Kabir - That which you are

I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
what is this river you want to cross?

There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or resting?

There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no towrope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time no bank, no ford!
And there is no body, and no mind!

Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.

Think about it carefully!
Don’t go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of
imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are.

The Kabir Book: Forty Four of the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir, Translation by Robert Bly.
Beacon Press, Boston, 1993.

Mary Oliver - The dance

art Taher Abdel Azeem

 Don’t call this world adorable, or useful, that’s not it.

It’s frisky, and a theater for more than fair winds.
The eyelash of lightning is neither good nor evil.
The struck tree burns like a pillar of gold.

But the blue rain sinks, straight to the white
feet of the trees
whose mouths open.
Doesn’t the wind, turning in circles, invent the dance?
Haven’t the flowers moved, slowly, across Asia, then Europe,
until at last, now, they shine
in your own yard?

Don’t call this world an explanation, or even an education.

When the Sufi poet whirled, was he looking
outward, to the mountains so solidly there
in a white-capped ring, or was he looking
to the center of everything: the seed, the egg, the idea
that was also there,
beautiful as a thumb
curved and touching the finger, tenderly,
little love-ring,

as he whirled,
oh jug of breath,
in the garden of dust? 

Mary Oliver, from Why I Wake Early (2004)

 

Rupert Spira - The nature of mind

All that is known, or could ever be known, is experience. Struggle as we
may with the implications of this statement, we cannot legitimately deny
it. Being all that could ever be known, experience itself must be the test
of reality. If we do not take experience as the test of reality, belief will be
the only alternative. Experience and belief – or ‘the way of truth and the
way of opinion’, as Parmenides expressed it in the fifth century bce – are
the only two possibilities.

All that is known is experience, and all that is known of experience is
mind. By the word ‘mind’ in this context I don’t just mean internal
thoughts and images, as in common parlance; I mean all experience. This
includes both our so-called internal experience of thoughts, images, feelings
and sensations, and our so-called external experience of consensus
reality, that is, the world that we know through the five sense perceptions.
Mind thus includes all thinking, imagining, remembering, feeling, sensing,
seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling.

If all that could ever be known is experience, and all experience is
known in the form of mind, then in order to know the nature or ultimate
reality of anything that is known, it is first necessary to know the
nature of mind. That is, the first imperative of any mind that wishes to
know the nature of reality must be to investigate and know the reality
of itself.

Whether mind perceives a world outside of itself, as is believed under the
prevailing materialist paradigm, or projects the world within itself, as is
believed in the consciousness-only approach suggested in this book, everything
that is known or experienced is known or experienced through the
medium of mind. As such, the mind imposes its own limits on everything
that it sees or knows, and thus all its knowledge and experience appear as
a reflection of its own limitations. It is for this reason that scientists will
never discover the reality of the universe until they are willing to explore
the nature of their own minds.

Everything the mind knows is a reflection of its own limitations, just
as everything appears orange when we are wearing a pair of orangetinted
glasses. Once we are accustomed to the orange glasses, orange
becomes the new norm. The orange colour we see seems to be an inherent
property of consensus reality and not simply a result of the limitations
of the medium through which we perceive. In the same way,
the mind’s knowledge of anything is only as good as its knowledge of
itself. Indeed, the mind’s knowledge of things is a reflection and an extension
of its knowledge of itself. Therefore, the highest knowledge a
mind can attain is the knowledge of its own nature. All other knowledge
is subordinate to and appears in accordance with the mind’s knowledge
of itself.

In fact, until the mind knows its own essential nature, it cannot be sure
that anything it knows or experiences is absolutely true and not simply a
reflection of its own limitations. Thus, the knowledge of the ultimate nature
of mind through which all knowledge and experience are known
must be the foundation of all true knowledge. Therefore, the ultimate
question the mind can ask is, ‘What is the nature of mind?’
The common name that the mind gives to itself is ‘I’. Hence, we say, ‘I am
reading’, ‘I am thinking’, ‘I am seeing’, and so on. For this reason, the
question ‘What is the nature of mind?’ could be reformulated as, ‘Who
or what am I?’ The answer to this question is the most profound knowledge
that the mind can attain. It is the supreme intelligence.
The question ‘What is the ultimate nature of the mind?’ or ‘Who or what
am I?’ is a unique question in that it is the only question that does not
investigate the objective content of the mind but rather the essential nature
of mind itself. For this reason the answer to this question is also unique.
The answer to any question about the objective content of mind will always
itself appear as objective knowledge. For example, the question
‘What is two plus two?’ and the answer ‘Four’ are both objective contents
of mind. But the nature of the mind itself never appears in, nor can it be
accurately described in the terms of, objective knowledge, just as the
screen never appears as an image in a movie.

The mind’s recognition of its own essential nature is a different kind of
knowledge, a knowledge that is the ultimate quest of all the great religious,
spiritual and philosophical traditions and that, although we may
not realise it, lies at the heart of each person’s longing for peace, fulfilment
and love.

http://non-duality.rupertspira.com/home

text from the book:

The nature of consciousness 

Lotlot Diaz - Silence

The silence after a frenzied riot,
After a terrible shooting fray,
After the noise of neighbors quarrel,
After a furious, explosive day...
This is the silence man longs for.

The silence of a wife o'er a partners death,
Of the rich whose wealth has turn to ashes,
Of a maiden whose lover has left for battles,
Of a gambler over gigantic losses...
This is the silence of grief accursed.

The silence of an adoring lover,
Of a zealot over an obsession,
Of one marveling at great wonders,
Of a dreamer gazing at illusions...
This is the silence of discovery.

The silence of a thief hemmed in by cops,
Of a warrior trapped in a war arena,
Of a seaman forsaken in a sinking vessel,
Of a chief of state midst a coup d'etat...
This is the silence of fear and terror.

There's a silence that is comforting,
There's a silence of doubts and fears,
There's a silence of deep regretting,
There's a silence of grief and tears...
But the silence that is needed,
For wisdom to thrive and unfold,
Is that which enables man to listen,
For this is the silence that is gold...
This is the silence we need most. 

Source

Joseph S. Benner -The impersonal life

THE IMPERSONAL LIFE

I AM

To you who read, I speak.
To you, who, through long years and much running to and fro, have been eagerly seeking, in books and
teachings,  in  philosophy  and  religion,  for  you  know  not  what  ---Truth,  Happiness,  Freedom,  God;
To you whose Soul is weary and discouraged and almost destitute of hope;
To you, who many times have obtained a glimpse of that "Truth" only to find, when you followed and tried
to  reach  it,  that  it  disappeared  in  the  beyond,  and  was  but  the  mirage  of  the  desert;
To you, who thought you had found it in some great teacher, who was perhaps the acknowledged head of
some Society, Fraternity or Religion, and who appeared to you to be a "Master," so marvelous was the
wisdom he taught and the works he performed; -- only to awaken later to the realization that that "Master"
was but a human personality, with faults and weaknesses, and secret sins, the same as you, even though
that personality may have been a channel through which were voiced many beautiful teachings, which
seemed to you the highest "Truth;"
And  here  you  are,  Soul  aweary  and  enhungered,  and  not  knowing  where  to  turn  ---
To you, I AM come.
Likewise to you, who have begun to feel the presence of that "Truth" within your Soul, and seek the
confirmation  of  that  which  of  late  has  been  vaguely  struggling  for  living  expression  within;
Yes, to all you who hunger for the true "Bread of Life," I AM come.
Are you ready to partake?
If so, then arouse yourself. Sit up. Still your human mind and follow closely My Word herein spoken. Or you
will  turn  away  disappointed  once  more,  with  the  aching  hunger  still  in  your  heart.
I!
Who am I? ---
I, Who speak with such seeming knowledge and authority?
Listen!
I AM You, that part of you who IS and KNOWS;
WHO KNOWS ALL THINGS,
And always knew, and always was.
Yes, I AM You, Your SELF; that part of you who says I AM and is I AM;
That transcendent, innermost part of you which quickens within as you read, which responds to this My
Word, which perceives Its Truth, which recognizes all Truth and discards all error wherever found. Not that
part which has been feeding on error all these years.
For  I  AM  your  real  Teacher,  the  only  real  one  you  will  ever  know,  and  the  only  MASTER;
I, your Divine SELF.

continue reading/download text HERE

 

Michael Shepherd - Rumi's Silence

Rumi wrote much about silence.
Does that seem strange?

Poets live with silence:
the silence before the poem;
the silence whence the poem comes; .

the silence in between the words, as you
drink the words, watch them glide through your mind,
feel them slide down your throat
towards your heart;

the silence which you share with the poet
when the poem ends, sitting side by side,
feeling one another being one heart;

the silence after the poem,
when you are a different person
from the person who started reading the poem,
think differently, move differently,
act differently; know Rumi a little better
as a friend; know yourself a little more
as a friend.

Rumi was asked, why do you
talk, talk, talk, so much
about silence?

He said, the radiant one inside me
has said nothing.

And that’s the silence which we listen to
and hear in Rumi’s heart,
here, sitting in the cool shade
which the scent of roses seems to love,
while the fountain gently plays like a poet
with sound and silence. 

about Michael Shepherd

HERE

 

Vasishtha - Empty like space

That self is empty like space; but it is not nothingness, 

since it is consciousness. 

It is: yet because it cannot be experienced by the
mind and senses, it is not. 

It being the self of all, it is not experienced
(as the object of experience) by anyone. 

Though one, it is reflected
in the infinite atoms of existence 

and hence appears to be many.
This appearance is however unreal… 

But the self is not unreal. 

It is not a void or nothingness: 

for it is the self of all… 

 Vasishtha

Words of Old Tcheng

The Words of Old Tcheng first appeared in the French journal, Etre, in 1974.

Where this text first originated and at what time are unknown. It was given by a Buddhist monk in the form of a written document to a Frenchman who was visiting Indochina.
Indications of style suggest that it may belong to the school of Zen founded by Hui Neng, the 6th Zen patriarch.

The Text contains very direct teachings on 'Non Duality,' and because they are eternally relevant, whether they appeared several centuries ago or just yesterday, they are imbued with that special timeless power that propels 'truth' towards opening the minds and hearts of sincere seekers, whoever they may be, where ever they may live, what ever they may do.

For this reason i decided to include a selection of passages from this text in a post that would be easily available to all who are sincerely interested. The passages below contain points that encompass  pith instructions and which, if  taken into the heart and meditated upon without thought or contrivance, can lead directly to recognition of one's true nature.


*****

Old Tcheng said:

"To see the primordial spirit is to see it whether there are thoughts
are not, whether one is immobile or active, whether one is speaking
like I am before you, or whether one is silent, whether one is an
emperor, a monk, or some one with neither hearth nor home. What does
it really matter?

What difference is there between the Buddha and the illiterate rustic
monk who only knows how to split wood but who sees the primordial
spirit?

There is not one particular primordial spirit for Bodhidharma
and another for old Tcheng or for each of you.

The primordial spirit is the primordial spirit.
Nothing else can be said about it. Even
that is too much already.

What others have said about the primordial spirit and what I am saying can only be of use to encourage you to search directly yourselves, without having recourse to any authority and without any tricks. Every thing else will only blur your sight
and divert you from the one and only enquiry that should possess you
entirely, wherever you are and whatever you do: meditating, sweeping
the court or answering the call of nature. But when I see what you do
to the words of the patriarchs and my own, better that the patriarchs
and I had been drowned at birth.


"...the world and you are nothing but thoughts of the individual mind since they both disappear along with all other thoughts when you fall asleep.

This also applies to the stale thought of your petty mind about the Buddha, the Path and the primordial spirit.

So understand once and for all how useless all your efforts are to penetrate the impenetrable through thought and action.

You may as well desire to catch the wind. But if you are unencumbered and totally receptive to the primordial spirit, you will instead be caught by it directly."

" Since you have heard of the void as being the supreme achievement, you try
to attain it. Thus you lapse in to torpor and an in-sensitiveness which you
take for the emptiness of the primordial spirit.

Having heard about the absolute as being the ultimate state, you imagine
that all things are equal and nothing is worthy of respect. Thus you lapse
into casualness and anarchy which you take for the unity of the primordial
spirit.

As you have heard about purity being total bliss, you strive to attain it.
Thus you lapse into intransigence and a rigidity which you take for the
transparency of the primordial spirit.

Having heard about detachment being the one and only freedom, you try to
separate your selves from the world and yourselves. Thus you lapse into
indifference which you take for the independence of the primordial spirit.



"... It is the primordial spirit that is said to be emptiness,
unity, transparency and independence. The component of the wheel of existence is that you are can never any of these faculties.

But if you would see the primordial spirit, you would know that it is your real nature, that it cannot be qualified in any way and that in reality no name can be given to it.

You would then also know that the terms void, absolute, purity,
detachment and even primordial spirit itself, are nothing but words that
only exist for you on account of your blindness and ignorance.

"Everyone  is illuminated by the primordial spirit. Some see it, others do not know it.  That is the only difference between them.

"You do not need anyone else to see the light of the sun.  All that others may say about this is useless to you.  You are in the light. It warms your body and yet you cannot grab it in such a way that you may put it in a box. All efforts to possess it are doomed to fail from the start. You can neither catch it nor get rid of it.
This was already said by some old blabbermouth and others before him.

The same applies to the primordial spirit.  It is always present and just as luminous as the light of the sun. You can neither claim it nor get rid of it."

" He who has seen one grain of sand has seen all grains of sand from all shores and from the bottom of all the seas of the world.  If you see the primordial spirit, you see the entire primordial spirit and you are a Buddha.

I am before you like a piece of wood that resounds.  There is no merit nor importance to that because beings such as old Tcheng, who let the same sound be heard, have never been lacking and never will be until the end of man-kind.  But unfortunately for you, since you are always preoccupied only with appearances, you only consider the piece of wood that is resounding.  Consequently the primordial spirit does not find the echo in you that would make you suddenly realise that you are not and have never been other than the primordial spirit."

"If there are any among you who, while listening to me, are struck by
something greater and profounder than my words, which is not the sort of
complacent torpor which so many revel in, imagining that they are
established in the primordial spirit, but a simple and active lucidity,
well, only to those can I indicate the right direction and show the way.
Their own crust will finally crack; suddenly drop and they will see the gem
of the primordial spirit sparkle.

I do not intervene in this matter as a person. I am only a channel for the
primordial spirit that some people sense through me, old Tcheng, who is
otherwise also like the crust covering a precious gem.

As long as I asked questions about the primordial spirit I can only be
silent or answer 'no.'

As for he who sees the primordial spirit, he does not need old Tcheng.

If you were true men, your thoughts and actions would be right and at all
times appropriate to their purpose. But since you are unable to see your
Buddha nature you make up for your ignorance by appropriating the thoughts,
conduct and actions of those you have placed above your heads. Your concern
to ape what others think and do - that is crust that prevents you from
seeing the primordial spirit...

" ...Your innate nature is in no way different from the Buddha nature.
What you are lacking is that you do not know it unambiguously. That is all.
That is what you are lacking and that is what drives you to try to become
what you have never ceased to be. To have evidence of the primordial spirit,
that is what your existence is all about. When you stray from it the
slightest bit you immediately relapse into the endless confusion and turmoil
of cause and effect. This is the unique teaching of old Tcheng."

"The true nature of beings and things is not superior in him who sees it nor inferior in him who does not know it. It remains unaffected whether it is known or not, nor is it affected by anything that you attach to it."

"Now, listen to me with the utmost attention.  I will reveal to you the great secret of the primordial spirit. It is the most important thing that has ever been said about it.

Here it is:

THERE IS NO SECRET OF THE PRIMORDIAL SPIRIT.

 Where upon, Old Tscheng executed a pirouette and disappeared. No one has ever seen or heard about him since.

~~~~~

Sources: Text was transmitted by J Garillot.It was translated from French into English by E. Van Den Muyzenberg

reblogged from Ever Here Now