By the time it came to the edge of the Forest the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly.
For it knew now where it was going, and it said to itself,
“There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
So, how can we achieve inner contentment? There are two methods. One method is to obtain everything that we want and desire – all the money, houses, and cars; the perfect mate; and the perfect body. The Dalai Lama has already pointed out the disadvantage of this approach; if our wants and desires remain unchecked, sooner or later we will run up against something that we want but can’t have. The second, and more reliable, method is not to have what we want but rather to want and appreciate what we have.
The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living
photo of Black Friday 2013 by powhusku
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.
Comparing what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
Seng-T’san, Third Zen Patriarch, The Hsin Hsin Ming
photo ketterechts
Joy is being willing for things to be as they are
Charlotte Joko Beck, Nothing Special
photo A Davey
A thousand times I have ascertained and
found it to be true:
The affairs of this world are really nothing
into nothing.
Still though, we should dance.
Hafiz
One of the aims of meditation practice is to develop a mind that sees, and does not get hooked into events too easily. The “Ten Thousand things” in this quote is a shorthand way of talking about all the experiences – good and bad – which arise and pass away. It stands for all of reality, which contains the right mix of experiences for our growth, and with its ebbs and flows is continually rearranging itself.
When the ten thousand things are viewed in their oneness
we return to the origin
and remain where we have always been.
Sosan, Third Zen Patriarch, died 606
Mindfulbalance 