When you understand that the external world has nothing
to do with your real self, and you act accordingly, you then return to your original
state.
—Original Teachings of Ch’an Buddhism
Listening through your ears you cannot understand;
But you will be aware by listening through your eyes.
—Original Teachings of Ch’an Buddhism
In the twinkling of an eye a thousand changes can take place. When the wind ceases, the
waves become calm.
—Original Teachings of Ch’an Buddhism
Withdraw inwardly and search for the ground upon which you stand; thereby you will find
out what Truth is.
—Original Teachings of Ch’an Buddhism
When you exhale there is no guarantee that you will inhale again. How can you waste your
self on useless things?
—Original Teachings of Ch’an Buddhism
The tao is perfect, like vast space, where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept and reject that we fail to see the true nature
of things. Live neither in the confusing entanglements of outer things nor in inner
feelings of emptiness. Be serene in the oneness of things and such erroneous beliefs will
disappear of themselves. When you use activity to try to achieve passivity, your very
effort fills you with activity. As long as you live in one extreme or another, you will
not know oneness.
—Hsin Hsin Ming
The movement of the tao consists in returning. The method of the tao consists in softness.
All things under heaven arise from the corporeal. The corporeal arises from the
incorporeal. From what does the incorporeal arise?
—Tao Te Ching (with addition).
The spirit of the valley never dies. It is called the subtle and profound female. The gate
of the subtle and profound female Is the root of Heaven and Earth. It is continuous, and
seems to be always existing. Use it and you will never wear it out.
—Tao Te Ching 6
To produce things and to rear them, To produce, but not to take possession of them, To
act, but not to rely on one's own ability, To lead them, but not to master them— This
is called profound and secret virtue.
—Tao Te Ching 10
We look at it [Tao] and do not see it; Its name is The Invisible. We listen to it and do
not hear it; Its name is The Inaudible. We touch it and do not find it; Its name is The
Subtle [formless].
—Tao Te Ching 14
To yield is to be preserved whole. To be bent is to become straight. To be empty is to be
full. To be worn out is to be renewed. To have little is to possess. To have plenty is to
be perplexed.
—Tao Te Ching 22
He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened.
—Tao Te Ching 33
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Non-being
penetrates that in which there is no space. Through this I know the advantage of taking no
action.
—Tao Te Ching 43
One may know the world without going out of doors. One may see the Way of Heaven without
looking through the windows. The further one goes, the less one knows. † Therefore
the sage knows without going about, Understands without seeing, And accomplishes without
any action.
—Tao Te Ching 47
He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.
—Tao Te Ching 56
Heaven's net is indeed vast. Though its meshes are wide, it misses nothing.
—Tao Te Ching 73
True words are not beautiful; Beautiful words are not true. A good man does not argue; He
who argues is not a good man. A wise man has no extensive knowledge; He who has extensive
knowledge is not a wise man. 2 3 4 5 6 The sage does not accumulate for himself. The more
he uses for others, the more he has himself. The more he gives to others, the more he
possesses of his own. The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure. The Way of
the sage is to act but not to compete.
—Tao Te Ching 81
Learn to see with the eyes of the formerly blind, to hear with the ears of the formerly
deaf, to walk with the ears of the formerly lame, to speak with the tongue of the formerly
mute.
—Huang Da
As the irrigator directs water to the field, as the archer aims the arrow, as the
carpenter carves wood, so the wise shape their lives.
—Dhammapada.
Living in the dark, why do you not seek the light more often?
—Dhammapada
Why is there so much laughter here, so much merriment, when the world is on fire?
—Dhammapada
I will lift mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.
—Psalm 121.
There is no season when you are grown.
You're always risen from the seeds you've sown.
There is no reason to rise alone.
Other stories given have sages of their own.
—Slip Inside This House.
Live where your heart can be given,
and your life starts to unfold
in the forms you envision
in this dream that's ages old.
On the river layer is the only sayer.
You receive all you can hold, like you've been told.
—Slip Inside This House.
Every day's another dawning.
Give the morning winds a chance.
Always catch your thunder yawning.
Lift your mind into the dance.
Sweep the shadows from your awning.
Shrink the fourfold circumstance
that lies outside this house.
—Slip Inside This House.
Draw from the Well of Unchanging.
Its union nourishes on
in the right re-arranging
till the last confusion is gone.
Water-brothers trust in the ultimate
of the always singing song they pass along.
—Slip Inside This House.
One-eyed men aren't really reigning.
They just march in place until
two-eyed men with mystery training
finally feel the power fill.
Three-eyed men are not complaining.
They can yo-yo where they will.
They slip inside this house as they pass by.
Don't pass it by.
—Slip Inside This House.
The bo-tree is everywhere.
The falling leaf feeds
next spring’s hidden seeds.
Time and nature heal
the heart’s hidden needs.
Bow to the ocean, as the ocean bows to you. It was waiting for you tomorrow. It will be
waiting for you yesterday.
All the world is but a play.
Be thou the joyful player.
—Incredible String Band.
"Do ye not fly as clouds and as doves to your windows who serve as the shadow and the
example of heavenly things."
—Quoted by Incredible String Band
One light, the light that is one though the lamps be many.
—Incredible String Band.
You never enjoy the world aright
"Till the sea itself floweth
In your veins and you are clothed
With the heavens and crowned with the stars."
—Incredible String Band.
Poor as the birds but to give their song away,
Gathering their possession round to make a bright array.
Dark was the night, praise God the open door.
I ain’t got no home in this world any more.
—Incredible String Band.
Jesus saith, Ye ask who are those that draw us to the kingdom, if the kingdom is in
Heaven?…The fowls of the air, and all beasts that are under the earth or upon the
earth, and the fishes of the sea, these are they which draw you, and the kingdom of Heaven
is within you.
—Luke 17:21
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Who sees Me in all, And sees all in Me, For him I am not lost, And he is not lost for Me.
—Bhagavad Gita
If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst forth at once in the sky, that would be
like the splendor of the Mighty One [Krishna].
—Bhagavad Gita
For certain is death for the born And certain is birth for the dead; Therefore over the
inevitable Thou shouldst not grieve.
—Bhagavad Gita
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing
precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
—Psalm 126:5-6
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
—Matthew 5:44
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
—Matthew 6:19-20
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.
—Matthew 6:28
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things
of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
—Matthew 6:34
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you.
—Matthew 7:7
The kingdom of God is within you.
—Luke 17:21
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
—John 14:27
If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not bring
forth what is within you, what you have will destroy you.
—Gospel of Thomas
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
—Oscar Wilde
You will find rest from vain fancies if you perform every act in life as though it were
your last. ———Marcus Aurelius
St. John of the Cross San Juan de la Cruz 1542-1591
The Dark Night of the Soul.
We are near awakening when we dream that we dream.
—Novalis
And we are put on earth a little space, That we may learn to bear the beams of love, And
these black bodies and this sunburnt face Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove.
—William Blake
When the voices of children are heard on the green And laughing is heard on the hill, My
heart is at rest within my breast And everything else is still.
—William Blake
To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm
of your hand And eternity in an hour.
—William Blake
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they
shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea
shall declare unto thee.
—Job 12:7-8
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full.
—Ecclesiastes
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to
be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time
to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away
stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain
from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast
away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A
time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
—Ecclesiastes
Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of
spirit.
—Ecclesiastes
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
—Ecclesiastes
All things are filled full of signs, and it is a wise man who can learn about one thing
from another.
—Plotinus
We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive
where we started And know the place for the first time.
—T.S. Eliot
Thou art that. Tat tvam asi.
—Chandogya Upanishad
"Pass in, pass in," the angels say, "In to the upper doors, Nor count
compartments of the floors, But mount to paradise By the stairway of surprise."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Give me health and a day and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Time dissipates to shining ether the solid angularity of facts.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us
represents. 1 2
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of one hidden
stuff.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The bluebird carries the sky on his back.
—Henry David Thoreau
That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.
—Henry David Thoreau
The eye may see for the hand, but not for the mind.
—Henry David Thoreau
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
—Henry David Thoreau
Through our own recovered innocence we discern the innocence of our neighbors.
—Henry David Thoreau
We need the tonic of wildness…We can never have enough of nature.
—Henry David Thoreau
In wildness is the preservation of the world.
—Henry David Thoreau
Koi paraga [the other shore?]
Let us not run the world hastily,
Let us not grasp at the rope of wealth impatiently;
What should be treated with mature judgment,
Let us not treat in a fit of temper;
Whenever we arrive at a cool place,
Let us rest sufficiently well;
Let us give prolonged attention to the future,
And then let us give due regard to the consequence of things,
And that is on account of our sleeping.
—A prayer of the Yorubas, Africa (quoted, Wayne Lee Jones, Weave a Garment of
Brightness
When the mode of mapping changes, the walls of the city tremble.
Beauty is now underfoot wherever we take the trouble to look.
—John Cage.
[Adversity] can never rival the steadying power given us when we praise being.
—Alfred Corn. NY Times Book Review, 10-26-97.
The mind is no-mind
without which I have nothing
and with which
I am nothing.
—DM.
Nothing whatever is hidden; from of old, all is clear as daylight.
The old pine tree speaks divine wisdom; the secret bird manifests eternal truth.
There is no place to seek the mind; it is like the footprints of the birds in the sky.
Above, not a piece of tile to sover the head; beneath, not an inch of earth to put
one’s foot on.
The water before, and the water after, now and forever flowing, follow each other.
One word determines the whole world; one sword pacifies heaven and earth.
If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?
Falling mist flies together with the wild ducks; the waters of autumn are of one color
with the sky.
The wild geese do not intends to cast their reflection; the water has to mind to receive
their image.
Taking up one blade of grass, use it as a sixteen-foot golden Buddha.
Like a sword that cuts, but cannot cut itself; like an eye that sees, but cannot see
itself.
Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of the flames.
You cannot get it by taking thought; you cannot get it by not taking thought.
If you meet an enlightened man in the stree, do not greet him with words, nor with
silence.
Meeting, they laugh and laugh – the forest grove, the many fallen leaves!
We sleep with both legs outstretched, free of the true, free of the false.
For long years a bird in a cage, today, flying with the clouds.
--From "The Gospel According to Zen," pp. 27-31.
Those who awaken
Never rest in one place.
Like swans, they rise
And leave the lake.
--Dhammapada, 7.
Arise and watch.
Follow the way joyfully
Through this world and beyond.
--Dhammapada, 13.
The ignorant man is an ox.
He grows in size, not in wisdom.
--Dhammapada, 11.
on a bare branch
a crow has settled
autumn dusk
--Basho (trans. Jane Reichhold)
higher than a skylark
resting in the sky
on a mountain pass
--Basho (trans. Jane Reichhold)
It's always by helping another that we are
healed ourselves.
--Carl Little Crow (Salon, 5-14-98)
Extremely advanced lens:
Aum.
On the edge of the forest, live joyfully, without desire.
Dhammapada 21.
First establish yourself in the way.
Then teach,
And so end sorrow.
Dhammapada.
Let roses, sparrows, clouds
be the string around your finger.
Listen to the world: It says
only "Forget me not, forget me not."
--D.M.
The rotting log, the car-dead squirrel,
the tireless waves and vanishing pandas:
What excellent mirrors surround us!
--D.M.
No teachers?
Go to the forest, the fields, the mountains.
No forest, fields, mountains?
Close your eyes and listen.
--D.M.
Wisteria smiles, oak laughs, bluebonnet titters.
Spring, they know, is always coming.
--D.M.
You were free last night.
You’ll be free tonight.
Who can build jails for granite?
--D.M.
Is the chattering monkey, the stampeding horse, you?
Is the crushed violet the falling boulder?
--D.M.
How I bloom and blossom
Thinking of the sun
While lightning chars
And floods drown
My fellow script-readers.
--D.M.
As above, so below.
From within the egg,
The edge’s a glittering stream of frozen cum.
Milky way.
--D.M.
The mockingbird sings, "Attention! Attention!"
Open your sleepy ears,
let your bright eyes listen well!
--D.M.
The tao breathes in your chest.
Follow it home.
The crunch of leaves underfoot,
The smell of burning pineapple fields on Maui.
--D.M.
What better teacher than this pine,
Its feet in earth, its head in heaven?
--D.M.
The sun flickers through thick leaves,
Light, dark, light, dark, darker.
Soon the moon will come.
--D.M.
A million suns. One light.A million creatures. One mind.A million lives. One path.A
million deaths. One light.
--D.M.
When someone asks what there is to do, light the candle in his hand. Like this.
--Rumi, transl. Coleman Barks.Your fragrance fills the meadow. Your mouth appears in a
red anemone. But when these reminders leave, my lips open and in whatever I say I hear
you.
--Rumi, transl. Coleman Barks.
Close your eyes and it is sunset at the edge of the world. It is the language of
dolphins, the growth of tree-roots, the heart-beat slowing down.
--John Fuller.
Go to the Short List
Go to the Color Licks
Go to the Word
Licks
Go to the Blob Licks
Back to Saltlick
Contents
Magellan's
Log V
Magellan's
Log front page |