bracket bracket    15by Paul Smedberg

 

. . . Tao is the flowing course of nature and the universe;
li is its principle of order which . . . we can best translate as "organic pattern"; and water is its eloquent metaphor.
–Alan Watts

LivingLearningContradicting

The vast flood rolls onward,
But yield yourself
And it floats you upon it.
–Ikkyu

The man who is united with the Divine and knows the truth thinks "I do nothing at all" for in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, walking, sleeping, breathing; in speaking emitting, grasping, opening and closing the eyes he holds that only the senses are occupied with the objects of the senses.
–Bhagavad-Gita
  (tr. Radhakrishnan)

Poverty is not the absence of goods, but rather the overabundance of desire.
–Plato

A drunken man who falls out of a cart, though he may suffer, does not die. His bones are the same as other people's; but he meets the accident in a different way. His spirit is in a condition of security. He is not conscious of riding in the cart; neither is he conscious of falling out of it. Ideas of life, death, and fear cannot penetrate his breast; and so he does not suffer from contact with objective existences. And if such security is to be got from wine, how much more is it to be got from Spontaneity.
–Chuang-tzu
  (tr. H.A. Giles)

The flowering of man's spiritual nature is as natural and as strict a process of evolution as the opening of a rose or a morning glory. But there is this difference: While the plant must have a congenial environment . . . the human flowering often takes place amid the most adverse surroundings . . .
–John Burroughs

Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of a universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit.
–William James

Forgetfulness of self is remembrance of God.
–Bayazid Al-Bistami

When the senses and thought are annihilated, all the passages to Mind are blocked, and no entrance then becomes possible. The original mind is to be recognized along with the working of the senses and thoughts, only it does not belong to them, nor is it independent of them. Do not build up your views on your senses and thoughts . . . but at the same time do not seek the Mind away from your senses and thoughts.
–Master Huang-po

One of the basic tenents of meditation is the notion that passive awareness is a natural, elementary, and direct form of experience that is ordinarily overwhelmed and obscured by the activity of the mind. The purpose of meditation, therefore, is to allow the mind to become quiet and thereby uncover the capacity for this experience.
–M. Schuman

Words convey ideas. When ideas have been absorbed words cease . . . The fishing net is used to catch fish; let us have the fish and forget the net. The snare is used to catch rabbits; let us have the rabbit and forget the snare. Words are used to convey ideas; let us have the ideas and forget the words.
–Kao Seng Chuan

Where is One?

The past and future Buddhas, both are his servants. Who is he?

If you realize clearly who he is, it is as if you met your own father on a busy street. There is not need to ask anyone whether or not your recognition is true.

Do not fight with another's bow and arrow.
Do not ride another's horse.
Do not discuss another's faults.
Do not interfere with another's work.
–from Paul Reps

The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening; the smaller the doubt, the smaller the awakening. No doubt, no awakening.
–C.C. Chang

Everyone is in the best seat.
–John Cage

The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.
–Bruce Lee

In this non-dual world
all is one, nothing is left out.

In this unmeasurable truth
one instant is ten thousand years.
–Master Seng-ts'an

The past and future Buddhas, both are his servants. Who is he? If you realize clearly who he is, it is as if you met your own father on a busy street. There is not need to ask anyone whether or not your recognition is true. Do not fight with another's bot and arrow. Do not ride another's horse. Do not discuss another's faults. Do not interfere with another's work.
–from Paul Reps

[Bracket Bracket] is Paul Smedberg's irregular ezine. Earlier issues (and coming soon: later issues) may be dredged up in the [bracket bracket] archive -- and boy are they a treat!

You can subscribe to [bracket bracket] by typing your e-mail address in the box below. You will receive a surreal yet informative message whenever a new issue appears. This happens every few weeks or months or so. It would be in bad taste to sell or give your address to someone else. But, we won't do it anyway.

Copyright 1998 by Paul Smedberg