What if the most disturbing thoughts could be seen as just clouds passing by ... distant fogs way up high ... not designed to pull us down or effect us in any way other than to occasionally block the sun?
Just as the ocean has waves, and the sun has rays, so the mind’s own radiance is its thoughts and emotions. The ocean has waves, yet the ocean is not particularly disturbed by them. The waves are the very nature of the ocean. Waves will rise, but where do they go? Back into the ocean. And where do the waves come from? The ocean.
In the same manner, thoughts and emotions are the radiance and expression of the very nature of the mind. They rise from the mind, but where do they dissolve? Back into the mind. Whatever rises, do not see it as a particular problem. If you do not impulsively react, if you are only patient, it will once again settle into its essential nature.
When you have this understanding, then rising thoughts only enhance your practice. But when you do not understand what they intrinsically are ~ the radiance of the nature of your mind ~ then your thoughts become the seed of confusion. So have a spacious, open, and compassionate attitude toward your
thoughts and emotions, because in fact your thoughts are your family, the family of your mind.
It is in the sky-like nature of our mind. Utterly open, free and limitless, it is fundamentally so simple and so natural that it can never be complicated, corrupted, or stained, so pure that it is beyond even the concept of purity and impurity.
“Once you have the View, you will be like the sky; when a rainbow appears in front of it, it’s not particularly flattered, and when the clouds appear it’s not particularly disappointed either. There is a deep sense of contentment.
~ DILGO KHYENTSE RINPOCHE
My Son announced his interest in Buddhism a few months ago. During my own recovery, I have welcomed thoughts and ideas from many places so with my son's announcement, I took a trip to Barnes and Noble and found the most interesting books ...
I am not sure a Western Mind can fully grasp an Eastern nature but it has been enlightening to look at my world from a different point of view ... Most religions call us to a higher road with different ways of getting there with most people getting much more from their religion than they ever give.
Do you ever wonder, in our Western world, if Jesus would recognize His words in the FAITH most people practice? Sometimes, I wonder what people would think if a man with long hair, a loose robe and leather sandals walked into their church ... How would Jesus be received in His own house? Sometimes, I wonder if "the faithful" have "played post office" with the TRUTH, passing it down from generation to generation, changing the words and their intent every time the story is told?
I am NOT criticizing ... I am just wondering ...
I certainly am NOT analyzing generations of well meaning, God fearing people who could only see God through the filters of their generation ...
BUT
~ DILGO KHYENTSE RINPOCHE
My Son announced his interest in Buddhism a few months ago. During my own recovery, I have welcomed thoughts and ideas from many places so with my son's announcement, I took a trip to Barnes and Noble and found the most interesting books ...
I am not sure a Western Mind can fully grasp an Eastern nature but it has been enlightening to look at my world from a different point of view ... Most religions call us to a higher road with different ways of getting there with most people getting much more from their religion than they ever give.
Do you ever wonder, in our Western world, if Jesus would recognize His words in the FAITH most people practice? Sometimes, I wonder what people would think if a man with long hair, a loose robe and leather sandals walked into their church ... How would Jesus be received in His own house? Sometimes, I wonder if "the faithful" have "played post office" with the TRUTH, passing it down from generation to generation, changing the words and their intent every time the story is told?
I am NOT criticizing ... I am just wondering ...
I certainly am NOT analyzing generations of well meaning, God fearing people who could only see God through the filters of their generation ...
BUT
What if Jesus came to your house in your town?
In my life, I have imagined Jesus as a Judge, a Brother, a Teacher, a Confidant, an Advocate and a Friend ... depending on what was going on in my life at the time ... If my experience has been evolving, then perhaps it is the same with other individuals? If individuals make up generations and their consensus creates their larger view ... then, what is wrong with shaking up the view every once in a while?
In my life, I have imagined Jesus as a Judge, a Brother, a Teacher, a Confidant, an Advocate and a Friend ... depending on what was going on in my life at the time ... If my experience has been evolving, then perhaps it is the same with other individuals? If individuals make up generations and their consensus creates their larger view ... then, what is wrong with shaking up the view every once in a while?
What happens if we dust off the frame and clean the glass? Would our view be the same?
If Jesus, an enlightened soul, only had a short time to visit my town, I think He would get right to the point! I don't think He would waste His time judging or criticizing or admonishing ... I think He would ignore the little stuff that takes up so much time and cut through the clutter that occupies our mind to say the thing we all want most to hear ... I think He would say,
"I LOVE YOU."
Period. Not I love you because you love me, not I love you because you did this, not I love you because you didn't do that. It wouldn't be about the house we live in or the car we drive or the place we work or the people we hang out with ... It would be Him looking through the fog and touching the deepest place in our hearts with ...
"I LOVE YOU."
If Jesus, an enlightened soul, only had a short time to visit my town, I think He would get right to the point! I don't think He would waste His time judging or criticizing or admonishing ... I think He would ignore the little stuff that takes up so much time and cut through the clutter that occupies our mind to say the thing we all want most to hear ... I think He would say,
"I LOVE YOU."
Period. Not I love you because you love me, not I love you because you did this, not I love you because you didn't do that. It wouldn't be about the house we live in or the car we drive or the place we work or the people we hang out with ... It would be Him looking through the fog and touching the deepest place in our hearts with ...
"I LOVE YOU."
No comments:
Post a Comment