More 20th Century Psalms (November 2012)

Listen to the wind and the rain; they are not “good” or “bad.” They just are.

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Trying is not the way; what comes, comes by Grace. Not trying is foolhardy; who else but you must do it? So what do you do? One Zen Master said: “Veer with circumstances and do the best you can.” We are here, whether we like it or not, and life is painful, whether we like it or not.

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In silence there are echoes; in sadness there is joy. In Yin there is a little bit of Yang.

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When mind becomes one-pointed (concentration) it then becomes no-pointed (meditation – the Turiya or 4th State of Consciousness) with no subject-object relationship. Only the subject remains – this is Reality.

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When all “coincidences” in our lives are summed up, they point to a necessary pattern.

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We are sad when we do not get what we want, and unhappily cling to it when we do get it. We envy those who have what we do not have and jealously try to protect it when we do get it, living in fear of losing it. As the song says, “It’s a heartache either way.”

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Are we all exiles from Paradise? Each body cell knows the way back.

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One might ask whether saints and sages became that way because of spiritual practice or whether they started out that way and naturally turned to spiritual practice.

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Everything you see is a symbol. The unknowing look for diversity; the wise seek only unity.

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There is one Energy; there are innumerable transformations. The worm eats the buried body and the bird eats the worm. Dying, the bird nourishes the soil, in which grows the tree. Man eats the fruit from the tree, and, when he dies, in turn is eaten by worms. Which of these transformations is the Real?

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You can’t seek Truth when your emotions are involved.

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He who diminishes his wants and needs gains power. He who is receptive learns. He who feels what can’t be seen is guided intuitively. He who is sad when he triumphs, he understands.

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Why seek Truth or Reality? Seen properly, it’s shining in every moment’s activity.

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When the great Japanese Zen Master, Hakuin, experienced his great Enlightenment (he had had numerous minor Satori experiences), he said: “After this, seeing the things of the world was like seeing the back of my own hand.” Who is self, who is other?

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The more joyous you are, the closer you are to God. The truth is, however, you are never apart from God.

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The lavender skies of Kyoto will soften the sharpest edge.

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Each death is also a birth. How do you know we are not dying into something better? So why all the grief? Are we grieving for the departed or are we feeling sorry for ourselves?

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All life is a purification. We see it only in the physical. “Illness” is purification.