These pages contains quotations I originally shared on the nondual quotes list. Enjoy!
Eye cannot see him, nor words reveal him; by the senses, austerity, or works he is not known. When the mind is cleansed by the grace of wisdom, he is seen by contemplation--the One without parts. Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.8
This then, is the human problem; there is a price to be paid for every increase in consciousness. We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. ~Alan Watts
"It (the state of mind) should be like a lotus leaf, which though in water, with its stem in the mud and flower above, is yet untouched by both. Similarly, the mind should be kept untainted by the mud of desires and the water of distractions, even though engaged in worldly activities." ~Nityananda
From 'The Conference of the Birds' by Farid Ud-Din Attar Trans. Dick Davis/Afkham Darbandi The sufi who thought he had left the world A sufi once, with nothing on his mind, Was - without warning - struck at from behind. He turned and murmured, choking back the tears: "The man you hit's been dead for thirty years He's left this world!" The man who'd struck him said: "You talk a lot for someone who is dead! But talk's not action - while you boast, you stray Further and further from the secret Way, And while a hair of you remains, your heart And Truth are still a hundred worlds apart." Burn all you have, all that you thought and knew (Even your shroud must go; let that burn too); Then leap into the flames, and as you burn Your pride will falter, you'll begin to learn. But keep one needle back and you will meet A hundred thieves who force you to retreat (Think of that tiny needle which became The negligible cause of Jesus' shame*). As you approach this stage's final veil, Kingdoms and wealth, substance and water fail; Withdraw into yourself, and one by one Give up the things you own - when this is done, Be still in selflessness and pass beyond All thoughts of good and evil; break this bond, And as it shatters you are worthy of Oblivion, the Nothingness of love. *Jesus had a needle with him when he entered heaven, breaking God's prohibition on earthly possessions.
Peace does not mean the absence of war. Peace means the presence of harmony, love, satisfaction and oneness." ~Sri Chinmoy
All this dying is not the death of the physical form: this body is only an instrument for the spirit. There is many a martyred soul that has died to self in this world, though it goes about like the living. The animal self has died, though the body, which is its sword, survives: the sword is still in the hand of that eager warrior. The sword is the same sword; the person is not the same person, but this appearance of identity bewilders you. ~Rumi Jewels of Remembrance Camille and Kabir Helminski
What is in one is in the whole, and therefore, ultimately, Each soul is responsible for the whole world. ~ Gary Zukav
In life and in love, there is only that moment, the NOW. The only reality we know is what we experience this very second. Reality is not what has passed or what has yet to come into being. Grabbing hold of this simple idea makes life magical because it brings love alive. ~ Leo Buscaglia
You are telling us to 'let go', but it is very difficult. That's because you have the idea that 'letting go' is something that you have to do. To move from one place to another may be difficult if the journey is long and hard. But if you don't have to move at all, how can you say that it is difficult? Just give up the idea that you have to do something or reach somewhere. That's all you have to do. Dialogues with the Master Sri H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)
Between me and You, there is only me. Take away the me, so only You remain. ~Al-Hallaj
Gitanjali - Song Offerings by Rabindranath Tagore 6. Pluck this little flower and take it, delay not! I fear lest it droop and drop into the dust. I may not find a place in thy garland, but honour it with a touch of pain from thy hand and pluck it. I fear lest the day end before I am aware, and the time of offering go by. Though its colour be not deep and its smell be faint, use this flower in thy service and pluck it while there is time.
I have occasionally spoken of a light in the soul which is uncreated and uncreatable. . . . This light is not satisfied with the simple, still and divine being which neither gives nor takes, but rather it desires to know from where this being comes. It wants to penetrate to the simple ground, to the still desert, into which distinction never peeped, neither Father, Son nor Holy Spirit. There, in that most inward place, where everyone is a stranger, the light is satisfied, and there it is more inward than it is in itself, for this ground is a simple stillness which is immovable in itself. But all things are moved by this immovability and all the forms of life are conceived by it which, possessing the light of reason, live of themselves. ~Meister Eckhart
No past. No future. Open Mind. Open Heart. Complete attention. No reservations. That's all. ~Scott Morrison
Hasan Dagh
Never will you reach that silver mountain
which appears, like a cloud of joy,
in the evening light.
Never can you cross that lake of salt
which treacherously smiles at you
in the morning mist.
Every step on this road takes you farther away
from home, from flowers, from spring.
Sometimes the shade of a cloud will dance on the way
Sometimes you rest in a ruined caravanserai
seeking the truth from the blackish tresses of smoke
Sometimes you walk a few steps
with a kindred soul
only to lose him again.
You go, and go
torn by the wind, burnt by the sun,
and the shepherd's flute
tells you "the Path in Blood"
until you cry no more
until the lake of salt
is only your dried-up tears
which mirror the mountain of joy
that is closer to you than your heart.
~Annemarie Schimmel
'Nightingales Under the Snow'
Variations on Rumi's Thoughts
The Ocean cannot stay alone and so the notion of wave is created. When waves rise Ocean loses nothing and when waves fall Ocean gains nothing. Samsara, the illusion, Maya, the play, is the wave on the Ocean of Nirvana. Waves are not separate from the Ocean, rays are not separate from the Sun, You are not separate from Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. This is a reflection of That. Sri H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)
"The Holy Longing" Johann Wolfgang Goethe Tell a wise person, or else keep silent. Because the massman will mock it right away. I praise what is truly alive, what longs to be burned to death. In the calm water of the love-nights, where you were begotten, where you have begotten, a strange feeling comes over you when you see the silent candle burning. Now you are no longer caught in the obsession with darkness, and a desire for higher lovemaking sweeps you upward. Distance does not make you falter, now, arriving in magic, flying, and finally, insane for the light, you are the butterfly and you are gone. And so long as you haven't experienced this: to die and so to grow, you are only a troubled guest on the dark earth. ~translated by Robert Bly
Separate yourself from all twoness. Be one on one, one with one, one from one. ~ Meister Eckhart
Become aware of what is in you. Announce it, pronounce it, produce it and give birth to it. ~ Meister Eckhart
Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families and nations. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
You and I and everything in the universe
exist as a part of the endless flow of God's Love.
Realizing this, we recognize that all creation
is bound together with the same benevolence.
To harmonize with life is to come into accord
with that part of God which flows through all things.
To foster and protect all life
is both our mission and our prayer.
~ Morehei Ueshiba
O friend, Life fills the world. Thou and I are in eternal union. ~Aurobindo Ghose
Folded Into the River Your face is the light in here that makes my arms full of gentleness. The beginning of a month-long holiday, the disc of the full moon, the shade of your hair, these draw me in. I dive into the deep pool of a mountain river, folded into union, as the split-second when the bat meets the ball, and there is one cry between us. ~Rumi Ode 2253 Open Secret/Coleman Barks
Confucianism. Doctrine of the Mean 26 Absolute truth is indestructible. Being indestructible, it is eternal. Being eternal, it is self-existent. Being self-existent, it is infinite. Being infinite, it is vast and deep. Being vast and deep, it is transcendental and intelligent. It is because it is vast and deep that it contains all existence. It is because it is transcendental and intelligent that it embraces all existence. It is because it is infinite and eternal that it fulfills or perfects all existence. In vastness and depth it is like the Earth. In transcendental intelligence it is like Heaven. Infinite and eternal, it is the Infinite itself. Such being the nature of absolute truth, it manifests itself without being seen; it produces effects without motion; it accomplishes its ends without action.
Withdraw now from the invisible pounding and weaving of your ingrained ideas. If you want to be rid of this invisible turmoil, you must just sit through it and let go of everything. Attain fulfillment and illuminate thoroughly. Light and shadow altogether forgotten. Drop off your own skin, and the sense-dusts will be fully purified. The eye then readily discerns the brightness. - Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157)
From: 'Zen Wisdom' Ed. Timothy Freke
One embraces All
All merges in One
One is All
All is One
One pervades All
All is in One
Within You Without You The Beatles (Harrison) We were talking-about the space between us all And the people-who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion Never glimpse the truth-then it's far too late-when they pass away. We were talking-about the love we all could share-when we find it To try our best to hold it there-with our love With our love-we could save the world-if they only knew. Try to realise it's all within yourself no-one else can make you change And to see you're really only very small, and life flows within you and without you. We were talking-about the love that's gone so cold and the people, Who gain the world and lose their soul- they don't know-they can't see-are you one of them? When you've seen beyond yourself-then you may find, peace of mind, is waiting there- And the time will come when you see we're all one, and life flows on within you and without you.
Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light. Luke 11.34-36
We don't *have* awareness, we *are* awareness. And awareness *is* love. When it is wide open, when it is not fixated on some narrow and contrived identity, some narrow craving, argument, irritation, or fear, the nature of awareness is unconditionally affectionate, tender, sensitive, and compassionate. Advaita Vedanta, Christian meditation, the Buddhadharma, Kabbalah, Vipassana, Tibetan Dzogchen, Zen practice, Sufi practice, and all true forms of mysticism, at their very best, are simply doors to this discovery. The radical, unconditional mercy of Jesus, the uncorrupted compassion and understanding of the Buddha - these are just metaphors for your own pure heart, the core of your own being. Yours, mine, everyone's. Scott Morrison
Everything just as it is, as it is, as is. Flowers in bloom. Nothing to add. ~Robert Aitken, Roshi, 'As it Is'
Whenever one is confronted with an inescapable, unavoidable situation, whenever one has to face a fate that cannot be changed, e.g., an incurable disease, such as an inoperable cancer, just then is one given a last chance to actualize the highest value, to fulfill the deepest meaning, the meaning of suffering. For what matters above all is the attitude we take toward suffering, the attitude in which we take our suffering upon ourselves. ~ Viktor Frankl
From: 'Grist For the Mill' Ram Dass Nobody Special WE ARE IN TRAINING to be nobody special. And it is in that nobody-specialness that we can be anybody. The fatigue, the neurosis, the anxiety, the fear, all comes from identifying with the somebody-ness. But you have to start somewhere. It does seem that you have to be somebody before you can become nobody. If you started out being nobody at the be- ginning of this incarnation, you probably wouldn't have made it this far. Blue babies are examples of nobody special. They just don't have the will to breathe or eat or live. For it's that force of somebody-ness that develops the social and physical survival mechanisms. It's only now, having evolved to this point, that we learn to put that somebody-ness, that whole survival kit, which is called the ego, into perspective. When I was a Harvard professor, I would spend all my time thinking. I was paid for that. I would have clipboards and tape recorders to collect all my thoughts. Now I've be- come very simple. My mind is quite empty. There is nothing in there at all, and I just sit looking stupid. Then when some- thing needs to happen, it happens, and I don't have to listen to it.
The practice of breathing in and out of the phrase "Toward the One" can be done at almost any time. One should breathe in a most natural fashion, without attempting to alter the breath in any way. You simply become one with your breath in whatever condition it may be in. The thought and feeling of oneness held in such a fashion allows a person to become united with what- ever space or situation he finds himself in. Gradually the bound- aries of one's being dissolve. External distractions are overcome by merging with them, including them in overall compass by your being. ~Pir Villayat Khan 'Essential Sufism' Eds. Fadiman/Frager
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