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 »
I’ve recently discovered a blog called if you see the dhamma … written by Joseiem, which I’ve really enjoyed reading, and commenting on. I thought I’d just lift a set of replies I posted to Joseiem’s comments. I’ve used the title of this post to highlight what I’m trying to point at, not to characterise
Starting from Experience and Starting from Thought Read Post »
‘Regard all dharmas as dreams’. This is the first slogan of the second section of the ‘Seven Points of Mind Training’. It’s the first of the slogans which emphasise the ultimate quality of Bodhicitta – that of Emptiness. I’ve been bringing this to mind the last few days. I remember many years ago, when first
Regard all Phenomena as Dreams Read Post »
I was reflecting on covetousness, and the whole area of craving this morning. I was in particular wondering why my mind tends to focus in a particular way in relation to this. In a sense, it has a choice. It can either focus on what it has already got, or on what it is lacking
Covetousness – Craving Read Post »
In the ‘Jewel Ornament of Liberation’, Gampopa (as do other teachers of orthodox Dharma) asserts that there are three types of suffering, which are: 1 – the suffering of suffering2 – the suffering of change3 – all-pervasive suffering The suffering of suffering In brief, the suffering of suffering is simply the stuff that really hurts,
The Three Types of Suffering Read Post »
Reflecting on how easy it is to get swept up in wanting and not-wanting, based on misunderstanding the impermanent and not-self nature of all things, the activities of this life, and the apparent pleasures that arise in it are seductive and yet illusory. How true it is that that which we grasp after slips like
Wordly Things are Pitiful – Milarepa Read Post »
At night, deep in the mountains I sit in zazen. The affairs of men never reach me here. In the stillness I sit on a cushion across from the empty window. The incense has been swallowed up by the endless night; My robe has become a garment of white dew. Unable to sleep, I walk
Reflections on Ryokan – At Night, Deep in the Mountains Read Post »
I thought I’d respond to Al’s comment on my previous post here, and share something of how Deity mediation works in a Vajrayana and Mahamudra context. Seems like you’re in a great space – if I may ask – how much “concentration” is applied during your meditation – I do recall you mentioning devotional aspect
Deity Yoga and Concentration Read Post »
There are some beautiful changes in my meditation at present which I thought I’d share. A month or so ago I switched to doing my daily meditation out in the open again, having spent much of the last 6 months meditating indoors. It’s been such a joy to meditate under the open sky, regardless of
The Blessings of Meditation Read Post »
In response to: What would Buddha actually do in case, He was in my shoes? In case Buddha was in my shoes, He would look like a common person, totally “normal”. One couldn’t realize Him from the outside as being an Awakened One. One thing that springs to mind here is dependent origination. Beings or
What Would a Buddha Do? Read Post »
