Unmoored
in midnight water,
no waves, no wind,
the empty boat
is flooded with moonlight
Dogen, 1200 – 1253, founder of the Sōtō school of Zen.
Stability and freedom
Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future
The past no longer is. The future has not yet come.
Look deeply at life as it is.
In the very here and now the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly – How can we bargain with it
The sage calls the person who lives in mindfulness night and day “one who knows the better way to live”
The Buddha, Bhaddekaratta Sutta
Sacredness
Just like the trees growing in the mountains, sacredness is always there. It is part of existence. The consequence of losing our connection with this truth can sometimes by quite dangerous. And when we lose this understanding, we develop a mechanical relationship with the world, within as well as without. We develop a mechanical relationship with ourselves and also with the outer world, the world of nature, and with humanity as a whole.
Anam Thubten, Embracing Each Moment
Sitting still
The first fruition of the practice is the attainment of froglessness.
When a frog is put on the center of a plate,
she will jump out of the plate after just a few seconds.
If you put the frog back again on the center of the plate,
she will again jump out.
You have so many plans. There is something you want to become.
Therefore you always want to make a leap, a leap forward.
It is difficult to keep the frog still on the center of the plate.
You and I both have Buddha Nature in us.
This is encouraging,
but you and I both have Frog Nature in us.
That is why the first attainment of the practice –
froglessness is its name.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Underneath
There is a Tibetan saying: ‘When things are difficult, then let yourself be happy.’ Otherwise, if happiness is relying on others or the environment or your surroundings, it’s not possible. Like an ocean, the waves always go like that but underneath, it always remains calm. So we have that ability as well. On an intellectual level, we may see things as desperate, difficult. But underneath, at the emotional level, you can keep calm.
The Dalai Lama
Our endless stories
I wonder if we do not waste most of our energy
just by spending every waking minute saying hello to ourselves.
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
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