FOUR

The Tao is an empty vessel; It is used, but never filled.
Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!
Blunt the sharpness,
Untangle the knot,
Soften the glare,
Merge with dust.
Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
I do not know from whence it comes.
It is the forefathers of the emperors.

THREE

Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling.
Not collecting treasures prevents stealing.
Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.

The wise therefore rule by emptying hearts and stuffing bellies,
by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones.
If people lack knowledge and desire,
then intellectuals will not try to interfere.
If nothing is done, then all will be well.

TWO

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy compliment each other.
Long and short contrast each other.
High and low rest upon each other.
Voice and sound harmonize each other.
Front and back follow one another.

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not possessing,
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.

Another Year Later

Completed another trip around the sun only to find myself in the same place. And, that's okay with me!

ONE

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
...this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.

Fun to Find

Ha! My BLOG! Years later... Wow! I Love it!

~ LIFE'S EASY ~

Life's easy to live
for someone unscrupulous,
cunning as a crow,
corrupt, back-biting,
forward, & brash;

But for someone who's constantly
scrupulous, cautious,
observant, sincere,
pure in his livelihood,
clean in his pursuits,
it's hard.

-Dhammapada, 18, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

SPIRIT

No one with spirit would remain longer than absolutely necessary under the direction of anyone completely lacking in spirit.

 
From The ART of LEADERSHIP
By J. Donald Walters

P&S

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is not". 
 

-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English

Hello*

CaPow 

<3

"In a full heart there is room for everything, and in an empty heart there is room for nothing."

Antonio Porchia, Voices

!!! FIRE !!!

There's no fire like passion,
No seizure like anger,
No snare like delusion,
No river like craving.
 
-Dhammapada, 18, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

NO DESIRE

There is pleasure when a sore is scratched, But to be without sores is more pleasurable still. Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires, But to be without desires is more pleasurable still.
 
-Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland"

This Fleeting World

Fleeting is this world

Growth and decay its very nature

Things spring to being and again they cease

Happy the marvel of them and the peace.

-Nidana Vagga

GRIST FOR THE MILL

View all problems as challenges. Look upon negativities that arise as opportunities to learn and to grow. Don't run from them, condemn yourself, or bury your burden in saintly silence. You have a problem? Great. More grist for the mill. Rejoice, dive in, and investigate.

-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"

THE USELESSNESS OF RITUALS

Kutadanta accused the Buddha: "I am told that you teach the law of life and the way, yet you tear down religion. Your followers despise rituals and abandon sacrifices. But reverence for the gods can only be shown through sacrifices. The very nature of religion is that of worship and sacrifice. "The Buddha replied: "Greater than the massacring of bullocks is the sacrifice of self. He who offers up his evil desires will see the uselessness of slaughtering animals at the altar. Blood has no power to cleanse, but the giving up of harmful actions will make the heart whole. Better than worshiping gods is following the ways of goodness."
-Digha Nikaya

A WELL-KNOWN MONK

A wandering monk walked barefoot everywhere he went, to the point that the soles of his feet eventually became quite thick and leathery. And because he ate very little, he gradually became very frail. Several days often passed between opportunities to brush his teeth, so he usually had bad breath. Therefore, throughout the region, he came to be known as the super-calloused fragile mystic plagued with halitosis.

ATTACHMENT IS...

Attachment is the mind stuck to an object.
-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, The Door to Satisfaction

ESSENCE OF MIND

Who would have thought that all things are the manifestation of the Essence of Mind!
-The Sutra of Hui Neng

AS A BUDDHIST MONK

As a Buddhist monk my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction.
 
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, Oslo, December 1989

THE TRUTH INDEED

The truth indeed has never been preached by the Buddha, seeing that one has to realize it within oneself.
-Lamkara Sutra

RIGHT SPEECH

Speak harshly to no one, or the words will be thrown right back at you. Contentious talk is painful, for you get struck by rods in return.
-Dhammapada, 10, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

BOUNDARIES

There's but little breath left on the boundary of this life and next. Not knowing if I'll be here next morning, why try to trick death with life-schemes for a permanent future?
-Milarepa, "Drinking The Mountain Stream"

THE "I WANT" IMPULSE

The impulse "I want" and the impulse "I'll have" --lose them! That is where most people get stuck--without those, you can use your eyes to guide you through this suffering state.
-Sutta Nipata

Mouthing Vacuuous Phrases

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Something something something something.
Nothing nothing nothing nothing.

Work - Work - Work & More Work

Job delight is my right;
My career reflects my holy light.

Reason, Season or Lifetime...

One reason, two reasons, however many,
One season, two seasons, three seasons or more,
However many lifetimes.

CaPow

Like A...

... Fluttering flibbertigibbet mouthing vacuuous phrases.

Purely Coincidental

Todays "Daily Buddhist Wisdom"
As I was saying...

We are not compelled to meditate by some outside agent, by other people, or by God. Rather, just as we are responsible for our own suffering, so are we solely responsible for our own cure. We have created the situation in which we find ourselves, and it is up to us to create the circumstances for our release.
-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"

from Like This

I have a thirsty fish in me
that can never find enough
of what it's thirsty for!
Let my house be drowned in the wave
that rose last night out of the courtyard
hidden in the center of my chest.

-Rumi

Namaste 

8 Limb Yoga

Visualize a tree; Starting with the:

ROOTS - YAMAS - Abstinence
1.Ahimsa - non-violence, non-harm, non-killing
2.Satya - Truth; non lying, non-misleading, non-representing
3.Asteya - non-stealing
4. Aparigraha - Moderation
5.Bramacharya - non-possesiveness

TRUNK - NIYAMAS - Observances
1.Saucha - Purity
2.Santosa - Contentment
3.Tapas - Austerity
4.Svadhyaya - Study of Self
5.Isvarapranidhana - Devotion; to an inner power, higher power or God.

BRANCHES - ASANAS - Postures, the reaching out; Hatha Yoga Poses.

LEAVES - PRANAYAMA - Breath Control; breathing

BARK - PRATYAHARA - Sense withdrawal; Turning inward.

SAP - DHARANA - Concentration; focus

FLOWER - DHYANA - Meditation

FRUIT - SAMADHI - Nirvana, Being one with all; Peace, enlightenment, illumined.

Patanjali was a man who studied Yoga back sometime arguably between 600 BC - 200 AD. He took everything he learned about yoga, back at that time, and put it all together into 200 steps called sutras (short terse statements). These 200 steps can be condensed into 8 steps and visualized in the form of a tree. This is called Patanjalis 8 Limb Yoga. Patanjalis Yoga sutras are a yoga of discipline. By following these two hundred steps it is claimed that one will become a very free being. However, these steps require extreme discipline. The first sutra is... And now the teaching of Yoga begins.

More On Desire

You follow desire, and you are not satisfied.
Again you follow desire, and again you are not satisfied.
Again you try, and again you are not satisfied.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"

December 22, 2003

Is poetry a satisfying expression,
For me, for any
Certainly must be
We’ll see.
As I express my thoughts,
Good or bad,
Put my heart on my sleeve
It’s okay to be sad.
It’s those times when
I should put it in words,
Not voice or vibration,
Save the happy thoughts for when
There is nothing to say.
See, it is working,
I no longer have the desire
To put words down
About the thoughts that are lurking.
So I think I’m done writing,
What to do next,
I should go to bed
And be thankful for
No more fighting.

CaPow! 12/22/2003

The Present

Right now I am aware of the perfection all along my life path up to this present moment. Everything, everyone, every event has been a part of compounding elements involved in creating who I am. Happy. Positive as well as negative, wishes fullfilled and those that died, occasions attended, even those I missed, plans failed, unexpected surprises, chance encounters of every kind. They all mattered in making sure that I was right here right now.
It's not just about my location. It's more about who I am; merely a reflection of those I have loved and those who have loved me. Every thing I have seen, all I have heard as well as what I have said, my thoughts, things I was told, situations I found myself in all created who I am. Therefore I am exactly who I am supposed to be.

Love Kailash

Kailash is a secret, hidden in plain sight. For a man it can be a woman; for a woman, a man. Unless we have had too much of the opposite sex and then it can be the sex we are. Unless we have had too much of ourselves, and then it can merely be the perfect mountain. Like the one Cezanne painted as obsessively as his cronies did their lovers.

"But how far must we travel to untrain our eyes that we might behold such a blazingly obvious sight?"

Cezanne had to paint differently to prove that he saw differently, and vice versa.

"And how soon will we forget the blazingly obvious secret?"

I ask aloud of the geological proof of cubism blazing in rudimentary geometric glory. Suddenly I remember, with such clarity that tears glaze my eyes, all the times I've said "I love you. I will never stop loving you," only to lose the love. Not stop loving, no, but lose it.

"But I will never cease to love you," I tell Kailash just over my shoulder, certain enough that I'd marry the mountain if I could. But I can't. I'm a man, this is a mountain. How can a man marry a mountain? I wonder, feeling foolish suddenly, catching sight of familiar-looking human beings below. The answer comes quite simply: by holding the mountain first in your heart.

Tad Wise- Co-Author of Circling the Sacred Mountain

Wanting

I am fine when I have no cravings,
No wanting, no desire,
But one thing leads to another
And I am out of control.
That's pretty much it
In a nutshell.
sex and sweets,
If I want one
I'll take the other.

-CaPow!

Remember to Develop Your Heart

Never give up
No matter what is going on
Never give up
Develop the heart
Too much energy in your country is spent
Developing the mind instead of the heart.
Be compassionate not just to your friends but to everyone
Be compassionate.
Work for peace in your heart and in the world.
Work for peace and I say again
Never give up.
No matter what is happening,
No matter what is going on around you,
Never give up.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Step Into Liquid

O MY! Dana Brown's movie on surfing is the freakin' jump off~

Makes you want to step into liquid and get your ever lovin' glass off!

This film is so bitchin'.

-The Buddha; from the Dhammapada

Look within. Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the joy of the way.

PATIENCE

All the virtuous deeds and merit,
Such as giving and making offerings,
That we have accumulated over thousands of aeons
Can be destroyed by just one moment of anger.

There is no evil greater than anger,
And no virtue greater than patience.Therefore, I should strive in various ways
To become familiar with the practice of patience.

If I harbour painful thoughts of anger,
I shall not experience mental peace,
I shall find no joy or happiness,
And I shall be unsettled and unable to sleep.

-Shantideva (687-763 C.E.)

The eighth-century Buddhist master on desire's trap

Some, under the influence of desire, work like slaves.
They tire themselves out working long days
And, when they return home in the evening,
Their exhausted bodies collapse like corpses.

Some have to experience the disruptions of travel
Or suffer from being far from home.
Although they long to be close to their partners,
They do not see them for years at a time.

Some, confused about how to earn what they desire,
Effectively sell themselves to others
Even when they do not get what they want
But are driven without meaning by the needs of others.

Then there are those who sell themselves into servitude
And work for others without any freedom.
They live in lonely, desolate places
Where their children are born with only trees for shelter.

Deceived by desire, people become fools.
Some think, "I need money to support my life,"
And, although they fear for their lives, go off to war;
While others enslve themselves for the sake of profit!

Some, as a consequence of their desires,
Suffer cuts to their bodies
Or are stabbed, impaled,
Or even burned.

We should realize that a preoccupation with wealth leads to endless problems
Because acquiring it, protecting it, and losing it all involve pain.
Those who allow themselves to become distracted out of attachement to wealth
Will find no opportunity to escape from the miseries of samsara.

People attached to a worldly life
Experience many such problems, and for little reward.
They are like a horse forced to pull a cart,
Who can grab only an occasional mouthful of grass to eat.

Those who are driven by uncontrolled desires
Waste this precious freedom and endowment, so hard to find,
For the sake of a few petty rewards that are in no way rare,
For even animals can obtain them.

Our objects of desire will definitely perish,
And then we shall fall into the lower realms.
If we consider all the hardships we have endured since beginningless time
In pursuing meaningless worldly pleasures,

We could have attained the state of a Buddha
For a fraction of the difficulty!
Worldy beings experience much greater suffering than those who follow the path to enlightenment-
And yet they do not attain enlightenment as a result!

-Shantideva

not I

I love who I am. There is no me; I am merely a reflection of everyone and event that made an impression on me, my entity. My Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, family, relatives, friends, friends of friends, coaches, associates, and lovers as well as those of short encounters along lifes path. Everything I've learned, seen, heard, felt, been told, taught, and experienced. I am simply a reflection of it all. I don't exist. We are one, all of us. There's nothing between us. We flow into one another; a collective being, body of energy. We really are one. And, we really are not the same. I love everyone... If I did not then I could not love me.