Lilies of the Field passage from Matthew 6:25-34:
"I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat of drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will God not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
The self . . . is the fortress you create to protect yourself from experiencing the pain of loss and impermanence. It is your greatest defense mechanism. It is also your prison.
Caroline Braizer
Listen down.
What is it?
A current of air?
Vibrating vocal cords?
Your own ear drums?
Something running in your head?
Iťs a& of these.
This sound is you vibrating.
This sound is you.
-Alan Watts,
I am of the nature to grow old.
There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill-health
There is no way to escape having ill-health
I am of the nature to die
There is no way to escape death.
And that dear to me and everyone I love
Are of the nature to change:
There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground on which I stand.
The Buddha
Image of God
born of God's breath
vessel of divine Love
after his likeness
dwelling of God
capacity for the infinite
eternally known
chosen of God
home of the Infinite Majesty
abiding in the Son
called from eternity
life in the Lord
temple of the Holy Spirit
branch of Christ
receptacle of the Most High
wellspring of Living Water
heir of the kingdom
the glory of God
abode of the Trinity.
God sings this litany
eternally in his Word.
This is who you are.
a litany of the person - anonymous Trappist monk
In Zen Buddhism the student-teacher interview is the core of koan practice, the moment when the student must ‘answer the koan’ or be tossed out unceremoniously.
When my turn came, I went upstairs to the little room above the meditation hall, knocked, was invited in, entered, and sat down. A few moments of silence passed. I imagine that [Jiyu Kennett Roshi] was giving me the opportunity to begin. I stayed silent. She must have sensed my embarrassment. I was shy.
She looked at me in a very direct way. It was impossible to divine her mood, but I sensed a kindness in her eyes. After what seemed like an age, but could only have been a minute or so, she helped me out:
“Is there anything to report?” she asked.
In the context, this was a very open question. I could have used it almost any way. It could have been a basis for talking about technicalities of meditation practice. I could have used it as a springboard for a report upon my life. However, I was now even more paralyzed than before.
There was something about her whole way of being which prevented me from saying anything trivial, and in that moment everything seemed to fall into that category. All the things which had seemed so important about my life before I entered the room now no longer seemed consequential at all. This seemingly simple question, “Is there anything to report?” somehow demanded more than a commonplace response. It seemed to demand: “Can you say something which is ultimately true? Can you say it now?” Although a thousand things flashed through my mind, nothing in my life seemed to pass the test.
Then, it was as though the universe rescued me. My life dropped away, all that remained was the two of us sitting face to face, in a room on a cold day with the window open on to the frozen garden.
“The birds are singing,” I said.
She smiled.
It was an exchange of nine words in all, yet it contributed substantially to changing he direction of my life. (1995, p.11-12)
David Brazier
Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond self-enclosed and growing sweet-
all this universe, to the furthest stars
and beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit.
Now you feel how nothing clings to you;
your vast shell reaches into endless space,
and there the rich, thick fluids rise and flow,
Illuminated in your infinite peace.
A billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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