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let us not talk falsely now

There are examples of how perfectly realized people never uttered a single word or half a phrase without purpose.
Whenever they tried to help others, they never gave random instructions, and they did not approve people arbitrarily.

Nowadays there are teachers all over who sometimes speak correctly and sometimes speak without a grasp.
Why? Because they have not yet attained perfect realization.

Sometimes they approve people and say they are right, but then sometimes they say they are not right;
how is it possible to clarify “from birth to death, it’s just this person” in such a manner?

~ Foyan (1067-1120)

When you look closely,
you see that people of the present
are none other than people of old,
and the functions of the present
are none other than the functions of the past;
even going through a thousand changes
and myriad transformations,
here it is just necessary
for you to recognize it
first hand before you can attain it.

~ Foyan (1067-1120)

This matter does not depend
on being a male or female,
nor on being noble or a commoner.
If you once break through,
you are shoulder to shoulder with the Buddha.

~ Ta-hui

When the mind’s as is,
Circumstances also are as is.
There’s no real and also no unreal.
Giving no heed to existence,
You’re neither saint nor sage, just
An ordinary person who has settled his affairs.
Easy, so easy.

~ Layman P’ang (740-808)

Dewdrop,
The gaudy beauty of this world
Has no attraction for me;
My closest friends are
Mountains and rivers,
Clouds swallow up my shadow
As I walk along.
When I sit on cliffs,
Birds soar overhead.
Wearing snowy straw sandals,
I visit cold villages.
Go as deep as you can into life,
And you will be able to let go
Of even blossoms.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

If you forget your feelings
about things of the world,
they become enlightening teachings.
If you get emotional about enlightening teaching,
it becomes a worldly thing.

~ Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)

A single path among ten thousand trees,
A misty valley hidden among a thousand peaks.
Not yet autumn, but already leaves are falling;
Not much rain, but still the rocks grow dark.
With my basket I hunt for mushrooms;
With my bucket I draw pure spring water.
Unless you got lost on purpose
You would never get this far.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

FORMING TRUE PARTNERSHIPS
June 12
But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most.
We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them.
The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53

Can these words apply to me, am I still unable to form a true partnership with another human being?
What a terrible handicap that would be for me to carry into my sober life!
In my sobriety I will meditate and pray to discover how I may be a trusted friend and companion.


6888 days in a row
not a drop

NEW DAY
God bless everyone
no exceptions

The Inexhaustible treasury of potential

There is a vast potential, latent within human beings that remains undiscovered because of the limitations placed on consciousness by habitual preoccupations.

The recommendation that all cravings be relinquished does not mean that detachment itself is the goal; it is a means of breaking through self-imposed restrictions and opening up to this inexhaustible treasury of potential.

~ Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)

There was one who was enlightened with the sound of a bamboo being struck,
and another who clarified his mind upon seeing peach blossoms.

Is the bamboo bright or dull, deluded or enlightened?
Are peach blossoms shallow or deep, wise or foolish?

Although flowers blossom year after year,
not everyone who sees them is enlightened.
When a bamboo cracks, not everyone who hears it realizes the way.

~ Dogen (1200-1253)

In stillness by the empty window
I sit in formal meditation,
Navel and nose in alignment,
Ears parallel with the shoulders.
Moonlight floods the room;
The rain stops but the eaves
Drip and drip.
Perfect this moment;
In vast emptiness,
Understanding deepens.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

The past is already past
Don’t try to regain it.
The present does not stay
Don’t try to touch it from
Moment to moment.
The future is not come
Don’t think about it beforehand
Whatsoever comes to the eye leave it be.
There are no commandments to be kept,
There is no filth to be cleansed.
With empty mind really penetrated,
The dharmas have no life.
When you can be like this
You’ve completed the ultimate attainment.

~ Layman P’ang (740-808)

“One who speaks does not know;
one who knows does not speak.”
Thus I have been instructed by the Old Master.
If you tell me the Old Master was one who knew,
I ask,
Why did he write five thousand words to explain it?

~ Po Chu-I (772-846)

A FELLOWSHIP OF FREEDOM
June 18
. . . if only men were granted absolute liberty,
and were compelled to obey no one,
they would then voluntarily associate themselves in the common interest.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 50

When I no longer live under the dictates of another or of alcohol,
I live in a new freedom. When I release the past and all the excess baggage I have carried for so very long,
I come to know freedom. I have been introduced into a life and a fellowship of freedom.
The Steps are a "recommended" way of finding a new life, there are no commands or dictates in A.A.
I am free to serve from desire rather than decree.
There is the understanding that I will benefit from the growth of other members and I take what I learn and bring it back to the group.
The "common welfare" finds room to grow in the society of personal freedom.



this passes most of my understanding
i have much to meditate upon

NEW DAY
God bless everyone
no exceptions

6894 days in a row, not a drop