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