Category: Omnibus

A lion’s roar

That all is as you are
That all is you
That you are
You are all
You are as all is
That is something that is

That nothing is as you are
That nothing is you
That you are
You are nothing
You are as nothing is
That is something that is

That this is as you are
That this is you
That you are
You are this
You are as this is
That is something that is

That all you fight against you are
Therefore stop fighting and you are

(In 1973 Ulrico wrote the original version of this poem in German.)

“As God Realizes the Moment” — the beginning of Tonalibus

A lion’s roar on a path with heart

“You may have heard of ‘out-of-the-body experiences,’ full of lights and visions. A true spiritual path demands something more challenging, what could be called an ‘in-the-body experience.’ We must connect to our body, to our feelings, in our life just now, if we are to awaken.”

“Spiritual transformation is a profound process that doesn’t happen by accident. We need a repeated discipline, a genuine training, in order to let go of our old habits of mind and to find and sustain a new way of seeing. To mature on the spiritual path we need to commit ourselves in a systematic way.”

“Great spiritual traditions in every age offer many vehicles for awakening… It is crucial to understand that there are many ways up the mountain — that there is never just one true way… and each of us must choose a practice that feels true to our heart. It is not necessary for you to evaluate the practices chosen by others. Remember, the practices themselves are only vehicles for you to develop awareness, loving-kindness, and compassion on the path toward freedom.”

“The Buddha said, ‘People with opinions just go around bothering one another.'”

“Sri Nisargadatta [said], ‘The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.’ Many of the great sorrows of the world arise when the mind is disconnected from the heart… The heart allows for the stories and ideas, the fantasies and fears of the mind without believing in them, without having to follow them or having to fulfill them. When we touch beneath all the busyness of thought, we discover a sweet, healing silence, an inherent peacefulness in each of us, a goodness of heart, strength, and wholeness that is our birthright.”

“Kalu Rinpoche [said]: ‘You live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality, but you do not know this. When you understand this, you will see that you are nothing, and being nothing you are everything. This is all.'”

— A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield, pp. 27, 31, 32-33, 50 and 52

Way sign on a path with heart

Life, love, and the divine
Is my lineage of teachers
Yes, it’s possible to be free
Of personalty ties as such
Though exchange is helpful
If not even necessary for all
To make steps in unfoldment
But then comes measurement
That does become more or less
And questionable what is real
Or personally just perceived
Wishes give one past focus
And future realizations too
Thou all that matters now
Is life, love, and the divine
Personalities, characters
Beings of various kinds
Humans claim to know
And observe ourselves
Every day and moment
Learning another lesson
From each other I hope
Life and love for sure
Ultimately the divine
Give it faces for ease
For a stretch of the way
Manifest to better relate
And again let go completely
As life, love, and the divine.

“Querencia” — the place where one’s strength is drawn from

Is a path helpful and liberating for you?

Criteria “according to which one could judge whether a path, a practice was helpful and liberating or not. At that time, as today, there are numerous gurus who claim to have the truly liberating, the only, or at least the fastest way. [Someone like a] Buddha suggests that one should not believe what is taught simply because it comes from an ancient tradition or because the person teaching seems to be an authority or because their speech sounds poignant and convincing.

“Rather, one should proceed in the same way as when testing gold: it must be scratched, rubbed, and tested with acid and fire. What ultimately withstands all these tests can be regarded as genuine. This means that we ourselves must seriously and thoroughly examine what is right for us by applying what we have heard and finding out whether it is wholesome and leads to blessings and well-being. This is an invitation to self-responsibility and requires interest, courage, independence, self-confidence, and great honesty, especially towards oneself. Of course, it requires more from us than listening to a few teachings or attending a few meditation evenings. We have to really tackle the practice and apply it consistently over a prolonged period of time. Then we will know for ourselves whether it can take us where we want to go.”

Buddhas tausend Gesichter, Fred von Allmen, pp. 39-40

Life, love, and the divine reach heaven

Why am I still here
After all these years
Given away my status
Asked to be demoted
Let go of all affiliations
Depersonalized divine
Developed an allergy
To any trace of dogma
Purged my scriptures
Of fixed terminology
Revived simple words
Discarded trademarks
Price paid for honesty
So here I am after all
In spiritual freedom
Found by detaching
Letting go of most all
Even what was essential
And helped me stand up
Like scaffolding or staff
Letting go such crutch
No matter how grown
Very close and dear
Time came to stand
On my very own feet
That’s why I am here
Not still, but all now
More real than ever
Answering a quest
Why I am still here

“Embraced in silence” — so close, and yet so far — in memory of Elaine

Why I am staying away from institutions

There once was a man who was a seeker of God. He had traveled the world spending time with deep spiritual teachers of every sort he could find. He sang the 99 names of Allah. And he spent months in silence with Buddhists, Hindus and in Christian monasteries. He danced with Sufis, did vision quests with shamans and trained with Shaolin Monks. Then one day, he heard that were he to climb a certain secret mountain deep in the Hindu Kush, that were he to reach the top, he would meet God and find total enlightenment.

This was a very dangerous quest because the mountain was very remote and was difficult to climb for even the most experienced climbers. But the greatest danger came from the many bandits that always saw spiritual seekers as easy pickings.

The devil heard about this upstart and sent his demon to follow him and report back. The seeker headed up the mountain with the demon not far behind.

It was a difficult climb, but eventually, the seeker made it to the top. Standing at the very top of the mountain, standing on his tippy toes, the seeker reached up, higher and higher… and grasped hold of ultimate truth, met God and became cosmically aware! The seeker now knew all of the secrets of the universe and existence!

Naturally the demon was terrified and ran back to the devil with his report, fearing how his master would react. To his surprise, the devil just leaned back in his chair, yawned and said, “It’s not a problem. I’ll just tempt him to institutionalize it.”

— from the post “Religious Institution” in the blog “A Religion of One” by Reverend Russ

Miracle colors of nature before a surprisingly normal sunrise

Total honesty
Within and out
Turns invincible
To the extent
Of realization
In motivation
Untouchable
In freedom
Spirituality
No different
From physical
Cast in bodies
Attitudes vary
As cycles churn
So many lessons
Aiming to unfold
Consciousness
Not artificial
Autopiloting
But all alive
In meaning
Target truth
Individually
But difficult
Collectively
Ultimately
One for all
Or all for one
Total honesty
Within and out
All life and love.

“From here to now” — on a flying carpet

شمس تبریزی — Shams-i Tabrīzī, Persian poet, 1185–1248

“No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die, this is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life?”

“The whole universe is sum up in the Human Being.
Devil is not a monster waiting to trap us,
He is a voice inside.
Look for Your Devil in Yourself,
not in the Others.
Don’t forget that the one who knows his Devil,
knows his God.”

— Shams-i Tabrīzī, as quoted on many internet platforms, e.g. Goodreads, A-Z Quotes, etc.

Hear it, see it, feel it, and pass it on — in total honesty

Tathagata
what, who
some thing
nothing at all
every thing
a person
animal
or plant
some mud
wood or reed
light and sound
finally simply corn
history and prophecy
where cycles close
and hearts mend
long and last
here now!

“Nature’s echo in blue calm” — where a contrast meets

Tathagata — something and nothing and everything

Tathāgata is a Pali word used by Gautama Buddha when referring to himself or other Buddhas.

Tathagata “means it is complete in itself, and no words are able to describe what it is. Tatha means ‘thus,’ ‘as,’ ‘it,’ ‘as a thing is,’ ‘as things are.’ Gata is ‘has come,’ so you are experiencing ‘it.’ At the same time this same word, agata, means ‘gone.’ Thus you are able to see the other side of ‘it.’ So, Tathagata means ‘thus come and thus gone,’ at the same time. Again, it’s very hard to capture. You are listening to continuous sound, but each sound you are capturing is what truth is. It is like the rhythm of continually running water.”

“The contents of the enlightenment experience are the same as this ‘Tathagata.’ It rejects your knowing, because it exists in the root of the action of knowing. The one who knows is what it is. The one which is known by it is not necessarily what it is. This ‘Tathagata’ is what your real essence of life is, what truth, itself, is, so that we become very helpless when we try to know it. The knowledge of your existence, what we are, what things are, is a kind of ancient memory of what it is.”

Embracing Mind, Kobun Chino Otogawa, pp. 34-35

The refreshing embrace of springtime snow