Rumi ♡ - Love

A spirit that lives in this world

and does not wear the shirt of love,

such an existence is a deep disgrace.

Be foolishly in love,

because love is all there is.

There is no way into presence

except through a love exchange.

If someone asks, But what is love?

answer, Dissolving the will.

True freedom comes to those

who have escaped the questions

of freewill and fate.

Love is an emperor.

The two worlds play across him.

He barely notices their tumbling game.

Love and lover live in eternity.

Other desires are substitutes

for that way of being.

How long do you lay embracing a corpse?

Love rather the soul, which cannot be held.

Anything born in spring dies in the fall,

but love is not seasonal.

With wine pressed from grapes,

expect a hangover.

But this love path has no expectations.

You are uneasy riding the body?

Dismount. Travel lighter.

Wings will be given.

Be clear like a mirror

reflecting nothing.

Be clean of pictures and the worry

that comes with images.

Gaze into what is not ashamed

or afraid of any truth.

Contain all human faces in your own

without any judgment of them.

Be pure emptiness.

What is inside that? you ask.

Silence is all I can say.

Lovers have some secrets

That they keep.

John O'Donohue - There is an invisible world

Art Martin Stranka

Within us and around us there is an invisible world; this is where each of us comes from... When you cross over from the invisible into this physical world, you bring with you a sense of belonging to the invisible that you can never lose or finally cancel... When you enter the world, you come to live on the threshold between the visible and the invisible... Because the invisible cannot be seen or glimpsed with the human eye, it belongs largely to the unknown. Still there are occasional moments when the invisible seems to become faintly perceptible... Now you belong fully neither to the visible nor to the invisible. This is precisely what kindles and rekindles all your longing and your hunger to belong. You are both artist and pilgrim of the threshold.

~ from ETERNAL ECHOES by John O'Donohue 

 

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Shabkar - Song of Joy

All appearances are vast openness,
Blissful and utterly free.

With a free, happy mind
I sing this song of joy.

When one looks toward one’s own mind -
The root of all phenomena -
There is nothing but vivid emptiness,
Nothing concrete there to be taken as real.

It is present and transparent, utter openness,
Without outside, without inside -
An all pervasiveness
Without boundary and without direction.

The wide-open expanse of the view,
The true condition of the mind,
Is like the sky, like space:
Without center, without edge, without goal.

By leaving whatever i experience
Relaxed in ease, just as it is,
I have arrived at the vast plain
That is the absolute expanse.

Dissolving into the expanse of emptiness
That has no limits and no boundary,
Everything i see, everything i hear,
My own mind, and the sky all merge.

Not once has the notion arisen
Of these being seperate and distinct.

In the absolute expanse of awareness
All things are blended into that single taste -
But, relatively, each and every phenomenom is distinctly,
clearly seen.

Wondrous!

Khalil Gibran - On Sorrow and Joy

( Kamilah (Kamileh) Gibran (Kahlil's Mother) )

Then a woman said,

“Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.”

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises
was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,
the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine
the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit,
the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart
and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow
that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart,
and you shall see that in truth you are weeping
for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater that sorrow,"
and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board,
remember that the other is asleep by your bed .

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver,
needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

The Heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra

The Heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra

The free seeing Bodhisattva of compassion,
while in profound contemplation of Prajna Paramita,
beheld five skandhas as empty in their being
and thus crossed over all sufferings.

O-oh Sariputra, what is seen does not differ from what is empty,
nor does what is empty differ from what is seen;
what is seen is empty, what is empty is seen.

It is the same for sense perception,
imagination, mental function and judgement.

O-oh Sariputra, all the empty forms of these dharmas
neither come to be nor pass away
and are not created or annihilated,
not impure or pure,
and cannot be increased or decreased.

Since in emptiness nothing can be seen,
there is no perception, imagination,
mental function or judgement.

There is no eye, ear, nose, tongue,
body or consciousness.
Nor are there sights, sounds, odors,
tastes, objects or dharmas.
There is no visu-al world,
world of consciousness or other world.

There is no ignorance
or extinction of ignorance and so forth
down to no aging and death
and also no extinction of aging and death.
There is neither suffering,
causation, annihilation nor path.

There is no knowing or unknowing.
Since nothing can be known,
Bodhisattvas rely upon Prajna Paramita
and so their minds are unhindered.

Because there is no hindrance,
no fear exists and they are far
from inverted and illusory thought
and thereby attain nirvana.

All the Buddhas in the three per-i-ods of time
fully accomplish the an-nut-ta-ra-sam-yak sambod-hi
by relying upon Prajna Paramita.

Therefore, Prajna Paramita
is known as the most divine mantra,
the great enlightening mantra,
the utmost mantra,
the in-com-pa-ra-ble mantra,
destroyer of all suffering!
since what is true is not in vain,
listen to the mantra of the Prajna Paramita--
it goes like this:

GATE GATE
PA-RA GATE
PARASAM GATE
BOD-HI SVA-HA!

source

download  the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra  here

Adyashanti - In love with a mystery

When we are in relationship as our own radiant emptiness, the relationship is beautiful because we are being what we are. Essentially we are in love with a mystery. Mystery is in love with itself. When this mystery is in relationship with an other, whether the so-called other is the flower, the bird, the wind, the coldness, or a human being, it relates to these as an expression of the same mystery. This is true sacred relationship, when we see that we are really in relationship with the manifestation of the mystery: here as this, here as that, here as him, here as her, here as coldness, here as bitterness, here as sweetness, here as boredom, here as grief, here as happiness, here as confusion, and here as clarity. All is a manifestation of the mystery. The real groundwork of dharmic relationship is relationship with that mystery, with our own self.

...from 'Emptiness dancing'

http://www.adyashanti.org/

St. Thomas Aquinas - We are fields before each other

How is it they live for eons in such harmony -
the billions of stars -
when most men can barely go a minute
without declaring war in their mind against someone they know.
There are wars where no one marches with a flag,
though that does not keep casualties
from mounting.
Our hearts irrigate this earth.
We are fields before
each other.
How can we live in harmony?
First we need to
know
we are all madly in love
with the same
God.

 

 

(Love Poems From God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West 

by Daniel Ladinsky)

Gangaji - Enlightenment...

That which you yearn for, that which you hunger for, is That which is always present. That is who you truly are.

When I say you, I am not referring to your body. Your body is in that. I am not referring to your thoughts. Your thoughts are in that. I am not referring to your emotions. Your emotions appear in and disappear in that. I am not speaking of your circumstances. Circumstances too appear in and disappear out.

Bodies, thoughts, emotions, and circumstances change. They appear and disappear. They may be good or bad. They may be pleasing or displeasing. The truth of who you are is permanent and unmoving. The great, good news is that however you might imagine yourself, you can recognize who you truly are. Regardless of the experience of yourself as a body, or as the thought, I am this body, you can receive the direct transmission of the truth from your own Self. That transmission is satsang. Satsang confirms your true identity as pure consciousness, free of all perceived constraints.

When this good news is heard, really heard, there is immeasurable opening. No one has ever reported an end to realizing the Self. What does end is the preoccupation with imagining yourself to be some particular entity separate from boundless consciousness.

Self-realization is not something that can be captured in words. Although words will be used, no word that anyone has ever spoken has touched the glory of the true Self. I am here to point to that, to celebrate that, and to laugh at the very flimsy excuse that something could ever really obstruct.

I do not have anything to teach you. Self-realization is not about learning. I am not asking you to remember anything. I am not asking you to do anything or to get anything new. Nothing new is needed. I am asking you to realize you are already that which you want. And I am simply suggesting, as my teacher suggested to me, and as his teacher suggested to him, that you take one instant, one millisecond to allow the activity of the mind to stop.

In that millisecond, what a discovery is made! In that millisecond, you receive the invitation to surrender to what is revealed when there is no attention on body, thought, emotion, or circumstance. This is a momentous instant! In this instant the body is gone. In this instant of perfect silence you discover what is permanently here, what has always been here, what is permanently you. This instant of silence is the invitation to true refuge, true retreat, true peace, regardless of comings and goings.

What an instant this is! In this instant there is no dwelling on the past, there is no speculating on the future, and there is no analyzing the present in relation to the past or the future. In this instant there is no mental preoccupation, there is no conditioned existence. There is only that pure, pristine consciousness. In this instant you are in satsang.

Somehow, by some stroke of good luck, your individual consciousness has been called to satsang. You have heard the words that you are Truth itself. Now you are free to discover yourself as Truth. You are free to rest in that Truth. You are free to be happy, regardless of bodies, thoughts, emotions, or circumstances. You are free to be who you truly are.

~ Gangaji
"You Are That!". 

Paulo Coelho - In solitude

picture Martin Stranka

For those who are not frightened by the solitude that reveals all mysteries, 

everything will have a different taste. 

In solitude, they will discover the love that might otherwise arrive unnoticed. 

In solitude, they will understand and respect the love that left them.

In solitude, they will be able to decide whether it is worth asking that lost love to come back 

or if they should simply let it go and set off along a new path.

In solitude, they will learn that saying ‘No’ does not always show a lack of generosity 

and that saying ‘Yes’ is not always a virtue.

And those who are alone at this moment, need never be frightened by the words of the devil: 

‘You’re wasting your time.’

Or by the chief demon’s even more potent words: ‘No one cares about you.’

The Divine Energy is listening to us when we speak to other people, 

but also when we are still and silent and able to accept solitude as a blessing.

And in that moment, Its light illumines everything around us 

and helps us to see that we are necessary, and that our presence on Earth

 makes a huge difference to Its work.

 

 

 

Jeannie Zandi - Streaming Beggars

beggars banquet by Ronnie Wood

Now that you have moved into my heart,
taken the doors off their hinges and
removed the windows, glass, sash and all
beggars are coming from everywhere
for your sweet embrace.

 

The beggars stream in from every direction
walking, running, crawling, rolling and being carried.
The neighbors have stopped screaming about it.
At first they had plenty to say but after weeks and weeks of this
they know there is no helping it.
This is beyond city ordinances.
Soon they will be coming themselves,
dropping rakes, dog leashes, clothespins,
leaving cars running in the street,
for a glimpse of your holy face.

 

What am I to do but
watch in awe at the blessed variety of your creation,
the myriad wounds, the incredible stories,
the way they gather around the door
quivering with the certain knowledge
that finally no one will be turned away.

 

And stay in the house making meals,
and carrying sheets up and down the stairs.

 http://www.jeanniezandi.com/

Zen story

You Are Also Correct

Two monks who came out of a lecture by their master went on a hot debate regarding what they heard during the lecture. Each of them insited that his understanding was the correct one. To settle the dispute, they went to see the master for a judgement.

After hearing the argument put forth by the first monk, the master said, “You are correct!” The monk was overjoy. Casting a winner’s glance at his friend, he left the room.

The second monk was upset and started to pour out what he thought to the master. After he finished, the master looked at him and said, “You are correct, too.” 

Hearing this, the second monk brightened up and went away.

A third monk who was also in the room was greatly puzzled by what he saw. He said to the master, “I am confused, master! Their positions regarding the issue are completely opposite. They can’t be both right! How could you say that they are both correct?”

The master smiled as he looked into the eyes of this third monk, “You are also correct!”

 

 

Rumi - My soul has merged with Yours......

I am a painter,
Painting pictures all the time,
Yet when I see them near Your beauty
I want to throw them all away.

I am a sculptor, carving images
and filling each with life,
Yet when I compare these with Your beauty
I want to dump them in a fire.

O bringer of sweet wine,
Enemy of the sober
You have laid waste to
every house I ever built!

Tell me, are You the cup bearer or do You take the cup from my sober lips?
Perhaps You are both, the builder and the ruiner of all that I build

My soul has merged with Yours-
Water into wine, wine into wine.
Now there is only the scent of Your rose perfume.

Every drop of my blood calls out,
Dye me the color of Your love
Make me the jewel of Your affection.

In this house of water and clay
my heart is in ruins.
O Beloved, please enter my house 
or let me leave this empty world