I thought I’d share a few reflections on a very beautiful poem by Mansur al-Hallaj (ابو المغيث الحسين بن منصور الحلاج). A brief biography of Mansour al-Hallaj Mansour al-Hallaj or Mansour Hallaj was a Persian mystic, poet, and teacher of Sufism. He was born 858 CE in Iran and died in 922 in Baghdad, Iraq. […]
Sufi Mystic Al-Hallaj’s Beautiful Poem: Stillness Read Post »
Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean – the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down –
Mary Oliver’s Profound Poem ‘The Summer Day’ Read Post »
I thought I’d reflect on Patrul Rinpoche’s profound Dzogchen teaching on the nature of mind, awareness, and emptiness. The wisdom of inseparable emptiness and clarity is so clearly and directly pointed out here in his ‘The Life and Liberation of the Mind’. Emaho!Mind itself has always been without substance.It is not seen by looking, but
The Life and Liberation of the Mind – Patrul Rinpoche Read Post »
These verses from Self-Liberation: Through Seeing with Naked Awareness are as if directly spoken face to face with me by Karma Lingpa. How potent! Mind’s nature is empty It is certain that the nature of the mind is empty and without any foundation whatsoever. Your own mind is insubstantial like the empty sky. You should
For some reason the bhakti poetry of Lal Ded, (also known as Lalla and as Lalleshwari), always resonates deep in my heart. Some, who have closed their eyes, are wide awake. Some, who look out at the world, are fast asleep. Some who bathe in sacred pools remain dirty. Some are at home in the
Some, Who Have Closed Their Eyes – Lal Ded Read Post »
There’s endless texts and teachings, vast arrays of philosophy, and no end to the arguments and positions – all seeking to point the way to this …. what? …. this coming home to what you are. But when it comes down to it, it’s oh so simple. Rest in that empty, luminous awareness, that space-like
So Simple, Always None-Other Than … Read Post »
Rumi’s poem The Real Threat … Nothingness. Shunyata. Emptiness. Just so. If it escapes, the lover’s breath, and strikes the universe of fire, That universe without origin, it will dissolve into particles. The entire universe becomes sea, out of fear that the sea will turn to nothing. Neither man nor humanity remain when man is
Rumi – The Real Threat … Nothingness Read Post »
Issa Kobayashi’s poignant haiku about life’s fleeting nature. So few in words, yet so utterly profound. This World of Dew: The world of dew — A world of dew it is indeed, And yet, and yet . . . 露の世は露の世ながらさりながらTsuyu no yo wa tsuyu no yo nagara sari nagara Issa Kobayashi (小林 一茶)Dew on the
This World of Dew – Issa Kobayashi Read Post »
I’ve been contemplating the poem ‘The Tao is a Silent Flower’ in meditation recently – space, time, form and emptiness: The Tao is a silent flower which blooms through the night, But the night through which it blooms is the flower itself. No Tao, no flower, no bloomer, no night. And for this reason, it
The Tao is a Silent Flower Read Post »
Reflecting and meditating of Naropa’s teaching – the Summary of Mahamudra these questions urgently arise: What is our life? What does it consist of? Homage to the state of great bliss!Concerning what is called MahamudraAll things are your own mind.Seeing objects as external is a mistaken concept;Like a dream, they are empty of concreteness. This
Reflections on Naropa’s The Summary of Mahamudra Read Post »
