Dharma Musings

“She saw that all phenomena arose, abided, and fell away. She saw that even the knowing of all phenomena arose, abided, and fell away. Then she knew there was nothing more than this, no ground, nothing to lean on, stronger than the cane she held.  Nothing to lean upon at all, and no one leaning…  And she opened the clenched fist in her mind and let go, and fell, into the midst of everything.”  – Teijitsu, 18th century abbess of Hakujuan From Women of the Way: Discovering 2,500 Years of Buddhist Wisdom by Sallie Tisdale

“Then, Bāhiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress.” Read the sutta here

By Thich Nhat Hanh

This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born,
and I have never died.

Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,
manifestations from my wondrous true mind.

Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,
sacred thresholds on our journey.
Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.

So laugh with me,
hold my hand,
let us say good-bye,
say good-bye, to meet again soon.

We meet today.
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.

“Mindfulness is centrally important on the path, and is said to be always helpful.

…simple mindfulness practice is limited in terms of the depth of reification it can dissolve; and as we develop the different practices we will come to understand exactly why this is.

Despite these limitations, though, naturally woven in to basic mindfulness practice are certain features that do make it a way of looking which, to a degree, both lessens fabrication and exposes some reification. It is in these ways in particular that it can help us realize a modicum of emptiness.”

“First, our investigations around all this need to be sensitive, and probably delicate. The whole area of emotional healing and emptiness is complex, and it asks of us not only great kindness, but also great courage, intelligence, and integrity.”

“Second, I am not suggesting that bare attention is always a better, or even a truer, way of looking than some of those that involve more psychological complexity. Although it can often be immensely helpful, bare attention is also just another way of looking, and one that it would be limiting and unwise to attempt to restrict oneself to continuously.”

Seeing that Frees – Rob Burbea