Attitude, Virtue, our Way of Being

     "The perfume of flowers goes not against the wind,
      not even the perfume of sandalwood, of rose-bay, or of jasmine,
      but the perfume of virtue travels against the wind
      and reaches unto the ends of the world."
                                                                         Dhammapada 4.54

       Collins S. To the Light. A Journey through Buddhist Asia. WW Norton & Co, NY, 2003.

beetle1   www.dpreview.com

Forms & Attaining Formlessness

     “A Way consists of principle (ri) and techniques. The principle is formless or abiding in the Tao. Techniques are forms which were once spontaneous expressions of principle by a master. By perfecting form through countless repetitions, a person attains to formlessness. Then a person accords with the myriad changes naturally. Without principle, technique is mechanical; without technique, principle cannot be expressed.”

       Sayama MK. “Samadhi. Self-development in Zen, swordsmanship, and psychotherapy.” State University of New York Press, 1986. 

December's Children

Embracing Difficulties

     "One of the most crucial things for students to learn, not just at the beginning of the practice but at any point along the path, is that obstacles are the path. Whenever an obstacle arises, we need to ask ourselves, Can I see this as my path? Can I see it not as an obstacle on the path, but as the path itself? Can I welcome this as the way to become free? But we have such an instinctual aversion to discomfort that when an obstacle arises, we forget to ask the simple question, Can I see this as my path?"     Ezra Bayda, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Summer 2013

     Toni Packer's wise words: http://www.johnlovas.com/2011/12/undefinable.html

Ryan Creary   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/

The Tao, Way, Middle Way, Emptiness, Stillness, Equanimity, Centeredness

     “The Way is in the middle because that’s the place where the energies are balanced. But how do you stop the pendulum from swinging to the outer edges? Amazingly enough, you do this by leaving it alone. It won’t keep swinging to the extremes unless you feed the extremes with energy. Just let the extremes go. Don’t participate in them, and the pendulum will naturally come toward the center. As it comes to the center, you will get filled with energy. This is because all the energy that had been wasted is now available to you. 
     If you choose to center and not participate in the extremes, you will come to know the Tao. You don’t grab it; you don’t even touch it. It’s just what the energy does when it’s not being used to swing toward the extremes. It finds its own way to the center of each event that takes place in life and remains quietly in the middle. The Tao is hollow, empty. Like the eye of a hurricane, its power is its emptiness. All things swirl around it, but it is unmoved. The swirl of life draws its energy from the center and the center draws its energy from the swirl of life. All these laws are the same – in weather, in nature, and in every aspect of your life.”

        Singer MA. The untethered soul. The journey beyond self. New Harbinger Publications Inc, Oakland CA, 2007. 

Photo: UncleFai   www.dpreview.com