Receptive Hearts

I will abide in receptive hearts --- an unknown friend, ever rousing them to sacred feelings, silently urging them through their own noble thoughts to forsake their slumber of earthliness. In the light of wisdom I will dance with all the joys in the unseen bower of silence.

Metaphysical Meditations;

Friendship and Service, p. 78

Paramahansa Yogananda

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It is hard to see, in the divisiveness and political wrangling of the national dialogue, where the Spirit of Compassion can put a foot in the door of the world’s consciousness. There is so much vitriol hurled from one side against the other; compelled by the notion that it is better to defeat the opposition on a particular issue than it is to resolve our differences. Perfect peace that doesn’t arise from my heart is not attainable if I expect it in others before I am at peace with myself. Of course, such a stance is considered by the angry and disillusioned to be taking a passive one, and doing nothing isn't productive at all. We are trained from youth to fight fire with fire, and thus, to pour gasoline on it. The idea that sitting in meditation is not a positive action comes from thinking that it amounts to laying down and being rolled over. Tell that to Christ; tell that to Gandhi; tell that to Martin Luther King or Mother Teresa. All of these took the initiative to stand up, after prayer and meditation, to go out and make a difference by positive action. They did so while addressing the ills of the world and at the same time resolving their own personal karma. Can I do that in any small way today when I rise from my cushion? Will I be drawn to receptive hearts by promoting loving-kindness and mindfulness?

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Mind & Body

The nature of mind is the background to the whole of life and death, like the sky, which unfolds the whole universe in its embrace.

Glimpse After Glimpse

Sogyal Rinpoche

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The mind has another meaning other than the brain when a Buddhist speaks of it. The mind to us usually refers to that computer located above our necks and between our ears. My posture and the whole of my body is made vivid with the simple act of breathing as I kneel, stand with arms raised, prostrate myself or sit in the lotus position in meditation. What happens to me when I do any one of those postures a connection is made with the earth as my attention becomes focused on that which transcends when I also pray. It is much simpler than most of us make of it because I have found that it doesn’t matter a whit whether I am sitting, kneeling, doing the dishes or dancing like an idiot to the music of the Grateful Dead. The act of giving reverence like David dancing in the Temple is enough to make that Wonder open itself to my limited mind to an eternal Mind that is greater than I could have ever imagined.

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The Perfume of all Hearts

O Thou Perfume of all hearts and all roses, I mind not how many days of scalding sorrow cross the threshold of my life to search and test me. Through Thy blessing may they remind me of my errors that have kept me away from Thee.

Metaphysical Meditations, p. 58

Paramahansa Yogananda

۞

It was easier to balk at the notion that my troubles were of my own making than to admit my faults or apologize sincerely for them. I reflexively thought of how others had caused me sorrow but rarely thought of how my actions provoked them. Consequently, I found myself becoming bitter about my life in general and skeptical about the motives of others. The more I evaded the truth and made excuses for myself, the more I was thwarted in my efforts to find peace of mind. In this state I saw all talk about communion with God to be myopic and even “make believe”. If I hadn’t come to a point where an ocean of despair enveloped my soul I might have never considered another way of living. Once at that place of surrender I suddenly, and without intellectualizing, came into the light of the Heart of Compassion. The cynic and debating society between my ears was silenced for a few seconds. In other words, I woke up and smelled the coffee… or roses, eh?

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TRUST

"ENTIRELY HONEST"

 

We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long and happily in this world.

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 73-74

Honesty, like all virtues, is to be shared. It began after I shared “… [my] whole life’s story with someone…” in order to find my place in the Fellowship. Later I shared my life in order to help the newcomer find his place with us. This sharing helps me learn honesty in all my dealings and to know that God’s plan for me comes true through honest openness and willingness.

Daily Reflections: May 4,

A.A. World Services

Publication

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I’m sure I’m not the only one that has felt that I have a story that I need to tell but dismissed the notion for fear that an honest confession oughtn’t to be spoken of openly. It was a daunting proposition to be faced with the fear that someone else might know who it was that I am lurking behind the mask. There was that and then there was the haunting suspicion that such and honest revelation would be betrayed and used against me. These were followed by the fear that, once known, I would have to make amends for the harm I had done to others along the way as I careened through life as a drunk. 

    I might not have ever done so had I not found someone I could trust. It was made easier when the man I trusted confessed that he had also done some of the same things to others. It helped that he was an addict and alcoholic too. I could have gone to a priest or a shrink but I needed to let go of my past completely and such authority figures simply could not be of as much use as another alcoholic. I now understand that I wasn’t able to do any of it if I didn’t come to find trust in God. The Heart of Compassion had already been revealed when the obsession to drink was lifted. If God could do that then God could be trusted for anything.

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Temper

A Zen student came to Bankei and complained: “Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?”
“You have something very strange,” replied Bankei. “Let me see what you have.”
“Just now I can’t show it to you,” replied the other.
“When can you show it to me?” asked Bankei.
“It arises unexpectedly,” replied the student.
“Then,” concluded Bankei, “it must not be your true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. When you were born you did not have it, and your parents did not give it to you. Think that over.”

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

101 Zen Stories,

75 Temper

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Too often I have heard myself say things like, “That was my disease talking.” This is less honest than the foolish excuse that it was the Devil that made me do it. Doesn’t admitting that the disease is mine give me the responsibility to dispose of it? Just the act of saying these failings and shortcomings are mine is a sort of clinging to them that is contrary to any hope for release from them. This is not to say that I live in denial but, once named and claimed it is time to let go of it and discover a lightness of being. This I can do if I learn to pause when agitated or doubtful, take a breather, and seek the Heart of Compassion for the right thought or action. It takes practice but it gradually becomes a working part of the mind… gradually… and I do mean gradually. Then, instead of it being the way I think I ought to behave, a true mind directs the whole of my being. I am no longer running the show but I am empowered by a greater purpose and dynamic.

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Zombies & Vampires

And why are we frightened by a motionless skeleton when we see it lying in the cemetery but not afraid now when we see its zombie-like body moving about like a walking corpse controlled by momentary impulses?
Santideva: Bodhicaryavatara 8.47

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This reflection reminds me of a thought that has been on my mind the past few years: there have been a plethora of novels, movies and television series featuring romanized vampire themes the past few years. To me, the vampire reflects two different obsessions with death in a weird way. For instance; the original vampire tales were about a living corpse being animated by an intrinsically evil, shape-shifting, spirit… decaying without receiving substance from the blood of the living. Though the idea had sexual overtones, the theme was essentially the lust for power drawn from the innocent and any sexuality was driven by a hunger and clinging onto living forever. From the Anne Rice novels the sexually attractive and romantic image of the vampire entered the cultural landscape and it stuck to this day with the Twilight series and so on. Vampires became not so much decaying corpses but pretty young things that are people just like us except that they now have enormous strength, romance sexuality and magical power. These have taken over the theme and the decaying living corpse fades almost entirely into the background. Isn’t this a way to seduce our consciousness into finding or encouraging us to see the living dead as something that is attractive to us? And taking a leap into another subject; isn’t this a subliminal commercial enticement that contrives to keep us from actually seeing or thinking about spiritual and emotional vampirism... of acting on impulse?Doesn’t vampirism of this sort compel a materialistic neurosis that drives us to become easily manipulated consumers?

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Self-Esteem

No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect.

George Bernard Shaw

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The hardest thing, for any of us who have tried and failed at one thing or another, is to get up off the ground and to try again. This is true whether it is in our vocation or in our relationships. Sometimes the greatest failure wasn't where we think it was because that failure is usually in the despair of never dreaming again. I remember doing that when my marriage failed and I gave up my career for the sake of self-pity. I sank into further despair when I stopped all chances of any love or success in life for the future by obsessing on the past. I didn't give myself credit for what I had tried to accomplish. I could only see what I failed to create for myself and my loved ones.

One of the saving graces in my life was the day I took a lowly job as a temporary day laborer on a construction site at the age of 48. I put my back into every task that was asked of me and strove to do it well. I made no excuses for my work and found myself looking forward to going to the job each day and coming home at night satisfied for an honest day’s labor for an honest day’s pay. That temporary job I was hired on for, that was supposed to last only about a week, lasted seven years. I most probably owe my life to taking that job.

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