Dao Flavored Chill

summer: 02 aug 09

2009-08-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

even though this is a daoist space, one of my patients gave me a bunch o' great quotes from Buddha that should be shared. enjoy!

Live your life in happiness, even though those around you lead lives which are unhealthy, and wish to spread their illness to you. Be Happiness itself.

Who ranks as the highest? One who does not harm anything. One who never retaliates. One who is always at peace regardless of the other person's disposition.

All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

spring: 15 june 09

2009-06-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

let go of the illusion of control

spring: 29 may 09

2009-05-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

cultivate awareness
& your actions will reflect the moment
like a mirror.

spring: 28 may 09

2009-05-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

accept the world on its own terms

spring: 27 may 09

2009-05-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

cultivate the disposition
required
to make the best
of your circumstances.

spring: 16 may 09

2009-05-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

to study the dao
first, close your eyes.

spring: 15 may 09

2009-05-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

your everyday mind-
that is the Way!

-Unmon

spring: 5 may 09

2009-05-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

when there is something to be done,
it must be done.
if you stress or freak out about it,
does that ever make it easier? quicker?...
so why not just do it
steady as she goes,
& leave the stress behind?

spring: 4 may 09

2009-05-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

the body was made to feel emotions,
not to hold on to them.

spring: 23 apr 09

2009-04-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

so far, so good

spring: 22 apr 09

2009-04-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

flowers bloom in spring wind. they never refuse;
& trees never resent leaf-fall in autumn skies.

no one could whip the turning seasons along so fast:
the ten thousand things rise and fall of themselves.

-Li Po

spring!: 15 apr 09

2009-04-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

if you look
for something to like--
you will
find it

spring: 14 apr 09

2009-04-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

there is no open,
nor closed

only opening
& closing.

(wise words from the wise)

spring: 10 apr 09

2009-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

something i recently, finally got:

follow
your own
advice.

spring: 3 april 09

2009-04-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

good fortune's light as a feather,
but who knows how to carry it?

misfortune's heavy as the earth,
but who knows how to elude it?

everything just is! it just is! stop
lording integrity over people!

-Zhuangzi

spring: 27 mar 09

2009-03-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

anything spiritual
responds to stillness-
it cannot be controlled
with force.

spring: 26 mar 09

2009-03-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

a self-reminder:

right now,
at this moment--
things are going well.

nice.

spring: 24 mar 09

2009-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

life:

there is no being,
just becoming.

spring: 23 mar 09

2009-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

who are our best teachers?
and what is it that they say that makes them a good teacher?

standing still-
the frog's voice
heard also in the distance

-Buson

spring: 21 mar 09

2009-03-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

i fell in love
with the wings of birds-
the light of spring on them!

-Chora

spring!!: 20 mar 09

2009-03-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

a touching quote, from someone who couldn't be called a daoist, and yet:

"tragedy is the art of expressing great pain in beautiful language."
-nietzsche

spring!: 20 mar 09

2009-03-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

spring rain:
everything just grows
more beautiful

Chiyo-ni (1703-1775)
female haiku master

winter: 18 mar 09

2009-03-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

oh the beauty,
the potential
in that precious flower-
wild,
with space
to bloom

winter: 17 mar 09

2009-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

to live one's most authentic self-
isn't now
the perfect time?

winter: 16 mar 09

2009-03-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Free & Easy Wandering

I'll never adore this body again,
never loathe it again. How is it

worth adoring when it brings
ten thousand kalpas of trouble,

or loathing when it is emptiness
clumped together in empty dust?

Done adoring it, done loathing it:
So we begin free & easy wandering.

-Po Chui (772-846)

winter: 15 mar 09

2009-03-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

"Our truest self, being unborn, is all and none of earth's fleeting forms simultaneously."
-David Hinton, gifted translator of Chinese poetry, on the topic of the self in Daoist poetic philosophy.

winter: 14 mar 09

2009-03-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

sometimes
i feel
like
the entire universe
is
conspiring
to make
me
happy

winter: friday the 13 mar 09

2009-03-13T10:00:00.001-07:00

From Zhi Dun (314-366), one of China's first Buddhist monks, to his disciples:

Be diligent, be diligent!
Perfect Dao is endless.
How could it be obstructed?

A human lifetime, one generation
Is but a dewdrop falling.
My self is not mine, not me,
And yet-who fashioned it to be?

Withdrawn to threefold concealment,
cleanse yourself from the six ailments,
dissolve the five skandhas into emptiness and oneness,
and merge the four limbs with the void.

Again darken knowledge
and, freely yielding to currents,
move along with all beings.

winter: 13 mar 09

2009-03-13T07:00:00.001-07:00

the dao of poetry:

-full heart, empty mind
-the immediacy of direct experience
-natural language & voice
-egoless ego
-enter, and then dissolve the self

daily life becomes the essence of spiritual practice
the entire earth becomes your temple
and everyone becomes your spiritual teacher

winter: 12 mar 09

2009-03-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

rid your mind of accumulations-
polish the mirror
& you will see things
as they are:
utterly themselves
utterly sufficient

winter: 11 mar 09

2009-03-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

slow

&

less.....

aaahhhhhhhh....

winter: 10 mar 09

2009-03-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

sometimes
there
are
no
explanations*

*revealed to us, that is

winter: 09 mar 09

2009-03-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

right now,
right here.

that's pretty much it

winter: 08 mar 09

2009-03-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

so here's the thing:

once you know,
you cannot
un-know.

winter: 07 mar 09

2009-03-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

There is no moment more vital
than the one right now.
There is no space more crucial
than the one in which you stand.

winter: 06 mar 09

2009-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Chinese character for "immortal," or "realized being" consists of 2 parts: a person and a mountain. This symbolizes the transformation that occurs when we cultivate the qualities of a mountain:

grounded
strong but yielding
silent
still
majestic
exactly what it is, no more, no less.

winter: 05 mar 09

2009-03-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

laughing or crying...
mountain or ocean...
oh, to be blessed
to reside
in the stillness
between!

winter: 04 mar 09

2009-03-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

a pilgrimage can't compare
to a good laugh,
and a good laugh can't compare
to simply letting yourself go.
once you're at peace,
letting yourself go
& leaving change behind,
then you enter the solitary mystery of heaven.

-Zhuangzi

winter: 03 mar 09

2009-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

at your best,
don't impress anyone.
at your worst,
don't offend anyone.
follow the middle way-
the constant & essential.

Zhuangzi

winter: 02 mar 09

2009-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

when mind
turns to itself,
you've found
your teacher

-Zhuangzi

winter: 01 mar 09

2009-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

people think that we are different
from baby birds cheeping,
but are we saying more
than they are?
-Zhuangzi

winter: 28 feb 09

2009-02-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

there is nothing that is not real;
there is nothing that is not sufficient.
-Zhuangzi

winter: 27 feb 09

2009-02-27T08:52:00.000-08:00

meditation:
a student
a teacher
a finch's song...

winter: 26 feb 09

2009-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

as you progress on the Way,
concepts will appear to become simpler,
even less mystical-
& yet,
that simplicity
is the true gateway
into the deepest depths
of the great mystery that is
how to
just be yourself...

for sMs

winter: 24 feb 09

2009-02-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

how can you find the Way?
look inside for your essence
listen inside for your breath
reach inside for your spirit...
when all become one,
you have found it!

winter: 22 feb 09

2009-02-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

the earth nourishes
all,
& yet asks nothing
for itself.
this is the way of nature...
this too is the way of your
true nature.

winter: 21 feb 09

2009-02-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

noticing something when it is still small,
that is the great seeing;
weeds are easier to pull
before their roots go deep.
can you access inner vision,
the eyes of your eyes?

winter: 20 feb 09

2009-02-20T07:45:00.000-08:00

why be a perfectionist
when you can be a
good enoughist?
less pressure, more life!

winter: 19 feb 09

2009-02-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

stirring mind
quiet mind
empty mind
no mind

winter: 18 feb 09

2009-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

rest where you are,
treasure simplicity,
contentment with less:
the mind becomes clear

winter: 11 feb 09

2009-02-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

every day
reminds us
that we are living beings...
yes,
but the real question
is
are you
ALIVE?
do you wake with the sensation
that today is special
because every day
is special;
because you yourself
are special?

winter: 09 feb 09

2009-02-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

you feed yourself daily,
why not breathe yourself daily?
breathe in the calm
breathe in the calm
breathe in the calm
ahhhh...better.

winter: 02 feb 09

2009-02-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

trees with beautiful wood are cut down
vines with beautiful fruit are hacked
such is the grief of usefulness!
ah, but now see how useful is uselessness?
better to stay simple

-condensed concept from the Zhuangzi

winter: 01 feb 09

2009-02-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

sometimes the "why's"
are not important;
you just do
what you must do.
& that's
that

winter: 31 jan 09

2009-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

the
spirit
responds
to
stillness;
emotions come & go
but
tranquility
endures in a still heart.
so where is it
right
now?

winter: 30 jan 09

2009-01-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

you do not have to escape to the mountains
to cultivate the self.
use whatever is around you
for that purpose

winter: 29 jan 09

2009-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

everyone dislikes death
but not the things
that hasten its approach...

winter: 28 jan 09

2009-01-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

thinking less
gives you access
to your innate wisdom.
still your mind-
like still water,
it will then reflect
with perfect clarity

winter: 21 jan 09

2009-01-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

it is just about impossible
to breathe slowly & deeply
and be stressed
simultaneously

winter: 17 jan 09

2009-01-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

the body is
a sacred vessel.
treat it as such
and it will hold spirit
better, longer.

winter: 15 jan 09

2009-01-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

the mystic jewel
is found
only
in our
hearts

winter: 09 jan 14

2009-01-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

"i just become empty
and stay quiet, that
is all."
-Daost Immortal Zhang Sanfeng

winter: 10 jan 09

2009-01-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

both the i-ching & dao de jing talk about the power of a mountain:
calm, still, enduring
true to its own nature.
mountains teach us the meaning of wuwei,
the value of non-doing

winter: 10 jan 09

2009-01-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

let's hear it for the daoists
who saw fit to include
"bedchamber arts"
in longevity practices!

winter: 09 jan 09

2009-01-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

pretty floating clouds
called achievements;
the fire of desire burns
quickly
descend the heart fire!
life-giving water nourishes
slowly
sitting still-
i let the Way
breathe me

winter: 04 jan 09

2009-01-04T13:36:00.001-08:00

walk slowly stumble less

winter: 03 jan 09

2009-01-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

focus neither on the past,
nor the future:
energy will congeal
spirit will solidify
right here, right now

winter: 01 jan 09

2009-01-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

less fear = more life

winter: 31 dec 08

2008-12-31T15:13:00.000-08:00

new year's re-solutions:

the senses are to perceive,
not guide;

to be a guardian of the Way-
the path of your truth
the truth of your path

winter: 29 dec 08

2008-12-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

secret elixir?
only this:
do whatever it takes
for a calm peaceful heart

winter: 28 dec 08

2008-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

how to tell if your practice is working
or not--
look at your life!

winter: 27 dec 08

2008-12-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

always thinking
of the dao--
even that,
a distraction!

winter: 26 dec 08

2008-12-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

each mindful inhale
brings the outside in
until one realizes
there is no difference

winter: 25 dec 08

2008-12-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

dragons in clouds,
fish in puddles-
rain's end...
time for tea

winter: 24 dec 08

2008-12-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

you can only be the center
of your own universe
nothing wrong
with
that

winter: 23 dec 08

2008-12-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

time:
to fire the cauldron
gather the medicines

winter solstice: snow melt

passes open
you can
feel
it