Phenomenon are preceded by the heart, ruled by the heart, made of the heart.
If you speak or act with a calm, bright heart, then happiness follows you, like a shadow that never leaves
Dhammapada Twin Verses, 2
What would happen if you put striving aside?
What if your practice was simply being present ?
Just open awareness. Just here. No longer anything to find. Just being present.
And then within that….letting your own heart teach you. Letting your own heart guide you.
What if you trusted that your own heart is really your great teacher?
Henry Shukman, Zen teacher, Mountain Cloud Zen Center
Peace can only exist in the present moment. It is ridiculous to say “Wait until I finish this, then I’ll be free to live in peace”. What is “this”? A diploma, a job, a house, the payment of debt? If you think that way peace will never come. There is always another “this” that will follow the present one. If you are not living in peace at this moment, you’ll never be able to. If you truly want to be at peace, you must be at peace right now. Otherwise there is only hope for peace “some day.”
Thich Nhat Hahn, The Sun my Heart
Michaelmas – the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. A big day in medieval times, with celebrations marking the end of the harvest and the last gathering in. What have we harvested in this year?
Strangely enough, it seems so much easier to remember the hurts, the failures and the rejections. It is much more common to gather our life energy around a hurt than a joy, for some sad reason. Remember the good things even more strongly than the bad, but learn from both. And most of all, as the prophet Baruch said, “rejoice that you are remembered by God” which is the Big Memory that can hold and receive all of the smaller ones.
Richard Rohr, Radical Grace: Daily Meditations