I have been given a book as a present by my friend Paolo.

I have been given a book as a present by my friend Paolo.
The book was a perfect choice as in the 350 pages were a few lines that that stood out for me.
The writer Robert Kiyosaki and his sister Buddhist Nun Emi wrote Rich Brother, Rich Sister, to show two different paths to spirituality, happiness and money.
He writes "who, we are born to be, is to discover our path, and discover our life's journey, not life's destination."
Robert attended church as a young man and the preacher said the following, which impressed me ;
"We are born human beings. This means we are both humans and beings.
Humans have limits.
Beings are limitless.
Humans get old,beings evolve. Humans die, beings do not, humans need jobs whilst beings have missions."

We are fortunate to be able to receive a message from an author we have never met, and be affected by it.

Thanks Paolo
Nathan




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Death

The photo looks out the corner suite of Rydges hotel overlooking the Adelaide cemetery.

I was editing a dharma yesterday that I wrote a year ago about death.

It was 6.30am and quite dark and as I wrote what "death" said to the king, the entire wall of curtains, including the rod, came crashing down.

I am not superstitious,

 but
Here is the dharma....

   Kings Dream--

 

One night, in a dream,

 the king saw death.

He was so afraid, he asked death

 "Why are you in my dream,

 why are you frightening me?"

Death said" I have come to tell you that tomorrow at sunset I will come to get you, so get ready.

 It's out of compassion I tell you,

so you can have time to prepare."

The king was so shocked 

that in the middle of the night ,

he called his ministers and asked them to find people who could interpret the dream .

 The king asked them what could be done as time is short and maybe the dream is true.

So the dream interpreters and scholars came with big books,and started to discuss, dispute and argue.

 The sun was already up and the king was getting more worried by the minute.

An old  trusted servant came to the king and whispered 

"don't be foolish your majesty,

these scolars will never find the answer, they will argue for ever.

I suggest you leave the palace since death visited you here,

if you are not here, then death may not find you.

By sunset you can be far away.

The logic seemed right.

So he left the palace.

The king had a fast horse and he travelled  far, and by sunset he had reached a beautiful tree.

He patted the horse and said

 'you did well and we have come so far, death will never find us here.

As he was patting his horse, the king felt somebody standing behind him .

He turned and there was the death laughing 

"Why are you laughing,"asked the king?

Death said "I was worried because you were destined to die under this tree and I wondered how you would get here in time.

Your horse did well 

I came to you in your dream as  I wanted you to escape from the palace.

You have come so far and only one day left, your horse did well."

Wherever we go death is waiting for us, in all directions, in all places.

We know this is unavoidable, but the mind starts to spin some stupid ways to avoid death.

We want our lives to last forever,

in perfect health, with lots of money.

 Our prayers go out to all misguided souls who do not follow the way of natural occurrence.

We must realise we are guarded and guided.

The more we practice and cultivate, the happier and more successful our lives become and death does not enter our thoughts.

Thanks to our practice all is well    

Nathan. 

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The Way

The Way.....

The Abbot from the Temple in WuTaiShan was sitting on his favorite rock.

I asked permission to join him 

The Abbot said,

"We follow the first patriarch Bodhidharma  and the great Master said,"

"All know the Way,

but few actually walk it."

The Abbot stared at me for what seemed minutes and then continued;

"If you don't find a teacher soon, you'll live this life in vain.

 It's true, you have the buddha-nature. But without the help of a teacher you'll never know it. 

Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher's help. 

If, though, by the conjunction of conditions, someone understands what the Buddha meant, that person doesn't need a teacher. Such a person has a natural awareness superior to anything taught. But unless you're so blessed, study hard, and by means of instruction you'll understand."

I thanked the Abbot for his wisdom and as I slid off the rock I felt as though I was floating on a cloud.

There was a void in my mind 

An empty space

All I thought I knew 

I didn't

My journey had began

Nathan 

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Daffodil

Daffodils.--  

Her daughter rang her again about seeing the daffodils, she wanted to go but the drive was two hours.

Anyway she hadn't seen her grandchildren  for three weeks,

so she promised for Tuesday.

 It was raining and cold, but she promised, so off she went to see her daughter and the children.

"Forget the daffodils it's cold and wet and I only came to see you and the children" she said when she arrived.

The daughter insisted and drove the twenty minutes more through the mist and driving on an unmade small road, arrived at a small church.

The children took grandmas hands and walked down a path next to the church.

As they turned a corner at the back of the church, the grandma gasped, before her lay the most glorious sight.

It was as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and the surrounding valley.

The flowers were planted in great majestic swirling patterns of orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron and butter yellow.

Each different variety was planted in large groups so they swirled like a river.

There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" the mother asked.

"Just one woman, she lives here in that house there, by herself."

She pointed to a small A frame well kept modest house sitting on the edge of all the glory of the flowers.

On the patio they saw a poster,

Answers to the Questions 

I Know You Are Asking 

50,000 bulbs 

One at a time. 

 One woman.

Two hands, two feet.

One brain.

Began in 1938.

This was a life changing experience for the grandma,

she thought of this woman ,

who didn't talk to people, 

who for more than 70years,

 one bulb at a time, brought her vision of beauty and joy for the world to see.

Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived.

One step at a time she had created extraordinary beauty and inspiration.

The principle,  her daffodil garden taught,  is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

"It makes me sad in a way" grandma said,

"What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal 40 or 50 years ago"

The daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way

"Start tomorrow" she said

She was right, it's pointless to think of lost hours of yesterday.

The way to make learning a lesson of celebration, instead of a cause for regret, is to ask;

"How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle.

Stop waiting and do it 

One Bulb At A Time.

Nathan

 

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Restoration--

Restoration--
I was asked,
my attitude towards death.
Laughter, towards life and death?
Sadness, fear, apprehension?
Whatever our attitude towards life will be our attitude about death.
Death comes as the ultimate flowering of life.
Life exists for death.
Life exists through death and without death there can be no life. Death is not the end,
but a culmination,
a crescendo.
Death is not the enemy,
it is a friend.
It makes life possible.
So with death, as is life.

Whatever we choose in this life,
we must express truth.
Eating, sleeping, singing, talking, all must be an expression of truth.
When the Zen Master hits his student he is expressing his truth.
It is only when we start to think about the situation,
then it becomes a lie.
Why?
Because we add our bits.
Why did he hit me?
And then the mind starts.

The Zen Master Roshi Taj was approaching death and his senior disciples assembled at his bedside.
One of them remembered the Roshi loved cake.
He rushed off to buy his favourite.
With a small smile the Roshi took a small bite and began to eat.
He grew weaker and the disciples leant forward to hear his final words.
"Yes" the great man said,
"This cake is delicious ."
and he died.
What a man.
A Buddha.
Each word, each act, only the truth.
The only moment that was true was the cake .
Anything else would have been false.
If he had talked of The Divine, Nirvana, some profound saying,
all untrue.
At that time , only the cake.
Unconditional .
The taste of the cake.
What a death.
Nathan









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A potential student went to see a Holy Master and asked

A potential student went to see a Holy Master and asked
"If I work really hard, how long will it take me to become enlightened?"
"Ten years" the Master replied.
"No, I mean really work at it."
the student said.
The Master replied,
" I am sorry I misunderstood you,
it will take you twenty years."
The student said,
" I am serious I am willing to do anything to gain enlightenment."
"Oh that's different,"
said the Master,
"it will take you thirty years."

I ask myself
Am I ready for enlightenment ?
Can I commit to one day of silence?
A month, a lifetime?
Am I able to one hour, every now and again, to sit and follow my breath?

As a broom sweeps the street;
My breath sweeps my mind.

I am told this practice will lengthen the spaces between my thoughts.
I then become aware it is the spaces that are important,
not my thoughts.
What would happen should my thoughts become less,
do I become a lesser person?
Not when I realize how calm I am.
How peaceful my surrounding, how vibrant the colours.
This place must be where my Buddha Nature resides.
With the practice comes realization that when there is no thought.
I am one with the Universe.
Nothing external.
All is joined.
All is one.
My entire practice is based on this premise of Oneness.
Awareness comes when I let go all past, all future.
I actually achieve serenity beyond my wildest imagination .
This awareness and realization frees me from the mundane.

Is this enlightenment?
All I have to do is practice........
Nathan




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The more laws......

The more laws and restrictions there are, the poorer people become.
The sharper weapons, the more trouble in the land.
The more clever and ingenious people are,
the stranger things happen.
The more rules and regulations,
the more thieves and robbers.
"Laozi"

He reputedly lived around the sixth century BC
Everything  changes
but humanities behavior
stays the same
Nathan 


Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love

Sent from my iPhone and

http://www.dharmamaster.com

With love