture of a "Certificate of Enlightenment" in an earlier post and then I found that Mr. Brezsny is sharing it here:
http://home.ezezine.com/756_3/756_3-2010.08.24.18.34-html-now.jpd.rss.html
excerpt from "Pronioa," by Rob Breszney (http://www.freewillastrology.com/)
Here is what that page has on it.
JinpaLight
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
from PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA -- available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
Here's an excerpt:
HOW IS ENLIGHTENMENT LIKE A MILLION-DOLLAR VACATION HOME?
For some seekers, spiritual enlightenment is the ultimate commodity. They believe that through diligent meditation and self-improvement, there will come a day when it will no longer elude their grasp. Breaking through to the singular state of cosmic consciousness, they will forever after own it, free and clear. Permanently illuminated! Never to backslide into the dull ignominy of normal human awareness!
Here's what I have to say about that: It's a delusion.
The fact is, the nature of perfection is always mutating. What constitutes enlightenment today will always be different tomorrow. Even if you're fortunate and wise enough to score a sliver of "enlightenment," it's not a static treasure that becomes your indestructible, everlasting possession. Rather, it remains a mercurial knack that must be continually re earned.
If you want to befriend the Divine Wow, you must not only be willing to change ceaselessly -- you have to love to change ceaselessly.
Lucky you: All of creation is conspiring to help you live like that.
+
CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION FROM ENLIGHTENMENT
This document certifies that _____________________ is immune to the lust for enlightenment and is exempt from the need to seek enlightenment.
This document also certifies that _____________________ has seen through the fraud of the enlightenment con game and is excused from further clawing and scraping to own a piece if that specious reward.
This document further certifies that _____________________ is free from the temptation to be consecrated as enlightened by any guru, saint, holy person, or religious organization that claims the right to do so.
Finally, this document certifies that _____________________ has already been enlightened a million times in a million different ways anyway, and that seeking even further enlightenment would be redundant and even greedy.
To ensure the continued validity of this document _____________________ vows to regularly renew these three understandings: that it is impossible to ever reach a complete and permanent state of enlightenment; that there is no single state of awareness that constitutes enlightenment; and that since the nature of reality keeps changing, the nature of enlightenment keeps changing as well.
+
TO SEE THE ABOVE CERTIFICATE AS IT APPEARS IN THE BOOK, go here:
bit.ly/EnlightenmentExempt
bit.ly/EnlightenmentExempt
excerpt from "Pronioa," by Rob Breszney (http://www.freewillastrology.com/)
.
I have nothing to sell you. If you are here exploring, maybe we can share some notes from the journey. Explore truths we have struggled to uncover. Help each other so we can help others. Share a common vision so that we can patiently and persistently build a community of peace, wisdom and understanding. But I am not here to force this vision on anyone. I am here. I am here. Help me to stay so that as long as others need it I am here to help, calmly, compassionately, & wisely
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