“Zenfully Quool Quotes”
Currently featuring “The Art of Living”
By Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
YOUR DREAM IS NOW
We have the tendency to think there is a means, a path,
to realizing our dream, and that
we realize our dream at the end of the path.
But in the spirit of Buddhism,
as soon as you have a dream, an intention, an ideal,
you have to live it.
Your dream can be realized right in the present moment.
You live your life in such a way that every step in the right direction
and every breath along the way
becomes the realization of your dream.
Your dream does not take you away from the present;
on the contrary,
your dream becomes reality in the present moment.
Living each moment as a way to realize our dreams,
there is no difference between the end and the means.
For example,
let’s say you dream of liberation, enlightenment, and happiness.
In your daily life all your thoughts, words, and deeds
should be directed toward realizing liberation, enlightenment,
and happiness.
You do not need to wait until you have come to the end of your path
to have these things.
As soon as you take a step toward liberation,
liberation is already there.
Liberation, enlightenment, and happiness
are possible each step of the way.
There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.
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Zenfully Quool Quotes Quommentary
by rog
Part of being ‘Enlightened’… or shall I say…
Along the Path towards Enlightenment…
Each step deepens the characteristics of Enlightenment.
Like Thich says… and of which Craig Hamilton states often…
You don’t have to wait until fully Enlightened
to experience the many perspectives of Enlightenment.
In Buddhism, it is realized that:
“Our happiness is not dependent on material things”
Happiness, Love, Joy, Bliss…
These are NOT materialist things…
So,
They can’t be affected by any of the materialistic things in this world.
If you are on the first few steps of the ‘Path’…
And you driving along all happy and smiling…
Then,
The light turns red…
For a moment,
The smile might vanish, and a small curse might be silently uttered…
But,
Once the surprise of the ‘sucker punch’ fades…
The smile and happiness return.
To a fully enlightened person…
The smile never fades.
Equanimity becomes the ‘ground of your Being’.
This is liberating….
This is Liberation.
These daze, in aughMerichaugh…
It’s a challenge to want to be happy when each day
millions of americans and millions all around the world
become victims of our once reasonable country.
I’m not fully Enlightened, but I’ve been on this ‘Path’ most of my life.
I find that I can allow my rage to bubble up and
use that energy to help fight the good fight.
As a natural part of my ‘Practice’…
I seem to naturally keep my rage on the outside…
I don’t allow it inside where it could disrupt my good nature.
Once I’ve done my due diligence to help bring awareness
to the dire situation that’s unfolding all around us to what must be
a staggering amount of willful ignorance…
Most people just don’t pay attention to what’s going on in real time
to millions of people each day…
Although it’s frustrating,
The moment I move on to the rest of my day…
I’m smiling, I’m content, I’m abiding in Equanimity.
It is important to have Love, compassion, and empathy
for the unnecessary pain and suffering that our country is
bringing down upon a growing number of people each day…
But,
If those virtues are not balanced by non-attachment and Equanimity…
One is likely to become crippled with compassion.
When that happens,
We become helpless to help…
As we become as crippled as the direct victims are.
It sure would be nice if we lived in a perfect world…
Heck!
It’d be great to live in a somewhat reasonable world.
But
The reality is,
In this materialistic world, pain and suffering is inherent…
That’s life.
But realize…
If everything was perfect,
We’d never have learned any hard-won lessons.
It’s easy to smile when everything is going our way.
It takes a true Enlightened quality
to smile in the face of a heavy challenge.
Be the Evolutionary – as Craig Hamilton puts it.
A Truly Enlightened person knows, from the ‘ground of their Being’…
That,
In this life,
nothing suffers but the ego… and the story our ego creates.
Once ‘we’ flat line out of here…
Everything is Always Already Alright.
This is a knowing…
It is far and beyond the naive ‘belief’ systems.
This is a strong perspective that allows our True Nature of
Happiness, Love, Selflessness and compassion
to naturally keep that smile on our face.
Namaste
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