Climb The Joyous Mountain: Living the Meditative Way (2nd edition)

Editor’s Note: The T’ai Chi Chih Facebook group, which numbers more than• 450 people from around the world, is discussing this book during May and June. To join the conversation, find us at facebook.com and then search for “tai chi chih” – yes, without the apostrophe for this particular forum. Remember, though, as Justin says, talking about TCC is no substitution for doing it.

Hold out the bliss of the thoughtless state to the mind and, as it becomes used to it, the mind will go there with no effort, making it possible to once again be your self. The stillness is always there, and the Universe is always ready to surrender. (Chapter 1, page 5)

Once one has admitted and accepted the cold, there is nothing more to say about it. When one walks out of the front gate of the main temple building in the frozen moonlight, there is an unearthly halo around the trees. An air of vibrant stillness penetrates deep down inside. A walk along the graveled path is an adventure, and one forgets the poor frozen ego in favor of something greater. (Chapter 2, page 14)

It is the willingness to accept and affirm life more purely, with naturalness and directness and in each movement as it is found, without conditioned intellect and response. This represents the wabi or sabi life – and Zen. (Chapter 3, page 24)

To live each day with some contemplation, and to try to feel gratitude for the really countless blessings we take for granted, will lead us to treat others as we wish to be treated. Simple though these two activities may sound, their effects are profound. (Chapter 5, page 32)

Sitting so close to the man who had just emerged from the deepest of immersions, I was fascinated by the tremendous vibration of livingness about him. Outwardly, he did not move at all, but inwardly he must have been seething with a tremendous force flowing through him. The tight clasp of the hands, with only the fingers moving, gave some clue to the dynamic surge inside. (Chapter 6, page 39)

Turn off the television and come to life, offering a little creativity … Let some experience come to the surface and try to express it in this one, two, three, four, three, two, one syllable form [i.e. pyramid poetry]. You may surprise yourself. (Chapter 7, page 45)

When I depart somewhere with nothing certain about the future, I know the coming events are already formed but not yet visible, just as a future sculpture lies within an untouched marble cube. Secure in faith, one can wait patiently and the inevitable will arrive. (Chapter 8, page 47)

May I be properly grateful for this food, which is the result of the work of others, and the suffering of other forms of life. (Chapter 9, page 57)

When we hate someone, we cannot love at all. If we place ourselves above others, we cannot see the absolute value of all. If we do not realize that we exist in total relationship, we are separated from others. And so we grasp only what appears favorable, hoping everything else will disappear. (Chapter 11, page 75)

The Life Force itself is joyous. All we have to do is get ourselves out of the way and enjoy it. This is not difficult for animals and plants, but few humans achieve the natural and the spontaneous. (Chapter 11, page 78)

Meditation enables one to know the mind and knowing it, to shape the mind, which in turn leads to a freeing of the mind. When habit patterns are broken and tendencies burned to ashes, there is freedom and stillness. (Chapter 12, page 85)

To the life – force

That flows through us all.

Sing a song of wonderment.

And give thanks, give thanks, give thanks. (Chapter 13, page 91)

At our ashram there was only one meal a day at about noon. I had noticed that Maharaj was absent at some meals. When I asked him about it, he shrugged. “If I am deep in meditation at the time, I just wait for another day,” he explained, as though a day without food was an ordinary occurrence. (Chapter 14, page 97)

Actually, each one of us is part of a minority; everyone is outnumbered. No one ever thinks the other fellow is the good guy; it’s taken for granted that we’re the good guys. (Chapter 15, page 100)

The world is a reflection of ourselves. What we see without is an accurate measure of what we are within. If there is serenity inside, the outside world seems friendly. (Epilogue, page 109)

Reprinted with permission and available from Good Karma Publishing (www.gkpub.com).