“All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks
Are life eternal: and in silence they
Speak happiness beyond the reach of books;
There’s nothing mortal in them; their decay
Is the green life of change; to pass away
And come again in blooms revivified.
Its birth was heaven, eternal in its stay,
And with the sun and moon shall still abide
Beneath their day and night
and heaven wide.”
–John Clare, All Nature Has A Feeling
Today the screaming and the howling of winter winds demands a way into the house. The wind chimes dance and sing in tinkling abandon, oblivious to the rage of the wind, unable to convert them, nor to distract them from their joy. Perfect union, not one without the other. Today warmth, the touch of soft clean sheets and gentle conforming heft of blankets round my body nestled in with cup and sip and swallow taste of glorious tea and books full of dross and treasure, married like the winds. Luxuria.
A Close Day
I am having a very pleasing morning. One of the reasons for this pleasure is that so far, things are going the way I wish them to go, I feel in control. (Ha, I haven’t missed the defect in my character, but since it is having a positive effect upon my day…I shall choose to address it later 😛 )
I was busy being thankful for having interesting photographs to view with my morning tea. I was noticing that I had not had an inkling of interest in viewing any news, AND that my morning isn’t poo like it has been, with said viewing! I was praying that this felt like the most excellent reprieve.
And then…
…it began to rain, pour down rain!
Glorious, musical, cleansing, perfection of form, falling to the ground, clinging to surfaces, reflecting life!!!
sigh………. 🙂
“The water that flows down the mountain does not think that it flows down the mountain.
The cloud that leaves the valley does not think that it leaves the valley.
A philosopher asked the Buddha to neither speak nor be silent.
It is known how difficult it is to shut the prison door? Words and speech disappear.
If mind is not – mind, who can we ask for advice?
The old monk who thinks he can calm the mind of another is
just mocking everyone around him, and he doesn’t even know it.
The sea is calm when the wind stops blowing.
Still, we search outside of ourselves.
One burst of laughter dissipates a thousand doubts.
I yearn for the soul
of marvelous truth.
Coming back to myself,
I walk beneath the shining moon.
Stars move with silent sounds.
The universe is calm, nothing
brings trouble.
Perfect tranquility: nothing
whatsoever is happening.
Everyday thought is the way.
Without walking for days,
one is suddenly at home.
When confronted by people, you can say yes or no.
Words are never perfect.
Even if people stop speculating,
we still have to use things
to point out the truth.
Wake up! Wake up! Don’t let anyone despise you for another moment.
I have a touching story to tell you. But please wait until this cloud passes.
Otherwise, even if I tell you the story perfectly, the distance between us will still be ten thousand miles.
Those who are enlightened
who see through
the eyes of great wisdom,
can see noon at midnight.
The deepest truths disclose themselves naturally,
don’t even ask the hermit on the hill.
Space is one, without a crack:
By what road does the scent of the cinnamon flowers
come to us at the end of the day?
This is Buddha’s examination.
Those who pass the test of emptiness
will be declared winners.
For your name to be on the list of winners, don’t leave blank pages.
– Tran Thai Tong
Koans from the Khoa Hu – Lessons in Emptiness“
“TO A BUTTERFLY
I’VE watched you now a full half-hour;
Self-poised upon that yellow flower
And, little Butterfly! indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless!–not frozen seas
More motionless! and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!
This plot of orchard-ground is ours; 10
My trees they are, my Sister’s flowers;
Here rest your wings when they are weary;
Here lodge as in a sanctuary!
Come often to us, fear no wrong;
Sit near us on the bough!
We’ll talk of sunshine and of song,
And summer days, when we were young;
Sweet childish days, that were as long
As twenty days are now. 1801.”
–William Wordsworth
“One of the most difficult things to learn is that mindfulness is not dependent on any emotional or mental state. We have certain images of meditation. Meditation is something done in quiet caves by tranquil people who move slowly. Those are training conditions. They are set up to foster concentration and to learn the skill of mindfulness. Once you have learned that skill, however, you can dispense with the training restrictions, and you should. You don’t need to move at a snail’s pace to be mindful. You don’t even need to be calm. You can be mindful while solving problems in intensive calculus. You can be mindful in the middle of a football scrimmage. You can even be mindful in the midst of a raging fury.”
Mindfulness Versus Concentration
– Henepola Gunaratana
Mindfulness in Plain English
and/or
Mindfulness in Plain English
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