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WHAT DOES IT MATTER,
the new year, the old year?
I stretch out my legs and all alone have a quiet sleep.
Don't tell me the monks aren't getting their instruction.
Here and there the nightingale is singing;
the highest Zen.
WE ARE ALL SERVING
a life sentence in the dungeon of the self.
TO ENTER ONE'S OWN SELF,
it is necessary to go armed to the teeth.
SEEING OUR MOMENT-TO-MOMENT
automatic conditioned reactions is crucial. Without that we will just continue the mess we are creating in the world, in our loveless relationships. Without clarity, the self-pitying or self-aggrandizing soliloquy takes up all the space; then there is just this little stage for the actor, the hero, the star. If that isn't seen, self-pitying and self-promoting proceeds and makes oneself and others miserable.
--Toni Packer
("Tricycle," Summer 1996)
IF YOU DO NOT get it from yourself,
where will you go to get it?
MY INSIDE, LISTEN TO ME,
the greatest spirit,
the Teacher, is near,
wake up, wake up!
Run to his feet—
he is standing close to your head right now.
You have slept for millions and millions of years.
Why not wake up this morning?
DO NOT DESPISE THE SMALL ACT.
Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole universe. My small act, your small act, her small act, his small act. Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. You can move the hearts of
thousands of people.
--Chan Khong
(from "Fierce Compassion," an interview
in "Inquiring Mind," Vol. 15, No. 1, Fall 1998)
ONE AJAHN WAS LEADING HIS MONKS
in chanting and became so annoyed by the tigers growling that he yelled, 'You tigers, stop being so loud. The monks are trying to practice the dharma!'
Many teachers said it was important to enter the wilderness, to learn from the cycles of life in the forest, and to discover one's place in the natural world.
THE BUDDHA MADE IT CLEAR
that there is no way to run from suffering. You can run as fast and far as you can, and it will still be there with you. Instead, he said we need to stay exactly where we are and cultivate the power of awareness, the Great Awareness, mahasati. And only in that way, right here where we are, can we free ourselves from suffering.
--Ajahn Jumnien
(from "Holy Impermanence, Holy Suffering,
Holy Selflessness," in "Inquiring Mind,"
Vol. 15, No. 1, Fall 1998)
LIFE IS COMPLETELY STILL.
It is without excitement. It is always still, indifferent to whether or not your life is dramatic.
BARE ATTENTION BRINGS
order into the clutter that collects in those untidy little hidden corners of the mind. As you achieve clear comprehension in the midst of life's ordinary activities, you gain the ability to remain rational and peaceful while you throw the penetrating light of mindfulness into those irrational mental nooks and crannies. You start to see the extent to which you are responsible for your own mental suffering. You see your own miseries, fears and tensions as self generated. You see the way you cause your own suffering, weakness and limitations. And the more deeply you understand these mental processes, the less hold they have on you.
-- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
(from "Mindfulness in Plain English,"
Wisdom Books, 1995)
EASY TO DO
are things that are bad and harmful to oneself.
But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are
good and beneficial.
--The Buddha
(from "The Dhammapada," No. 163)
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