In theology, the ancient Greek scholar, Xenophanes of Colophon, satirized traditional anthropomorphism, remarking that each race represented its gods in its own image. He concluded that, if horses could draw, they would draw their gods looking like horses. We have to imagine using our minds, but our imagination is limited by our experience.
Politeness is a poor virtue, if it is actuated only by a fear of offending good taste; whereas it should be the outward manifestation of a sympathetic regard for the feelings of others ... Confucius himself has repeatedly taught that external appurtenances are as little a part of propriety as sounds are of music.
...a human being is a vulnerable creature, who cannot possible be perfect. After he dies, he returns to the elements - to earth, to water, to fire, to wind, to air. Matter is void. All is vanity. We are like blade of grass or tree of the forest, creations of the universe, and the spirit of the universe has neither life nor death. Vanity is the only obstacle to life.
Timeless awareness entails (a) understanding that the way in which phenomena actually abide is, from the ultimate perspective, free of all limitations imposed by elaborations of origination, cessation, and so forth; (b) realization of the nonexistence of the two kinds of identity; and (c) unerring knowledge of sugatagarbha as utter lucidity, the way in which things actually abide, beyond any context of speculative value judgments. It is on this awareness that one should rely.
Ordinary consciousness entails (a) belief that what one immediately perceives constitutes something truly existent; (b) conceptualization in terms of characteristics, such as the sense of personal identity and the mind-body aggregates; and (c) mental states that are conditioned, for example, by attitudes of naively fixating on the pleasures of the senses. One should not rely on such consciousness.
Real people know how to deem the self great and the world small. They esteem self-government and disdain governing others. They do not let things disturb their harmony, and they do not let desires derange their feelings.
Enlightenment is not anything new or something we create or bring into existence. It is simply discovering within us what is already there. It is the full realization of our intrinsic nature. In Tibetan, buddha is sang gyay. Sang means that all of the faults have been cleared away, while gyay means “full realization”; just as from darkness, the moon waxes, likewise from ignorance, the qualities of the mind’s intrinsic nature emerge.
We solidify our projected reality and endlessly create a world of confusion, struggle, and limitation. Perhaps the most common experience of this occurs when we exaggerate and fantasize the qualities of something. It leads to disappointment and frustration when the object is unattainable, and disillusionment when its actual nature shows through the veneer of our fantasy.
While most bugeisha sought only to perfect their physical techniques, Yagyu Muneyoshi, while still in his teens, found swordsmanship to be a means of quieting his fears and inner doubts. Instead of practicing a cut only to achieve proficiency in it, he would remain in the dojo long after his lessons were done, repeating again and again the movement he had been taught, losing himself to it until his consciousness was consumed in the action. Then, beyond the ragged breath, under the painful muscles, he discovered a peaceful flowing quiet within the violence of the swordsmanship. ...through the efforts of his own practice, he was beginning to sense... [that] ...the way of the sword was not in physical techniques, not in victory on the battlefield, but in the realm of the spiritual.
Myths are nothing but faces of human experience. If the figure of the fighting hero has been so deeply entrenched in the imagination of our ancestors and has not stopped fascinating us even today, it is because it talks in a language that our souls understand well.
Because it is a reality that we are by nature social animals, bound to depend on each other, we need to cultivate affection and concern for other people if we really desire peace and happiness. Look at wild animals and birds. Even they travel together, flock together, and help each other. Bees do not have a particular legal system, they do not follow any spiritual practice, but for their livelihood and survival they depend on each other -- that is their natural way of existence. Even though we intelligent human beings must also depend on each other, we sometimes misuse our intelligence and try to exploit each other. That goes against human nature. For those of us who profess to believe in a particular religious practice, it is extremely important that we try to help each other and cultivate a feeling of affection for each other. That is the source of happiness in our life.
It’s important to differentiate a thought from an emotion. We say things such as, “I feel like they don’t accept me.” Actually, that is a thought. We may feel hurt or frustrated, and it’s because we’re thinking that others don’t accept us. How do we know they don’t accept us? We don’t. We haven’t asked them. Instead, on the basis of how they looked at us or a comment they made, our mind constructs a story that we believe.
As soon as you hear yourself saying, “I feel like... ,” stop and recognize that you can’t “feel like” something. You are thinking. After you have identified the thought, ask yourself, “Is that true? How do I know it’s true? What evidence do I have to prove the validity of that thought?” It’s really startling to see how often we assume our interpretation of a situation is true when in fact it is based on flimsy evidence.
Since emptiness, from between positive and negative phenomena, is a negative phenomenon and, from between affirming negatives and non-affirming negatives, is a non-affirming negative, when it appears to the mind, nothing will appear except an absence of such inherent existence—a mere elimination of the object of negation. Thus, for the mind of a person realizing emptiness there is no sense of, “I am ascertaining emptiness,” and there is no thought, “This is emptiness.” If you had such a sense, emptiness would become distant. Nevertheless, the emptiness of inherent existence is ascertained and realized.
After such realization, even though whatever phenomena appear appear to exist in their own right, you understand that they do not exist that way. You have a sense that they are like a magician’s illusions in that there is a combination of their appearing one way but actually existing another way. Though they appear to exist inherently, you understand that they are empty of inherent existence.
When phenomena are seen this way, the conceptions that superimpose a sense of goodness or badness on phenomena beyond what is actually there and serve as a basis for generating desire and hatred lessen; this is because they are based on the misconception that phenomena are established in their own right.
Power is often scorned as something to be avoided in spiritual circles, yet secretly it may be wished for.
...when we ignore or deny personal power because we are afraid, it is driven into the Shadow. Once split off from conscious acknowledgement, power is then even more destructive and abusive.
Owning our power is truly acknowledging and being responsible for our capacity to be effective.
[Aspects of Taoist philosophy are] analogous to [Peter] Kropotkin's anarchy. If each thing follows its own li (organic order) it will harmonize with all other things following theirs, not by reason of rule imposed from above but by their mutual resonance and interdependence.
Effort is crucial in the beginning for generating a strong will. We all have the Buddha nature and thus already have within us the substances through which, when we meet with the proper conditions, we can turn into a fully enlightened being having all beneficial attributes and devoid of all faults. The very root of failure in our lives is to think, "Oh, how useless and powerless I am!" It is important to have a strong force of mind thinking, "I can do it," this not being mixed with pride or any other afflictive emotion.
Moderate effort over a long period of time is important, no matter what you are trying to do. One brings failure on oneself by working extremely hard at the beginning, attempting to do too much, and then giving it all up after a short time. A constant stream of moderate effort is needed. Similarly, when meditating, you need to be skillful by having frequent, short sessions; it is more important that the session be of good quality than that it be long.
Centuries of Aristotle, Plato, and Descartes have bulldozed the way open to the decay of the body. The majority of our planetary culture has been indoctrinated to perceive both Nature and the body through the lenses of a mechanistic vision of reality; Descartes’ "cogito ergo sum" ("I think therefore I am") identifies our selves only as a function of thinking, thereby turning the physical world into a barren wasteland. We have chosen to follow Kant along the road of "progress" and science rather than sitting around the campfire with Gary Snyder and riding with Black Elk in the Prairies.
"...when no risk is taken there is no freedom. It is thus that, in an industrial society, the plethora of laws made for our personal safety convert the land into a nursery..."
Relative Bodhichitta is practiced on the basis of the ordinary, conceptual mind and is perfectly possible to accomplish, even for a beginner, provided he looks within himself and practices properly. When this relative Bodhichitta has been perfected, moreover, absolute Bodhichitta, the wisdom of Vipashyana, the realization of no-self, arises by itself.
We can think of relative Bodhichitta as having two aspects: that of emptiness and that of compassion. To possess both compassion and an understanding of emptiness is like having wheels on one’s car. If all four are present, the car is roadworthy; but if a wheel is missing, it is impossible to go anywhere. Meditation on emptiness without compassion is not the Mahayana path; meditation on compassion where the aspect of emptiness is lacking is not the path either. We need both emptiness and compassion together.
Real life, [early Taoists] argued, the life of the true person, followed the creative natural path, rather than the predetermined values of any group. For those willing to conform to the natural way, rather than the conceptions and preconceptions of others, true freedom — that is, self-conformity — was possible. And even more: This tendency toward self-conformity was inherent in all people. Left essentially to its own devices, the larger society could, like a pond or a forest, attain its own balance and maintain its own systems of effective functioning — without outside help.
A Zen master was asked by a Samurai whether there was hell in sooth as taught in the Scriptures. "I must ask you," replied he, "before I give you an answer. For what purpose is your question? What business have you, a Samurai, with a thing of that sort? Why do you bother yourself about such an idle question? Surely you neglect your duty and are engaged in such a fruitless research. Does this not amount to your stealing the annual salary from your lord?" The Samurai, offended not a little with these rebukes, stared at the master, ready to draw his sword at another insult. Then the teacher said smilingly: "Now you are in Hell. Don't you see?"
Attachment and love are similar in that both of them draw us to the other person. But in fact, these two emotions are quite different. When we’re attached we’re drawn to someone because he or she meets our needs. In addition, there are lots of strings attached to our affection that we may or may not realize are there. For example, I “love” you because you make me feel good. I “love” you as long as you do things that I approve of. I “love” you because you’re mine. You’re my spouse or my child or my parent or my friend. With attachment, we go up and down like a yo-yo, depending on how the other person treats us. We obsess, “What do they think of me? Do they love me? Have I offended them? How can I become what they want me to be so that they love me even more?” It’s not very peaceful, is it? We’re definitely stirred up.
On the other hand, the love we’re generating on the Dharma path is unconditional. We simply want other to have happiness and the causes of happiness without any strings attached, without any expectations of what these people will do for us or how good they’ll make us feel.
"Swordmasters like Yagyu Munenori spoke of there being two different kinds of swords. They called one sword - and by extension the swordsman who wielded it - satsujinken, merely a weapon for killing, and serving no greater purpose a 'sword that takes life'. The katsujinken, though, was a 'sword that preserved life,' promoting dignity and a love for mankind. The use of the katsujinken was in the killing of the worst enemy of all, that of one's own ego."
We are all human beings, and from this point of view, we are the same. We all want happiness and we do not want suffering. If we consider this point, we will find that there are no differences between people of different faiths, races, colors, or cultures. We all have this common wish for happiness.
The fundamental teaching of the Buddha is that we should view others as being more important than we are. Of course, you cannot completely ignore yourself. But neither can you neglect the welfare of other people and other sentient beings, particularly when there is a clash of interest between your own welfare and the welfare of other people. At such a time you should consider other people’s welfare as more important than your own personal well-being. Compare yourself to the rest of sentient beings. All other sentient beings are countless, while you are just one person. Your suffering and happiness may be very important, but it is just the suffering and happiness of one individual, whereas the happiness and suffering of all other sentient beings is immeasurable and countless. So, it is the way of the wise to sacrifice one for the benefit of the majority and it is the way of the foolish to sacrifice the majority on behalf of just one single individual. Even from the point of view of your personal well-being, you must cultivate a compassionate mind — that is that source of happiness in your life.
"As for glory, the only glory in war is doing your duty as a samurai. And that same glory can be found by diligently performing your work when you are doing something like inspecting a castle."
"To be truly walking on the warrior’s path, we have to bring our minds back to the time when we were not ashamed of our dreams; when reality had not yet frustrated our ambitions; when our desire was still too strong to be repressed, and our spirit refused to surrender in resignation; when we were not yet doctors, businessmen, or lawyers, but still wanted to be heroes, leaders, bodhisattvas."
"The Shadow, as Jung called the repressed side of our nature, in particular is kept in the dark by fear and denial. It lives in the darkness we create by our unwillingness to go beneath the surface and shine a light on what may be there. As long as we are unprepared or unwilling to look at ourselves, our Shadow has the perfect condition in which to intensify and grow."
"Zen Buddhism is a way and a view of life which does not belong to any of the formal categories of modern Western thought. It is not a religion or philosophy; it is not a psychology or a type of science. It is an example of what is known in India and China as a 'way of liberation,' and is similar in this respect to Taoism, Vedanta, and Yoga. ... A way of liberation can have no positive definition. It has to be suggested by saying what it is not."
"By and large, human beings tend to prefer to fit in to society by following accepted rules of etiquette and being gentle, polite, and respectful. The irony is that this is also how most people imagine a spiritual person should behave. When a so-called dharma practitioner is seen to behave badly, we shake our heads over her audacity at presenting herself as a follower of the Buddha. Yet such judgments are better avoided, because to 'fit in' is not what a genuine dharma practitioner strives for.
"Think of Tilopa, for example. He looked so outlandish that if he turned up on your doorstep today, odds are you would refuse to let him in. And you would have a point. He would most likely be almost completely naked; if you were lucky, he might be sporting some kind of G-string; his hair would never have been introduced to shampoo; and protruding from his mouth would quiver the tail of a live fish. What would your moral judgment be of such a being? 'Him! A Buddhist?' This is how our theistic, moralistic, and judgmental minds work. Of course, there is nothing wrong with morality, but the point of spiritual practice, according to the vajrayana teachings, is to go beyond all our concepts, including those of morality."
"'The end of all etiquette is to so cultivate your mind that even when you are quietly seated, not the roughest ruffian can dare make onset on your person.' It means, in other words, that by constant exercise in correct manners, one brings all the parts and faculties of his body into perfect order and into such harmony with itself and its environment as to express the mastery of spirit over the flesh."
"Just like an individual taking part in a sweat lodge stops before the entrance to get purified in the smoke of burning sage, the martial artist, before crossing the invisible line that separates the dojo from the rest of the world, stops at the door and salutes in the traditional way (either bowing or placing the right fist against the left palm, depending on the tradition), thus signaling the transition from the normal state of consciousness to the ceremonial space. ... The dojo is one of those few non-religious places in our society where adults can give themselves permission to come directly in contact with Myth."
There are two different ways in which we can understand the term 'ordinary mind.' One way is to not take control over anything and end up following our afflictions. When a thought of anger arises, we follow it; when greed arises, we lose control of ourselves to it. Similarly, we lose control of ourselves to our pride and jealousy. Although we might think of this as our ordinary state of mind, it is not what we mean here. Here it does not mean losing control of ourselves to negative emotions. Instead, it means that we do not need to do anything at all to the essence of the mind itself.
We do not need to alter this essence in any way. We do not have to worry about what we are thinking, what is pleasant, or what is painful. We can leave this mind as it is. If we try to alter the mind in any way, thoughts will arise. But if we do not do anything to it and let it rest easily, then it is unaltered. The Kagyu masters of the past called this the ordinary mind, or the natural state. They called it this out of their experience. This ordinary mind itself is the dharma expanse and the essence of the buddhas; it is our buddha-nature.
"It is often seen that human beings can endure problems quite well, but cannot endure success. When we are successful and have everything we desire, it can easily go to our heads. There is a great danger of losing our common sense and becoming careless and arrogant. As it is said, 'Nothing corrupts a person more than power.' Very powerful people sometimes become so proud that they no longer care about their actions or about the effect they have on others. Losing any sense of right and wrong, they create severe problems for themselves and everyone else.
"Even if we have all the success we could dream of — fame, wealth, and so on — we must understand that these things have no real substance. Attachment does not come from having things, but from the way our mind reacts to them. It is fine to participate in good circumstances, provided we can see that they have no real essence. They may come and they may go. When seeing this, we will not become so attached. Even if we lose our wealth we will not be badly affected, and while it is there we will enjoy it without being senseless and arrogant."
"The realization of the nature of the mind is not something we can find by searching for it from afar. It is present within the essence of the mind itself. If we do not alter or change that in any way, that is enough. It is not as if we were lacking something before, so we need to make something new through our meditation. It is not as if we are bad and have to go through all sorts of efforts to make ourselves good. Goodness is something we all have. It has always been with us, but we have just not looked for it or seen it yet, so we have become confused. Therefore all we need to do is to just rest within it without changing it. We see where it stays and rest there, so we are like a kusulu. This means that we rest free and easy with nothing to do, very simply. We do not need to think that we are making something good or that we need to meditate properly. It is enough just to know what we already have."
"...the idea that if we want one thing we must renounce something else is one of the worst aberrations ever invented. An individual who is truly alive should not settle for anything less than the totality of experience."
The environment where you are doing the meditation should be properly cleaned. While cleaning, you should cultivate the motivation that since you are engaged in the task of accumulating great stores of merit by inviting the hosts of buddhas and bodhisattvas to this environment, it is important to have a clean place. You should see that all external dirt and dust around you is basically a manifestation of the faults and stains within your own mind. You should see that the most important aim is to purge these stains and faults from within your mind. Therefore, as you cleanse the environment, think that you are also purifying your mind. Develop the very strong thought that by cleaning this place you are inviting the hosts of buddhas and bodhisattvas who are the most supreme merit field, and that you will subsequently engage in a path that will enable you to purge your mind of the stains and delusions.
At present we have this rare and good human life of freedom and fortune, but it won’t last forever. We are certain to die and don’t know when. At death nothing at all but our spiritual practice will be of any use to us. That is the only thing worth doing — everything else is a futile waste of energy. We tire ourselves for the sake of reward and reputation and in our search for the kind of companions we prefer, but we can take none of these with us when we die. They must be left behind and only the imprints of negative actions we have performed in the process of trying to acquire them accompany us to our next rebirth. This is not hard to understand, but we must remember it and think about it till it affects the way we think and feel.
"...every obstacle reveals the solution. It is not the obstacle that we must fear, but it is the mind that hinders the search for a solution."
Taoism is a philosophy based on individuals, families, and primary societies. The primary societies were the basic social structure in ancient time. Taoism does not oppose civilization either but insists that civilization should not destroy the primary societies and families or put undue strain on them. ... Taoism also represents the most ancient Chinese cultural traditions. For a Western reader to understand Taoism, it is a prerequisite to understand how the cultures of the West and East branched apart along the course of development of our human race.
"It is amazing how much psychological control many people relinquish to others. If we think that someone else disapproves of us, we are worried. If we think that someone else is pleased with us, we are happy. If we think that someone else holds views contrary to our own, we are insulted. If we think that someone else is contemptuous of us, we are angry. With all these others determining how we feel, it is sometimes difficult to find the actual self."
"Music and swordsmanship are said to be based on the same principles and share the same idea of spiritual perfection: The perfect tune makes no sound."
One should not view one’s dharma practice as being something decorative, regarding statues and images as material possessions or as furnishings for one’s house, or thinking that because there is an empty space on a wall one might as well put up a thangka for decoration. That kind of attitude should not be cultivated. When you arrange the statues or thangkas, you should do so out of a deep respect from the mind, moved by your faith and conviction. If you can arrange these physical representations — statues and so forth — out of deep respect and faith, that’s all right. On the other hand, the attitude that they are merely material possessions is dangerous and destructive. I think that some people who have a cupboard or the like in which they keep all their precious possessions may arrange an altar on it just for the sake of decoration. This is very wrong.
Having such motivations is not the proper way to become a Buddhist; the proper way to become a Buddhist is to bring about some positive change within the mind. Any practice that can give you more courage when you are undergoing a very difficult time and that can provide you with some kind of solace and calmness of mind is a true practice of the dharma.
"The 'Mandate of Heaven' is an ancient Chinese philosophical concept, which originated during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). The Mandate determines whether an emperor of China is sufficiently virtuous to rule; if he does not fulfill his obligations as emperor, then he loses the Mandate and thus the right to be emperor."
"How you handle those 'bad' things (bad being a relative term) is what causes your suffering, not the bad thing itself. Even pain can be handled in a way that will keep you from suffering. It isn’t easy, but it can be done. Attaching to 'bad things,' trying to control them, or letting them control you - these are the attitudes that cause suffering."
"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
"Training for physical fitness and self-discipline seems to be the major objective for most serious practitioners today. The emphasis on self-discipline is amplified to the point where perfection of technique has become the paramount goal of the trainee. As such, karate training has almost become a philosophy that carries dedication to perfection into other area's of the karate practitioner's life. When this stage has been reached, one can truly be considered to be practicing karate as a do, or way of life."
"Ambition can be Zen-like or un-Zen-like. Ambition to live mindfully and succeed ultimately in the present moment is Zen-like. Ambition to get ahead of others, gain more material possessions, and achieve status at the expense of compassion is counterproductive to Zen living."
To avoid being hurt by thorns and brambles, we might consider covering all the mountains with leather. That would be impossible, but putting on shoes would serve the same purpose. Similarly, if we tried to subdue all our outer enemies, we would never succeed. Once one was eliminated, another would rise against us. While doing this, our anger would continue to breed new foes. The only way to overcome our enemies is to turn inward and kill the real one, which is our own hatred.
"Zen isn’t about wearing black and saying enigmatic things, spouting spiritual wisdom, or suddenly having a run of luck on the basketball court. Zen isn’t slick or dramatic or showy. It is ordinary, going through your everyday life without fanfare, fully awake, aware, and absorbed in whatever you do."
"Once humans start to think they understand the world, they start to mess it up by their forceful actions. Such stupidity can take hold whenever we think we have entered the threshold of full understanding but have not."
"In the West, God, the world, and I are three entities. Therefore you have a God to please, a world to conquer, and most of all, you have many peers to compete with through your whole life. In the East, God, the world, and I are all rolled together into one, the big One."
"We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives in which we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others. Nor is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic actions bring about happiness, but they also lessen our experience of suffering. Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are motivated by the wish to bring others happiness necessarily meets with less misfortune than the one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our internal peace—anxiety, doubt, disappointment—these are definitely less."
"The basic body of knowledge that was later called ninjutsu was at first considered merely an unconventional way of looking at situations and accomplishing things. What went on to eventually become a highly systematic method of combat and espionage began as a shadowy counterculture, a reaction against the mainstream of Japanese political and social tradition."
"There is a saying in Chinese medicine that trying to get healthy after you’ve become sick is like digging a well when you are dying of thirst. The idea ... is to focus on your health while you are healthy."
Ambition can be Zen-like or un-Zen-like. Ambition to live mindfully and succeed ultimately in the present moment is Zen-like. Ambition to get ahead of others, gain more material possessions, and achieve status at the expense of compassion is counterproductive to Zen living.
"Around us, life bursts forth with miracles — a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a flower, laughter ... If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings. When we are tired and feel discouraged by life's daily struggles, we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there..."
"Nothing is more loathsome to [the Samurai] than underhand dealings and crooked undertakings."
"In meditation, imagine that in front of you are three persons — an enemy, a friend, and a neutral person. At that time, in our minds we have (1) a sense of closeness for one of them, thinking, “This is my friend”; (2) a sense of dislike even when imagining the enemy; and (3) a sense of ignoring the neutral person. Now, we have to think about the reasons why we generate these feelings — the reasons being that temporarily one of them helped us whereas the other temporarily harmed us, and the third did neither. However, when we think in terms of the long course of beginningless rebirth, none of us could decide that someone who has helped or harmed us in this life has been doing so for all lifetimes.
"When you contemplate this way, eventually you arrive at a point where a strong generation of desire or hatred appears to you to be just senseless. Gradually, such a bias weakens, and you decide that one-sided classification of persons as friends and enemies has been a mistake."
"Some teachers say that kensho is the word for those little glimmers of enlightenment, that temporary loss of self and absorption into the present moment and what you are doing, while satori and nirvana are words for a more pervasive and permanent state of enlightenment."
"Is it possible to abandon the suffering of samsara and pass beyond the suffering of samsara? If the world were created by a god, then we would be helpless. It would not be within our power to do much about our own situation, and achieve real happiness. However, some deity has not created the world, so we have the power to do something about our situation. That is because the situation we are in is the fruition of our own actions; our actions are a cause that has created this particular effect. Therefore, it is within our power to abandon the causes of suffering.
"For instance, we hear about the great suffering that beings have to undergo in the lower realms and we feel frightened by that and do not want to have to experience that kind of suffering. So, is it within our power to prevent the experience of this kind of suffering? Yes, it is because ill deeds and non-virtuous activities are the causes of being born in a lower realm. And it is within our power not to engage in such ill deeds. In that way, it is within our power to do what we want to do. If we want to achieve nirvana or the state of having crossed beyond all suffering of cyclic existence, we can simply engage in the causes that lead to nirvana."
"The concept of Yin (Um in Korean) and Yang is no doubt the theory most integral to understanding not only Ki energy but the Asian mindset toward life and the universe as a whole."
"Sometimes, it became boring to repeat these forms again and again, but we did it because this was our master's instruction, even if we didn't understand the effect it had on us. Now I understand that it was not only the knowledge of the form that we were perfecting, but, in essence, ourselves. Everyday, through the repetition and drill work, we were training and focusing the mind to become sharp and precise. We were integrating our mind and body into one, and before we knew it, an inner strength developed within us like an unseen muscle. This integration and unity is the supreme achievement of a martial artist, and is at the source of all his or her strength."
"Generally speaking, even if money brings us happiness, it tends to be the kind that money can buy: material things and sensory experiences. And these, we discover, become a source of suffering themselves. As far as actual possessions are concerned, we must admit that they often cause us more, not less, difficulty in life. The car breaks down, we lose our money, our most precious belongings are stolen, our house is damaged by fire. Or we worry about these things happening.
"The problem is not materialism as such. Rather it is the underlying assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone. Unlike animals whose quest for happiness is restricted to survival and to the immediate gratification of sensory desires, we human beings have the capacity to experience happiness at a deeper level, which, when achieved, can overwhelm unhappy experiences."
"From a Taoist point of view, it is our [modern society’s] cherished beliefs — that we exist as separate beings, that we can exercise a willful control over all situations, and that our role is to conquer our environment — that lead to a state of disharmony and imbalance."
"It is the general Buddhist procedure that one’s own pleasure and pain are acheived by oneself and not from the outside, and that, therefore, sentient beings themselves must understand and implement practices to bring about their own happiness. Thus, the most efficacious way to help others is through teaching what should be adopted in practice and what should be discarded from among current behavior. There is no way to do this unless you come to know all of the topics involved in what should be adopted in practice and what should be discarded—you must become omniscient. As mentioned earlier, there is no way to accomplish this except by removing the obstructions to omniscience, and one who has overcome, utterly and forever, the obstructions to omniscience is a Buddha."
"Sometimes the natural human emotion associated with a major event (even when it is a “good” event) is so intense that we are afraid to experience it."
"One of the principal qualities of an enlightened being is humility. It would be out of character for buddhas to boast about their attainments and to egotistically gather disciples. By their genuine respect for all beings and their willingness to learn from everyone, great spiritual masters set a good example for us. We ordinary beings tend to show off our qualities and even brag about talents and achievements that we do not have. Advanced practitioners are the opposite: they remain humble."
"When we look for the source of all the problems that confront human life we usually blame everything but the root cause: our lack of spiritual discipline and realization. Particularly in this degenerate age, the world atmosphere is so very negative and the conditions around us conducive to little but evil karma and meaningless distractions, that not to have the protection of spiritual knowledge is to leave ourselves totally defenseless against the negative mind."
On the question of Mind, the Lankavatara (Sutra) has the following to say: ' ...the ignorant and the simple minded, not knowing that the world is what is seen of Mind itself, cling to the multitudinousness of external objects, cling to the notions of being and non-being, oneness and otherness, bothness and not-bothness, existence and non-existence, eternity and non-eternity.'"
"...if you see someone or think of someone as an enemy, you are certain to cause them to become one. And if you see enemies everywhere, your life will be filled with conflict. Conversely, if you treat everyone well, you can create conditions that allow for a very peaceful mind."
"The way of nature is inherently benign and works for our benefit when we understand and accommodate ourselves to it. Therefore the purpose of all ethics, all spiritual practice, is to understand the way of nature and work with it."
"A great trouble with us is that we do not believe in half the good that we are born with."
"Whereas Buddhism believes it would be best if we could simply ignore the world, the source of our psychic pain, the Taoists wanted nothing so much as to have complete union with this same world. Buddhism teaches union with the Void, while Taoism teaches union with the Tao. At first they seem opposite directions. But the synthesis of these doctrines appeared in Zen, which taught that the oneness of the Void, wherein all reality is subsumed, could be understood as an encompassing whole or continuum, as in the Tao."
"In order to achieve victory you must place yourself in your opponent’s skin. If you don’t understand yourself, you will lose one-hundred percent of the time. If you understand yourself, you will win fifty percent of the time. If you understand yourself and your opponent, you will win one-hundred percent of the time."
"There is a legend the Buddha was once handed a flower and asked to preach on the law. The story says he received the blossom without a sound and silently wheeled it in his hand. Then amid the hush his most perceptive follower, Kashyapa, suddenly burst into a smile … and thus was born the wordless wisdom of Zen."
"Know the white, yet keep to the black;
Be a model for the world.
If you are a model for the world,
The Tao inside you will strengthen,
And you will return whole to your eternal beginning."
"From a Taoist point of view, it is our cherished beliefs - that we exist as separate beings, that we can exercise a willful control over all situations, and that our role is to conquer our environment - that lead to a state of disharmony and imbalance."
"As we men live and act, so do our arteries; so does blood; so do corpuscles. As cells and protoplasm live and act, so do elements, molecules, and atoms. As elements and atoms live and act, so do clouds; so does the earth; so does the ocean, the Milky Way, and the Solar System. What is this life which pervades the grandest as well as the minutest works of Nature, and which may fitly be said ‘greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest?’ It cannot be defined. It cannot be subjected to exact analysis. But it is directly experienced and recognized within us, just as the beauty of the rose is to be perceived and enjoyed, but not reduced to exact analysis."
"A man who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in his every action."
"Everybody has observed that the Shinto shrines are conspicuously devoid of objects and instruments of worship, and that a plain mirror hung in the sanctuary forms the essential part of its furnishing. The presence of this article is easy to explain: it typifies the human heart, which, when perfectly placid and clear, reflects the very image of the Deity. When you stand, therefore, in front of the shrine to worship, you see your own image reflected on its shining surface, and the act of worship is tantamount to the old Delphic injunction, ‘Know Thyself.’"
"Rationality constrains our mind; intuition releases it."
"Passions are like legs. They should be guided by the eye of reason. No wise serpent is led by its tail, so no wise man is led by his passion."
"The spiritual region lies within, and each of us must strive, through our own inner and individual efforts and not through any outside agency, to unfold ourselves and bring about enlightenment."
