You didn't come into this world.
You came out of it,
like a wave from the ocean.
You are not a stranger here.
- Alan Watts
from Along The Way
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
Anything that you do out of fear and greed is bound to be wrong because fear and greed are unconscious states. Out of fear you have dreamed about hell, out of fear you have dreamed about heaven. There is no hell, no heaven. These are all your dreams. When you are not dreaming at all, when the sleep has disappeared and you are awake, there is no heaven, no hell. That state Buddha calls "liberation " — liberation from greed, liberation from fear.
~Osho
~Osho
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
The Universal Prayer
Father of All! in every Age,
In every Clime ador'd,
By Saint, by Savage, and by Sage,
Jehovah, Jove, or Lord!
Thou Great First Cause, least Understood!
Who all my Sense confin'd
To know but this, -- that Thou art Good,
And that my self am blind:
Yet gave me, in this dark Estate,
To see the Good from Ill;
And binding Nature fast in Fate,
Left free the Human Will.
What Conscience dictates to be done,
Or warns me not to doe,
This, teach me more than Hell to shun,
That, more than Heav'n pursue.
What Blessings thy free Bounty gives,
Let me not cast away;
For God is pay'd when Man receives,
T' enjoy, is to obey.
Yet not to Earth's contracted Span,
Thy Goodness let me bound;
Or think Thee Lord alone of Man,
When thousand Worlds are round.
Let not this weak, unknowing hand
Presume Thy Bolts to throw,
And deal Damnation round the land,
On each I judge thy Foe.
If I am right, oh teach my heart
Still in the right to say;
If I am wrong, Thy Grace impart
To find that better Way.
Save me alike from foolish Pride,
Or impious Discontent,
At ought thy Wisdom has deny'd,
Or ought thy Goodness lent.
Teach me to feel another's Woe;
To hide the Fault I see;
That Mercy I to others show,
That Mercy show to me.
Mean tho' I am, not wholly so
Since quicken'd by thy Breath,
O lead me wheresoe'er I go,
Thro' this day's Life, or Death:
This day, be Bread and Peace my Lot;
All else beneath the Sun,
Thou know'st if best bestow'd, or not;
And let Thy Will be done.
To Thee, whose Temple is all Space,
Whose Altar, Earth, Sea, Skies:
One Chorus let all Being raise!
All Nature's Incense rise!
~Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Monday, November 03, 2008
Inexplicably it comes. When you least expect it. For a reason you can never know. One moment you are striving, figuring, imagining, and then, in the blink of an eye, it all disappears. The struggle disappears. The striving disappears. The person disappears. The world disappears. Everything disappears, and the person is like a pinpoint of light, just receding until it disappears. And there's nobody there to witness it. The person is gone. Only, only awareness remains. Nothing else. No one to be aware. Nothing to be aware of. Only that remains itself. Then it's understood, finally and simply.
Then everything - all the struggle, all the striving, all the thinking, all the figuring, all the surrendering, all the letting go, all the grabbing hold of, all the praying, all the begging, all the cursing, too - was just a distraction. And only then is it seen that the person was, is, and ever will be no more than a thought. With a single thought, the person seems to reemerge. With more thoughts, the world seems to reemerge right out of nothing. But now you know.The incarnation is nothing more than a thought. A thousand incarnations are but a thousand thoughts. And this amazing miracle of a mirage we call the world reappears as it was before, but now you know.
The incarnation is nothing more than a thought. A thousand incarnations are but a thousand thoughts. And this amazing miracle of a mirage we call the world reappears as it was before, but now you know. That's why you usually have a good laugh, because you realize that all your struggles were made up. You conjured them up out of nothing - with a thought that was linked to another thought, that was then believed, that linked to another thought that was then believed. But never could it have been true, not for a second could it have actually existed. Not ever could you have actually suffered for a reason that was true - only through an imagination, good, bad, indifferent. The intricacies of spiritual philosophy and theologies are just a thought within Emptiness.
And so at times we talk, and I pretend to take your struggles seriously, just as I pretended to take my own seriously. You may pretend to take your own struggles seriously from time to time, and although we pretend, we really shouldn't forget that we are pretending, that we are making up the content of our experience; we are making up the little dramas of our lives. We are making up whether we need to hold on or surrender or figure it out or pray to God or be purified or have karma cleansed - it's all a thought. We just collude in this ridiculous charade of an illusion pretending that it's real, only to reveal that it's not. There is no karma. There is nothing really to purify. There's no problem. There is only what you create and believe to be so. And if you like it that way, have at it!
But we cannot continue this absolute farce indefinitely. We cannot continue to pretend this game we play, indefinitely. It's impossible. Everything comes back to nothing. And then it's a bit harder to hold a straight face consistently for the rest of your life.
Adyashanti, transcribed from a talk in Pacific Grove, CA, June 9, 2006.
Then everything - all the struggle, all the striving, all the thinking, all the figuring, all the surrendering, all the letting go, all the grabbing hold of, all the praying, all the begging, all the cursing, too - was just a distraction. And only then is it seen that the person was, is, and ever will be no more than a thought. With a single thought, the person seems to reemerge. With more thoughts, the world seems to reemerge right out of nothing. But now you know.The incarnation is nothing more than a thought. A thousand incarnations are but a thousand thoughts. And this amazing miracle of a mirage we call the world reappears as it was before, but now you know.
The incarnation is nothing more than a thought. A thousand incarnations are but a thousand thoughts. And this amazing miracle of a mirage we call the world reappears as it was before, but now you know. That's why you usually have a good laugh, because you realize that all your struggles were made up. You conjured them up out of nothing - with a thought that was linked to another thought, that was then believed, that linked to another thought that was then believed. But never could it have been true, not for a second could it have actually existed. Not ever could you have actually suffered for a reason that was true - only through an imagination, good, bad, indifferent. The intricacies of spiritual philosophy and theologies are just a thought within Emptiness.
And so at times we talk, and I pretend to take your struggles seriously, just as I pretended to take my own seriously. You may pretend to take your own struggles seriously from time to time, and although we pretend, we really shouldn't forget that we are pretending, that we are making up the content of our experience; we are making up the little dramas of our lives. We are making up whether we need to hold on or surrender or figure it out or pray to God or be purified or have karma cleansed - it's all a thought. We just collude in this ridiculous charade of an illusion pretending that it's real, only to reveal that it's not. There is no karma. There is nothing really to purify. There's no problem. There is only what you create and believe to be so. And if you like it that way, have at it!
But we cannot continue this absolute farce indefinitely. We cannot continue to pretend this game we play, indefinitely. It's impossible. Everything comes back to nothing. And then it's a bit harder to hold a straight face consistently for the rest of your life.
Adyashanti, transcribed from a talk in Pacific Grove, CA, June 9, 2006.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
The Simplicity of It All
"There is no other practice to be done,
except to understand (that is,telling
yourself with conviction) that it is this
knowledge that You Are which is itself
the knowledge, and not the way you
are using this knowledge at the individual
level. So the knowledge itself is the one
thing that exists and must remain pure in
and as that knowledge; and you must
remain apart from it. That knowledge that
you are has mistakenly identified itself with
the body and so you are thinking of yourself
as the body. But you are the "knowledge."
Strengthen your conviction that you are
the knowledge that you are, this Beingness,
and not the body."
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
except to understand (that is,telling
yourself with conviction) that it is this
knowledge that You Are which is itself
the knowledge, and not the way you
are using this knowledge at the individual
level. So the knowledge itself is the one
thing that exists and must remain pure in
and as that knowledge; and you must
remain apart from it. That knowledge that
you are has mistakenly identified itself with
the body and so you are thinking of yourself
as the body. But you are the "knowledge."
Strengthen your conviction that you are
the knowledge that you are, this Beingness,
and not the body."
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Monday, October 27, 2008
It Happens Like This
I was outside St. Cecelia's Rectory smoking a cigarette when a goat appeared beside me. It was mostly black and white, with a little reddish brown here and there. When I started to walk away, it followed. I was amused and delighted, but wondered what the laws were on this kind of thing. There's a leash law for dogs, but what about goats? People smiled at me and admired the goat. "It's not my goat," I explained. "It's the town's goat. I'm just taking my turn caring for it." "I didn't know we had a goat," one of them said. "I wonder when my turn is." "Soon," I said. "Be patient. Your time is coming." The goat stayed by my side. It stopped when I stopped. It looked up at me and I stared into its eyes. I felt he knew everything essential about me. We walked on. A police- man on his beat looked us over. "That's a mighty fine goat you got there," he said, stopping to admire. "It's the town's goat," I said. "His family goes back three-hundred years with us," I said, "from the beginning." The officer leaned forward to touch him, then stopped and looked up at me. "Mind if I pat him?" he asked. "Touching this goat will change your life," I said. "It's your decision." He thought real hard for a minute, and then stood up and said, "What's his name?" "He's called the Prince of Peace," I said. "God! This town is like a fairy tale. Everywhere you turn there's mystery and wonder. And I'm just a child playing cops and robbers forever. Please forgive me if I cry." "We forgive you, Officer," I said. "And we understand why you, more than anybody, should never touch the Prince." The goat and I walked on. It was getting dark and we were beginning to wonder where we would spend the night.
~James Tate
Friday, October 24, 2008
Maya
"Once you realize that there is nothing in the world which you can call your own, you look at it from the outside as you look at a play on the stage, or a picture on the screen, admiring and enjoying, but really unmoved. As long as you imagine yourself to be something tangible and solid, a thing among things, actually existing in time and space, short lived and vulnerable, naturally you will be anxious to survive and increase."
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Human - Brandon Flowers
YOUTUBE here . . . . .
I did my best to notice
when the call came down the line
up to the platform of surrender
I was brought but I was kind
and sometimes I get nervous
when I see an open door
close your eyes, clear your heart
cut the cord
are we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I'm on my knees looking for the answer
are we human or are we dancer
pay my respects to grace and virtue
send my condolences to good
give my regards to soul and romance
they always did the best they could
and so long to devotion,
you taught me everything I know
wave good bye, wish me well
you gotta let me go
are we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I'm on my knees looking for the answer
are we human or are we dancer
will your system be all right
when you dream of home tonight
there is no message we're receiving
let me know is your heart still beating
are we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I'm on my knees looking for the answer
you've gotta let me know
are we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I'm on my knees looking for the answer
are we human
or are we dancer
are we human or are we dancer
are we human or are we dance
[Human Lyrics On http://www.elyricsworld.com/ ]
Monday, October 20, 2008
Mysticism
The sun can only be seen by the light
of the sun. The more a man or woman knows,
the greater the bewilderment, the closer
to the sun the more dazzled, until a point
is reached where one no longer is.
A mystic knows without knowledge, without
intuition or information, without contemplation
or description or revelation. Mystics
are not themselves. They do not exist
in selves. They move as they are moved,
talk as words come, see with sight
that enters their eyes. I met a woman
once and asked her where love had led her.
"Fool, there's no destination to arrive at.
Loved one and lover and love are infinite."
By Farid ud-Din Attar
(1120? - 1220?)
English version by Coleman Barks
Self-abidance
cannot be acquired. It is something which arises spontaneously when
the mind is free of the concept of acquiring.
In the eternal moment, the present moment, there is no "me" and there
is no duration - no past, present and future. And when there is no
"me" an no sense of duration, all there is is that silence in which
conceptualization cannot take place.
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Kahlil Gibran on Love
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart,
and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh (10 December 1926 - 10 October 2008)
Hi Grant, Thought you should know that the Master of the Nimatullahi Order, Dr. Nurbakhsh, passed away on October 10 in Oxfordshire, England. Mr. Kamran, the sheikh from Santa Cruz, will be here Saturday and Sunday (25 & 26), and the Khaniqah will be open on Sunday 2:30 to 4:30pm to any members of the public wishing to pay their respects. You are very welcome to come by any time on either Sat or Sun if you wish. Best regards -Alex
your master in paradise
and
we
also
one thing
divine
What can we do but keep on breathing in and out,
modest and willing, and in our places?
~Mary Oliver
Alex, thank you for the notice and the kind invitation. I won't be able to attend but my heart will be with you.
your friend
Grant
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Stories
I'm not in the don't-touch-it school. Maybe it's my Italian heritage. I call it Mediterranean satsang. I say, "Come here, poor little story!" If the story keeps coming back, it means it's desperate for a little loving attention.
If you are always going, "Oh, it's just story," of course it's going to renew its effort: "No, I'm not!"
If a certain situation continues to arise, just let it sit with you. See it as your devotee. Grant it the compassion to be able to sit with you. Say, "Yes, you are welcome here." Even story. In the beginning it's good to get firm with stories, because there are way too many of them. But it's like Reader's Digest; you have them condensed down to the top five issues, right?
When you're feeling strong, or if you have a friend to sit with, just sit in the silence until you're soothed, until the body and brain are soothed, and then invite the story to come sit. It will start to activate the body, and then the brain will start to bring in strategies to fix it and try to help. So thank the brain, and then attend to what's happening in the body. Stories have another function, other than bothering us. They're designed to dissolve the defenses in the body. They're like armor. So you sit with the issue, the upset, and see where it's triggering in the body, and then just allow awareness to move into it and permeate the upset - like awareness has hands, and it's soothing and loving.
What you're doing is helping the body let go of the past. One of the ways the body creates release is by recreating something from the past in order to pull it out of the earth of the body. Otherwise it stays deep. This system of release is strange - almost reptilian, it's so ancient. These bodies are from another time. Even though you get a fresh, new body every time, a lot of the defenses are recreated through thought. That's why I say bring the story here. There's no lack of brilliance in the design of either the body or the way it lets go, or even that this world is so harsh. Robert Adams used to call this the remedial planet, because when you really want freedom, this is where you come.
It's sweet: the body asks for a blessing through its upset, its agitation. It's invoking the Beloved, awareness-consciousness: "Please, master, come here. Please heal me." And if it's really frantic, then it will be sending out distress signals all the time. So it has another function: to awaken the Beloved. It awakens the satguru through its distress.
Ramana used to say, "I would follow a devotee into hell if need be." So when hell or agitation arises in the body, it's luring the satguru out of the heart. Everything is an invitation for the Buddha to awaken and bring peace, even to the body. It calls for the laying on of hands, the welcoming and soothing. Even doubt is asking for your love. Doubt is talking to you, saying, "Master, is this true?"
When you see your body and thought as your devotees, you have a completely different relationship with them. Where else are they going to go for truth?
- Pamela Wilson
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Ike April 4, 1995 - October 4, 2004
Not the loss alone,
~ Gregory Orr
Monday, September 29, 2008
Liberation of Even the Antidote
In case you thought you understood "Examine the nature of unborn awareness," let go even of that understanding, that poise, that security, that sense of ground. Let go even of the idea of emptiness, of openness, of space...so whenever you come up with a solid conclusion, let the rug be pulled out. You can pull out your own rug, and you can also let life pull it out for you.
So if you think that everything is solid, that's one trap, and if you change that for a different belief system, that's another trap. We have to pull out the rug from under our belief systems altogether. We can do that by letting go of our beliefs, and also our sense of what is right and wrong, by just going back to the simplicity and the immediacy of our present experience, resting in the nature of alaya.
~Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living
Intimate Hymn
By Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
(1907 - 1972)
English version by Rabbi Zalman M. Schacter-Shalomi
From word to word I roam, from dawn to dusk.
Dream in, dream out -- I pass myself and towns,
A human satellite.
I wait, am hopeful, as one who waits at the rock
For the spring to well forth and ever well on.
I feel as bright as if I tented somewhere in the Milky Way.
To urge the world to feel I walk through lonesome solitudes.
All around me lightning explodes sparks from my glance
To reveal all light, unveil faces everywhere.
Godward, onward to the final weighing
overcoming heavy weight with thirst.
Constantly, the longings of all born call out, "Is anyone around?"
I know each one is HE, but in my heart there writhes a tear;
When of men and rocks and trees I hear;
All plead "Feel us"
All beg "See us"
God! Lend me your eyes!
I came to be, to sow the seed of sight in the world,
To unmask the God who disguised Himself as world--
And yes, I wait to be the first to announce "The Dawn."
- from "Human, God's Ineffable Name," by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, freely rendered by Rabbi Zalman M. Schacter-Shalomi. Available from the Reb Zalman Legacy Project
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Balsekar
All effort at controlling thoughts, appetites and desires cannot but strengthen them along with the ego. Whatever has to go must fall off by itself. All that you are concerned with, all that you are, is the impersonal functioning of understanding. So let that understanding work through witnessing without judgement, knowing that there is nothing else that you can do. Meditation and all such methods and efforts are distractions from simply abiding in the natural state which is one's limitless, real being.
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