buddhism

You will bring yourself the suffering you need to bring yourself so that you may awaken.

Nothing needs to be done, and things get done.

You necessarily have to be lost, before you__e found.

Maybe it__ something which can__ be defined,_ Enso Roshi says. __aybe it__ a question, to be lived.

Meditation is a cyclical process that defies analysis, but demands acceptance.

The advantages of developing absorption concentration are not only that it provides a stable and receptive state of mind for the practice of insight meditation. The experience of absorption is one of intense pleasure and happiness, brought about by purely mental means, which thereby automatically eclipses any pleasure arising in dependence on material objects. Thus absorption functions as a powerful antidote to sensual desires by divesting them of their former attraction.

Vulnerability in the face of constant change is what we share, whatever our present condition.

It is the rub that polishes the jewel,_ Enso Roshi says. __obody ever gets to nirvana without going through samsara. Nobody ever gets to heaven, without going through hell. The center of all things, the truth, is surrounded by demons.

I loved Enso Roshi__ teachings. I loved learning about life. I loved life. It was a good thing to feel. I loved life, and I loved learning, and I was still learning. I was not, yet, done. At the end of our journeys, there would be an end to the journey. Maybe. If I was lucky. If providence shone down upon me gently. I would find love. I would find acceptance. Complete love. Complete acceptance. I would know, that the self, is an illusion. I would come to enlightenment, but that would also mean, there would be no ___ there. I would realize that the ___ was an illusion, all along, just like some great dream. This is what the wise sages say, the great teachings, the mystical teachings, not only from the East, but also from the West. The Gospel of Saint Thomas. Thomas Merton. Thomas, like I was Thomas, and also doubting, the main reasons I__ chosen the name. If nothing else, it was lovable, just as it is. My life. Even the parts I didn__ love, could I love them? The struggles. It was all part of the journey, and would I not look back fondly on this, at some time? Look at how arduous and sincere I__ been. Look at how worried I__ been. Look at how insecure I__ been. Look at how I__ struggled. Trying to find my way. Would I not look back upon myself, affectionately and fondly and with love?

Recollection of death also serves as a useful preparation for the time when one actually has to face death. As the concluding exercise among the body contemplations, a regular recollection of death can lead to the realization that death is fearful only to the extent to which one identifies with the body. With the aid of the body contemplations one can come to realize the true [impermanent] nature of the body and thereby overcome one's attachment to it. Being free from attachment to the body, one will be freed from any fear of physical death.

The way is not clear, and it is when you do not have clarity, when this is allowed, that you will finally have clarity.

Let whatever happens, be what needs to happen, so that I may awaken.

Search not for happiness outside yourself, for nothing could be further from the truth.

To eliminate the inner turmoil we must focus our attention inward and act with loving kindness to ourselves__nd each other.

Since beginners can only remain in contact with the object of observation for short periods, initially one should meditate in brief sessions even eighteen times a day; in due course stability will be achieved of its own accord, at which time the session can be lengthened. It is important not to try at first to meditate for long periods; otherwise, upon sight of the meditation cushion, one will feel nausea and laziness. The session should be left while it is going well, when one still feels that it would go well if continued.

Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, when asked how to strike a better balance between family, work and self-realisation says: "You need the intention, good scheduling, and you have to be creative. If you don't find time to practice, one of the three is missing.

A peaceful mind appreciates the present moment as the living embodiment of naked perfection, rather than a means to future attainment.

We are animals descended from five billion years of wanting, striving, and seeking. And life just doesn__ cooperate. So we suffer. And so the solution to that problem is to upgrade our minds, in a distinctly __nnatural_ way, so that the mind clings less and lets go more.