Fifty Verses For twenty-seven years I've carried around a stack of fifty-one 4×6" notecards, bound together with a small piece of white rope, tied off neatly in a shoe-lace style bow. The card on the top (now a bit tattered) reads "The Fifty Verses on the Manifestation of Consciousness, by Thich Nhat Hanh." And each of the remaining fifty cards hosts one of the fifty verses, carefully …
Nonduality
The Final Truth
"The final truth, as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj and all the sages before them have clearly stated, is that there is neither creation nor destruction, neither birth nor death, neither destiny nor free will, neither any path nor any achievement." ~ Ramesh Balsekar * …
Mindfulness & Recognition
Concentration Practices: Yes or No? Illustrating the ever-applicable maxim, "well, it just depends"—in relation to the practice of concentration (aka mindfulness aka shamatha)—are the following passages from the Avadhuta Gita of Dattatreya, translated and annotated by Swami Ashokananda. Even though this is one of the most quintessentially direct of Advaita scriptures, in one of its early …
Heaven & Hell
There was once a Zen master who was asked by a samurai warrior to teach him the meaning of hell and heaven. When the master answered, "I will never teach anything to anyone as violent and idiotic as you," the samurai became very angry, raised his sword, and was about to stab the master. The master said to him, "That is hell." Immediately, the samurai understood, threw down his sword in …
All This Affluence … Inexhaustible!
The Taste Of Truth When a young child—still mostly unfamiliar with spoken language—tastes something sweetly delicious—say a piece of candy or a perfectly ripe peach—their delight may be expressed spontaneously by a giddy smile and/or eyes wide with astonishment. This is how we—while observing the child—might infer his or her pleasure, satisfaction, unspoken contentment. But mostly the taste of …
Practice Notes: Magic Trick
Imagine ... taking your son or daughter, or niece or nephew, or younger brother or sister to a magic show. One of the acts performed by the magician is the well-known "sawing a lady in half." You and your child-friend watch as the magician opens the coffin-like wooden box, and helps his lovely assistant to lie down in it—with only her head and her feet protruding, on opposite ends. With The …