Inspirational words thread

[SageTree]

Put a piece of scripture, poetry, fiction, ect that has bought a thought of meaning into your being.


'Book Beauty'

Here's the end of that story about the old woman who wanted to lure a man with strange


cosmetics. She made a paste of pages from the Qur'an to fill the deep creases on her face and


neck with. This is not about an old woman, reader. It's about you or anyone who tries


to use books to make themselves attractive. There she is, sticking scripture, thick with


saliva, on her face. Of course, the bits keep falling off. " The Devil!" she yells, and


he appears! "This trick I've never seen. You don't need me. You are yourself a troop


of demons!" So people steal inspired words to get compliments. Don't bother. Death comes


and all talking, stolen or not, stops. Pity anyone unfamiliar with silence when that happens.


Polish your heart with meditation and quientness. Let the inner life grow generous and handsome


like Joseph. Zuleikha did that and her "old woman's cold snap" turned to mid-July. Dry


lips wet from within. Ink is not rouge. Let language lie bygone. Now is where love breaths.

-Rumi

Possible irony of posting this in the inspirational words thread aside, This story relates also to the story of Rumi and Shams. Whom on their first meeting Shams sees Rumi teaching on the edge of a foutain. Shams comes up and pushes all the books into the water. "What are you doing?" Rumi says. " You must now live what you have been reading about" Shams stated. " We can retrieve them and they will be dry as new" He added. Shams reached into the fountain and took out a dry book just to show him. "Leave them" said Rumi. As the story goes after this Rumi's deep like began, and he said "Today what I thought was God I ment today in human form." For those who don't know this history, Shams of Tabriz was a student of Rumi's father, who was a religious scholar and mentor. Upon hearing that Rumi was taking his Father's place in the community in Konya, he came from the desert to instruct Rumi in his Father's way. The metaphore is that Rumi saw the Light of God shining so bright when it was reflected off the perfect mirror, who was Shams. Rumi's beautiful words are to capture this mystic connection to the Light, and to strive to be a more perfect mirror reflecting the Love and Light of God all of the earth. And also to know the feeling of that experiance in an estacic manner.

The moral of this first meeting, for me since I read alot of scriptures and philosphy, is to get up and act with this 'knowledge or awakened connection' with the world. And also to see that Light in others. More so I feel connected to the Breath of the words in these books more than THE words themselves. Yet " If a man studies all day, he has no time to action or meditation." a teacher of Paramahansa Yoganada said once.

The moral for the story for me is to act in a pure way with the words I do read and find action in, emphisis on Action. And by pure I mean in an altruistic way, humbly trying to share meaning in life.

On the irony, I hope the last paragraph above this clears up that my intent isn't praise, just an offering and a telling of my subjective experiance known as living.



Love and Peace
Sage

 

[joea]

Here's one..
A man was very much interested in self-knowledge, in self-realization. His whole search had been to find a master who could teach him meditation. He went from one master to another, but nothing was happening. Years went by, he was tired, exhausted. Then someone told him, "If you really want to find a master you will have to go to the Himalayas. He lives in some unknown parts of the Himalayas; you will have to search for him. One thing is certain, he is there. Nobody knows exactly where, because whenever somebody comes to know of him he moves from that place and goes even deeper into the Himalayan ranges."
The man was getting old, but he gathered courage. For two years he had to work to earn money for the journey, then he made the journey. It is an old story. He had to ride on camels and horses and then go on foot, and then he reached the Himalayas. People said, "Yes, we have heard about the old man, very ancient he is, one cannot say how old -- maybe three hundred years old, or even five hundred years old; nobody knows. He lives somewhere, but the location cannot be given to you. Nobody is aware of where exactly you will find him, but he is there. If you search hard you are bound to find him."
The man searched and searched and searched. For two years he was roaming in the Himalayas -- tired, exhausted, dead exhausted, living only on wild fruits, leaves and grass. He had lost much weight. But he was intent that he had to find this man; even if it took his life, it would be worth it.
And can you imagine? One day he saw a small hut, a grass hut. He was so tired that he was not even able to walk, so he crawled. He reached the hut. There was no door; he looked in, there was nobody inside. And not only was there nobody inside, but there was every sign that for years there had been nobody inside.
You can think what would have happened to that man. He fell on the ground. Out of sheer tiredness he said, "I give up." He was lying there under the sun in the cool breeze of the Himalayas, and for the first time he started feeling so blissful, he had never tasted such bliss! Suddenly he started feeling full of light. Suddenly all thoughts disappeared, suddenly he was transported -- and for no reason at all, because he had not done anything.
And then he became aware that somebody was leaning over him. He opened his eyes. A very ancient man was there. And the old man, smiling, said, "So you have come. Have you something to ask me?"
And the man said, "No."
And the old man laughed, a great belly laugh which was echoed by the valleys. And he said, "So now you know what meditation is?"
And the man said, "Yes."

 

[wmjbyatt]

Chapter 14 of the Tao Te Ching:

Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beneath form;
Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beneath sound;
Held but cannot be touched - it is beneath feeling;
These depthless things evade definition,
And blend into a single mystery.

In its rising there is no light,
In its falling there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond description,
Lining what does not exist;
Its form formless,
Its image nothing,
Its name silence;
Follow it, it has no back,
Meet it, it has no face.

Attend the present to deal with the past;
Thus you grasp the continuity of the Way,
Which is its essence.

 

[joea]

Ordinariness
Every mind is seeking some extraordinariness. That is what the ego is: always trying to be somebody in particular, always afraid of being nobody, always afraid of emptiness, always trying to fill the inner void by everything and anything. Every human being is seeking extraordinariness – and that creates misery. It is not possible. Nobodiness is your very nature, nonbeing is the very stuff you are made of. Howsoever you try you will never succeed; even Alexanders fail. You cannot be somebody because that is not possible in the nature of things. You can only be nobody.

 

[SageTree]

Thanks everyone!!! It's a pleasure to see what words ignite a spark in your life!!!

:namaste
SageTree

 

[Ben Dhyan]

'Knowledge Rambling in the North.'

Knowledge had rambled northwards to the region of the Dark Water, where he ascended the height of Imperceptible Slope, when it happened that he met with Dumb Inaction. Knowledge addressed him, saying, 'I wish to ask you some questions:-- By what process of thought and anxious consideration do we get to know the Tâo? Where should we dwell and what should we do to find our rest in the Tâo? From what point should we start and what path should we pursue to make the Tâo our own?' He asked these three questions, but Dumb Inaction gave him no reply. Not only did he not answer, but he did not know how to answer.

Knowledge, disappointed by the fruitlessness of his questions, returned to the south of the Bright Water, and ascended the height of the End of Doubt, where he saw Heedless Blurter, to whom he put the same questions, and who replied, 'Ah! I know, and will tell you.' But while he was about to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say.

Knowledge, (again) receiving no answer to his questions, returned to the palace of the Tî, where he saw Hwang-Tî (Yellow Emperor), and put the questions to him. Hwang-Tî said, 'To exercise no thought and no anxious consideration is the first step towards knowing the Tâo; to dwell nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards resting in the Tâo; to start from nowhere and pursue no path is the first step towards making the Tâo your own.'

Knowledge then asked Hwang-Tî, saying, 'I and you know this; those two did not know it; which of us is right?' The reply was, 'Dumb Inaction is truly right; Heedless Blurter has an appearance of being so; I and you are not near being so. (As it is said), "Those who know (the Tâo) do not speak of it; those who speak of it do not know it;" and "Hence the sage conveys his instructions without the use of speech."

....Chuang Tzu

 

[methylatedghosts]

A joke:
A little girl was very focussed, working hard at a picture she was drawing.
Her mum asked her "What are you drawing, honey?"
"I'm drawing God." she replied
"But no-one knows what God looks like" her mum said
The little girl looked up and replied "I haven't finished him yet, mummy!"

I just think it's beautiful, because it never entered the girls mind that she couldn't draw God. I think many of us forget to simply do a thing, instead of dismissing ideas simply because they seem impossible, or too daunting.

 

[bain-druie]

The Druid's Peace Prayer means a lot to me, and I say it with every ritual:


"Deep within the still circle of my being, may I find peace.

Silently, within the quiet of the sacred grove, may I share peace.

Gently, within the greater circle of humanity, may I radiate peace."

 

[Guitar's Cry]

"Alice," by Shel Silverstein


She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And up she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small.
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin' at all.

 

[Tarheeler]

"And if a need arise for a rediscovery of God or a return to Him, then each man must accomplish this on his own account. Is he blind? He must learn to see for himself, since no one can see on his behalf. Is he lost? He must find his own way home.

Other men may help him. They may give him courage, guidance, instruction; they may blaze trails and set examples. But in the end, sight is not sight if it is vicarious. Companionship, whether with God or anyone else, must be immediate or it is not companionship.

In sum, there is and can be no vicarious salvation. Each man must redeem his own soul."

Rabbi Milton Steinberg

 

[methylatedghosts]

from 4chan: "Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon"

 

[Kodanshi]

"Ignorance and fear create the gods, enthusiasm and deceit adorn them, and human weakness worships them."

 

[laboremus]

Here's an essay written by an eight-year-old… When I read it, it always make me smile
Maybe you will too?

Faith in God - Through the Innocent Heart of a Child....

One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die,
so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make
grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way
He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can
just leave that to the mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on,
since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't
have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty
busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad's head asking
for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in my town. At
least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing
miracles and people finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But
He was good and kind, like His Father, and He told His Father that they didn't know what
they were doing and to forgive them and God said, "O.K."

His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so
He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He
did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are
important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without
having to bother God. (Like a secretary, only more important.) You can pray anytime you
want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on
duty all the time.

You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's
anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think
will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides, the sun doesn't come
out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your
parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's
around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and big kids throw you
into real deep water. I think he's my best friend, no matter if I can't see him....

 

[DeitySlayer]

Very sweet and naive; but ultimately as baseless as an invisible friend. Helpful and comforting, but helpful and comforting has never been, and will never constitute, proof.

 

[Kodanshi]

Very sweet and naive; but ultimately as baseless as an invisible friend. Helpful and comforting, but helpful and comforting has never been, and will never constitute, proof.

When I finally accepted myself as an atheist, I realised that I had to give up exactly that sort of attitude. I felt like an adult, putting away childish things. I’m sure some of that stems from biology. You cry as a baby and this magical force (your parents) intervenes to sort your problems out. Perhaps it makes us more prime and open to believe in supernatural things?

 

[Viajero del Oso]

And adult is god in the eyes of a child. Once we grow up, I think it's safe to say we know better.

 

[Penumbra]

Not In Vain

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
-Emily Dickinson

 

[SageTree]

Awesome video:
[youtube]IZqAnIp5dMQ[/youtube]
"Only Breath" By Rumi"

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu

Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion



or cultural system. I am not from the East

or the West, not out of the ocean or up



from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not

composed of elements at all. I do not exist,



am not an entity in this world or in the next,

did not descend from Adam and Eve or any



origin story. My place is placeless, a trace

of the traceless. Neither body or soul.



I belong to the beloved, have seen the two

worlds as one and that one call to and know,



first, last, outer, inner, only that

breath breathing human being.



From Essential Rumi
​

by Coleman Barks