Sophic Fire

Shunryu Suzuki on Living In The Dark, Empty Sky.

2011-06-05T18:22:00.001+08:00

We should always live in the dark, empty sky.
The sky is always the sky.
Even though clouds and lightning come,
The sky is not disturbed.
Even if the flashing of enlightenment comes,
Our practice forgets all about it.
Then it is ready for another enlightenment.

Shunryu Suzuki, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"

Chopra on Lenses of Perception

2011-05-22T20:47:00.001+08:00

By itself, nothing “out there”
Has any definition without a perceiver.
When scientists claim to have deciphered
The mechanics of vision,
All they have done is found a map,
Which must not be mistaken for reality.

Everyone has seen photographs
Of what the world looks like
Through the multiple eye of a bee, spider, or fly.
Each of these insects sees through more than one lens,
And the photographs therefore present a cluster
Of eight or ten of twenty images, generally of a flower,
And we are to suppose that the insect brain
Sees the flower that way.

These composites, however, do not really capture
The actual experience of insect eyesight,
They only indicate what a human being might see
If he looked through several camera lenses
At the same time.

If all perception is personal,
Where do the “real”
Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures begin?
We trust our eyes to see “real” photons
And our ears to hear “real” vibrations in the air,
But it is easy to show that
This trust rests upon a very shaky foundation.

Why don’t we all see voices,
Instead of restricting ourselves
To the same worn rut of hearing?
Many deaf people do “hear” the wind in the trees
When they see the branches swaying.
Some junction point in their minds
Converts a visual signal into an auditory one.
Many blind people can likewise “see” faces
By feeling them with their hands.

A mental junction point has taken the signals of touch
And converted them to sight.
Presumably our brains could do the same thing,
But we prefer to let habit and memory take over.
We see through our eyes and feel through our fingers
Because we have been conditioned to do so.

Chih-men's koan

2011-05-15T20:09:00.000+08:00

What thing is not attained when painstakingly sought?

What thing comes of itself without being sought?

What thing does not break under the blow of an iron hammer

What thing closes by night and opens by day?

- Chih-men

Prajnaparamita

2011-05-08T22:11:00.002+08:00

Subhuti asked: "Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking?

Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless
Reaching the unreachable
And attaining the unattainable?"

The Buddha replied: "Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so.

And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking?

It is because all its points of reference
Cannot be thought about but can be apprehended.

One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person

Into pure presence.

Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence

Of all things in the world.

And another is luminous knowledge

None of these points can sustain ordinary thought

Because they are not objects or subjects.

They can't be imagined or touched
Or approached in any way

By any ordinary mode of consciousness,

Therefore they are beyond thinking."

- Prajnaparamita

Chopra on the New Body Paradigm

2011-03-27T21:09:00.000+08:00

Here are some vast assumptions,
The makings of a new reality,
Yet all are grounded in the discoveries of quantum physics
And made almost a hundred years ago.
The seeds of this new paradigm were planted by
Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg,
And the other pioneers of quantum physics,
Who realized that the accepted way
Of viewing the physical world was false.

1. The physical world, including our bodies,
Is a response of the observer.
We create our bodies as we create
The experience of our world.
2. In their essential state, our bodies are composed of
Energy and information, not solid matter.
3. The mind and body are inseparably one.
The unity that is “me” separates
Into two streams of experience.
I experience the subjective stream
As thoughts, feelings, and desires.
I experience the objective stream as my body.
At a deeper level, however, the two streams meet
At a single creative source.
It is from this source that we are meant to live.
4. The biochemistry of the body is a product of awareness.
Beliefs, thoughts and emotions
Create the chemical reactions
That uphold life in every cell.
5. Perception appears to be automatic,
But in fact it is a learned phenomenon.
The world you live in,
Including the experience of your body,
Is completely dictated by how you learned to perceive it.
If you change your perception,
You change the experience of your body and your world.
6. Impulses of intelligence create your body
In new forms every second.
What you are is the sum total of these impulses,
And by changing their patterns, you will change.
7. Although each person seems separate and independent,
All of us are connected to patterns of intelligence
That govern the whole cosmos.
Our bodies are part of a universal body,
Our minds an aspect of a universal mind.
8. Time does not exist as an absolute, but only eternity.
What we call linear time is a reflection
Of how we perceive change.
If we could perceive the changeless,
Time would cease to exist as we know it.
9. Each of us inhabits a reality lying beyond all change.
Deep inside us, unknown to the five senses,
Is an innermost core of being, a field of non-change
That creates personality, ego and body.
This being is our essential state–it is who we really are.
10. We are not victims of aging, sickness, and death.
These are part of the scenery, not the seer,
Who is immune to any form of change.

Chopra on The Defense of Self-image and The Loss of Energy

2011-03-21T15:33:00.000+08:00

Over the years you have built an idealized self-image
That you defend as “me.” In this image are packed
All the things you want to see as true about yourself;
Banished from it are all the shameful, guilty,
And fear-provoking aspects
That would threaten your self-confidence.

But the very aspects you try to push away return
As the most insistent, demanding voices in your head.
The act of banishment creates the chaos
Of your internal dialogue,
And thus your ideal erodes
Even while you are doing everything
To look good and feel good about yourself.

To really feel good about yourself,
Renounce your self-image.
Immediately you will find yourself being more open,
Undefended, and relaxed.

Much time is spent in self-help trying to turn
A bad self-image into a good one.
As reasonable as that sounds,
All self-images have the same pitfall:
They keep reminding you of who you were,
Not who you are.
The whole idea of I, me, and mine
Was erected on memories,
And these memories are not really you.
If you release yourself from your self-image,
You will be free to choose as if for the first time.

Self-image keeps reality away,
Particularly at the emotional level.
Many people don’t want to admit
What they are actually feeling.
Their self-image dictates that being angry, for example,
Or showing anxiety is not permissible.
Such feelings don’t accord with
The “kind of person I want to be.”

Certain emotions feel too dangerous to be part of
Your ideal image of yourself,
So you adopt a disguise that excludes those feelings.
Deep-seated rage and fear belong in this category,
But sadly so does immense joy, ecstasy,
Or freewheeling spontaneity.

You stop being ruled by self-image when:
You feel what you feel,
You are no longer offended by things,
You stop appraising how a situation makes you look,
You don’t exclude people you feel superior or inferior to,
You quit worrying about what others think about you,
You no longer obsess over money, status, and possessions,
And you no longer feel the urge to defend your opinions.

The Pearl of Great Price - I Ching

2011-03-13T23:44:00.000+08:00

Remain silent, and you sink into a realm of shadows;
Speak, and you fall into a deep pit.
Try, and youre as far away as sky from earth;
Give up, and youll never attain.
Enormous waves go on and on,
Foaming breakers flood the skies.
Who has the bright pearl that calms the oceans?

Deepak Chopra on The Gap Between Thoughts

2011-03-05T19:38:00.000+08:00

Finding the silent gap that flashes
In between our thoughts
Seems relatively easy, but because it flashes by,
A tiny gap is not a doorway.
The quantum body is not separate from us–it is us–
Yet we are not experiencing it right now.
Sitting here, we are thinking, reading, talking,
Breathing, digesting, and so on,
All of which happens above the line.

Here is an analogy that brings the quantum mechanical
Body into focus: take a bar magnet and place a piece
Of paper over it. Next, sprinkle iron filings on the paper
And jostle it slightly.

What will emerge is a pattern of curving lines,
One inside the other,
That arch from the magnet’s north to south pole
And back again.
The overall design you have made represents a map
Of the magnetic line of force
That otherwise would be invisible, except that
The iron particles automatically align themselves
To bring out the image.

In this analogy, we see all mind-body activity
Above the paper and the hidden field of intelligence below.
The iron filings moving around are mind-body activity,
Automatically aligning with the magnetic field,
Which is intelligence.

The field is completely invisible and unknowable
Until it shows its hand
By moving some bits of matter around.
The piece of paper is the quantum mechanical body,
A thin screen that shows exactly
What patterns of intelligence are being manifested
At the moment.

There is more to this simple comparison
Than you might at first suppose.
It is really the hidden field that is generating
These lifelike appearances.
Here you have a picture of how the body-mind
Actually relates to the field of intelligence.
The two remain separated, but the division is invisible
And has no thickness whatever.
It is just a gap.

The only way one knows
That the quantum level even exists
Is that images and patterns keep cropping up everywhere
In the body.

The Treatise of The Golden Lion, by Fazang

2011-02-25T19:17:00.005+08:00

The renowned Buddhist ideologue Fazang (Fa-tsang) (643–712 CE) stands as one of the foremost figures of the golden age of Chinese Buddhism. During his life he lectured tirelessly on the Flower Garland Sutra, the Buddha’s first sermon upon attaining enlightenment. Nearly incomprehensible, The Flower Garland Sutra is invested with a profundity and wisdom unparalleled in the Buddha’s subsequent works. Fazang, condensing the entire abstract doctrine of this sutra into ten parts, brilliantly demonstrated it through the metaphor of a golden lion. The lion represents the cosmos, parts of the lion the various phenomena of the universe, while the gold represented emptiness. The lion had a mane, teeth, claws and eyes: parts that seemed distinct and unrelated. And yet the essential substance of the entire lion was the same–gold. Within each hair, paradoxically, there are infinite lions. The differences are all superficial. Such is the nature of the integrated, interconnected Flower Garland universe.

The Treatise of The Golden Lion

1. To understand the principle of dependent-arising.
2. To distinguish form and Emptiness.
3. To summarize the three characters.
4. To reveal the non-existence of forms.
5. To explain the truth of the unborn.
6. To discuss the five doctrines.
7. To master the ten mysteries.
8. To embrace the six forms.
9. To achieve the perfect Wisdom of Bodhi.
10. To enter into Nirvāna.

1. To understand the principle of dependent-arising. This is to say that gold has no inherent nature of its own (i.e., no Svabhāva). It is owing to the artistry of the skillful craftsman that the form of the lion arises. This arising is the result solely of the cause-conditioning; therefore it is called the arising through dependent-arising.

2. To distinguish form and Emptiness. This means that the form of the lion is unreal; what is real is the gold. Because the lion is not existent, and the body of the gold is not non-existent, they are called form/Emptiness. Furthermore, Emptiness does not have any mark of its own; it is through forms that Emptiness is revealed. This fact that Emptiness does not impede the illusory existence of forms is called form/Emptiness.

3. To summarize the three characters. Because of men's delusory perceptions, the lion seems to exist in a concrete manner; this is called the character of universal imagination (parikalpita). The manifestation of the lion appears to be existing, this is called the character of dependency on others (paratantra). The nature of gold never changes, this is called the character of perfect reality (parinispanna).

4. To reveal the non-existence of forms. This is to say that when the gold completely takes in the lion, there is no form of lion to be found. This is called the non-existence of forms.

5. To explain the truth of the unborn. This means that at the very moment when we see the lion come into existence, it is actually the gold that comes into existence. There is nothing apart from the gold. Although the lion may come into and go out of existence, the substance of gold, in fact, never increases or decreases. This is called the truth of the unborn.

6. To discuss the five doctrines. The first: although the lion is a dharma produced through dependent-arising, it undergoes generation and destruction in each and every moment. Since nothing in the phenomenal world endures, no form of the lion can ever be found. This is called the teaching for the ignorant Śrāvakas (Hīnayāna).The second: all things, being the product of dependent-arising, are devoid of Selfhood (Svabhāva), and in the final analysis, are nothing but Emptiness. This is called the preliminary teaching of Mahāyāna.

The third: although all things are Emptiness through and through, this does not impede the vivid appearance of the Māyā/becoming. All that which is of dependent-arising is fictitiously existent and therefore it is truly void. This co-existence of both being and non-being is called the final teaching of Mahāyāna.

The fourth: inasmuch as these two characters that of Emptiness and that of form mutually annul each other, they are both abolished. Here, no imaginings or false presuppositions exist; neither the concept of Emptiness nor the idea of existence retains any influence. This is the sphere in which the ideas of both being and non-being vanish. It is a realm that names and speech cannot reach. Here the mind rests without any attachment. This is called the instantaneous teaching of Mahāyāna.

The fifth: when all false feelings and wrong ideas are eliminated, and the true substance is revealed, everything becomes merged into one great mass. Great functions then arise in abundance, and whatever arises is absolutely true. The myriad manifestations, despite their variety, interpenetrate without confusion or disarray. The all is the one, for both are empty in substance. The one is the all, for cause and effect clearly manifest themselves without fail. In their power and functions the one and the all embrace each other. They spread out and roll up in utter freedom. This is called the Round Doctrine of the One Vehicle.

7. Mastering the ten mysteries. The first: the gold and the lion are simultaneously established, all-perfect and complete. This is called the principle of simultaneous completeness.

The second: if the eyes of the lion take in the complete lion, then the all the whole lion is the eyes. If the ears take in the complete lion, then the all is the ears. If all the organs simultaneously take in the whole lion and all are complete in their possession, then each and every organ is "mixed" (involving others) as well as "pure" being itself. This is called the principle of full possession of the purity and mixture by the various storehouses.

The third: the gold and the lion both establish and include each other in harmony. There is no obstruction between one and many. In this complete mutual inclusion, the Li (noumenon) and the Shih (phenomena), the one and the many, remain in their own positions. This is called the mutual inclusion and differentiation of one and many.

The fourth: all the parts of the lion, down to the tip of each and every hair, take in the whole lion in so far as they are all gold. Each and every one of them permeates the eyes of the lion. The eyes are the ears, the ears are the nose, the nose is the tongue, the tongue is the body. They all exist in total freedom without obstruction or impediment. This is called the mutual identity of all dharmas in freedom.

The fifth: if we look at the lion as a lion, there is only lion and no gold. This is the disclosure of the lion but the concealment of the gold. If we look at the gold as gold, there is only gold and no lion. This is the disclosure of the gold but the concealment of the lion. If we look at both simultaneously, they are both manifest or hidden. Being hidden they are secret, being manifest they are revealed. This is called the simultaneous establishment of disclosure and concealment in secrecy.

The sixth: the gold and the lion may be manifest or hidden, one or many, pure or mixed, powerful or powerless. The one is the other. The principal and the companion interchange their radiance. Both Li and Shih simultaneously come into view. Being mutually compatible, they do not impede one another's existence. This is true even in the case of the minute and the subtle aspects and is called the peaceful co-existence.. of the minute and the subtle.

The seventh: in each of the lion's eyes, in its ears, limbs, and so forth, down to each and every single hair, there is a golden-lion. All the lions embraced by each and every hair simultaneously and instantaneously enter into one single hair. Thus in each and every hair there are an infinite number of lions. Furthermore, each and every hair containing infinite lions returns again to a single hair. The progression is infinite, like the jewels of Celestial Lord lndra's Net; a realm-embracing-realm ad infinitum is thus established, and it is called the realm of lndra's Net.

The eighth: the lion is spoken of in order to indicate men's ignorance; the gold is spoken of in order to reveal the true nature. By jointly discussing Li and Shih, the Ālaya Consciousness is described so that a correct understanding of the doctrine may be reached. This is called the creation of understanding by revealing the Dharma through facts.

The ninth: the lion is a transient and conditioned thing (samskrta dharma); it arises and fades away at every moment, and each moment can be divided into past, present, and future. Each of these three periods again contains three sections of past, present, and future; therefore, altogether there are three-times-three units, thus forming the nine ages; grouping them together we have a total gate to the Dharma-truth. Although there are nine ages, each is different from the other, and yet their existences are established because of one another. They are harmoniously merged without the slightest obstruction in one identical eternal moment. This is called the different formation of separated dharmas in ten ages.

The tenth: the gold and the lion may be manifest or hidden, one or many, but they are both devoid of a Self-being (Svabhāva). They manifest in various forms in accordance with the turning and transforming of the Mind. Whether we speak of them as Li or Shih, there is the Mind by which they are formed and exist. This is called the universal accomplishment through the projection of Mind-Only.

8. To embrace the Six Forms. The lion represents the character of wholeness, and the five organs, being various and different, represent diversity. The fact that they are all of one dependent-arising represents the character of universality. The eyes, ears, and so on remain in their own places and do not interfere with one another; this represents the character of particularity. The combination and convergence of the various organs makes up the lion; this represents the character of formation. The fact that each organ remains at its own position represents the character of disintegration.

9. To achieve the perfect Wisdom of Bodhi. "Bodhi," in the Chinese language, means the Way (Tao) or Enlightenment. This is to say that when we look at the lion, we see at once that all conditioned things, without going through the process of disintegration, are from the beginning in a state of quiescent non-existence. By being free from both clinging and detachment, one can follow this path into the ocean of omniscience (sarvajña); therefore it is called the Way. To comprehend the fact that from the very no-beginning all illusions are in reality non-existent is called Enlightenment.

10. To enter into Nirvāna. When we look at the lion and the gold, the marks of both are exhausted. At this point, the passion-desires no longer arise even though beauty and ugliness are displayed before one's eyes. The mind is tranquil like the sea; all disturbing and delusory thoughts are extinguished, and there are no compulsions. One emerges from bondage and is free from all hindrances. The source of all suffering is forever cut off, and this is called entering into Nirvāna.

Chopra on recycled patterns

2010-05-20T06:11:00.000+08:00

When we consider our physical bodies,
We discover that we are, really,
A collection of recycled molecules.
Cells of our body are created, die,
And are replaced many times throughout our lives.
We are constantly remaking ourselves.

In order to regenerate, our bodies
Convert the food we eat
Into basic building blocks of life.
The earth itself provides the nutrients
We need to renew ourselves,
And when we shed cells,
They are returned to the earth.
We might say, then, that we are
Constantly transforming our physical bodies
By recycling earth.

Next, consider our emotions.
Emotions are just recycled energy.
Emotions do not originate with us.
They come and go
Depending on situations, circumstances,
Relationships, and events.

Emotions are never created in isolation;
They always come about because of
Some interaction with the environment.
In the absence of circumstances or relationships,
There is no emotion.
So even though I may fly into a rage,
It is not actually my anger.
It is anger that has settled on me for the moment.
Each emotion is dependent on the context,
Circumstances, and relationships
That define your reality at that moment.

And what about our thoughts?
Well, our thoughts are recycled information.
Every thought we have is actually part
Of a collective database.
All but the most original thoughts
Are actually quantum leaps of creativity
That occur from that same collective,
Recycled bed of imagination.

So if our bodies are recycled earth,
Our emotions are recycled energy,
And our thoughts are recycled information,
What is it that makes you an individual?
According to many of the great spiritual traditions,
One of the great truths is that “I am the other.”
Without the other, we would not exist.

Chopra on dreams and ego

2010-05-02T18:19:00.001+08:00

We’re all clinging to images of ourselves
That pile up year after year.
Some images make us look good,
Some make us look bad.
But images can’t substitute for the real things.
The real you is vital and alive,
Shifting and changing at every moment.

In everyone’s life, the ego extends its lease
By saying, “Hold on. Keep trying. I know what to do.”
But stand back and consider
What this strategy comes down to:
If all your hard work hasn’t brought you what you want,
Work harder.
If you don’t have enough,
Get more.
If your dream fails,
Keep following it.
If you grow insecure,
Believe in yourself more.
Never acknowledge failure; success is the only option.

This kind of ego motivation,
Turned into slogans,
Is deeply ingrained in popular culture.
Following your dream and never giving up
Has become a credo repeated by
The rich, famous, and successful.
Yet for every winner of a beauty pageant,
Stock-car race, World Series, or Hollywood audition,
There are an untold number whose dream
Didn’t come true.
They followed their dream just as hard
And believed in it just as much.
By no means did the ego’s strategy work for them.

Fortunately, there’s another way;
It’s the exact opposite of the ego’s strategy:
If all your hard work hasn’t brought you what you want,
Look for new inspiration.
If you don’t have enough,
Find it in yourself.
If your dream fails, and you see that it was a fantasy,
Find a dream that matches your reality.
If you grow insecure,
Detach yourself from the situation
Until you find your center again.
You are not shaken by either success of failure;
The flow of life brings both, as temporary states.

The real self is a shifting, elusive phantom
That’s always one step ahead of us.
It dissolves the instant you think you’re about to grab it.
You can’t ever nail down who you really are.
To understand your real self,
You have to keep up as it moves.
Finding the real you happens on the run.
The same holds true for grace, since it is part of the real you.

Chopra on creation, the phenomenol field, and the ego

2010-04-23T23:56:00.001+08:00

To say that you are a creator
Isn’t the same as to say that your ego is.
The ego will always remain attached
To your personality,
And certainly your personality
Doesn’t create everything around you.

Creation doesn’t happen on that level.

Let’s see, then, if we can get closer
To the real creator inside you.
We’ll do this by mediation on a rose.

Find a beautiful rose and hold it in front of you.
Inhale the fragrance and say to yourself,
“Without me, this flower would have no fragrance.”
Take in the glowing crimson color and say to yourself,
“Without me this rose would have no color.”
Stroke the velvety petals and say to yourself,
“Without me, this flower would have no texture.”
Realize that if you subtract yourself from any sensation
– sight, sound, touch, taste, smell –
The rose would be nothing but atoms vibrating in a void.

Now consider the DNA that is inside each cell of the rose.
Visualize the billions of atoms strung along in a double helix
And say to yourself,
“My DNA is looking at the DNA in this flower.
The experience is not as an observer looking at an object.
DNA is one form is looking at DNA in another form.”

Now see the DNA begin to shimmer
And turn into invisible vibrations of energy.
I have vanished into my primal energy.
Now only one energy field is looking at another energy field.”

Finally, see the boundary between your energy
And the rose’s energy fade as one set of waves
Merges into another, like ocean waves rising and falling
On the vast surface of an endless sea.

Say to yourself,
“All energy comes from one source and returns to it.
When I look at a rose, a tiny flicker of infinity
Is rising from the source to experience itself.”

Having followed this trail, you have arrived at what is truly real:
An infinite, silent energy field
Flickered for an instant, experiencing an object (the rose)
And a subject (you the observer) without going anywhere.
You and the rose stood at opposites poles of that moment,
Yet there was no separation.

A single creative stroke took place, fusing you both.

Kao-feng on Buddha nature

2010-04-12T11:43:00.003+08:00

Those who have spent ten or twenty years
Brushing aside the weeds looking for the way
And yet have not seen the Buddha nature
Often say they are trapped by oblivion and excitement.
What they don't realize is that the substance
Of this very oblivion and excitement

Is itself Buddha nature.

Ashtavakra Gita 15:5

2010-04-05T02:54:00.000+08:00

Desire and aversion are of the mind.
The mind is never yours.
You are free of its turmoil.
You are awareness itself,
Never changing.
Wherever you go, Be happy.

Deepak Chopra on the Soul

2010-03-23T20:26:00.002+08:00

When we are beginning to understand the soul,
The ocean provides a wonderful analogy.
Imagine the ocean as non-local reality,
The field of infinite possibilities,
The virtual level of existence
That synchronizes everything.

Each of us is like a wave in that ocean.
We are created from it, and it makes up
The very core of who we are.
Just as a wave takes on a specific shape,
We, too, take on intricate patterns of non-local reality.
This vast, unending ocean of possibility
Is the essence of everything in the physical world.
The ocean represents the non-local,
And the wave represents the local.
The two are intimately connected.

Once we define the soul
As deriving from the non-local, or virtual realm,
Then our place in the universe
Becomes remarkably clear:
We are both local and non-local,
An individual pattern emerging from
Non-local intelligence,
Which is also part of everyone and everything else.
We can think of the soul, then, as having two parts.
The vast, non-local soul exists
At the virtual or spirit level.
It is powerful, pure, and capable of anything.
The personal, local part of the soul
Exists at the quantum level.
This is what reaches into our daily lives
And holds the essence of who we are.
It, too, is powerful, pure, and capable of anything.
The same unbounded potential of the infinite spirit
Also resides in each and every one of us.
Our personal soul, which we think of
When we think of our “selves,”
Is an outcropping of the eternal soul.
If we could learn to live from the level of the soul,
We would see that the best,
Most luminous part of ourselves
Is connected to all the rhythms of the universe.
We would truly know ourselves
As the miracle-makers we are capable of being.

We would lose fear, and longing, and hatred,
And anxiety, and hesitation.
Living from the level of the soul means
Diving past the ego,
Past the limitations of the mind that harness us
To events and outcomes in the physical world.

Dogen, "Actualizing the Fundamental Point"

2010-03-08T02:33:00.002+08:00

Eiheiji Temple, founded by Dogen

As all things are buddha-dharma,
There is delusion and realization,
Practice, and birth and death,
And there are buddhas and sentient beings.
As the myriad things are without an abiding self,
There is no delusion, no realization, no buddha,
No sentient being, no birth and death.
The buddha way is, basically, leaping clear
Of the many and the one; thus
There are birth and death,
Delusion and realization,
Sentient beings and buddhas.
Yet in attachment blossoms fall,
And in aversion weeds spread.

Maharamayana

2009-10-09T22:33:00.005+08:00

Self-knowledge cannot be gained
Until everything is renounced.
When all points of view are abandoned,
What remains is the Self.
Even in the world you do not get
What you desire
Until all obstacles are removed.
This is even more true of self-knowledge.

Deepak Chopra on Uncertainty

2009-10-07T18:53:00.002+08:00

Scientists recognize the unpredictability of nature,
And have been trying to make sense of it.
Even the most seemingly simple events
Are governed by this unpredictability.

When and where will bubbles appear
In a pot of boiling water? What patterns will be made
By the smoke of a lit cigarette?
How does the position of water molecules
At the top of a waterfall relate
To their eventual position at the bottom?
God might just as well have taken all
Those water molecules under the table
And shuffled them personally.

The new science of chaos is attempting
To predict the unpredictable
Through intricate mathematical models.
In the classic example,
A butterfly flutters its wings in Texas
And there is a typhoon in Tokyo six days later.
The connection may not seem obvious, but it exists.
That little change of air pressure
Caused by the butterfly
Can get multiplied and magnified,
Resulting in a tornado.
But it can never be entirely predicted.
That’s why weather forecasters seem to be wrong
So often, and why any forecast longer
Than about forty-eight hours away is unreliable.
Yet among all the possible occurrences in the world,
Weather is more predictable
Than just about anything else.

What this says on a spiritual level is that
We can never really know
What direction life will take,
What changes those small butterfly-flutters
Of intention and action might cause in our destiny.
At the same time, it also tells us
That we can never really truly know the mind of God.
We can never fully understand
The how, where, and when of anything,
Even something as simple as boiling water.

We have to surrender to uncertainty,
While appreciating its intricate beauty.

Drinking the Mountain Stream: Milarepa

2009-09-30T23:38:00.003+08:00

In the face of reality's illumination

There is neither self nor other,

No duality, no division-void of identity

And yet neither void
Nor not void.

There is no perceiver at all. Eh Ma!

Until a mountain yogi

Has realized well the meaning of this,

He should not disparage cause and result!

D. Chopra on the Shadow

2009-09-27T03:25:00.000+08:00

When you have been treated unjustly or personally harmed,
The natural emotion is anger. If this anger can’t get out,
It festers and grows in the shadow.
Lashing out when holding it back no longer works;
This anger leads to a cycle of violence.

Guilt can make you feel like a bad person
Simply for having an impulse or entertaining a thought.
This is a kind of double blind:
If you lash out and return the harm done to you,
You have done something evil,
But if you keep the anger inside and harbor it,
You can feel just as evil.

Yet violence can be tamed by breaking it down
Into manageable bits.
Negative emotions feed off certain aspects
Of the shadow that are very manageable.

The shadow is dark.
Everyone has a shadow because of the natural contrast
Between darkness and the light.

The shadow is secret.
We store impulses and feelings there
That we wish to keep private.

The shadow is dangerous.
Repressed feelings have the power to convince us
That they can kill us or make us go insane.

The shadow is shrouded in myth.
For generations, people have seen it
As the lair of dragons and monsters.

The shadow is irrational.
Its impulses fight against reason;
They are explosive and totally willful.

The shadow is primitive.
It’s beneath the dignity of a civilized person
To explore this domain.

A secret, dark, primitive, irrational, dangerous, mythical evil
Is much less convincing if you break it down
Into one quality at a time. But this process of bringing evil down
To scale won’t be convincing until you apply it to yourself.

Shankaracharya

2009-09-23T23:17:00.001+08:00

It is a fool who blames the sun for his own blindness.

The scriptures even proclaim aloud:

There is in truth no creation and no destruction;

No one is bound, no one is seeking Liberation,

No one is on the way to Deliverance.

There are none Liberated.

This is the absolute truth.

My dear disciple, this, the sum and substance

Of all the Upanishads, the secret of secrets,

Is my instruction to you.

Udana

2009-09-12T20:10:00.002+08:00

Trivial thoughts, insignificant thoughts,

When followed they distract the mind.

Not understanding those thoughts

The roaming mind runs back and forth.

But by understanding those thoughts

One ardent and mindful restrains the mind.

An awakened one has overcome them completely

So they do not arise to distract the mind.

"Actualizing the Fundamental Point" by Zen Master Dogen

2009-08-27T10:31:00.006+08:00

When you ride in a boat and watch the shore,

You might assume that the shore is moving.

But when you keep your eyes closely on the boat,

You can see that the boat moves.

Similarly, if you examine myriad things

With a confused body and mind

You might suppose that your mind and nature are permanent.

When you practice intimately and return to where you are,

It will be clear that nothing at all has unchanging self.

Dhammapada 6

2009-08-01T22:26:00.003+08:00

Whose minds are well-developed
In the factors of self-awakening,
Who delight in non-clinging
Relinquishing grasping-- resplendent,
Their effluents ended:
They, in the world, are Unbound.

Ashtavakra Gita 9:4

2009-07-26T00:28:00.002+08:00

When will men ever stop
Setting one thing against another?
Let go of all contraries.
Whatever comes, be happy
And so fulfill yourself.

Ojibiwa Song of the Self

2009-07-14T20:41:00.004+08:00

Awake! flower of the forest,
Sky-treading bird of the prairie.
Awake! awake! wonderful fawn-eyed One.
When you look upon me I am satisfied;
As flowers that drink dew.

The breath of your mouth is
The fragrance of flowers in the morning,
Your breath is their fragrance at evening
In the moon-of-fading-leaf.

Do not the red streams
Of my veins run toward you
As forest-streams to the sun
In the moon of bright nights?

When you are beside me my heart sings;
A branch it is, dancing,
Dancing before the Wind-spirit
In the moon of strawberries.

When you frown upon me, beloved,
My heart grows dark—
A shining river the shadows of clouds darken,
Then with your smiles comes the sun
And makes to look like gold
Furrows the cold wind drew in the water's face.

Myself! behold me! blood of my beating heart.

From the Path on the Rainbow: Song and Chants
Of the Indians of North America

Ashtavakra Gita 2:4-5

2009-07-12T16:42:00.005+08:00

As a wave,
Seething and foaming,
Is only water
So all creation,
Streaming out of the Self,
Is only the Self.

Consider a piece of cloth.
It is only threads!
So all creation,
When you look closely,
Is only the Self.

More of Deepak Chopra

2009-05-05T22:41:00.003+08:00

You are dying at every moment so that
You can keep creating yourself.

You are not in the world;
The world is in you.
This, the main tenet of the one reality,
Also means that you are not in your body;
Your body is in you.
You are not in your mind; your mind is in you.

There is no place in the brain
Where a person can be found.
Your brain consumes not one molecule of glucose
To maintain your sense of self,
Despite the millions of synaptic bursts
That sustain all the things
That self is doing in the world.

So when we say that the soul
Leaves a person’s body at the moment of death,
It would be more correct to say
That the body leaves the soul.
The body is already coming and going;
Now it leaves without coming back.

The soul can’t leave because it has nowhere to go.
This radical proposition needs a bit of discussion
Because, if you aren’t already going anywhere
When you die, you must be there already.

This is one of those paradoxes from quantum physics
Whose understanding depends upon knowing
Where things come from in the first place.

When you bring a memory to mind,
You are actualizing an event.
Synaptic firings produce the memory,
Replete with visuals, taste, and smell
If you want them.

That is, you have the potential for memory,
Which is infinitely vaster than a single memory
But nowhere in sight. This field extends invisibly
In all directions; the hidden dimensions
We’ve been discussing can all be explained
As different fields embedded in one infinity field,
Which is being itself.

You are the field.

Ashtavakra Gita 15:17/ Lama Zopa Rinpoche

2009-05-05T22:29:00.004+08:00

You are pure awareness.
The world is an illusion,
Nothing more.

When you understand this fully,
Desire falls away.
You find peace.
For indeed! There is nothing.

..........................
Our mind and our delusions
Are formless and colorless.
However,our ignorance in believing
In their existence
Is harder than a rocky mountain.
Our delusions are harder than steel.

Chopra on Flux and the Illusion of Constancy

2009-04-30T19:39:00.003+08:00

Everyone and everything you see is in flux.
Your brain creates the illusion of constancy,
Yet in truth the person or thing you believe
To be in front of you is actually a ghost
Of what was in front of you a few thousandths
Of a second ago.

How is this relevant to spiritual growth?

In the illusion of a continual reality
There are actually many gaps.
We go away as much as we stay here.
When you go away, blinking out of existence
For a fleeting millisecond,
You aren’t anchored in physical reality.

You voyage to the quantum dimension and beyond,
For nobody knows exactly where the universe goes
When it blinks on and off.

But we do know certain things:
Physicality is an appearance created by the mind.
In its essence reality is invisible and intangible.
Events are ambiguous. The only constant is change.
Radical uncertainty is at work all the time.

Apply these truths to yourself.
Instead of struggling to make life
Stable, unchanging, unambiguous, and certain,
Accept that you are a product of
An uncertain, ambiguous creation.

This isn’t a flaw.
It’s the glory of the creative process
To constantly flow and change.
The more you can accept this,
The easier it is to accept your own transformation.

Remind yourself of the following:
I am not fixed in time. I am not fixed in space.
The person I think I am is actually a lingering memory.
The real me lies beyond the five senses.
I am participating in the flux of the cosmos
At every instant.
The whole universe conspired to bring about
This present moment.

If you replace mistaken ideas with correct ones,
Reality can replace illusion.
What makes this notion even more potent
Is that the mind creates both illusion and reality.

You have a choice which one to invest in.
Once you accept that you are constantly in flux,
You are in a position to perceive
The changeless ground of existence,
The eternal Being that is the stage for eternal change.

Prayer to the Goddess of Confusion, Chandi Patha

2009-04-28T13:51:00.000+08:00

To the Divine Goddess who resides
In all existence in the form of Confusion,
We bow to Her; we bow to Her; we bow to Her,
Continually we bow, we bow.

Chopra on the Afterlife

2009-04-21T14:33:00.003+08:00

It should come as no surprise to discover

That you are a believer, skeptic, or agnostic.

Yet when you look at where other people fall,

Which could be very far outside your belief system,

It may be disturbing to consider that

You might all be right.

Believers may go to the heaven (or hell)

That matches their religious background.

In the afterlife they will meet

Their most cherished version of God–or gods.

They will find themselves surrounded

By angels or bodhisattvas.

The emotional tone of that afterlife

Could be one of total bliss,

If that is the tone they anticipate,

Or it could feel more ambiguous, even sad.

The experience could even feel like nothing.

Skeptics may find that the afterlife

Is a blank, devoid of conscious sensation.

For them, dying could lead to a long sleep

Without any perception of the self.

The question is how long this state will last

Or what it might become.

For agnostic the afterlife is problematic.

They may perceive that they remain themselves,

Occupying a kind of limbo where good and bad deeds

Form a hazy cloud that never resolves decisively.

In this kind of afterlife

The same worries and ambiguities

That reside at the center of

The agnostic worldview may persist.

And the undecided or open-minded people?

They may be in for the biggest surprise,

Because someone who is truly open-minded

Dies without any expectations.

If your approach to life is to take it one day at a time,

The very last day won’t be any different.

In short, the ability of consciousness

To shape our lives

Is the most permanent thing about us,

The one aspect of the mind we can expect to continue.

Ashtavakra Gita 11:1

2009-04-16T01:41:00.003+08:00

All things arise,

Suffer change,

And pass away.

This is their nature.

When you know this,

Nothing perturbs you,

Nothing hurts you.

You become still.

It is easy.

Chopra on Intent

2009-04-03T18:38:00.004+08:00

Having an intention is enough to accomplish a result.

When properly focused

–which means easily and without strain–

Awareness has the ability to carry out quite specific commands.

An intention doesn’t have to be a verbally expressed thought;

In fact, our deepest intentions are body-centered.
Our most fundamental needs–

For love, understanding, encouragement, and support–

Permeate every cell.

The desires that arise in your mind

Are often clouded by ego motives,

Which are not true needs;

People get caught up in the pursuit of money,

Career goals, and political ambitions in ways

That are disconnected from the fundamental need

For comfort and well-being

That every healthy organism must fulfill.

Many of us are so alienated from our basic needs,

So programmed to run after what the ego wants,

That we have to relearn the basic mechanics

Of how attention and intention actually work.

There are many ways to get fulfillment besides

The outward-orientated ones our culture teaches us.

The most valuable lesson in this regard is that

Intentions automatically seek their fulfillment

If left alone.

Every cell in your body is seeking fulfillment

Through joy, beauty, love, and appreciation.

This is hard to realize when the mind sets up

Its own separate agenda for fulfilling other kinds of desires,

Ones that are loveless, without joy or satisfaction.

Yet millions of people have programmed themselves

To reach only such goals.
The ability to direct your awareness is critical

If you want to change the deep-rooted patterns of aging,

For aging itself is an intention that your cells

Are obeying without your control.

Every intention is a trigger for transformation.

As soon as you decide that you want something,

Your nervous system responds

To reach your desired goal.

This holds true for simple intentions

As well as for complex intentions

100 Songs of Milarepa

2009-03-30T23:18:00.001+08:00

By realizing that all forms are self-awareness,
I have beheld my consort's face-
The true Mind Within.

Sustained Exertion, Dogen

2009-03-29T08:43:00.004+08:00

The great Way involves the highest form of exertion,

Which goes on unceasingly in cycles,

From the first dawning of religious truth,

Through the test of discipline and practice,

To awakening and nirvana.

It is sustained exertion proceeding without lapse

From cycle to cycle.

Accordingly, it is exertion that is neither self-imposed,

Nor imposed by others, but free and uncoerced.

The truth is that the benefits

Of one's own struggles and sustained exertions

Are shared by all beings in the ten directions.

Others may not be aware of this, but it is so ....

The merits of these exertions are sometimes disclosed,

And thus arises the dawn of religious consciousness,

Which is then tested in practice.

Sometimes, however, these merits lie hidden

And are neither seen nor heard nor realized.

Yet hidden though they may be,

They are still available

Because they suffer no diminution or restriction

Whether they are visible or invisible,

Tangible or intangible.

At this moment a flower blossoms, a leaf falls --

It is a manifestation of sustained exertion.

A mirror is brightened, a mirror is broken --

It is a manifestation of sustained exertion.

Everything is exertion.

To attempt to avoid exertion

Is an impossible evasion because

The attempt itself is exertion.

This sustained exertion is not something

That people of the world

Naturally love or desire;

Yet it is the last refuge of all.

Yun Men

2009-03-29T06:00:00.001+08:00

Yun-men said,
“Medicine and sickness mutually correspond.
The whole universe is medicine.

What is the self?”

Chopra on multidimensionality

2009-03-28T01:41:00.002+08:00

Quantum events that defy linear time
Take place within our cells continually.
DNA’s intelligence operates simultaneously
In the past, present, and future.

From the past it takes the blueprint of life,
Applying to the present only the tiniest fraction
Of the information needed for cellular function
(perhaps a billionth of its total data base),
And reserving for the future the information
That will be relevant years from now.

The double helix is the quantum storehouse of your future;
Here time is compressed and locked away until needed.
At the instant you were conceived, your genes gained control
Of an entire lifetime of events that would unfold in precise sequence.
At the quantum level, you live all these ages at once.

At this moment you are in two places at once.
One is the visible, sensual world, where your body is subject
to all the forces of nature “out there.”
But you also occupy the quantum world, where all things change.

Put together all the quantum events in your cells
And the sum total is your quantum mechanical body,
Which operates according to its own unseen physiology.
Your quantum mechanical body is awareness in motion
And is part of the eternal field of awareness that exists
At the source of creation.

The intelligence inside us radiates like light,
Crossing the border between the quantum world
And the physical world, unifying the two
In a constant subatomic dialogue.

Your physical body and your quantum mechanical body
Can both be called home–
They are like parallel universes that you travel between
Without even thinking about it.

Chopra on the force of love

2009-03-27T02:32:00.002+08:00

The force of love is actually real.
In modern life we have grown used to randomness,
To the notion that life is precarious
And threatened at every turn.

But the history of life shows that it has survived
For billions of years; in fact it seems to create conditions
For its own survival by means of some deep intelligence
That is never threatened.

No matter how hostile the conditions,
Life is inextinguishable.

You can apply this insight to your own life.
Imagine its very beginning,
When against billions of odds
A single sperm managed to fertilize an ovum
In your mother’s womb.

Your present identity depends entirely on that act.
The chances against this single occurrence
Would make it seem impossible,
But it happened effortlessly.

Likewise, there have been millions
Of assaults against you from the environment:
From pollution and radiation,
Even from random mutations within your cells;
Any one of these could have ended
Your chances of survival
At any time from conception to the present day.

Yet the intelligence and organizing power inside you
Has overcome these obstacles with effortless ease,
Despite all the struggle your conscious mind
Could not anticipate or plan how to conceive life,
Keep it going, or defend it from such terrible dangers.

Now, if this effortless ease can operate
At the unconscious and cellular level,
Why not on the conscious?

Can you see yourself riding the crest of the wave of life?
In fact, that is what you are doing at every moment.

Your personal impulses to think, feel, and act
Are like the crest of a wave,
Constantly falling forward into the future,
Yet constantly renewed form below –
The surge of love that constantly upholds life
Is like the surge of the ocean that renews each wave.

Seeing this is the beginning of trust.
In the light of trust, as it develops slowly over time,
You will find that you are a privileged child of the universe,
Entirely safe, entirely supported, entirely loved.

The Stag Beetle, A. Crowley

2009-03-25T23:48:00.003+08:00

Death implies change and individuality
If thou be THAT which hath no person,
Which is beyond the changing,
Even beyond changelessness,
What hast thou to do with death?

The bird of individuality is ecstasy;
So also is its death.
In love the individuality is slain;
Who loves not love?

Love death therefore,
And long eagerly for it.
Die Daily.

More of Master Ummon on the Dharma Kaya

2009-03-21T22:07:00.002+08:00

A monk once asked Ummon,
"What is the Dharma Kaya?"
Ummon answered him with "The Six Ungraspables."
(The Graspables are the five senses and the mind.)

When Ummon was asked
"What is the pure Dharmakaya?",
He replied: "The flowering hedge"
(surrounding the privy).

Majjhima Nikaya

2009-03-20T21:03:00.004+08:00

When you contemplate the body
By being within the body,
You should not engage in all sorts of ideas about it.

The same when you contemplate feelings
By being within feelings;
You should enter in without ideas.

The same applies to contemplating the mind
By being within the mind
And contemplating thoughts
By being within thoughts.

The thoughts should be just the objects of mind
And you should not apply yourself
To any train of ideas connected with them.

In this way, by putting ideas aside,
Your mind will become tranquil
And fixed on one point.

It will then enter into a meditation
That is without discursive thought
And is rapturous and joyful.

Ummon and the mythical Golden-Haired Lion

2009-03-19T19:24:00.000+08:00

A monk asked Ummon, "What is the Dharma Kaya?".
Ummon replied: "A garden of medicinal flowers."
The monk then said, "Is that all I need to understand?"
Ummon replied: "If that isn't enough,
Then you'll need to see the mythical Golden-Haired Lion."

Chopra on Death

2009-03-18T22:02:00.002+08:00

When you die, it might be like changing channels.
Imagination will continue to do what it has always been doing–
Popping new images upon the screen.

Some traditions believe that there’s a complex process
O reliving karma when you die so that as a person
One can learn what this lifetime was about and prepare
To make a new soul bargain for the next lifetime.

The moment of death is described
As having your life flash before you,
Not at lightening speed
As experienced by people when they’re drowning,
But slowly and with full understanding of every choice
One has made since birth.

If you are conditioned to think in terms of heaven and hell,
Going to one or the other will be your experience.
The creative machinery of consciousness will produce
The experience of that other place, while to someone
Who has led the same life under no such belief system,
These images might appear to be a blissful dream
Or a reliving of collective fantasies (life a fairy tale),
Or the unspooling of themes from childhood.

But if you go to another world after death,
That world will be in you as much as this one is.
Does that mean heaven and hell are not real?
Look out the window at a tree.

It has no reality except as a specific space-time event
Being actualized out of the infinite potential of the field.
Therefore, it’s only fair to say that heaven and hell
Are just as real as that tree, and just as unreal.
The absolute break between life and death is an illusion.

What bothers people about losing the body
Is that it seems like a terrible break or interruption.
This interruption is imagined as going into the void;
It is total personal extinction.

Yet that perspective, which arouses huge fears,
Is limited to the ego.

Deepak Chopra on Passion and Shakti

2009-01-16T16:30:00.003+08:00

Although most of us consider ourselves fortunate
If we can still feel passion about anything as we grow older,
Feeling passion for your work or politics or even sex
Is not the same as having a passion for life.
It is not just that life is bigger than work, politics, or sex.

Shakti is life itself;
It is present in every rhythmic pulse of existence.
A passion for life implies that you are passion;
It is in your very being.
Therefore the most natural way to be is passionate;
The slow ebbing of passion is unnatural.
If you mourn the fading of passion,
Realize that nothing endures on the surface of life,
Where change is the only constant.
Things come and go, people come and go,
And although they once stoked the fires of enthusiasm,
Eventually the temperature cools.
The greatest waste is to extend passion
On needs and drives that are selfish and without spirit.
Among these wastes would be material accumulation,
Greed, love of money and power for their own sake,
Loveless sexual activity, and obsession.

Shakti is the raw ore of life, waiting to be refined and shaped.
Insights about passion, therefore,
All have to do with sustaining divine love in yourself
And transmuting it in your relationship to love and union.
The source of passion is within yourself.
When passion wanes it must be rekindled at its source.

Dôgen, "Flowers Fall"

2009-01-15T19:22:00.002+08:00

To study the Buddha is to study oneself.
To study oneself is to forget oneself.
To forget oneself is to be enlightened
By the myriad dharmas.
To be enlightened by the myriad dharmas
Is to bring about the dropping away of body and mind
Of both oneself and others.

The traces of enlightenment come to an end,
And this traceless enlightenment
Is continued endlessly.

Deepak Chopra on the Mental Field

2009-01-02T02:16:00.001+08:00

The mind has remained a metaphysical riddle
For centuries because it inhabits
The physical world like a ghost.

But that’s a Western perspective
Based on our bias for solid, tangible things.
We insist that the brain
Must be the source of mind
Because the brain is a visible object,
Which is like saying that a radio
Must be the source of music
Because it is a visible object
From which music emerges.
The Vedic rishis adopted the opposite perspective,
Insisting that visible objects couldn’t be the source
Of mind since the physical plane
Is the least conscious of worlds.
Our Western prejudice against the invisible
Isn’t easy to overcome.
Mind will only be proved to exist outside the brain
If it leaves some kind of footprint,
A visible sign that is as convincing as the MRIs
That provide concrete evidence of neural activity.

Right now you are a bundle of information
In mind and body.
You have unique memories;
Your cells have undergone chemical changes
Shared by no one else in the world.

When you die, none of this information will vanish,
Because it can’t.
There is nowhere for plus and minus,
Or positive and negative to go
Since the field contains nothing but information.

Therefore their only alternative is to recombine.
There is growing evidence that in fact
We do share the same mind field.
The brain belongs to “me,”
But if ideas belong to “us,”
Then we are participating together in a field,
Sometimes quite mysteriously

Theragatha

2008-12-17T15:17:00.000+08:00

If your mind becomes firm like a rock

And no longer shakes

In a world where everything is shaking,

Your mind will be your greatest friend

And suffering will not come your way.

Prajnaparamita

2008-12-13T03:46:00.002+08:00

Empty and calm and devoid of self
Is the nature of all things.
No individual being
In reality exists.
There is no end or beginning,
Nor any middle course.

All is an illusion,
As in a vision or a dream.
All beings in the world
Are beyond the realm of words.
Their ultimate nature, pure and true,
Is like the infinity of space.

Prajnaparamita

2008-12-13T03:34:00.002+08:00

The eye of clarity is so called
Because it brings sight to everyone.
It enables every single one to enter
The uncreated and unconditioned reality,
Each in his own way.

Deepak Chopra on Second Attention

2008-12-09T20:10:00.003+08:00

Through second attention, you can perceive yourself
As awareness itself,
Not as one of its products and creations.
There are many ways to catch such glimpses:
Meditating to reach inner silence;
Sensing the purity of nature;
Sudden flashes of innocence; an impulse of love;
An intuitive connection to your muse;
Sensing inner guidance, a source of wisdom;
A feeling that you belong in the larger scheme of life.

Consider if you have ever experienced such things;
Begin to notice them now, and be on the lookout
For those moments when you can sense
Something lies behind the veil of appearances.

Even though we all live by first attention
And therefore lose our selves in constant activity,
We are also equipped to perceive the world
Through second attention.

Whenever you have a flash of love,
Innocence, inspiration, awe, wonder, or joy,
Remind yourself: This is the real me.
Don’t let such moments simply pass you by.
Stop and appreciate them,
And ask that you receive more in the future.

In this way you open a feedback loop
Between first and second attention.
You will continue to view the physical world as such,
But its significance will change.
You will start to see consciousness at work,
Being in motion.

In this way, the realms of change and non-change
Begin to merge.
Light starts to enter the world,
Until the world is eventually seen as made of light
And nothing else.

Hsueh-yen

2008-12-09T20:01:00.003+08:00

One moon appears everywhere in all bodies of water;
The moons in all bodies of water are contained
In one moon.
This is a metaphor for one mind producing
Myriad things
And myriad things producing one mind.

This refers to dream illusions, flowers in the sky,
Half-seeming, half empty.

Releasing Shadow Enegies, Deepak Chopra

2008-12-04T08:21:00.004+08:00

To find your shadow energy,
You have to be dedicated to a journey of descent.
Think of this journey as going back to retrieve parts
Of your life that have been abandoned because
You felt so ashamed or guilty about them.

The anger that erupts from the shadow
Is attached to past events that were never resolved.
Now those events are over and gone,
But their emotional residue isn’t.

Shame, guilt, and fear cannot be accessed by thinking.
The shadow isn’t a region of thoughts and words.
Even when you have a flash of memory
And recall such emotions,
You are using a part of the higher brain–the cortex–
That cannot touch the shadow.

The journey of descent begins only when you find
The doorway to the lower brain,
Where experience is sorted out
Not according to reason
But according to intense feelings.

No matter how free you feel from shadow energies,
They exist inside you. If they didn’t,
You would be in a state of total freedom, joy,
And unboundedness.
You would be in unity, the state of innocence regained
When the hidden energy of the shadow
Has been purified.

Shadow energies make themselves known
Whenever a controlled situation
Turns unexpectedly anxious
Or causes unexpected anger or dread.
If you feel guilty or ashamed of yourself
After you experience these,
Then you have touched, however briefly,
On the shadow.

An eruption of irrational feeling isn’t the same
As releasing them.
Venting is not purification.
So don’t mistake an outburst for catharsis.
When a shadow energy truly leaves,
There is no resistance anymore,
And you see something you didn’t see before.

Milindapanha

2008-12-04T08:00:00.004+08:00

The king said: 'Venerable Nagasena,
Where does wisdom dwell?
''Nowhere, O king.''
Then, Sir, there is no such thing as wisdom?
''Where does the wind dwell, O king?''
Not anywhere, Sir.
''So there is no such thing as wind?''
Well answered, Nagasena!'

Ashtavakra Gita 15:5

2008-12-03T00:38:00.002+08:00

Desire and aversion are of the mind.
The mind is never yours.
You are free of its turmoil.
You are awareness itself,
Never changing.

Wherever you go,
Be happy.

Mundaka Upanishad

2008-12-01T23:28:00.001+08:00

The ego and the Self
Dwell as intimate friends in the same body,
Like two golden birds perched in the same tree.
The ego eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree,
While the Self looks on detached.

For as long as you identify with the ego,
You will feel joy and sorrow.

Deepak Chopra on Unity and Duality

2008-11-30T23:31:00.004+08:00

If duality is an illusion,
Then unity will not be established.
Both have their values, and without duality,
Unity has no substance.
Both are natural, both are true.

That is the nature of the world.
Like light and darkness, the contradictions exist,
They are there.
The North Pole is there, and so is the South Pole.
“The two fullnesses” complement each other.
There is 100 percent diversity and 100 percent unity,
Both performing their work at the same time.

That is the nature of the work of creation–
This is true reality.
To us, one seems real and the other unreal.
The reality is that both are real at the same time.
As water is true, so ice is true.
Both are quite opposed to each other,
And yet their affinity is so great
That the ice cannot exist without the water–
It is water and nothing but water.
So unity and diversity are there
Together and at the same time.

The highest goal of existence, then,
Is to achieve “200 percent of life.”
Life is a field of unlimited possibilities.
Such is the glory of total flexibility
In the human nervous system.
This is a tremendously important point.
It says that we can bypass
The limited, bounded choices
That we are used to making and go directly
Tto the solution of any problem.
The basis for this assertion is that nature
Has already structured
The solution in our consciousness.

The problems are in the field of diversity,
While the solutions are in the field of unity.
Going straight to the field of unity
Automatically hits upon the solution,
Which the mind-body system then carries out.

Deepak Chopra on Projection

2008-11-30T23:28:00.005+08:00

Vedic rishis said that projection is the mechanism
By which consciousness created reality.
Our entire culture has been built upon projection,
And at this moment you and I
Are continuing the process.
Projection creates meaning.

By themselves, events are meaningless
Until we give them value.
While we are creating in the material world,
We are affecting every level of consciousness
And therefore
Every level of creation.
Meaning is never isolated.

For instance, angels exist because
They have been projected in consciousness.

Projection can get complicated.
A society that feels endangered
Can project wild fantasies.
Muslim fundamentalists project a West
That is corrupt, unholy, and decadent,
While Christian fundamentalists project an Islam
That is barbaric, fanatical, and godless in return.

Projection is “successful” when we no longer
Can see reality, but have created a false version
Based on fear, hostility, anxiety, or insecurity–
Any negative emotion
For which we refuse to take responsibility.

Projection can also be positive,
As it is when a smitten lover
Sees perfection in the object of his love,
Although to friends and family the beloved remains
An ordinary creature of flesh and blood.

Sutta Nipata 226

2008-11-30T23:14:00.001+08:00

What the great Buddha has praised as pure,
The state that is called immediate,
There exists nothing equal to that state.

Prajnaparamita

2008-11-30T05:58:00.003+08:00

Subhuti, how does a person first feel a need to save beings?
He becomes aware of that kind of wise insight
Which shows him beings as on their way to destroying themselves.
Great compassion then takes hold of him.
He surveys the world, and what he sees fills him with agitation.

So such a person radiates great friendliness
And compassion over all these beings
And gives his attention to them, thinking,
"I would like to save these beings,
I would like to release them from all their sufferings."
But he does not make this desire into an attachment,
For even he never turns his back on full enlightenment.

Ramakrishna

2008-11-30T05:56:00.000+08:00

Live in the world like a waterfowl.
The water clings to the bird,
But the bird shakes it off.
Live in the world like a mudfish.
The fish lives in the mud,
But its skin is always bright and shiny.

H.H., The Dalai Lama

2008-11-28T22:44:00.000+08:00

Wars arise from a failure to understand
One another's humanness.
Instead of summit meetings,
Why not have families meet for a picnic
And get to know each other
While the children play together?

H.H.,The Dalai Lama

2008-11-25T18:41:00.000+08:00

Never give up.
No matter what is going on,
Never give up.
Develop the heart.
Too much energy in your country is spent
Developing the mind instead of the heart.
Be compassionate not just to your friends,
But to everyone.
Be compassionate.
Work for peace in your heart and in the world.
Work for peace and I say again,
Never give up.
No matter what is happening,
No matter what is going on around you,
Never give up

Bhagavad Gita 3:8-9

2008-11-25T03:21:00.000+08:00

Fulfill all your duties; action is better than inaction.
Even to maintain your body, Arjuna,
You are obliged to act.

Selfish action imprisons the world.
Act selflessly, without any thought of personal profit.

Ashtavakra Gita 2:21

2008-11-23T22:38:00.000+08:00

I see only one.
Many men, One wilderness.

Then to what may I cling?

Chopra on the Unified Field

2008-11-22T04:55:00.000+08:00

Everything in nature is evolving
To a higher level of existence.
Even without trying or thinking,
Just by virtue of our existence itself,
We are evolving to a higher level of awareness.
When we are aware of this, we evolve even faster.
The unified field balances everything in creation–
The ecology of nature, the physiology of the human body,
The evolution of a human fetus into a baby.

The unified field is not constrained by
Boundaries, conceptual notions,
Or premature cognitive commitments.
The field is unbounded in space and time.
It has no limits in time;
It is beyond the outer edges of space.
The field is indestructible. Fire cannot burn it,
Water cannot wet it, Wind cannot dry it,
And weapons cannot cleave it.
It is ancient, it is unborn, it never dies.

The unified field requires nothing from the outside
Because everything is contained in the inside of the field.
Curving back within itself, it creates again and again.
This means all possibilities–
Anything that you can imagine, and more.
Therefore you have the ability to acquire anything
That falls within the realm of your imagination,
And even those things
That are currently outside the limits of your imagination.
The more you acquire,
The more your imagination will expand.
What is unimaginable today
Might become imaginable tomorrow.
But there will always be new realms
That have yet to be explored.

The effects of mediation last into our daily activity,
And soon our activity becomes saturated and influenced
By the qualities of the unified field.
This is because by experientially knowing something
We become it. Once we become it,
We begin to embody all its properties.

Tirukkural 81:803-804

2008-11-21T19:00:00.000+08:00

Of what purpose is longstanding fellowship
If friends' familiar actions are not accepted
As one's own?
Familiar with familiarity, the wise are not annoyed
When friends do things without asking.

From the Prajnaparamita Sutra

2008-11-20T13:00:00.000+08:00

Subhuti said: "If I understand correctly,
One who wishes to reach perfect wisdom
Should study the way things are in the world
And should practice the perfections fully and in depth
But should not believe them to be ultimately real,
Nor should he make concepts and doctrines out of them."

The Buddha replied: "Just so, Subhuti.
The one who contemplates existence in this way
Knows the nature of the conditioned and of the unconditioned
And makes himself an expert in pointing out the truth to others,
Both with words and without words."

Subhuti asked: "But is this just for the wise and the intelligent?"
"No, indeed," replied the Buddha. "This is open to all,
Even to the dull witted and to those who can't pay attention.
The door is open to anyone who wants to tread this path-
-but not to the person who is lazy and indifferent."

Diamond Sutra

2008-11-19T00:57:00.000+08:00

Never think that I believe I should set out
A "system of teaching" to help people
Understand the way.
Never cherish such a thought.

What I proclaim is the truth as I have discovered it
And "a system of teaching" has no meaning
Because the truth can’t be cut up into pieces
And arranged in a system.

From the Yoga Vasishtha

2008-11-17T01:09:00.000+08:00

Even as rock remains rock, carved or uncarved,
Consciousness remains consciousness
Whether the world appears or not.
The world-appearance is but an empty expression;
Its substance is nothing but consciousness.
In fact, even these manifestations and modifications
Are but Brahman, the cosmic consciousness—
Though not in the sense of manifestation or modification.
Even this distinction—modification in the sense of modification,
Or any other sense—is meaningless in Brahman.
When such expressions are used in relation to Brahman,
The meaning is quite different, like water in the mirage.-

Digha Nikaya

2008-11-14T23:03:00.000+08:00

Sakka asked the Buddha:

"Do different religious teachers
Head for the same goal
Or practice the same disciplines
Or aspire to the same thing?"

"No, Sakka, they do not. And why?
This world is made up of
Myriad different states of being,
And people adhere to one or another of these states
And become tenaciously possessive of them,
Saying, 'This alone is true, everything else is false.'
It is like a territory that they believe is theirs.
So all religious teachers do not teach the same goal
Or the same discipline,
Nor do they aspire to the same thing.
But if you find truth in any religion or philosophy,
Then accept that truth without prejudice."

Pema Chodron

2008-11-14T02:38:00.000+08:00

The dharma that is taught
And the dharma that is experienced
Are descriptions of how to live,
How to use your life to wake you up
Rather than put you to sleep.
And if you choose to spend the rest of your life
Trying to find out what awake means
And what asleep means,
I think you might attain enlightenment.

Sai Baba

2008-11-12T07:44:00.000+08:00

"Before you speak, ask yourself,
Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true,
Does it improve on the silence?"

Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"

2008-11-12T07:40:00.000+08:00

Body impermanent like spring mist;
Mind insubstantial like empty sky;
Thoughts unestablished like breezes in space.
Think about these three points over and over.-

Dhammapada, 6.

2008-11-10T15:46:00.000+08:00

Everywhere, truly, those of integrity stand apart.
They, the good, don't chatter in hopes
Of favor or gains.
When touched now by pleasure, now pain,
The wise give no sign of high or low.

Diamond Sutra Passage

2008-11-07T23:16:00.000+08:00

There are some who wish to perfect themselves
And who train themselves in this way:
"One single self we shall tame,
One single self we shall pacify,
One single self we shall lead
To final nirvana."

But those with compassion
Should not train themselves in such a way.
On the contrary, they should say this:
"My own self I will place into Suchness,
And so that all the world may be helped,
I will place all beings into Suchness,
And I will lead to nirvana
The whole immeasurable world of beings."

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

2008-11-06T19:16:00.000+08:00

Whenever you hear that someone else
Has been successful, rejoice.
Always practice rejoicing for others,
Whether your friend or your enemy.
If you cannot practice rejoicing,
No matter how long you live,
You will not be happy.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Ashtavakra Gita 18:41

2008-11-06T03:48:00.000+08:00

The fool tries to control his mind.
How can he ever succeed?
Mastery always comes naturally
To the man who is wise
And who loves himself.

Ashtavakra Gita 18:41