The Birth of Wise Understanding

As we allow the world to touch us deeply, we recognize that just as there is pain in our own lives, so there is pain in everyone else's life. This is the birth of wise understanding. Wise understanding sees that suffering is inevitable, that all things that are born die. Wise understanding sees and accepts life as a whole. With wise understanding we allow ourselves to contain all things, both dark and light, and we come to a sense of peace. This is not the peace of denial or running away, but the peace we find in the heart that has rejected nothing, that touches all things with compassion.

"A Path With Heart", Jack Kornfield

notsoesoteric for notsowise

What we are today..

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow:

Our life is the creation of our mind....."


The Buddha

Truth with Kindness

I found the following to be exactly what I needed lately. Maybe by sharing it, I can embrace it....

The following is an exerpt from "When Things Fall Apart" , Pema Chodron:

"In all kinds of situations, we can find out what is true simply by studying ourselves in every nook and cranny, in every black hole and bright spot, whether its murky, creepy, grisly, splendid, spooky, frightening, joyful, inspiring, peaceful, or wrathful. We can just look at the whole thing. There's a lot of encouragement to do this, and meditation gives us the method. When I first encountered Buddhism, I was extremely relieved that there were not only teachings, but also a technique I could use to explore and test these teachings. I was told from day one that, just like Bodhidharma, I had to find out for myself what was true.

However, when we sit down to meditate and take an honest look at our minds, there is a tendancy for it to become a rather morbid and depressing project. We can lose all sense of humor and sit with the grim determination to get to the bottom of this stinking mess. After a while, when people have been practicing that way, they begin to feel so much guilt and distress that they just break down, and they might say to someone they trust,"Where is all the joy in all this?"

So, along with clear seeing, there's another important element, and that's kindness. It seems that, without clarity and honesty, we don't progress. We just stay stuck in the same vicious cycle. But honesty without kindness can make us feel grim and mean, and pretty soon we start looking like we've been sucking on lemons. We become so caught up in introspection that we lose any contentment or gratitude we might have had. The sense of being irritated by ourselves and our lives and other people's idiosyncrasies becomes overwhelming. That's why there's so much emphasis on kindness."

Tonight I offer up a lovingkindness prayer that was read to me....at what seems now...so very long ago:

May I be filled with loving-kindness,
May I be well,
May I be peaceful and ease,
May I be happy.

....now, can I face the truth...can I look upon myself with loving-kindness.

True Essence

The essence of true mind
transcends causality and pervades time.
It is neither profane nor sacred;
it has no oppositions.

Like space itself it is omnipresent,
Its subtle substance is stable,
and utterly peaceful;
Beyond all conceptual elaboration.

It is unoriginated, imperishable,
neither existent nor nonexistent.
It is unmoving, unstirring,
profoundly still and eternal...
Neither coming nor going,
it pervades all time.

Neither coming nor going
it pervades all space.
All activities at all times are manifestations
of the subtle function of the mind.

--Korean Ch'an master Chinul (1158-1210)

The Secret of Health

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." - The Buddha

If only this was so simple. I've heard this said time and time again...'that's why they call it, practice'

The Path

Everything is changing.
It arises and passes away.
The one who realizes this is freed from sorrow.
This is the shining path.

To exist is to know suffering.
Realize this and be freed from suffering.
This is the radiant path.

There is no separate self to suffer.
The one who understands this is free.
This is the path of clarity.

- The Dhammapada
verses 277-279

So true.....so simple. Hard to put into practice though!

'Speak to us of love..'

"Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love,
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:

When love beacons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden." from "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran.

This passage goes on to caution the reader, "But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,"

I'm particularly drawn to this passage today. Love is not easy. Most times it is not peaceful; for someone to say it is always pleasurable, well, I wouldn't trust that person - for they have not truly been in love at all.

All that aside however, I would not trade in one moment, one second of this past year for anything. If what I have is love, let me be wise enough to know it. Let me continue on to experience all that it has to offer every minute of every day.