From the Gnostic Gospels:
Saint Mary Magdelene said, " Miracles are few because there are few who have faith and know the light is in them, and few understand that they are part of the miracles they seek. You marvel at wonders, but do not know the power of God in you and that you are sons and daughters of the Most High. if your heart is good and your mind is clear and you cleave to the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, nothing will be impossible to you. Have faith and seek aquaintance."
A woman said to Mary, "You speak often of the Lord, Yeshua. Please tell us what the Lord was like." Lady Mary said, "He was the most wonderful and dangerous friend! He was like unto no man. He was natural and spontaneous, completely uncontrived, and therefore completely unpredictable. He was fluid and flowing, and yet unmovable. He was ecstatic and wild and fierce, and yet the most gentle and compassionate of souls. it was impossible to manipulate him, because he followed the Holy Spirit and did what he saw the Living Father doing. He was who he was and no other. He was a little boy, a man, and an old man, the image of true manhood. He was filled with Light, was on fire with the Spirit of Yahweh, and he set the world on fire! The Lord was a prophet and a wonder-worker, and a delightful story-teller. He would do anything he needed to do to illuminate souls and to liberate them, even unto death on the cross.
Then the woman asked Mary, "But why do you call him dangerous?" Mary said, "Because he was a revolutionary and adversary to the religious establishment. He sought to turn your world upside down and lead into the mystical death through which the rebirth in God comes to pass. if one clung to one's life or to the world, he was truly dangerous. He sought to drive people mad with divine passion, as do I."
Mary said, "No one ever knows when one is meeting a holy person or an angel. Many are the holy beings that secretly live and move among us, and The Holy Spirit is within everyone and everything. It is the lesson of love and compassion."
One evening Mary was giving teachings among some women, and one of them said to her, 'How painful it must be to become a widow so early in life, my heart feels for you." Mary said,"Dear sister, if I am a widow, it is in joy; for the Holy Spirit has come into the world, and in my heart and soul, he abides. Yet truly I say to you, my beloved lives and is alive, he is the Living One, the Risen Savior. He is with me more imtimately than any man ever could be. We remain husband and wife and, If I were to remarry, this would not change. Seek the aquaintance that is within and behind appearance, and longer will you be bound to sorrow and suffering."
Mary said, " These bodies are as vessels into which the soul is poured. You can move from the body of death to the body of life. You need only generate the Body of Light to enter the Ascension. What I have shown you is life. Do not fear death and dying. It is merely the passage into new life."
St. Mary Magdelene was speaking with some of her disciples when a companion arrived and said,"My Lady, your friend Anna is dying and sent me to ask you to come save her." Lady Mary said to her disciples, "Let us go to our sister."
The woman was, indeed, on her deathbed when Mary and her companions arrived. the feeling of death loomed in the whole house. Mary entered, sat down at the side of Anna, and she took hold of her hand. Anna said to Mary,"I know you have the power to heal me, Blessed Lady. please heal me. The angel of death is very near and I see his image moving among the shadows. He stalks my soul to take it from the world, and I am afraid." Mary said to her,"I am willing that you are healed, my sister, the Holy Spirit is willing, but it shall not come to pass in this worn out body. it is time to remove this body like old soiled clothing and to put on the body of the Resurrection. Come now, I will lead you and you do not need to be afraid." Anna's body died that day; yet she was raised to Life by the Holy Spirit.
Mary led her companions in prayer and meditation at dawn. Afterward she taught them, saying,"Just before dawn, when the bright morning star arises, it is like the Place of Truth, for as subtle and sublime as the light of predawn is the Body of Truth that leads to repose. Many ask, 'How shall we live and attain life?' Truly, I say recognize the life that is in you, and the light within the Light, going beyond glory into the essence of Light. So also I say to you, witness what creation and nature does, for therein is God's presence and wisdom disclosed. Look and see! At dawn, the birds of the air raise their voices in praise of their Creator. When the sun is setting, they do the same. No one need tell them anything, for in themselves they know what to do. In the same way, the Spirit and Truth are in you, and they are reflected in creation and nature all around you. Look and see, and you will know the Way, for the Gospel of Truth is written everywhere above and below, and it is engraved in your very own heart."
Mary said, "You go down into the water and you die, because the reflection is shattered on the surface. When you rise up you come alive, for knowing your origin you no longer cling to a refection or an image, but are reborn of your true essence. The nature of this essence is no-thing, and knowing this you rule over the entirety."
Yeshua's beloved Mary said, " The Lord said 'Do not make a home for yourselves in the world, but be at home in the Spirit.'"
Mary said," Only one who is passionate about truth will discover truth."
Mary said," If know what the world is, you will no longer desire it, for you will see what is beyond the world. When you see what is beyond the world, in that day it will be in the world."
A young disciple asked Mary,"How can I come to know the Lord?" Mary said,"Become empty like a cup, and let the Holy Spirit pour the Lord and his presence into you."
Mary said,"All things exist in and with one another, and while they exist they depend on one another, but when the time of dissolution comes, all things will return to their own root and essence, What has come from above returns to the abode from which it has come, and what comes from below returns to its origin. What is in between has never existed, and will return to the great void."
Mary said," Is it not written,'In the beginning was void and chaos?' Yet, did not God exist before the beginning? If order and light came into being, surely these are of God. As for the void and chaos, these are the primordial ground from which God has created; and the one creating is the demiurge(the ego). For in truth, what God creates is emanation, and the emanations of God create. Therefore, Yahweh emanated and Elohim created. There is no beginning to this, nor is there an end. Consider this when you meditate on End-of-days."
Mary said," What Yeshua(Jesus,The Holy Spirit) is, I am and you are, for this reason the Holy Spirit has come, to remind those caught in the spell of forgetfulness."
Mary said to her companions,"Preach the Gospel to all good creatures, and bear forth the light into all realms, If the wind will listen, teach the wind. If a ghost seeks redemption, then bless the ghost. Speak the truth to all spirits and creatures, for in the Human One all are blessed and all are received."
Mary said,"When you pray,join yourself to The Holy Spirit by the power of the name, and cleave to Light-emanations. Let your heart pray and use few words, and learn the delight of the prayer of silence. For it is in silence you will hear the spirit of Yahweh speaking. This is how Yeshua taught us to pray."
Mary said to her disciples," if you desire to be free, set others free. Be forgiving and you will be forgiven."
Mary said," Do not think the kingdom of God is of this world. It is not of this world. Yet do not think that you must depart this world to enter into the kingdom, for it has come near unto you this day as it is in you."
Mary said," Pray with your heart, not your head, for your head will lead you astray."
Mary said,"I looked into the eyes of Yeshua, and found no beginning, and also I found no end. Everything is in the Holy Spirit(Yeshua), The Father,the Mother, the entirety; therefore,the whole is crucified and raised up with him. Yet unless one acquires the knowledge of this, it has not transpired."
Mary said,"Nothing here shall remain. See that you also go your own way."
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Tao--So Close To My Heart
Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?
Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.
AND
People at their best, like water,
Serve as they go along;
Like water they seek their own level,
The common level of life,
Love living close to the earth,
Living clear down in their hearts,
Love kinship with their neighbors,
The pick of words that tell the truth,
The even tenor of the well-loved state,
The fair profit of the able dealing,
The right timing of useful deeds,
And for blocking no one's way
No one blames them.
~Lao Tzu
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?
Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.
AND
People at their best, like water,
Serve as they go along;
Like water they seek their own level,
The common level of life,
Love living close to the earth,
Living clear down in their hearts,
Love kinship with their neighbors,
The pick of words that tell the truth,
The even tenor of the well-loved state,
The fair profit of the able dealing,
The right timing of useful deeds,
And for blocking no one's way
No one blames them.
~Lao Tzu
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Essence of Love is Understanding: Love Meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh
There are so many ways to effect peace and change on this planet. The mind is the most powerful tool we have, especially when our peaceful thoughts are paired with peaceful, loving emotion. We can change so much with a few moments of sincere meditation each day. Really, we can change the world. Just by sitting, penetrating, contemplating Truth. Slowly that Truth will permeate our entire mind and we will be forever changed liberating ourselves from darkness and illusion, living in the Light of Love and Harmony with all that is. Enjoy. <3
'The Buddha offered many meditations on love. When a group of monks told him that the spirits living near their forrest monastery were causing others to suffer, the Buddha taught the Metta Sutta (Discourse on Love):
He or she who wants to attain peace should practice being upright, humble, and capable of loving speech. He or she will know how to live simply and happily, with senses calmed, without being covetous and carried away by the emotions of the majority. Let him or her not do anything that will be disapproved of by the wise ones. (And this is what he or she contemplates):
"May everyone be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy."
"May all living beings live in security and peace, beings who are frail or strong, tall or short, big or small, visible or not visible, near or far away, already born or yet to be born. May all of them dwell in perfect tranquility."
"Let no one do harm to anyone. Let no one put the life of anyone in danger. Let no one, out of anger or ill will, wish anyone any harm."
"Just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, we should cultivate boundless love to offer all living beings in the entire cosmos. Let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below, and across. Our love will know no obstacles, our heart will be absolutely free from hatred and enmity. Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart. This is the noblest way of living."
After several months of the monks reciting and practicing the Metta Sutta, the monks came to understand the suffering of the troubled spirits. As a result, the spirits began to practice, also. They became filled with the energy of love, and the whole forrest was peaceful.
The Buddha also offered many specific exercises to help his disciples practice and realize the Four Immeasurable Minds:
"When your mind is filled with love, send it on one direction, then a second, then a third, then a fourth, then above and then below. Identify with everything, without hatred, resentment, anger, or enmity. This kind of love is very wide. It grows immeasurably and eventually is able to embrace the whole world. Practice the same way with your mind filled with compassion, then joy, then equanimity."
"With his mind filled with love, the monk permeates one direction, a second, and then a third, a fourth, above, below, and all around, everywhere identifying himself with all. He permeates the whole world with his mind filled with love, wide, far, developed, unbound, free from hatred and ill-will. He does the same with his mind filled with compassion, joy, and equanimity."
When the energy of love is strong in us, we can send it to beings in all directions. But we must not think that love meditation is only an act of imagination - we imagine our love as being like waves or sounds of light, or like a pure white cloud that forms slowly and gradually spreads out to envelop the whole world. A true cloud produces rain. Sound and light penetrate everywhere, and our love must do the same. We have to observe whether our mind of love is present in our actual contact with others. Practicing love meditation in the sitting position is only the beginning.'
'The Buddha offered many meditations on love. When a group of monks told him that the spirits living near their forrest monastery were causing others to suffer, the Buddha taught the Metta Sutta (Discourse on Love):
He or she who wants to attain peace should practice being upright, humble, and capable of loving speech. He or she will know how to live simply and happily, with senses calmed, without being covetous and carried away by the emotions of the majority. Let him or her not do anything that will be disapproved of by the wise ones. (And this is what he or she contemplates):
"May everyone be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy."
"May all living beings live in security and peace, beings who are frail or strong, tall or short, big or small, visible or not visible, near or far away, already born or yet to be born. May all of them dwell in perfect tranquility."
"Let no one do harm to anyone. Let no one put the life of anyone in danger. Let no one, out of anger or ill will, wish anyone any harm."
"Just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, we should cultivate boundless love to offer all living beings in the entire cosmos. Let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below, and across. Our love will know no obstacles, our heart will be absolutely free from hatred and enmity. Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart. This is the noblest way of living."
After several months of the monks reciting and practicing the Metta Sutta, the monks came to understand the suffering of the troubled spirits. As a result, the spirits began to practice, also. They became filled with the energy of love, and the whole forrest was peaceful.
The Buddha also offered many specific exercises to help his disciples practice and realize the Four Immeasurable Minds:
"When your mind is filled with love, send it on one direction, then a second, then a third, then a fourth, then above and then below. Identify with everything, without hatred, resentment, anger, or enmity. This kind of love is very wide. It grows immeasurably and eventually is able to embrace the whole world. Practice the same way with your mind filled with compassion, then joy, then equanimity."
"With his mind filled with love, the monk permeates one direction, a second, and then a third, a fourth, above, below, and all around, everywhere identifying himself with all. He permeates the whole world with his mind filled with love, wide, far, developed, unbound, free from hatred and ill-will. He does the same with his mind filled with compassion, joy, and equanimity."
When the energy of love is strong in us, we can send it to beings in all directions. But we must not think that love meditation is only an act of imagination - we imagine our love as being like waves or sounds of light, or like a pure white cloud that forms slowly and gradually spreads out to envelop the whole world. A true cloud produces rain. Sound and light penetrate everywhere, and our love must do the same. We have to observe whether our mind of love is present in our actual contact with others. Practicing love meditation in the sitting position is only the beginning.'
The Awakened Way from Adyashanti
It is so Effortless...we just have to remember...
"While the world is trying to solve its problems and everyone around you is engaged in the same, you’re not. While everybody around you is trying to figure it out, trying to arrive, trying to “get there,” trying to be worthy, you’re not. While everyone thinks that awakening is a grand, noble, halo-enshrouded thing, for you it’s not. While everybody is running from this life right now, in this moment, to try to get there, you’re not. Where everybody has an argument with somebody else, mostly everybody else, starting with themselves, you don’t. Where everybody is so sure that happiness will come when something is different than it is now, you know that it won’t. When everybody else is looking to achieve the perfect state and hold on to it, you’re not.
When everybody around you has a whole host of ideas and beliefs about a whole variety of things, you don’t. Everyone on the path is getting there; you haven’t gotten anywhere. Everyone is climbing the mountain; you’re selling hiking boots and picks at the foot in the hope that if they climb it and come back down, they may be too exhausted to do it again. When everybody else is looking to the next book, to the next teacher, to the next guru to be told what’s real, to be given the secret key to an awakened life, you’re not. You don’t have a key because there’s not a lock to put it in.
When you’re living what you are in an awakened way, being simply what you’ve always been, you’re actually very simple. You basically sit around wondering what all the fuss is about.
When everyone is sitting around saying, “I hope that happens to me,” you remember when you did that. You remember that you didn’t find a solution to that. You remember that the whole idea that there was a problem created all of that.
When you’re being what you are, when you’re living the awakened life, there’s nobody to forgive, because there’s no resentment held, no matter what.
The truth of your being doesn’t crave happiness; it could actually care less. It doesn’t crave love, not because you are so full of love, but because it just doesn’t crave love. It’s very simple. It doesn’t seek to be known, regarded highly, or understood. When you’re living what you are in an awakened way, there’s no ideal for you anymore. You’ve stepped off the entire cycle of suffering, of becoming; you’re not interested.
It’s a curious life you find yourself in. You find yourself… where you are. Not where I am, where you are. Where you really are. Where we really are. It’s a curious place to be (especially in the beginning) not to be driven by anything—pleasure or displeasure, helping or hurting, loving or hating. The only thing that will move you (and I don’t mean to be too poetic about this) is the same thing that moves a leaf hanging from a tree. It’s simply because the breeze blows that way. So you always know what to do: The breeze blows that way, and that’s the way you go. You don’t ask questions anymore. You don’t evaluate why the breeze is blowing that way because you know that you don’t know why. And you know you can’t know why. There’s never been a leaf anywhere that knows why the wind blows that way on that day at that moment. That breeze changes the orientation of your life, moment to moment to moment, simply because that’s the way life’s moving. And when you’re living in your awakened self you have no argument with the way it’s moving because it is the same as you are.
And you know that the breeze was always there, from the very beginning, and that it wasn’t reserved for special people. If you didn’t notice it at some point in your life, you know it was because you weren’t listening, or because you thought you had to figure something out before you could listen, or because you thought there had to be some conclusion before you could just listen so deeply, so without agenda, so without hope of a better future that you would feel the movement.
Many of you know what I’m speaking of.
Truth never explains why it’s moving that way at that moment. And if you ask, it won’t give any information. It would be like a leaf asking the wind, “Why are you moving that way right now?” The question doesn’t make any sense to the wind.
But your argument with the way the truth would move—whatever that way is—is no longer there for you. You’re no longer arguing with it. You’re no longer trying to figure it out. Mother Mary didn’t figure it out. Buddha didn’t figure it out. Ramana didn’t figure it out. None of them figured it out. They just became That. Simple. Ordinary—in the same way a leaf is ordinary.
When you’re living in your awakened being and living in an awakened way, power on any level is not an issue for you. It’s not interesting. The power to control another human being is not interesting. Intellectual power is not interesting. The power to control yourself is not interesting. The power that people want to give you is not interesting to you—not because it shouldn’t be; it’s just not. What would you want to do with it? You see that there’s nothing you want to do with it.
You realize, in the truth of your being, that you are the totality itself, but you have no interest whatsoever in doing anything with that knowledge, with using that knowledge.
Finally, you realize that you really don’t want to change anybody, not because you shouldn’t want to change them, because you just don’t. You might not want to be around everyone, but still you don’t want to change them.
None of this is an ideal—it’s the end of ideals. None of this is holiness; it’s the end of holiness. It’s the beginning of wholeness. None of this is something to achieve, because it’s not achievable. It’s simply what is in the truth of your being. It’s just what is. You can’t attain what’s naturally so. And nobody anywhere can ever tell you when or why, or to what degree you’ll let go of untruth; you will let go when you let go, usually when nothing else works.
When you’re living in the awakened way, in the awakened being that you are, you’re alone, and you’re finally comfortable with it. You’re alone, but you’re not lonely at all, because the only one who was ever supposed to meet you where you are—the only one who ever could meet you where you are one hundred percent—was you. Nobody else could ever fully meet you where you are—maybe ninety percent, maybe ninety-five. Nobody can meet you fully but you. When you finally do, then you don’t need anybody else to do it for you. Then you’re alone, more alone than you could ever imagine. And strangely—very strangely—you are more connected, more intimate, more at one with everything. More. And you would have never thought that those two could in any way be together: total aloneness and total oneness. You would have never guessed that that’s the way it would end up. But it does, and it always has.
And finally, when you’re just living in the awakened way that you really are, you’ll never form an image again of what it’s like. Even as it’s happening, you won’t form an image because you’ll know they’re all images, dust. The way it was yesterday won’t be the way it is today."
"While the world is trying to solve its problems and everyone around you is engaged in the same, you’re not. While everybody around you is trying to figure it out, trying to arrive, trying to “get there,” trying to be worthy, you’re not. While everyone thinks that awakening is a grand, noble, halo-enshrouded thing, for you it’s not. While everybody is running from this life right now, in this moment, to try to get there, you’re not. Where everybody has an argument with somebody else, mostly everybody else, starting with themselves, you don’t. Where everybody is so sure that happiness will come when something is different than it is now, you know that it won’t. When everybody else is looking to achieve the perfect state and hold on to it, you’re not.
When everybody around you has a whole host of ideas and beliefs about a whole variety of things, you don’t. Everyone on the path is getting there; you haven’t gotten anywhere. Everyone is climbing the mountain; you’re selling hiking boots and picks at the foot in the hope that if they climb it and come back down, they may be too exhausted to do it again. When everybody else is looking to the next book, to the next teacher, to the next guru to be told what’s real, to be given the secret key to an awakened life, you’re not. You don’t have a key because there’s not a lock to put it in.
When you’re living what you are in an awakened way, being simply what you’ve always been, you’re actually very simple. You basically sit around wondering what all the fuss is about.
When everyone is sitting around saying, “I hope that happens to me,” you remember when you did that. You remember that you didn’t find a solution to that. You remember that the whole idea that there was a problem created all of that.
When you’re being what you are, when you’re living the awakened life, there’s nobody to forgive, because there’s no resentment held, no matter what.
The truth of your being doesn’t crave happiness; it could actually care less. It doesn’t crave love, not because you are so full of love, but because it just doesn’t crave love. It’s very simple. It doesn’t seek to be known, regarded highly, or understood. When you’re living what you are in an awakened way, there’s no ideal for you anymore. You’ve stepped off the entire cycle of suffering, of becoming; you’re not interested.
It’s a curious life you find yourself in. You find yourself… where you are. Not where I am, where you are. Where you really are. Where we really are. It’s a curious place to be (especially in the beginning) not to be driven by anything—pleasure or displeasure, helping or hurting, loving or hating. The only thing that will move you (and I don’t mean to be too poetic about this) is the same thing that moves a leaf hanging from a tree. It’s simply because the breeze blows that way. So you always know what to do: The breeze blows that way, and that’s the way you go. You don’t ask questions anymore. You don’t evaluate why the breeze is blowing that way because you know that you don’t know why. And you know you can’t know why. There’s never been a leaf anywhere that knows why the wind blows that way on that day at that moment. That breeze changes the orientation of your life, moment to moment to moment, simply because that’s the way life’s moving. And when you’re living in your awakened self you have no argument with the way it’s moving because it is the same as you are.
And you know that the breeze was always there, from the very beginning, and that it wasn’t reserved for special people. If you didn’t notice it at some point in your life, you know it was because you weren’t listening, or because you thought you had to figure something out before you could listen, or because you thought there had to be some conclusion before you could just listen so deeply, so without agenda, so without hope of a better future that you would feel the movement.
Many of you know what I’m speaking of.
Truth never explains why it’s moving that way at that moment. And if you ask, it won’t give any information. It would be like a leaf asking the wind, “Why are you moving that way right now?” The question doesn’t make any sense to the wind.
But your argument with the way the truth would move—whatever that way is—is no longer there for you. You’re no longer arguing with it. You’re no longer trying to figure it out. Mother Mary didn’t figure it out. Buddha didn’t figure it out. Ramana didn’t figure it out. None of them figured it out. They just became That. Simple. Ordinary—in the same way a leaf is ordinary.
When you’re living in your awakened being and living in an awakened way, power on any level is not an issue for you. It’s not interesting. The power to control another human being is not interesting. Intellectual power is not interesting. The power to control yourself is not interesting. The power that people want to give you is not interesting to you—not because it shouldn’t be; it’s just not. What would you want to do with it? You see that there’s nothing you want to do with it.
You realize, in the truth of your being, that you are the totality itself, but you have no interest whatsoever in doing anything with that knowledge, with using that knowledge.
Finally, you realize that you really don’t want to change anybody, not because you shouldn’t want to change them, because you just don’t. You might not want to be around everyone, but still you don’t want to change them.
None of this is an ideal—it’s the end of ideals. None of this is holiness; it’s the end of holiness. It’s the beginning of wholeness. None of this is something to achieve, because it’s not achievable. It’s simply what is in the truth of your being. It’s just what is. You can’t attain what’s naturally so. And nobody anywhere can ever tell you when or why, or to what degree you’ll let go of untruth; you will let go when you let go, usually when nothing else works.
When you’re living in the awakened way, in the awakened being that you are, you’re alone, and you’re finally comfortable with it. You’re alone, but you’re not lonely at all, because the only one who was ever supposed to meet you where you are—the only one who ever could meet you where you are one hundred percent—was you. Nobody else could ever fully meet you where you are—maybe ninety percent, maybe ninety-five. Nobody can meet you fully but you. When you finally do, then you don’t need anybody else to do it for you. Then you’re alone, more alone than you could ever imagine. And strangely—very strangely—you are more connected, more intimate, more at one with everything. More. And you would have never thought that those two could in any way be together: total aloneness and total oneness. You would have never guessed that that’s the way it would end up. But it does, and it always has.
And finally, when you’re just living in the awakened way that you really are, you’ll never form an image again of what it’s like. Even as it’s happening, you won’t form an image because you’ll know they’re all images, dust. The way it was yesterday won’t be the way it is today."
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