Monday, February 9, 2009

third reflection

A young boy often looked up at the sky,
fearing that the sky might fall any time,
as it had no pillars to hold it.
He ran into the forest, with the hope,
that the trees would act as pillars to the sky
and save him from being crushed if it fell.
In the forest, he came across a monk and
asked him, 'Are you not afraid that the sky may fall
as there are no pillars supporting the sky?
'The monk replied, 'There are pillars supporting the sky,
but you need special eyes to see them.
''How do I possess those special eyes?'
asked the boy.
The monk's suggestion to the boy was to go to the village
and arrogantly demand food.
If villagers gave food with a difference,
then he was to come and report to the monk.
The boy went to many houses, arrogantly seeking food.
Most people refused to oblige him.
Surprisingly, in one house, a woman came and
begged his pardon for the delay in giving him food
as she was feeding her baby.
When this incident was reported to the monk,
he said, 'This act of goodness of the woman,
is one of the pillars supporting the sky.
'Every good act is a pillar propping the sky.
It is not visible but it exists.
If life comes from such belief,
then you get strength from an unknown source.
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A lady approached a Taoist monk and told him,
'My mother-in-law is creating hell in my life,
can you give me some medicine to be given to her,
that would make her die?
'The monk gave her some medicine
and asked her to mix it in tea before giving it to her mother-in-law.
The only condition, he said, 'Be very kind and loving to her,
only then would the medicine work.
Also when she dies no one will suspect you.
She will die after two months.
'After one month she returned to the monk and pleaded,
'I do not want my mother-in-law to die, she has changed.
She is very kind to me nowadays.
' The monk said, 'More than the medicine,
it is your love that worked.
'Just bring your loving energy in whatever you do.
See the miracle of love.
It will uplift you and others too.
In the power of love is God.
God is not an entity,
God is a principle.
The principle of pure goodness.
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Four people were on a plane;
a pilot, a politician, a teacher and a student.
Mid-air, the pilot announced,
'Something is wrong with the aircraft.
There are only 3 parachutes and I am an important person...
' he took one parachute and jumped out.
The politician hearing this, hurriedly
said, 'I am also very important person.
' he took another and jumped out.
The teacher advised the student,
'I have lived my life.
You take the last parachute and save yourself.
'The student said, 'Master, there are still two more parachutes
and both of us can be saved.'The teacher exclaimed,
'How can that be! Two have already jumped out.
Hence, there must be only one parachute.
'The student answered, 'Master,
the politician was in such a great hurry.
he took my school bag and jumped.
'When you are in tension, there are more reasons
for you to be ineffective.
Learn to keep your body relaxed
in whatever action you perform.
Also, let your being be happy.
How do you do that?
Just try to be happy.
Learn to smile more often.
Practice laughing meditation ..
just laugh without any reason.
The best antidote for anger is laughter.
When anger arises,
go to a bathroom and laugh it out
and you will find anger energy
that gives tension,
will slowly diffuse.
One can purify the body centre
by being relaxed and happy.
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swami sukhbodhanand

second reflection

In the house of a famous swordsman named Shoken,

there lived a large rat that was fomenting trouble.

The swordsman brought in a female cat to kill the rat.

With pride, the cat arrived at the house of the swordsman.

The cat went into the room and saw the rat.

Surprisingly, the rat attacked the cat.

Shamefully the cat had to leave the house without being able to catch the rat.

The swordsman later invited a male cat since the female cat had failed in its attempt `to catch the rat.

In similar fashion as the female cat, the rat attacked the male cat.

The male cat too left the room unsuccessfully.

Puzzled by this turn of events, the cats called for a conference to discuss the matter.

Amongst them, a wise old female cat volunteered to catch the rat.

The swordsman was surprised to see the old cat.

The old cat went into the room and saw the large rat.

Both of them had an eye contact.

The old cat approached the rat, took it in her mouth, and quietly left the room.

The other cats asked the old cat to divulge the secret of her success.

The old cat replied, 'All of you have used techniques to catch the rat and the rat had better techniques to counter you.

Whereas, I went with emptiness.

When I was void, I had no form, no desire to attack.

When one has no form and desire, then one is not a threat to an other.

Then a great energy .. the divine energy flows through us.

When there is 'I,' there is a form and one's form is a threat to the other form.

When there is no 'I,' there is no threat to the other, and hence no enmity.

I allowed existence to decide who to catch whom?

That was the secret of my success.

'The great swordsman bowed down to the old female cat

and said, 'You are speaking Zen.

I have the theory and you have the practice.'

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Long ago in Persia, there lived a king,

who was interested in seeking answers to his spiritual questions

but could not get the right answers.

He went and met a great mystic called Zarathustra

and asked him for words of wisdom.

Instead of giving the king words of wisdom,

Zarathustra gave him wheat seeds.

The king felt insulted, threw the seeds and went away.

He continued on his pursuit of acquiring more wealth.

At the fag end of his life, he felt he had given away his life for wealth

and it would not protect him at the time of his death.

He pondered whether he had invested his life wrongly.

He once again sent word to the great mystic Zarathustra

to bestow upon him his words of wisdom.

Again, the mystic presented wheat seeds to the king.

The king felt he was not mature enough to understand

Zarathustra's message and kept the seeds in his prayer room.

Later, the king called a philosopher from India to teach and guide him.

The philosopher told the king that the real purpose of his coming was not to teach the king,

but to meet the mystic Zarathustra.

The king showed the philosopher the seeds sent by the mystic.

Looking at the seeds, the philosopher cried aloud,

'What words of wisdom! what seeds of wisdom! what a great teaching!

' The king pleaded with the philosopher to elaborate.

The philosopher replied,

'The seeds appear to be finite,

but they have infinite capacity to grow.

From a seed, a tree and from a tree again a seed and so on.

In the same way, we appear to be finite like this seed,

but deep within we have infinite capacity to grow.

Secondly, unless the seed is willing to give up its seed-hood,

it cannot grow.

Similarly, unless we are willing to bury

our past we cannot grow to a new future.

The art of wise living is the art of dying.

Finally, when you plant seeds in the ground,

invisible forces like water, heat, air will help the seed sprout.

One should have trust. In life too,

we should trust goodness and the invisible

forces would help us get enlightened.

'Both the king and the philosopher met Zarathustra.

He welcomed them but did not teach them anything.

He asked them to observe him and learn.

While they were gardening in the company of the great mystic,

they realized that any species survives only if it is organic.

If a seed is unwilling to multiply, the species will die.

Likewise, goodness and wisdom should also be organic.

Learn to spread this goodness and wisdom.

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swami sukhbodhanand

reflections

A passenger tapped the cab driver to ask a question.
The cab driver lost control of the cab, nearly hit another car,
missed another truck, went off the road, into a kerb and stopped inches from a shop.
For a minute there was silence.
'You scared me to death,' the driver screamed.
The passenger apologized
and said, 'I did not know that gently tapping your back could create such a panic.
'The driver replied, 'Sorry.
It is not your mistake.
Today is my first day as a cab driver.
For the last ten years I have been ferrying dead bodies in a van.
'Can you see how his past shaped the present?
Our experiences are influenced by the past.
So one has to be conscious and aware.
One has to be present in 'what is' and
not allow the past to shape the present.
To be present in every moment is very important.
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One day a man came to Mullah Nazarudin
and said, 'Do something but rid me of my stomach ache.
' Mullah took a stone and smashed the man's leg.
The man yelled in pain and screamed, 'Why did you do that?
'Mullah replied, 'Now you don't have stomach ache, do you?
'What a foolish way to escape from pain.
To get rid of one problem we enter into another.
Similarly, to get rid of the burden of a noisy mind
people get into drugs and suffer.
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Buddha was once asked,
'Are you from heaven?
''No,' replied Buddha.
'Are you a celestial being?
''No,' said Buddha.
'Are you a human being?
''No,' was his reply.
'Then who are you?' asked the man.
'I am a mirror of consciousness reflecting
whatever is,' was Buddha's message.
This is a wonderful message.
Can our mind be like a mirror
just reflecting whatever is?
Most often, our mind is like a camera;
it goes on storing images.
Then at the time of death,
our soul cannot easily leave the body
as our memories create attachments.
Just practice being a mirror,
reflect what is in the present,
do not unnecessarily burden your mind,
by carrying memories of the past.
Just be a pure mirror.
Practice this and see the miracle
happening in your life.
You will be as light as a feather.
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Swami sukhbodhanand

virtues of a woman

An ancinet prayer that talks of the virtues of a woman.

I'd like to share it with others of my ilk.
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For I am the first and the last
I am the venerated and the despised
I am the prostitute and the saint
I am the wife and the virgin
I am the mother and the daughter
I am the arms of my mother
I am barren and my children are many
I am the married woman and the spinster
I am the woman who gives birth
And, she who never procreated
I am the consolation for the pain of birth
I am the wife and the husband
And, it was my man who created me
I am the mother of my father
I am the sister of my husband
And, he is my rejected son
Always respect me
For I am the shameful
And, the magnificent one
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Hymn to Isis (3rd or 4the century BC)

discovered in Nag Hammadi
*Culled from "Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho of The Alchemist fame