Unless the inner forces of negative emotions are conquered,
strife with outer enemies will never end.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, 1910 – 1991
Making peace within
Tag: impermanence
Contradiction
It must be obvious..
that there is a contradiction in wanting to be perfectly secure in a universe
whose very nature is momentariness and fluidity.
Alan Watts
Just a story
Any story that you tell about yourself is just food for the ego.
There is no authentic story.
Byron Katie
Daydream
Zen is really just a reminder to stay alive and be awake.
We tend to daydream all the time, speculating and dwelling on the past.
Zen practice is about appreciating your life in this moment.
Zenkei Blanche Hartman, Zen Practice Each Moment
Inescapable
Thankfully, even the greatest emperors and dictators – and their grandiose projects – must bow to this law
The first rule is:
Keep an untroubled spirit;
for all things must bow to the law of Nature,
and soon enough you too
will vanish into nothingness,
like Hadrian and Augustus
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8:5
How we relate to it
No matter how much we like or dislike, or are hurt or maimed by a thought, action or event,
our attitudes do not colour the event itself, only our relationship to it.
As this is so, no matter how much we stomp or shout or cajole or whine, reality is what it is.
Anzan Hoshin Roshi, Cutting the Cat into One
