The Tao....

The Tao....

Master Lieh Tzu asked gatekeeper Yin if he could explain the following;

"Only the perfect man can walk under water and not drown, can walk on fire and not burn and can pass over a multitude of lives without fear.
How is this possible?"

Gatekeeper Yin replied;
"It is because he preserves his original breath, and this has nothing to do with knowledge, work, persistence,
or bravery."

"Everything has a face, form, sound and color. These are just appearances."

He continued;
"How is it possible that this thing or that thing are separated from each other?"
"Indeed why should each be viewed as the first of all beings?"
"They are just forms and colours and nothing more."
"However everything arises from what is formless, and descends into that which is changeless."

"If we grasp and follow this using it to the full,
nothing can stand in our way!"

"It means being able to reside within limits which have no limit,
be secluded within boundaries which have no beginning,
go to where both the beginning and the end of all life is;
combine essential nature, nourish the original breath, harmonize Virtue and, by following this Path, commune with the origins of life."

"We will guard our unity with Heaven,
and then our spirit will be without fault,
nothing can get inside and attack us."

"We must retreat to the serenity of Heaven and as a result nothing causes us harm."

"We must recognize that everything under Heaven is united."

"It is possible to get rid of the rigors of punishment and execution, of chaos, violence and war."

"This is the Tao."

"We must not cast aside the Heavenly, and ignore the human aspect; only then will people draw closer to the realization of Truth."

This is a Dharma from the writing of Chung Tzu and I thought it appropriate to the situation we both face right now.

With Metta
Nathan


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With love

Eric's new book.....

Eric's new book.....

"I have heard....

One day or so after the Buddha's enlightenment, a man saw the Buddha walking towards him.
The man knew nothing of the Buddha, but could see there was something very different about him.
He asked:
"Are you a God?"
"No", the Buddha answered.
"A magician,
a sorcerer, a wizard?"
"No."
"An angel?"
"No."
said the Buddha.
"Then what are you?"
"I am awake,"
the Buddha replied."
.............
I have been so fortunate to receive a present of a book from my friend
Eric Dowsett.
This, 'Collapsing the Wave,'
his fourth book,
just on the market,
is about change.
Of course change cannot happen unless we choose to change.

Most are asleep, dozing, non-compus.
Not caring for anything other than desire and the pursuit of dreams that are out of all proportion.

Eric challenges us to step out of this cycle.
Not to become involved.
To be in this world, but not part of it.
To rise above the mundane, the madness and the futility that our suffering causes ourselves and others.

Eric talks of our conditioned mind.
To let go.

I am enjoying this book, a reminder of things I did do and shouldn't have done, and of things I haven't done and should do.

I highly recommend and will write more after I read more.

Thanks Eric
www.ericdowsett.com


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With love

Holidays;

Holidays;

Most of us are about to take a holiday,
Friends will say:
"enjoy yourself, don't do anything I wouldn't do".
What does that mean?
That's really scary.
What do they expect us to do?
I most certainly wouldn't do the things my wild friends get up to. Not that there is anything wrong with being wild, I just don't do wild things.
I go on holiday to relax.
I try not to speak,
not a lot of social intercourse.
Just commune with nature, and watch the Universe at work.

Of course, there are other things, like food, always the food.
The most important part for me,
is the letting go.
We carry so much nonsense around with us, so much garbage.

Concerns from the past, future dreams that will never happen.

The stress and suffering caused by past and future should be left at home.

Of course when we realise the cause,
we become truely enlightened.

All of a sudden, our surroundings look and feel different.
Very clear, crystal clear, no judgement, only joy and love.

Even when transport is not on time, service not the best, there are flies and bitey things, never mind.

We rise above the argument in the mind.

We overcome obstacles that normally stay and build, and if we don't, we share our problems with strangers what we hate about everything.

I don't do that anymore.

I realized that I caused the problems.
I was the argument.
I only saw in others what I didn't like in myself.
All that has changed.

There is nothing I don't like about me now.

Unconditional love, for myself and all beings.
It's not easy, practicing a 'no judgement' attitude.
Practicing unconditional love takes work.
The decision to practice, is the work.
It takes a decision.

Our whole life is based on decisions.
To get up in the morning,
till the time we sleep, decisions.
The decision to be nice, that is another matter.

What to eat, what to wear, which wife, which life.
These are the easy decisions.

When it comes to behavior, that is another matter.
To be at peace with oneself is the key.
How can we be at peace when our behaviour is determined by our emotional state?

Most of us spend our waking life in discontent, worry, anxiety, being
depressed or other negative states of mind.
These directly effect our behavior.

When we are able to enjoy simple things, like listening to the sound of the wind,
or the rain, or watch the beauty of clouds moving across the sky.
Be alone without the feeling of loneliness, not needing to be entertained.

When we find ourselves treating a complete stranger with kindness.
We find a space has opened up,
our behavior changed.
It is this space that gives us a sense of well-being, of peace, of what the Indian sages called Ananda-the Bliss of Being.

We appreciate simple things, our own company, and we relate to others with loving kindness.

The common element: contentment
peace
being alive
just being

I love holiday.
Nathan


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With love