Tag: impermanence

Riding each wave

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Life is going to unfold however it does: pleasant or unpleasant, disappointing or thrilling, expected or unexpected, all of the above! What a relief it would be to know that whatever wave comes along, we can ride it out with grace. What Right Aspiration translates to in terms of daily action is the resolve to behave in a way that stretches the limits of conditioned response. Life is a terrific gym. Every situation is an opportunity to practice.

Sylvia Boorstein, It’s Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness”

What really matters

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Sooner or later, just by living, we’re reduced to what matters; as many of the things we thought were important and irreplaceable are broken or snapped like small branches in a storm. And somehow, as we heal from the scratches and bruises, we stand taller, covered by less. It’s then we begin to feel gratitude, even though it’s hard to be grateful for what is difficult. In the earned nakedness that follows honest experience, we are very close to the thread that connects us to everything.

Mark Nepo, The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be

Patience

Karl Duffy1 Comment

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Non-Involvement

Karl Duffy1 Comment

Non-involvement is about settling back into the present moment, relaxing into the way things are right now; it’s about letting go of the ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts,’ the past, the future and the imaginary, and meeting things as they arise in the present…. Letting go is also about giving things time to shift and settle, and being patient with oneself. It’s about not comparing yourself with others, and letting go of self-images. Letting go makes us more flexible and broad-minded. 

Ajahn Sucitto, Meditation, A Way to Awakening

Sunday Quote: The Unknown

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

The First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, with waiting and patience as key lessons.

Wisdom is the way that you learn to decipher the unknown;

and the unknown is our closest companion. 

John O’Donohue

It continues to flow

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

A different wisdom tradition, this time in the Hebrew Scriptures. Things move on, governed by ‘time and chance’; the underlying attitude is one of trust

A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all.

Book of Ecclesiastes