Life 42 (Feb 22 - May 22)

[winston]

The Dance of Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a dance like life itself.

The air we breathe, the food we eat, the wounds we carry and the love we share, are all given and received. . . .

When we give without differentiating self from other and when we receive without differentiating it from the giving, then we can find the gift of dana everywhere.

- Melina Bondy, “The Dance of Reciprocity”

[winston]

Touch Your Potential

We actually have incredible power over our thoughts—more power than any one thought has over us.

To tap into this power, we need to find the creative potential for wisdom and of compassion within ourselves.

- Martine Batchelor, “How the Buddha Deals with Difficult Thoughts”

[winston]

Meditation Is Meditation

Meditation isn’t about anything: meditation is meditation.

Any attempt to define it in terms of something else simply confuses the issue.

- Barry Evans, “The Myth of the Experienced Meditator”

[winston]

Authentic Selflessness

Fulfilling the true commitment of a relationship is extraordinary, unrelenting selfless activity.

It is one of the most authentic ways that humanity can experience self-transcendence.

This is authentic selflessness, not the endorphin-intoxicated spiritual trance that some mistakenly think of as the transcendent experience.

- Anam Thubten, “What We Can Learn from the Haunted Ground of Relationships”

[winston]

After a night soaked in divine splendor, how should we carry on with the rest of our life?

Strive - that is your duty. Yearn - that is your task. Struggle - that is your assignment.

If only you do these, sincerely and steadily, the Divine cannot keep back for long the reward of Realisation.

The river strives, yearns and struggles, to merge with the sea from which it came.

It has that consummation ever alert in its consciousness. It attempts to make itself pure and pellucid, so that it may be welcome by its source. It overcomes every obstacle of terrain, in order to journey successfully towards its goal.

Man too must utilise all the physical, mental, moral, intellectual and material endowments, that the Divine has granted him, so that he may journey to the goal of Realisation.

Do not be misled by the belief of the existence of two entities: this world and next, here and hereafter.

Realise the hereafter here; this world is interwoven with the next. There is no truth in the disparity between secular and spiritual, divine and materialistic, heavenly and earthly.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 16, 1977.

You must have the goal of merging in the Absolute always in view; do not give it up or forget it.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Opening the Hand

By opening the hand, we let go of whatever was in its grip, and refrain from grasping something new.

With time, meditation practice makes it easier to choose what to focus on, let go of, linger with, indulge in, turn away from, enhance, or reiterate.

- Jill Satterfield, “Mindfulness at Knifepoint”

[winston]

Why is physical discipline essential in spiritual practices such as meditation?

Until the goal of meditation is achieved, the well-established discipline of sitting postures (asanas) has to be followed. The curriculum has to be adhered to till then.

After attainment of the goal — that is, after mind (manas) and the intellect (buddhi) have been conquered and brought under control — one can be immersed in meditation wherever one finds oneself: on the bed, in a chair, on rocks, or in a cart.

Once you learn to ride a motorcycle, you can ride on any road and under all conditions. But when you are just learning to ride, for your own safety and for the safety of those around you, you have to select an open parade ground. And you have to follow certain principles of balance; this is essential.

So too, those who engage in meditation (sadhana) have to follow a certain course of training. No change can be made in this.

- Dhyana Vahini, Ch 2.

You must subject yourself to the hammer of discipline and the chisel of pain-pleasure so that you become Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Return to Wholeness

If we start from this knowledge of wholeness as already possible, returning to wholeness—like coming back to that point in the body or breath—is a supportive way to frame how we can aim our practice, this investigation of harm and harming, or hurt and suffering.

- Keiryu Liên Shutt, “Returning to Wholeness”

[winston]

How should our spiritual wisdom express itself in daily life?

‘So-ham’ (I am He) proclaims the identity of the individual and the Divine.

This identity will not be understood as long as one is caught up in the tentacles of the material world.

This is the truth about the Divine. If one asks, "Where is that Divine?" the answer is given in the Scriptures. (The Divine resides in the heart region of all beings).

We study the Scriptures. We adore it. There is daily recitation but no practical application in daily life.

The one who realises his identity with the Divine, will not cause hurt to anyone.

Service to the public is true worship of the Divine. The power of the divine permeates everything.

Our journey is from the individual to the Universal, from 'Swam' (mine) to 'So-ham' (oneness with the Divine), from 'I' to 'we'.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 11, 1983.

Wherever you see, the same Divine is present there. Develop this feeling of oneness.
Then you will attain the highest bliss.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

A Process of Discovery

Sometimes as Buddhists, we can develop an orientation that somehow we need to go beyond our sense of self or get rid of it.

But I’d say the process is more about discovering through inquiry, how the sense of self arises.

- Laura Bridgman, “Seeing the Emptiness of Self”