The spirit in which a thing is given determines that in which the debt is acknowledged; it's the intention, not the face-value of the gift, that's weighed.
- Seneca
Sunday 17 September 2006
Monday 11 September 2006
nymph, perfect, divine
... goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?
Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show
Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!
That pure congealed white, high Taurus' snow,
Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow
When thou hold'st up thy hand: O, let me kiss
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?
Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show
Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!
That pure congealed white, high Taurus' snow,
Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow
When thou hold'st up thy hand: O, let me kiss
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!
An example
An example of what I was talking about in the previous post:
The world? Moonlit
Drops shaken
From the crane’s bill.
- Dogen (1200 – 1253)
The world? Moonlit
Drops shaken
From the crane’s bill.
- Dogen (1200 – 1253)
Sunday 10 September 2006
Enlightenment Now
Driving yesterday;
Stopped and noticed
The myriad facets in the stop light
Of the car next to me.
Unbelievably fascinating,
Totally absorbed by this simple
Quest into perception.
Sudden awareness:
This is the Enlightenment
Of Chinese Zen Masters.
This is how they felt
Looking at bamboo and mist
From their mountain huts.
They continued living
Their struggling existence
Yet were in a state
Of Enlightenment.
So it is with me
Now, for a month.
Life will still hold
Its travails, joys and pains.
I will still struggle
And strive and
Achieve and not;
Yet with Enlightenment
Always There,
Always Available,
Just below the surface;
Simply need to look
And it will be there.
Stopped and noticed
The myriad facets in the stop light
Of the car next to me.
Unbelievably fascinating,
Totally absorbed by this simple
Quest into perception.
Sudden awareness:
This is the Enlightenment
Of Chinese Zen Masters.
This is how they felt
Looking at bamboo and mist
From their mountain huts.
They continued living
Their struggling existence
Yet were in a state
Of Enlightenment.
So it is with me
Now, for a month.
Life will still hold
Its travails, joys and pains.
I will still struggle
And strive and
Achieve and not;
Yet with Enlightenment
Always There,
Always Available,
Just below the surface;
Simply need to look
And it will be there.
Friday 8 September 2006
Happiness
You are happy, happy, but I am a thousand times happier!
Whom have I encountered in my dream last night? I know not.
I am so happy, I cannot be contained in the world;
But like a spirit, I am hidden from the eyes of the world.
If the foot of the trees were not tied to earth, they would be pursuing me;
For I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of the gardens.
(Divan 1740:1-3)
Whom have I encountered in my dream last night? I know not.
I am so happy, I cannot be contained in the world;
But like a spirit, I am hidden from the eyes of the world.
If the foot of the trees were not tied to earth, they would be pursuing me;
For I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of the gardens.
(Divan 1740:1-3)
If you do not find it now, you will repeat the same routines for myriad eons
Make no mistake about it; if you do not find it now, you will repeat the same routines for myriad eons, a thousand times over again, following and picking up on objects that attract you. We are no different from Shakyamuni Buddha. Today, in your various activities, what do you lack? The spiritual light coursing through your six senses has never been interrupted. If you can see in this way, you will simply be free of burdens all your life.
- Lin Chi (d 867?)
- Lin Chi (d 867?)
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