Sublime
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TRULY, I love this life of seclusion. Carrying my staff, I walk toward a friend’s cottage. The trees in his garden, soaked by the evening rain, Reflect the cool, clear autumnal sky. The owner’s dog comes to greet me; Chrysanthemums bloom along the fence. These people have the same spirit as the ancients; An earthen wall marks their separation from
... See moreJohn Stevens • One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan
Accept graciously, let go easily
“I want everything quiet and simple. For me: walking barefoot, sitting still, reading, listening to stories, and now and then telling some myself. Eating fruit, drinking milk, longing to create, but with patience and many insights.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke, from a letter to Lou Salomé witten c. March 1904
Julian Wong • 2041
The Gardener”
Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough, have I come to any conclusions?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace? I say this, or perhaps I’m just thinking it.
Actually, I probably think too much
. Then I step out into the garden, where the garde
... See moreRinzai Roku (a celebrated Zen text of the T’ang dynasty) and the teachings of Bankei, the seventeenth-century Japanese master who, for me, represents Zen at its best.
Alan Watts • In My Own Way: An Autobiography
not permit yourself to be bound by any habit of living; be able, rather, to change your habits as wisdom dictates. Learn to live rightly, using your power of free choice, guided by wisdom. Be able to sleep comfortably on a soft bed one night and just as comfortably on the floor the next night. That divine nonattachment to habit is the freedom advoc
... See moreParamahansa Yogananda • Man’s Eternal Quest: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life – Volume 1
- Observe, but don't absorb.
- Love, but don't depend.
- Want, but don't need.
- Feel, but don't dwell.
- Give, but don't expect.
- Speak, but don't hurt.