Anna Breytenbach on Our Relationship with the Natural World
“The relationships we can develop with the natural world can help us to heal our wounds of disconnection.“
— Anna Breytenbach, How To Hear What Nature Is Saying
Swami Sarvapriyanda on Seeking Peace
“If you want peace my child, always seek to have less rather than more.“
— Swami Sarvapriyanda paraphrasing a teaching of Christ
Vasant Lad on Shadows and Light
“Every house has a shadow, every tree has a shadow, and without a shadow there is no light and without light there is no shadow…This moment is meditation.“
— Vasant Lad
Vasant Lad on Flying the Arrow of Thought
“Unless you pull the bow, the arrow of thought cannot fly.“
— Vasant Lad (“Strands of Eternity”)
Sadhguru on Walking Joyfully
“Maybe you can’t go out and serve the whole world, it doesn’t matter. At least walk joyfully. If you walk joyfully on this planet, suddenly you see the whole world looks beautiful. Once the whole world looks beautiful, naturally you will shed a glance, a loving glance upon everything. This is a natural process… You are a blessed being; that’s all it takes.“
— Sadhguru
Anathapindikovada Sutta on an Independent Consciousness
“I will not cling to he eye; the ear; the nose; the tongue; the body; the mind
— Anathapindikovada Sutta: Advice to A Dying Man
and my consciousness will not be dependent on the eye; the ear; the nose; the tongue; the body; the mind
There shall be no consciousness of mine dependent on anything.“
Dogen on Making a Diligent Effort
“The Buddha said, “Monks, if you make diligent effort, nothing is too difficult. That’s why you should do so. It is like a thread of water piercing through a rock by constantly dripping. If your mind continues to slacken, it is like taking a break from hitting stones before they spark; you can’t get fire that way. What I am speaking of is ‘diligent effort.’ “
— Dogen (1200-1253)
Rupert Spira on What Grace Looks Like
“Effort is just what Grace (Awareness) looks like, from the point of view of the separate self….
So there is no conflict between making efforts and grace. We feel the efforts we make to return to our true nature, we feel “I am taking the journey back to our true nature”.
We don’t yet know that it is (Grace) reeling us in… No, the separate self does nothing. There is no separate self either to do something or not to do something…
So if you feel that you need to make the effort, make the effort, but know that it is always (Awareness) that is doing.“
— Rupert Spira
Pirkei Avot on Silent Truth
“Ultimate truth is wordless. The silence within the silence.“
— Pirkei Avot
Dogen Zenji on Serene Reflection Meditation
“Just sitting, neither trying to think nor trying not to think, is the important aspect of Serene Reflection Meditation.“
— Dogen Zenji