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Meditation Seed Thoughts In the night the bells of the mountain temple are swung by the wind from the pines. From my bed of stone by the wintry lamp, I can hear the flowering rain of Buddha. -- Wang Wen-lu Nothing perceived can be me or mine -- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj At death a person abandons what he construes as mine. Realizing this, the wise shouldn't incline to be devoted to mine. -- Sutta Nipata Cease identification with all phenomonality -- Wei Wu Wei This meditation produced through mental analysis and intellect is a decieving enemy,now conceptualization falls apart with the abandon of a madman. -- Dudjom Rinpoche There is a meditative terrace left by the ancient Master Chi. It is so high that it is always covered with white clouds. Should the woodcutter see it, he would not recognize it; the mountain monks, however, were glad to find it. They thought it would interest me and took me there to see it. Throughout the night dew drops fall leisurely from the bamboos; during the day pure breezes blow from the pine grove. Meditation is what I used to do as the first thing; the terrace of Master Chi inspires me even more. -- Meng Hao-jan There are those who do not realize that one day we all must die. But those who do realize this settle their quarrels. - Dhammapada Be the change you want to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi Thoughts appear and disappear but they are not "mine" so they don't bother me. Let them come, let them go. What does it matter? They are nothing to do with me. -- Poonjaji Those who speak do not know; Those who know do not speak. This is what we were told by Lao Tze. Should we believe that he himself Was the one who knew? How could it then be that he wrote No less than five thousand words? -- P'o Chu-I He is not noble who injures living beings. He is called noble because he is harmless towards all living beings. -- Dhammapada Sit zazen with whole body and mind, not only with mind. -- Joshu Sasaki Roshi The substance of a sage Is nameless and cannot be spoken of; The empty door of truth as it really is Cannot be tarried in. -- Pai-chang A man is not versed in Dhamma because he speaks much. He who, after hearing a little Dhamma, realizes its truth directly and is not heedless of it, is truly versed in the Dhamma. -- Dhammapada We get no letters from the world of emptiness, but when you see the plant flower, when you hear the sound of bamboo hit by the small stone, that is a letter from the world of emptiness. -- Shunryu Suzuki There is a reality even prior to heaven and earth; indeed, it has no form, much less a name. Eyes fail to see it; it has no voice for ears to detect. To call it Mind or Buddha violates its nature, for it then becomes like a visionary flower in the air. It is not Mind, nor Buddha; absolutely quiet, and yet illuminating in a mysterious way, it allows itself to be perceived only by the clear-eyed. It is Dharma truly beyond form and sound; it is Tao having nothing to do with words. -- Dai-o Kokushi Know this, O good man: evil things are difficult to control. Let not greed and wickedness drag you to protracted misery. -- Dhammapada One minute of sitting, one inch of Buddha. Like lightning all thoughts come and pass. Just once look into your mind-depths: Nothing else has ever been. -- Manzan By day the sun shines, And the warrior in his armor shines. By night the moon shines, And the master shines in meditation. But day and night The one who is awake Shines in the radiance of the spirit. - Buddha One who destroys life, utters lies, takes what is not given, goes to another man's wife, and is addicted to intoxicating drinks -- such a man digs up his own root even in this world. -- Dhammapada What is bliss but your own being? You are not apart from being which is the same as bliss. You are now thinking that you are the mind or the body which are both changing and transient. But you are unchanging and eternal. That is what you should know. -- Maharshi Just don't seek from others, Or you'll be far estranged from Self. I now go on alone; Everywhere I meet It: It now is me; I now am It. One must understand in this way To merge with thusness. -- Dongshan Liangjie Difficult is life for the modest one who always seeks purity, is detached and unassuming, clean in life, and discerning. -- Dhammapada How profoundly silent is the temple of Tao! Boundless and infinite, it is the dwelling place of the divine. The light-hall is wide and high, yet awed by silence. Forgetful of words I roam and rest here. I have discarded the world of fame and profit. How elegant is the morning sun shining on the rafters and eaves. How cool are the terrace and pond after the rain. I burn incense to break the deep silence, and drink the spring water and relax in joy. I penetrate into the wonders of Tao, and chant the ancient sutras. When my mind is at ease my spirit is at peace. When understanding is gained, there is nothing left to comprehend. Who can say that the realm of Tao is far from us? How tranquil it is - as at the beginning of Heaven and Earth. - Ni Tsan Just as rust arising from iron eats away the base from which it arises, even so, their own deeds lead transgressors to states of woe. -- Dhammapada Fall down 100 times, get up 101 times - no failure. -- Zen Cold Cliff's remoteness is what I love No one travels this way Clouds lie around on the peaks A lone gibbon howls on the ridge What else do I cherish It's good to grow old content Cold and heat change my appearance The pearl of my mind stays safe -- Cold Mountain He has broken the cycle, attained freedom from desire. The dried-up stream no longer flows. The cycle, broken, no longer turns. This, just this, is the end of misery. -- Udana A life of meditation is to perceive at any time the beauty of the moment. Mind and body are always one. -- Tong Po My hut settled among neighbors, I ignore the noise of horses and carts. You ask how I get along - My mind remains wide, So my place is naturally remote. -- Tao Yuan Ming Make an island unto yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall not come again to birth and decay. -- Dhammapada You are ripe for Enlightenment when you want nothing else. In order to be born as a baby you have to spend nine months getting bigger and bigger. For Enlightenment you have to get smaller and smaller until you disappear completely. -- Poonjaji If you want to know the realm of buddhahood, you must make your mind as clear as empty space. Leave false thinking and all grasping far behind, causing your mind to be unobstructed wherever it may turn. The realm of buddhahood is not some external world where there is a formal "Buddha." It's the realm of the wisdom of a self-awakened sage. -- Zen Master Ta-hui Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth. -- Dhammapada A free man belongs to himself and nobody else. A free man is simply an energy with no name, no form, no race, no nation. -- Osho I've always loved friends of the Way Always held them dear Meeting a stranger with silent springs Greeting a guest talking zen Talking about mysteries on a moonlit night Searching for truth until dawn When the tracks of our inventions disappear And we see who we really are -- Cold Mountain One should give up anger, renounce pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering never befalls him who clings not to mind and body and is detached. -- Dhammapada No beginning to practice, no end to enlightenment; No beginning to enlightenment, no end to practice. -- Dogen Those who are devoted to the Dhamma made known by the Noble Ones are unsurpassed in speech, thought and action. They are established in peace, gentleness and concentration, and have reached the essence of learning and wisdom. -- Sutta Nipata The pine tree's voice is always whispering, Yet how many pause to listen? For when the churning mind is still, The Diamond Heart within Reflects even the falling dusk that Shrouds every eye and branch, And hears, but listens not. Walking, then, with Courage and Kindness, Never ceasing to walk in Wonder, We follow our ancient path. For the Way of the sword is folded two; Like the rose we have thorns, And like the rose, we unfold. - Ji Aoi Isshi Here is the place; from here the Way unfolds. -- Dogen Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the hostile. Amidst hostile men we dwell free from hatred. -- Dhammapada A Garden is Never Finished. -- Zen Go beyond this way or that way, to the farther shore where the world dissolves and everything becomes clear. Beyond this shore and the farther shore, beyond the beyond, where there is no beginning, no end, without fear, go. -- Buddha Disciples as numerous as grains of sand in the River Ganges, not one has gained enlightenment; they err in seeking it as a path taught by others. To eliminate form and eradicate its traces, make utmost effort and strive diligently to walk in nothingness. - Tung-shan Liang-chieh Some recluses and brahmins, so called, Are deeply attached to their own views; People who only see one side of things Engage in quarrels and disputes. -- Udana Just as a tree, though cut down, sprouts up again if its roots remain uncut and firm, even so, until the craving that lies dormant is rooted out, suffering springs up again and again. - Dhammapada I have never moved from the beginnng -- Zen One minute of sitting, one inch of Buddha. Like lightning all thoughts come and pass. Just once look into your mind-depths: Nothing else has ever been. -- Manzan Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial. - Dhammapada When practicing meditation, though you may encounter difficulties, let not your mind be anxious. When the moon has been eclipsed will it not freely shine again? -- Tishan Great accomplishment seems imperfect, Yet it does not outlive its usefulness. Great fullness seems empty, Yet it cannot be exhausted. Great straightness seems twisted. Great intelligence seems stupid. Great eloquence seems awkward. Movement overcomes cold. Stillness overcomes heat. Stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe. -- Tao Te Ching South and north, sharing a single mountain gate, above and below, two temples both named T'ien-chu. Dwelling therein is an old dharma master, built tall and skinny like stork or swan. I do not know what practice he engages in, but his green eyes reflect the mountain valleys. Just looking into them makes one feel fresh and pure, as if all one's baneful vexations had been cleansed. -- Su Shih One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain. -- Dhammapada Let the sun and the moon revolve by themselves! When I have time I read the sutras, when I am tired I sleep on my straw bed. The meaning of the teaching is profound and vast like the ocean. When I reveal it in my brush-work, its merits are limitless. Should I explain this secret teaching to you the solid mountain, I am afraid, would blow away. -- Shih t'ao With good will for the entire cosmos, cultivate a limitless heart: Above, below, & all around, unobstructed, without hostility or hate. -- Sutta Nipata No master can confer insight on a disciple, but he can help a disciple to understand all at once and have insight by himself. -- Huineng My primordial nature has no liking for the life in the cities. To be free from the noise I built a little thatched cottage far away in the depth of the mountains. Wandering here and there I carry no thought. When spring comes I watch the birds; in summer I bathe in the running stream; in autumn I climb the highest peaks; during the winter I am warming up in the sun. Thus I enjoy the real flavor of the seasons. -- Shih t'ao One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control. -- Dhammapada As to the roaming of sages, They move in utter emptiness, Let their minds meander in the great nothingness; They run beyond convention And go through where there is no gateway. They listen to the soundless And look at the formless, They are not constrained by society And not bound to its customs. -- Lao-tze If you fear pain, if you dislike pain, don't do an evil deed in open or secret. If you're doing or will do an evil deed, you won't escape pain: it will catch you even as you run away. -- Udana People can be wise or ignorant; bamboo can be tall or short. Tall or short, wise or ignorant - there is no definite good or bad about it. Tall has its advantage and short has its usefulness. -- Cuiwei Wuxue Don't tell me how difficult the Way. The bird's path, winding far, is right before you. Water of the Dokei Gorge, you return to the ocean, I to the mountain. -- Hofuku Seikatsu O house-builder, you are seen! You will not build this house again. For your rafters are broken and your ridgepole shattered. My mind has reached the Unconditioned; I have attained the destruction of craving. -- Dhammapada A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror. -- Kahlil Gibran With a quiet mind come into that empty house, your heart, and feel the joy of the way beyond the world. Look within - the rising and the falling. What happiness! How sweet to be free! -- Buddha Speak not harshly to anyone, for those thus spoken to might retort. Indeed, angry speech hurts, and retaliation may overtake you. -- Dhammapada Ego is the greatest bondage, the only hell that I know of. -- Osho Nothing is equal to the power of a wordless question... a naked question mark whose primal energy is glowing within. The living question alone has the power, not to create this objective awareness, but rather to facilitate it by piercing through the wall of thought. Awaken to an awareness that is always here to be remembered. -- Enlightening As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with regard to all beings. -- Sutta Nipata The person who takes the banal and ordinary and illuminates it in a new way can terrify. We do not want our ideas changed. We feel threatened by such demands. "I already know the important things!" we say. Then Changer comes and throws our old ideas away. -- The Zensufi Master Study the teachings of the pine tree, the bamboo, and the plum blossom. The pine is evergreen, firmly rooted, and venerable. The bamboo is strong, resilient, unbreakable. The plum blossom is hardy, fragrant and elegant. Always keep your mind as bright and clear as the vast sky, the great ocean, and the highest peak, empty of all thoughts. Always keep your body filled with light and heat. Fill yourself with the power of wisdom and enlightenment. -- Morihei Ueshiba Exalted in mind & heedful, the sage trained in sagacity's ways: He has no sorrows, one who is Such, calmed & ever mindful. -- Udana The hidden harmony is better than the obvious. Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony. It is in changing that things find repose. People do not understand how that which is at variance with itself, agree with itself. There is a harmony in the bending back, as in the case of the bow and lyre. The name of the bow is life, but its work is death. -- Heraclitus The True Person from the West, has anyone seen her? Her robes decorated with the Seven Treasures; a pair of great lions following at her heels. Yet she too once cultivated the Way with no small effort and diligence. Sitting until willows sprouted from her elbows, her enlightenment at first misty and obscure, like jade hidden away in the mountain depths. Then slowly it began to shine brightly, like a lotus emerging from the water. The Way realized, in a single say, she reached the state of Nirvana. -- Su Shih Hasten to do good; restrain your mind from evil. He who is slow in doing good, his mind delights in evil. -- Dhammapada The highest spiritual element is moving and is also not moving. It is far away and yet it is near. It is concealed in everything and is outside of everything also. -- Ishavasya upanishad Earnestly avoid seeking without, Lest it recede far from you. Today I am walking alone, Yet everywhere I meet him. He is now no other than myself, But I am not now him. It must be understood in this way In order to merge with Suchness. -- Tung-shan Liang-chieh There is no more worldly existence for the wise one who, like the earth, resents nothing, who is firm as a high pillar and as pure as a deep pool free from mud. -- Dhammapada Meditation is not against action. It is not that you have to escape from life. It simply teaches you a new way of life: You become the center of the cyclone. Your life goes on, it goes on really more intensely -- with more joy, with more clarity, more vision, more creativity -- yet you are aloof, just a watcher on the hills, simply seeing all that is happening around you. You are not the doer, you are the watcher. -- Osho Sagehood has nothing to do with governing others but is a matter of ordering oneself. Nobility has nothing to do with power and rank but is a matter of self realization. Attain self-realization, and the whole world is found in the self. Happiness has nothing to do with wealth and status, but is a matter of harmony. -- Lao-tze The fever of passion exists not for him who has completed the journey, who is sorrowless and wholly set free, and has broken all ties. -- Dhammapada One's own thought is one's world. What a person thinks is what he becomes. That is the eternal mystery. -- Upanishads The true form is magnificently illuminated with gleaming fire. The teaching's voice is total silence amid the ringing of wind chimes. The moon hangs in the old pine tree, cold in the falling night. The chilled crane in its nest in the clouds has not yet been aroused from its dreams. -- Hongzhi Zhengjue If a man going down into a river, swollen and swiftly flowing, is carried away by the current -- how can he help others across? -- Sutta Nipata By observing our own mind carefully, we will come to the true understanding of the formation of suffering, as well as the disappearance of suffering - the ultimate wisdom. -- Buddha A special method of attaining heavenly victory: Being in harmony with all things. Life, death, length, and breadth, not a spark of discord. -- Yamaoka Tesshu Few among men are those who cross to the farther shore. The rest, the bulk of men, only run up and down the hither bank. But those who act according to the perfectly taught Dhamma will cross the realm of Death, so difficult to cross. -- Dhammapada Any moment is the best moment and any place, the best place. If only you perceive this wholeheartedly. -- Panshan Whirled by the three passions, one's eyes go blind. Closed to the world of things, they see again. In this way I live; straw-hatted, staff in hand. I move illimitably, through earth, through heaven. -- Ungo Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame. -- Dhammapada As you live your frequency, you affect everyone, every place you go. Your own growth affects the growth of the planet. -- Barbara Marciniak Before the first step is taken the goal is reached, before the tongue is moved the speech is finished, more than brilliant intuition is needed to find the origin of the right road. -- CMu-mon Just as a mountain of rock, is unwavering, well-settled, so the monk whose delusion is ended, like a mountain, is undisturbed. -- Udana Om. That is whole, and this also is whole. For only the whole is born out of the whole; and when the whole is taken from the whole, behold, the remainder is whole. Om. Peace, peace, peace. -- Ishavasya upanishad Sitting on top of a boulder The gorge stream icy cold Quiet fun holds a special charm Fogged-in on deserted cliffs A fine place to rest The sun leans and tree shadows sprawl While I view the ground of my mind A lotus comes out of the mud. -- Cold Mountain Irrigators regulate the rivers; fletchers straighten the arrow shaft; carpenters shape the wood; the wise control themselves. -- Dhammapada Meditation will help you to drop out of all old patterns and start a new way of life, a natural way of life, a nonrepressive way of life, a life not of renunciation but of rejoicing. -- Osho Beyond a door I made but don't close, I glimpse strange birds flying past. For a piece of jade you can own a whole cliff, but gold won't buy a lifetime of freedom. The sound of ice falls on dawnlit snowy ridges, a mountain horizon through leafless autumn woods. Mist clears from ancient cedars and days last forever... right and wrong don't enter the clouds. -- Stone House He who drinks deep the Dhamma lives happily with a tranquil mind. The wise man ever delights in the Dhamma made known by the Noble One (the Buddha). -- Dhammapada Under the trees, among the rocks, a thatched hut: verses and sacred commentaries live there together. I'll burn the books I carry in my bag, but how can I forget the verses written in my gut? -- Ikkyu Through conviction one crosses over the flood. Through heedfulness, the sea. Through persistence one overcomes suffering & stress. Through discernment a person is purified. -- Sutta Nipata Wisdom is like a mass of fire - it cannot be entered from any side. Wisdom is like a clear cool pool - it can be entered from any side. -- Nagarjuna Meditating deeply... reach the depth of the source. Branching streams cannot compare to this source! Sitting alone in a great silence, even though the heavens turn and the earth is upset, you will not even wink. -- Nyogen Senzaki One is the quest for worldly gain, and quite another is the path to Nibbana. Clearly understanding this, let not the monk, the disciple of the Buddha, be carried away by worldly acclaim, but develop detachment instead. -- Dhammapada Today I sat before the cliffs Sat until the mist drew off A rambling clear stream shore A towering green ridge crest Cloud's dawn shadows still Moon’s night light adrift Body free of dust Mind without a care. -- Han shan That bhikkhu who has crossed the mire, Crushed the thorn of sensual desire, And reached the destruction of delusion Is not perturbed by pleasures and pains. - Udana Sitting in the monastery, No-minded, like the moon in water, Making ten thousand exercises, Traceless, like illusory flowers. Well done is that action of doing which one repents not later, and the fruit of which, one reaps with delight and happiness. -- Dhammapad Hidden birds sing as cool and clear As a bamboo forest. Between swinging willows sun beams glimmer Like golden thread. Clouds return to this calm valley. The winds carry the fragrance of almonds. By sitting alone all day long I clear my mind of a thousand thoughts. To speak of this is beyond our words; Only by sitting under the quiet forest Can we ever understand. -- Fa Yen The past should not be followed after and the future not desired; what is past is dead and gone and the future is yet to come. -- Majjhima Nikaya Those who awaken never rest in one place. Like swans, they rise and leave the lake. On the air they rise and fly an invisible course. Their food is knowledge. They live on emptiness. They have seen how to break free. Who can follow them? -- Buddha Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find pleasure therein, for painful is the accumulation of evil. -- Dhammapada The pearl of the mind is always of penetrating splendor; the self-nature from the outset is perfectly bright. Awaken to principle and know where the real is tending toward; thusness is quiescent and wordless. Chatting about the written teaching, from this comes the Ch'an of false thoughts. -- Fa-chao Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live as hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things. -- Dhammapada In my lifetime I hope to develop: Arms that are strong, Hands that are gentle, Ears that will listen, Eyes that are kind, A mind full of wisdom, A heart that understands, A tongue that will speak softly. If a person sits in stillness for one instant, it is better than building seven-jeweled stupas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Those jeweled stupas will finally be reduced to dust, but one thought of purity of mind produces right enlightenment. -- an ancient text As Namaste is to say *may the Divine Essence IN me Embrace the Divine Essence IN you as a Divine Essence of One*, so too Metta is to say *may the Loving Kindness IN me Embrace the Loving Kindness IN you as Loving Kindness of One*, so too Zikr is to say *may the Self Remembering IN me Embrace the Self Remembering IN you as a Self Remembrance of One*. It is in the Inner Embracing of each other that we Realize that we are all cut from the same bolt of cloth yet most do not Realize it yet. -- Yogajyotii
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