"In some
remote corner . . . of the universe there was once a star on
which clever animals invented knowledge. It was the most arrogant
and mendacious moment of universal history." On Truth and
Falsity in their Extra-Moral Sense, 1873
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#1411 - Thursday, April 24, 2003 - Editor: Jerry
Vicki
Woodyard
NDS
A
Mind Full Of Light
A drop of water has the tastes of the water of the seven seas:
there is no need to experience all the ways of worldly life. The
reflections of the moon on one thousand rivers are from the same
moon: the
mind must be full of light.
Hung Tzu-ch'eng (1593-1665)
How do you get a mind full of light? That is an intriguing
question. Like a
dipper of cold water, a mind full of light would be soothing to
the parched
soul. Enlightenment must equal that.
But wait a minute--hang on a sec; there is no mind. It has
been said, however;
that when the mind is still it can reflect the Self. That
is why we sit in
meditation, pray, do zazen, whirl, and so forth. We want
what we haven't
got--a mind full of light.
I am not such a good student of zen koans. To me the sound
of one hand
clapping is pretty clear. A dog has buddha nature and you
can't put a head on
top of a head, but I am getting off-topic. I see that someone has
put up a sign
saying, "Mind has just been mopped. Stay off of
it." Okay, okay.
Right now I am in the school cafeteria of life and as usual I
have put more on
my tray than I can eat. First I grabbed dessert....lemon
icebox pie. Then I saw
clear red cubes of jello and grabbed that too. Next came
fried chicken and
mashed potatoes and green beans...gotta have a yeast roll and a
cup of coffee.
That'll be....how much?!
I sat down with some other students and saw that they had done
the same
thing. Bitten off more than they could chew. Karma,
predestination, free will,
nonduality--all look pretty tasty until you start to consume your
attachments.
Belly ache, get the Pepto. Call the witch doctor....where's
a good shaman when
you need her?
I had completely forgotten that I wanted a mind full of
light....an empty tray
sitting serenely, reflecting light from the overhead flourescent
bulb. I come
to myself....hear dishes banging, silverware clanking and water
running. I just
sit and take it all in. So that's how I get a mind full of
light. Neat.
Vicki Woodyard
http://www.bobwoodyard.com
The following few quotes are from http://www.escapefromwatchtower.com/
"I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. This is one of the things that Mummy and I are so entirely different about. Her counsel when one feels melancholy is: 'Think of all the misery in the world and be thankful you are not sharing in it!' My advise is: 'Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy!' I don't see how Mummy's idea can be right, because then how are you supposed to behave if you go through the misery yourself? Then you are lost. On the contrary, I've found that there is always some beauty in life - in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself: these can all help you. Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance." - ANNE FRANK - The Diary of a Young Girl, p. 153
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"In some
remote corner . . . of the universe there was once a star on
which clever animals invented knowledge. It was the most arrogant
and mendacious moment of universal history." On Truth and
Falsity in their Extra-Moral Sense, 1873
 |
"The
unconscious is always one step ahead of the conscious mind, &
it is therefore impossible ever to know that you are doing
the right thing (since knowing is a function of consciousness.
However, if your will is steadfastly to the good, and if you are
willing to suffer fully when the good is ambiguous, your
unconscious will always be one step ahead of your conscious mind
in the right direction. In other words, you will do the right
thing even though you will not have the consolation of knowing at
the time that it is the right thing.
M. SCOTT PECK
"The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self."
ALBERT EINSTEIN
"I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking."
Daily Dharma
"Because
they challenge us to the limits of our open-mindedness,
difficult relationships are in many ways the most valuable for
practice. The people who irritate us are the ones who
inevitably blow our cover. Through them we might come to
see our defenses very clearly. Shantideva explained it like
this: If we
wish to practice generosity and a beggar arrives, that's good
news. The
beggar gives us an opportunity to learn how to give.
Likewise, if we want
to practice patience and unconditional loving-kindness and an
enemy
arrives, we are in luck. Without the ones who irritate us,
we never have a chance to practice."
~Pema Chodron
Lobster
Nasrudin
Nasrudin
was once found sitting
at a deserted cross roads.
A passerby asked him what he was doing.
"Oh", said Nasrudin, "directing the traffic."
"But Friend there is no one here?"
"Indeed," said Hodja, "I directed everyone
elsewhere."