When the mind is at peace,
the world too is at peace.
Nothing real, nothing absent.
Not holding on to reality,
not getting stuck in the void,
you are neither holy nor wise, just
an ordinary fellow who has completed his work.
P’ang Yün (Layman Pang) died 808, famous lay practitioner of Ch’an Buddhism
All that matters is what you love
and what you love is who you are
and who you are is where you will be
when death takes you across the river.
John Squadra, 1932 – American artist and poet
Too much longing:
it separates us
like scent from bread,
rust from iron.
Jane Hirshfield, Sentencings [extract]
Always be joyful, no matter what you are. With happiness you can give a person life. Every day we must deliberately induce in ourselves a buoyant, exuberant attitude toward life. In this manner, we gradually become receptive to the subtle mysteries around us. And if no inspired moments come, we should act as though we have them anyway. If you have no enthusiasm, put up a front. Act enthusiastic, and the feeling will become genuine.
–
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslau 1772- 1810), Founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.
If you want to know God,
become love. If you want
to know others, become love.
If you want to know yourself,
become love. And if you want
to know love, forget all you
thought you knew or needed
to know, and become love.
Meister Eckhart, 1260 – c. 1328, German theologian, philosopher and mystic
Live as if you liked yourself, and it may happen:
reach out, keep reaching out, keep bringing in.
This is how we are going to live for a long time: not always,
for every gardener knows that after the digging, after
the planting,
after the long season of tending and growth, the harvest comes.
Marge Piercy, 1936 -, American activist, poet and writer, The Seven Of Pentacles
