Clouds draw water from the ocean to fall as rain on the earth
And there is neither increase nor decrease;
Just so, reality remains unaltered like the pure sky.
Saraha, 8th century Buddhist teacher
Tag: Buddhism
When we live fully
You should train yourself thus:
In the seen, there is only the seen,
in the heard, there is only the heard,
in the sensed, there is only the sensed,
in the cognized, there is only the cognized.
Thus you should see that
indeed there is no thing here;
…as you see that there is no thing there,
you will see that
you are therefore located neither in the world of this,
nor in the world of that,
nor in any place betwixt the two.
This alone is the end of suffering.
The Buddha, The Udana, 1.10
The end of suffering
This is an interesting, important text, one of my absolute favourites, and merits some ongoing reflection. On first reading it seems strange – living in Ireland it is obvious we live on an earth, with plenty of water and wind! Obviously we come and go, either on holidays or as in relocating from country to country. It must mean something deeper about the causes of suffering. There is a lot of evidence that people can benefit fairly immediately from some of the centering and calming practices that are found in meditation and mindfulness. They bring a certain release from the stresses and suffering of everyday life. However, texts like this suggest that real, lasting and full liberation comes from coming to a felt knowledge of the dynamics beneath the human capacity for stress. It is somehow related to a stepping out of the continual movement of the mind towards or away from experiences – what is referred to as the “shackles of constant becomings” – to a place that observes all comings and goings without judgment.
There is that sphere of being where there is no earth, no water, no fire, nor wind;
this sphere of being I call neither a coming nor a going nor a staying still,
neither a dying nor a reappearance; it has no basis, no evolution, and no support:
it is the end of suffering
The Buddha
Moving and not moving
(Practice) ……. is not to be found in moving forwards,
nor in moving backwards,
nor in standing still.
This, Sumedho, is your place of nonabiding.
Ajahn Chah, Letter to Ajahn Sumedho
Happiness is an inside job
No one can harm you , not even your own worst enemy, as much as your own mind untrained.
And no one can help you, not even your most loving mother and father, as much as your own mind well-trained.
The Buddha
Moving fluidly through our experiences
Awareness is able to hold everything that passes through the mind – thoughts, emotions, sensations – in its kind, non-judging space. It holds things lightly, without becoming identified with them. This “flowing” quality of awareness allows us move with the arising and falling away of conditions, without becoming fixed in any of their forms.
A person fundamentally does not dwell anywhere. The white clouds are fascinated with the green mountain’s foundation. The bright moon cherishes being carried along with the flowing water. The clouds part and the mountains appear. The moon sets and the water is cool. Each bit of autumn contains vast interpenetration without bounds.
Hongzhi, 12th Century Zen writer
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