Quotes

tao te ching chapter 20

by Liz B

Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don’t care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.

Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharper;
I alone am dull.
Other people have a purpose;
I alone don’t know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

the meaning of enlightenment

by admin

“A young man had spent five arduous years searching for truth. One day, as he walked up into the foothills of a great mountain range, he saw an old man approach from above, walking down the path, carrying a heavy sack on his back. He sensed that this old man had been to the mountaintop; he had finally found one of the wise — one who could answer his heart’s deepest questions.

“Please, Sir,” he asked. “Tell me the meaning of enlightenment.”

The old man smiled, and stopped. Then, fixing his gaze on the youth, he slowly swung the heavy burden off his back, laid the sack down, and stood up straight.

“Ah,  I understand,” the young man replied. “But Sir, what comes after enlightenment?”

The old man took a deep breath, then swung the heavy sack over his shoulders and continued on his way.”

I love this. I can relate.

Zuigan Calls His Own Master

by Liz B

Zuigan called out to himself every day: ‘Master.’
Then he answered himself: ‘Yes, sir.’
And after that he added: ‘Become sober.’
Again he answered: ‘Yes, sir.’
‘And after that,’ he continued, ‘do not be deceived by others.’
‘Yes, sir; yes, sir,’ he answered.

Mumon’s Comment: Old Zuigan sells out and buys himself. He is opening a puppet show. He uses one mask to call ‘Master’ and another that answers the master. Another mask says ‘Sober up’ and another, ‘Don’t be cheated by others.’
If anyone clings to any of his masks, he is mistaken, yet if he imitates Zuigan, he will make himself fox-like*.

 Some Zen students do not realize the true man in a mask

Because they recognize ego-soul.
Ego-soul is the seed of birth and death,
And foolish people call it the true man.

My notes on this story:
This is from a book of Zen stories + koans called “The Gateless Gate”. They are written in a way that can sometimes be hard to understand because they are all aimed at helping to cut through the obstructions in your mind. They must be read and interpreted in a different way than if you are just reading in your typical way to accumulate knowledge.

The lesson in this one is that most people define themselves and act based upon the identity their ego has shaped and defined for themselves. Most people also are fooled into thinking that that is their true nature or who they actually are, when in fact it can just be seen as a buildup of concepts that obstructs their true nature.

Most people in life that you encounter have this buildup to differing degrees. Almost everyone I meet including myself has multiple struggles and challenges with their own ego and identity. Those who have sought out what is behind that and attempted to clear away this “buildup” are exceptionally (yet also relatively) self-aware.

*Foxes are mentioned often in Zen stories as it is a big part of Japanese culture. The way you can interpret its relevance to this story is that foxes often employ the ability to trick others; therefore if you imitate others you are merely just being deceptive.

open

by admin


1417190_67820290“Vulnerability is the only authentic state. Being vulnerable means being open, for wounding, but also for pleasure. Being open to the wounds of life means also being open to the bounty and beauty. Don’t mask or deny your vulnerability: it is your greatest asset. Be vulnerable: quake and shake in your boots with it. the new goodness that is coming to you, in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you when you are vulnerable, i.e. open.”

― Stephen Russell, Barefoot Doctor’s Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior

Reflections on Effort

by Liz B

The anxious student asked the Zen master how long to enlightenment. The Zen Master answered a long time, at least 10 years. The student said, “Well I will work twice as hard.” The Zen master said, “Then it will take 20 years.” “No!” said the committed student, “I will work three times as hard.” “Well then,” said the Zen master, “it will take 30 years.”

Do you need to work at being spiritual? No. You already are spiritual. Do you need to work at being human? No. That’s just who you are.

The spiritual path doesn’t require us to get anything. It’s a process of opening to new dimensions of who we already are. It’s a process of awakening to our own truth. It’s a process of allowing ourselves to be authentic.

“It is not by your actions that you will be saved, but by your being.”
— Meister Eckhart

“People ask what must they become to be loving. The answer is ‘nothing.’ It is a process of letting go of what you thought you had become and allowing your true nature to float to the surface naturally.”
— Stephen Levine

Deepak Chopra Quote

by Liz B

“Practice silence and you will acquire silent knowledge. In this silent knowledge is a computing system that is far more precise and far more accurate and far more powerful than anything that is contained in the boundaries of rational thought.”
— Deepak Chopra