East of the Town 东郊

五言古诗
韦应物
东郊

吏舍跼终年， 出郊旷清曙。
杨柳散和风， 青山澹吾虑。
依丛适自憩， 缘涧还复去。
微雨霭芳原， 春鸠鸣何处？
乐幽心屡止， 遵事迹犹遽；
终罢斯结庐， 慕陶真可庶。


Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
EAST OF THE TOWN

From office confinement all year long,
I have come out of town to be free this morning
Where willows harmonize the wind
And green hills lighten the cares of the world.
I lean by a tree and rest myself
Or wander up and down a stream.
...Mists have wet the fragrant meadows;
A spring dove calls from some hidden place.
...With quiet surroundings, the mind is at peace,
But beset with affairs, it grows restless again....
Here I shall finally build me a cabin,
As Tao Qian built one long ago.

A Poem to a Taoist Hermit 寄全椒山中道士

五言古诗
韦应物
寄全椒山中道士

今朝郡斋冷， 忽念山中客；
涧底束荆薪， 归来煮白石。
欲持一瓢酒， 远慰风雨夕；
落叶满空山， 何处寻行迹。


Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
A POEM TO A TAOIST HERMIT
CHUANJIAO MOUNTAIN

My office has grown cold today;
And I suddenly think of my mountain friend
Gathering firewood down in the valley
Or boiling white stones for potatoes in his hut....
I wish I might take him a cup of wine
To cheer him through the evening storm;
But in fallen leaves that have heaped the bare slopes,
How should I ever find his footprints!

The Optimist Creed

- Promise Yourself -


To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.


****

Optimist International adopted this creed in 1922. It was originally published in 1912 in a book titled: "Your Forces and How to Use Them."

The author was Christian D. Larson, a prolific writer and lecturer who believed that people have tremendous latent powers, which could be harnessed for success with the proper attitude.

The miserable person

The miserable person goes on creating around himself a dark aura of misery, and because he is miserable he cannot forgive the world. There is no question of being grateful to existence; he cannot even forgive it. And I can understand. Why he forgive it? He is just a victim of unknown forces, he has been thrown into existence without his consent.

Nobody has ever asked him. One day suddenly he finds himself here, surrounded by misery -- not only on the outside but on the inside too.

He goes on living because he cannot gather enough courage to destroy himself, but he fantasizes destroying himself.

Osho

Lovingkindness

The degree of love we manifest determines the degree of spaciousness and freedom we can bring to lifes events. Imagine taking a very small glass or water and putting into it a teaspoon of salt. Because of the small size of the container, the teaspoon of salt is going to have a big effect on the water. However, if you approach a much larger body of water, such as a lake, and put into it the same teaspoonful of salt, it will not have the same intensity of impact, because of the vastness and openness of the vessel receiving it. Even when the salt remains the same, the spaciousness of the vessel receiving it changes everything.

We spend a lot of our lives looking for a feeling of safety or protection--we try to alter the amount of salt that comes our way.

Ironically, the salt is the very thing that we cannot do anything about, as life changes and offers us repeated ups and downs. Our true work is to create a container so immense that any amount of salt, even a truckload, can come into it without affecting our capacity to receive it.

--Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

The Boy Who Wanted To Meet God...

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry,so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, yet they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave.Before he had gone more than a few steps,he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own home a short time later,his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face.

She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy? He replied, "I had lunch with God."But before his mother could respond, he added,"You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home.Her neighbor was stunned by the look of peace on her face,and she asked,"What did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." But before her neighbor responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Will someone see God in your smile or kind deeds? Maybe they're not even looking for God, but may see Him in the kindness you show.

Isn't that what we're here for?

It might be a stranger, someone you work with, a family member or friend. Let them see God in you. Show His love in all you do.

Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out to another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
But risk must be taken, because
the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing – does nothing, has nothing and is nothing
She may avoid suffering and sorrow but she simply
Cannot learn, feel, love, change, or live.
Chained by her certitudes, she is a slave
She has forfeited freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.

What are we on this earth for?

Questioner: What are we on this earth for?

Krishnamurti: You are on this earth to live fully, happily with your whole being, free of ambition, greed and fear. If you are greedy or ambitious, you cannot live fully, because greed and ambition dissipate your energy.

To live fully is to live without fear, without sorrow, without asking a thing of the gods, because you would be a light onto yourself. When you live fully - a light onto yourself - you will not follow anybody, you will have no nationality, or belong to any religious or political group. As you would be a free human being it would, therefore, be possible to live in this world richly, whether you have little or much and, in that very active living you would beautify the earth.

Look at all the horrors that are going on everywhere! It is because you do not know how to live that you give an artificial significance to life. If you asked ten different people what the purpose of life was, they would give you ten different answers; and then what could you do but choose an answer from among those ten and try to live according to it? You have to find out for yourself what it means to live fully.

Obviously you cannot live fully if you are afraid of death, or a public opinion, or of making a mistake.

If you are ambitious, seeking power, or clinging to a position, which in one form or another is what most people are doing, you cannot live fully, because you would be everlastingly in conflict, both with others and with yourself.

It is most difficult to live without ambition in a world which is corrupt, a world where there are so many vested interests, so many gods who are always threatening, or offering rewards. It requires astonishing intelligence to live in such a world. And you can have intelligence only by seeing everything, and by listening to everything.

Then your eyes will become alive and your ears sharp. From seeing and listening there comes self- knowledge and, in knowing yourself you will have astounding vision. What better reason do you want for being on this earth than that.

St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God....

Let this presence settle into our bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of you.

Yoga Vasishta

Steady in the state of fullness,
which shines when all desires are given up,
and peaceful in the state of freedom in life,
act playfully in the world, O Raghava!

Inwardly free from all desires, dispassionate and detached,
but outwardly active in all directions,
act playfully in the world, O Raghava!

Free from egoism, with mind detached as in sleep,
pure like the sky, ever untainted,
act playfully in the world, O Raghava!

Conducting yourself nobly with kindly tenderness,
outwardly conforming to conventions, but inwardly renouncing all,
act playfully in the world, O Raghava!

Quite unattached at heart but for all appearance acting as with attachment,
inwardly cool but outwardly full of fervour,
act playfully in the world, O Raghava!

From: Yoga Vasishta

Reply to a Friend By Ryokan

Reply to a Friend
By Ryokan (1758 - 1831)

English version by Mei Hui Huang & Larry Smith


In stubborn stupidity, I live on alone
befriended by trees and herbs.
Too lazy to learn right from wrong,
I laugh at myself, ignoring others.
Lifting my bony shanks, I cross the stream,
a sack in my hand, blessed by spring weather.
Living thus, I want for nothing,
at peace with all the world.

Your finger points to the moon,
but the finger is blind until the moon appears.
What connection has moon and finger?
Are they separate objects or bound?
This is a question for beginners
wrapped in seas of ignorance.
Yet one who looks beyond metaphor
knows there is no finger; there is no moon.

Conformity

Ordinarily we are hiding in conformity. When you conform with society you become part of the crowd, and nobody is looking at you in particular. You live an anonymous existence -- that's why people live in a crowd, in society, sects, groups, parties.

To stand alone, and to become a focus of others' looks, is one of the most courageous acts. The basic thing to be understood is that you are to forget what others say. You have to ignore and become indifferent about them. It is none of their business. You become disturbed because you still pay attention to their attentions. It is not their opinion that is disturbing you; it is your expectation that they should be favourable to you, that their opinion should not go against you. Because this expectation is not being fulfilled, you are disturbed. ......Why should you expect that the other should approve of you? You are perfectly good as you are; nobody's approval is needed. If you live on approval, then you live an inauthentic life. You never live your life; you only live a life that they will approve of.

Then life becomes false, pseudo, and you become miserable, phoney. You feel frustrated, that life has no meaning. Life can have meaning only when it is real, and a real life means that you are not worried about what others say. You are simply working out what you can be, not what they expect or will approve of.

Simply forget others, as if you are alone. Move in the crowd, but never become part of it. Why should they be concerned about you? They are neurotic, and your being concerned about them is again a neurosis, a reflected neurosis. A healthy person is not worried about others; he has no judgement about them. If they want to be creative, good. If they want to be crazy, that too is good. That is their life, and finally they are responsible for it. So a healthy man never judges anybody, and never asks anybody's opinion. The very asking shows that you are wavering inside, that you don't have a hold on your being and you need props.

Osho.Hammer On the Rock. Darshan Diary. Chapter 25 9 January 1976

In Summer at the South Pavilion Thinking of Xing 夏日南亭怀辛大

五言古诗
孟浩然
夏日南亭怀辛大

山光忽西落， 池月渐东上。
散发乘夜凉， 开轩卧闲敞。
荷风送香气， 竹露滴清响。
欲取鸣琴弹， 恨无知音赏。
感此怀故人， 中宵劳梦想。


Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran
IN SUMMER AT THE SOUTH PAVILION
THINKING OF XING

The mountain-light suddenly fails in the west,
In the east from the lake the slow moon rises.
I loosen my hair to enjoy the evening coolness
And open my window and lie down in peace.
The wind brings me odours of lotuses,
And bamboo-leaves drip with a music of dew....
I would take up my lute and I would play,
But, alas, who here would understand?
And so I think of you, old friend,
O troubler of my midnight dreams !

On Climbing Orchid Mountain in the Autumn 秋登兰山

五言古诗
孟浩然
秋登兰山寄张五

北山白云里， 隐者自怡悦；
相望始登高， 心随雁飞灭。
愁因薄暮起， 兴是清秋发。
时见归村人， 沙行渡头歇。
天边树若荠， 江畔洲如月。
何当载酒来， 共醉重阳节。


Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran
ON CLIMBING ORCHID MOUNTAIN
IN THE AUTUMN TO ZHANG

On a northern peak among white clouds
You have found your hermitage of peace;
And now, as I climb this mountain to see you,
High with the wildgeese flies my heart.
The quiet dusk might seem a little sad
If this autumn weather were not so brisk and clear;
I look down at the river bank, with homeward-bound villagers
Resting on the sand till the ferry returns;
There are trees at the horizon like a row of grasses
And against the river\'s rim an island like the moon
I hope that you will come and meet me, bringing a basket of wine --
And we\'ll celebrate together the Mountain Holiday.

A Farm-House on the Wei River 渭川田家

五言古诗
王维
渭川田家

斜光照墟落， 穷巷牛羊归。
野老念牧童， 倚杖候荆扉。
雉雊麦苗秀， 蚕眠桑叶稀。
田夫荷锄立， 相见语依依。
即此羡闲逸， 怅然吟式微。


Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
A FARM-HOUSE ON THE WEI RIVER

In the slant of the sun on the country-side,
Cattle and sheep trail home along the lane;
And a rugged old man in a thatch door
Leans on a staff and thinks of his son, the herdboy.
There are whirring pheasants? full wheat-ears,
Silk-worms asleep, pared mulberry-leaves.
And the farmers, returning with hoes on their shoulders,
Hail one another familiarly.
...No wonder I long for the simple life
And am sighing the old song, Oh, to go Back Again!

A Green Steam 青溪

五言古诗
王维
青溪

言入黄花川， 每逐青溪水；
随山将万转， 趣途无百里。
声喧乱石中， 色静深松里；
漾漾泛菱荇， 澄澄映葭苇。
我心素已闲， 清川澹如此。
请留盘石上， 垂钓将已矣！


Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
A GREEN STREAM

I have sailed the River of Yellow Flowers,
Borne by the channel of a green stream,
Rounding ten thousand turns through the mountains
On a journey of less than thirty miles....
Rapids hum over heaped rocks;
But where light grows dim in the thick pines,
The surface of an inlet sways with nut-horns
And weeds are lush along the banks.
...Down in my heart I have always been as pure
As this limpid water is....
Oh, to remain on a broad flat rock
And to cast a fishing-line forever!

Down Zhongnan Mountain 下终南山过斛斯山人宿置酒

五言古诗
李白
下终南山过斛斯山人宿置酒

暮从碧山下， 山月随人归；
却顾所来径， 苍苍横翠微。
相携及田家， 童稚开荆扉；
绿竹入幽径， 青萝拂行衣。
欢言得所憩， 美酒聊共挥；
长歌吟松风， 曲尽河星稀。
我醉君复乐， 陶然共忘机。


Five-character-ancient-verse
Li Bai
DOWN ZHONGNAN MOUNTAIN
TO THE KIND PILLOW AND BOWL OF HUSI

Down the blue mountain in the evening,
Moonlight was my homeward escort.
Looking back, I saw my path
Lie in levels of deep shadow....
I was passing the farm-house of a friend,
When his children called from a gate of thorn
And led me twining through jade bamboos
Where green vines caught and held my clothes.
And I was glad of a chance to rest
And glad of a chance to drink with my friend....
We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines;
And we finished our songs as the stars went down,
When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy,
Between us we forgot the world.

DRINKING ALONE WITH THE MOON 月下独酌

五言古诗
李白
月下独酌

花间一壶酒， 独酌无相亲；
举杯邀明月， 对影成三人。
月既不解饮， 影徒随我身；
暂伴月将影， 行乐须及春。
我歌月徘徊， 我舞影零乱；
醒时同交欢， 醉后各分散。
永结无情游， 相期邈云汉。




Five-character-ancient-verse
Li Bai
DRINKING ALONE WITH THE MOON

From a pot of wine among the flowers
I drank alone. There was no one with me --
Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon
To bring me my shadow and make us three.
Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow tagged me vacantly;
But still for a while I had these friends
To cheer me through the end of spring....
I sang. The moon encouraged me.
I danced. My shadow tumbled after.
As long as I knew, we were boon companions.
And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
...Shall goodwill ever be secure?
I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

Verses For The Wakeful

Happy in the morning
I open my cottage door;
A clear breeze blowing
Comes straight in.
The first sun
Lights the leafy trees;
The shadows it casts
Are crystal clear.
Serene,
In accord with my heart,
Everything merges
In one harmony.
Gain and loss
Are not my concern;
This way is enough
To the end of my days.

- Wen-siang

Sleepless Nights: Verses For The Wakeful
Translated by Thomas Cleary

Wild Horses

An old man had a beautiful horse that was greatly admired. He received many offers to buy the horse, but the old man refused to sell it, saying that the horse was like a friend to him. One day, the horse escaped.

The old man's neighbors believe that the disappearance was a sure sign of misfortune for him. The old man responded, "Don't go too far.

Simply say that the horse is not in the stable. This is the fact.

Everything else is a judgment. Whether it is a misfortune or not, how do you know?" A few months later the horse returned, accompanied by several other beautiful, wild horses. The old man's neighbors congratulated him on his good fortune. However, the old man simply stayed with the fact: His horse had come back, bringing other horses with it.

The old man had a son, who began working with the horses to train them.

One day, the boy fell from a horse and broke his leg. The villagers expressed sadness about this misfortune, but the old man once more remained with the facts and did not interpret the event as good or bad.

A short while later the country was invaded, and all the young men of the village had to go and fight in the war. However, the old man's son was spared military service because of the injuries to his leg.

This parable speaks to me because I am aware of my own tendency to judge. Through the reactions of the villagers, this story is a fresh reminder to me that the very same event can be seen in both positive and negative terms, depending upon my frame of reference and my own state of mind. For me, then, the story is a lesson in not being too quick to decide once and for all about people and situations. Instead, maybe there is some wisdom in simply being open to seeing how the events of life will unfold further. Who knows?

Maybe it is not a disaster that my wife left, nor is it necessarily a blessing that I keep my present job.

The fact is, I don't have all of the answers, and I don't know what's coming next. In the same discourse, Osho says about judgment, [It] will close you. It will be a deadness within. Your sensitivity will be lost, and with it your possibility for growth. The moment you judge, you shrink; the moment you judge, you stop; the moment you judge, you are no longer flowering.

by Swami Dhyan Moulik

Lessons in Judgment

And this is my experience: When I judge, something in me closes. When I judge someone else, I tend to close off to that person. My judgments seem to freeze time, as if everything and everyone will always be like this. Judging doesn't seem to acknowledge the fact that life is an ongoing process that, so far at least, hasn't come to an end point.

When I remember this, I am a lot more relaxed and open, enjoying life more and demanding less from it.

Now when something happens in my life, my horse or wife leaves for example, I find myself willing to suspend immediate judgment. Through meditation I can feel more space within, and more distance from the flow of thoughts that is quick to judge. There are times, of course, when I forget. But I remain grateful to Osho for stories like this that serve as reminders along the way.

Lessons in Judgment by Swami Dhyan Moulik

Happiness

What we call happiness is the harvest from our life sowing, our habitual thought-sowing, deed-doing. If we have sown selfish, envious, jealous, revengeful, hateful seeds, greedy, grasping seeds, we can not expect a golden happiness harvest like that which comes from a clean and unselfish, helpful sowing. If our harvest is full of the rank, poisonous weeds of jealousy, envy, dishonesty, cunning, and cruelty, we have no one to blame but ourselves, for we sowed the seed which produced that sort of a harvest.

Somehow some people have an entirely wrong idea of what real happiness is. They seem to think it can be bought, can be had by influence, that it can be purchased by money; that if they have money they can get that wonderful, mysterious thing which they call happiness.

But happiness is a natural, faithful harvest from our sowing. It would be as impossible for selfish seed, greed seed to produce a harvest of contentment, of genuine satisfaction, of real joy, as for thistle seeds to produce a harvest of wheat or corn.

If there are expectations, freedom is destroyed

Don't fulfill any expectations of anybody. You have only one responsibility and that is towards your own being. If you try to fulfill others' expectations you will be in trouble because they will impose, they will dominate, they will cripple and paralyze you. They are your enemies. Anybody who expects anything from you is your enemy--beware! A real friend simply gives you freedom. Love gives freedom; there is no expectation, there is no desire to manipulate you, not even indirectly.

Freedom is the highest value in life--and if the freedom was there you would have seen a totally different phenomenon.

OSHO The Wild Geese & The Water

Simple Attention

The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention. Our growth as conscious, awake human beings is marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as by extending loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives. Every relationship, every thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the wholehearted attention we bring to it. In the complexities of our minds and lives we easily forget the power of attention, yet without attention we live only on the surface of existence. It is just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song of a bird, to see deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched.

We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing wholeheartedly. We need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and respond to the learning inherent in it.

Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield, in "Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart"

Transformation and Healing

Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonderful things. There is spring as well as winter, light as well as darkness, health as well as sickness, gentle breezes and delightful rains as well as tempests and floods. Our eyes, ears, hearts, half- smiles, and breathing are wonderful phenomena. We only need to open our eyes and we can see the blue sky, the white clouds, the rose, the clear river, the golden fields of wheat, the shining eyes of a child. We only have to attune our ears to hear the whispering pines and the waves washing up on the shore. Everything is impermanent. Everything is in a temporary form. Nevertheless, there are many wonderful things. In us and around us, there are so many wondrous phenomena in nature which can refresh and heal us. If we can be in contact with them, we will receive their healing benefits. If peace and joy are in our hearts, we will gradually bring more peace and joy to the world.

by Thich Nhat Hanh

God and People Suffering

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

The Barber began to work. They began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barber’s shop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkept. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised Barber, "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens if people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

by Swami Gaurangapada

The Wisdom of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Meet your own self. Be with your own self, listen to it, obey it, cherish it, keep it in mind ceaselessly. You need no other guide. As long as your urge for truth affects your daily life, all is well with you. Live your life without hurting anybody. Harmlessness is a most powerful form of Yoga and it will take you speedily to your goal. This is what I call nisarga yoga, the Natural yoga. It is the art of living in peace and harmony, in friendliness and love. The fruit of it is happiness, uncaused and endless.

You must find your own way. Unless you find it yourself, it will not be your own way and will take you nowhere. Earnestly live your truth as you have found it, act on the little you have understood. It is earnestness that will take you through, not cleverness - your own or another's.

Choice

What does a man need -- really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in -- and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all-- in the material sense. And we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life.

Verses on the Faith Mind

The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood
the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

The Way is perfect like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of things.
Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things
and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity, to achieve passivity,
your very effort fills you with activity.
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other
you will never know Oneness.

Those who do not live in the single Way
fail in both activity and passivity,
assertion and denial.
To deny the reality of things
is to miss their reality;
to assert the emptiness of things
is to miss their reality.
The more you talk and think about it, the further astray you wander from
the truth.
Stop talking and thinking,
and there is nothing you will not be able to know.
To return to the root is to find the meaning,
but to pursue appearances is to miss the source.
At the moment of inner enlightenment
there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness.
The changes that appear to occur in the empty world
we call real only because of our ignorance.
Do not search for the truth;
only cease to cherish opinions.

Do not remain in the dualistic state
avoid such pursuits carefully.
If there is even a trace
of this and that, of right and wrong,
the Mind-essence will be lost in confusion.
Although all dualities come from the One,
do not be attached even to this One.
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
nothing in the world can offend,
and when a thing can no longer offend,
it ceases to exist in the old way.

When no discriminating thoughts arise,
the old mind ceases to exist.
When thought objects vanish,
the thinking-subject vanishes,
as when the mind vanishes, objects vanish.
Things are objects because of the subject (mind);
the mind (subject) is such because of things (object).
Understand the relativity of these two
and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.
In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable
and each contains in itself the whole world.
If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine
you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.

To live in the Great Way
is neither easy nor difficult,
but those with limited views
and fearful and irresolute:
the faster they hurry, the slower they go,
and clinging (attachment) cannot be limited;
even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment
is to go astray.
Just let things be in their own way
and there will be neither coming nor going.

Obey the nature of things (your own nature),
and you will walk freely and undisturbed.
When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden,
for everything is murky and unclear,
and the burdensome practice of judging
brings annoyance and weariness.
What benefit can be derived
from distinctions and separations?

If you wish to move in the One Way
do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.
Indeed, to accept them fully
is identical with true Enlightenment.
The wise man strives to no goals
but the foolish man fetters himself.
This is one Dharma, not many:
distinctions arise
from the clinging needs of the ignorant.
To seek Mind with the (discriminating) mind
is the greatest of all mistakes.

Rest and unrest derive from illusion;
with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking.
All dualities come from ignorant inference.
They are like dreams of flowers in the air:
foolish to try to grasp them.
Gain and loss, right and wrong:
such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.

If the eye never sleeps,
all dreams will naturally cease.
If the mind makes no discriminations,
the ten thousand things
are as they are, of single essence.
To understand the mystery of this One - essence
is to be released from all entanglements.
When all things are seen equally,
the timeless Self-essence is reached.
No comparisons or analogies are possible
in this causeless, relationless state.

Consider movement stationary
and the stationary in motion,
both movement and rest disappear.
When such dualities cease to exist
Oneness itself cannot exist.
To this ultimate finality
no law or description applies.

For the unified mind in accord with the Way
all self-centered straining ceases.
Doubts and irresolution's vanish
and life in true faith is possible.
With a single stroke we are freed from bondage;
nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing.
All is empty , clear, self-illuminating,
with no exertion of the mind's power.
Here thought, feeling, knowledge, and imagination
are of no value.
In this world of Suchness
there is neither self nor other-than-self.

To come directly into harmony with this reality
just simply say when doubt arises, `Not two.'
In this `no two' nothing is separate,
nothing excluded.
No matter when or where,
enlightenment means entering this truth.
And this truth is beyond extension or
diminution in time or space;
in it a single thought is ten thousand years.

Emptiness here, Emptiness there,
but the infinite universe stands
always before your eyes.
Infinitely large and infinitely small;
no difference, for definitions have vanished
and no boundaries are seen.
So too with Being and non-Being.
Don't waste time in doubts and arguments
that have nothing to do with this.

One thing, all things:
move among and intermingle,
without distinction.
To live in this realization
is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.
To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,
Because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

Verses on the Faith Mind by Chien-chih Seng-ts'an, Third Zen Patriarch (606AD), translated by Richard B. Clarke

The three treasures from Tao Te Ching

The Tao has just three lessons
restraint, compassion, and love
These are the three treasures

With love you can be courageous
With compassion you can accept all things
With restraint you can lead ......

Be an advocate with love,
and you will wield a great sword
Defend the earth and all its creatures with love
and you will be a mighty shield.....

Can you accept that even for the most vital matters
the way of the Tao is to let events run their course?

Lao Tzu

Quote from "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying"

Most of us do live ... according to a preordained plan. We spend our youth being educated. Then we find a job, and meet someone, marry, and have children. We buy a house, try to make a success of our business, aim for dreams like a country house or a second car. We go away on holiday with our friends. We plan for retirement. The biggest dilemmas some of us ever have to face are where to take our next holiday or whom to invite at Christmas. Our lives are monotonous, petty, and repetitive, wasted in the pursuit of the trivial, because we seem to know of nothing better.

The pace of our lives is so hetic that the last thing we have time to think of is death. We smother our secret fears of impermanence by surrounding ourselves with more and more goods, more and more things, more and more comforts, only to find ourselves their slaves. All our time and energy is exhausted simply maintaining them. Our only aim in life soon becomes to keep everything as safe and secure as possible.

When changes do happen, we find the quickest remedy, some slick and temporary solution. And so our lives drift on, unless a serious illness or disaster shakes us out of our stupor.

It is not as if we even spare much time or thought for this life either.

Think of those people who work for years and then have to retire, only to find that they don't know what to do with themselves as they age and approach death. Despite all our chatter being practical, to be practical in the West means to be ignorantly and often selfishly short-sighted.

Our muopic focus on this life, and this life only, is the greatest deception, the source of modern world's bleak and destructive materialism. No one talks about death and no one talks about the afterlife, because people are made to believe that such talk will only thwart our so-called "progress" in the world.

Yet if our deepest desire is truly to live and go on living, why do we blindly insist that death is the end? Why not at least try and explore the possibility that there may be a life after? Why, if we are as pragmatic as we claim, don't we begin to ask ourselves seriously: Where does our real future lie? After all, no one lives longer than a hundred years. And after that there stretches the whole of eternity, unaccounted for ...

Life & Meaning

Life in its self is not meaningful. It is meaningful only if you can sing a song of the eternal. If you can release some fragrance of the divine, of the godly. If you can become a lotus flower, deathless, timeless. If you can become pure love. If you can beautify this existence, if you can become a blessing to this existence, only then life has significance, otherwise it is pointless, it is like an empty canvas, you can go on carrying it your whole life and you can die under its weight, but what is the point? Paint something on it.

Meaning has to be created in life, meaning is not given already. You are given freedom, you are given creativity, you are given life. All that is needed to create meaning is given, all the essential ingredients of meaning are given, but meaning is not given.

Meaning has to be created by you. You have to become a creator in your own right. And when you become a creator in your own right, you participate with god, you become part of god.

Osho--Book of Wisdom, Vol 2 #1

They shine, because they don't want to impress

"The wise stand out, because they see themselves as part of the Whole.

They shine, because they don't want to impress.

They achieve great things, because they don't look for recognition.

Their wisdom is contanined in what they are, not their opinions.

They refuse to argue, so no one argues with them."-

-Lao Tzu


Listening,, yielding, cooperatin, being open, seeking the best possible outcomes--these "yin" aspects must balance the go-getting "yang" force that has given us civilization as we know it. The integration of the two will be a mark of the new leader, whose credibility rests not on what they say or even what they has so far achieved: "Their wisdom is contained in what they are."

Take time

Take time to work— It is the price of success.

Take time to think — It is the source of power.

Take time to play — It is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to read — It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to be friendly — It is the road to happiness.

Take time to love and to be loved — It is nourishment for the soul.

Take time to share — It is too short a life to be selfish.

Take time to laugh — It is the music of the heart.

Take time to dream — It is hitching your wagon to a star.

The Truth About Failure

Failure doesn't mean you are a failure . . . it does mean you haven't succeeded yet.

Failure doesn't mean you have accomplished nothing . . . it does mean you have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean you have been a fool . . . it does mean you had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean you have been disgraced . . . it does mean you were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean you don't have it . . . it does mean you have to do something in a different way.

Failure doesn't mean you are inferior . . . it does mean you are not perfect.

Failure doesn't mean you've wasted your life . . . it does mean you've a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn't mean you should give up . . . it does mean you should try harder.

Failure doesn't mean you'll never make it . . . it does mean it will take a little longer.

Failure doesn't mean God has abandoned you . . . it does mean God has a better idea!


by Robert Schuller

Q and A with Eckhart Tolle

Q: Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace?

A: Yes. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not.

Q: Is it not possible to attract only positive conditions into our life?

If our attitude and our thinking are always positive, we would manifest only positive events and situations, wouldn't we?

A: Do you truly know what is positive and what is negative? Do you have the total picture? There have been many people for whom limitation, failure, loss, illness, or pain in whatever form turned out to be their greatest teacher. It taught them to let go of false self-images and superficial ego-dictated goals and desires. It gave them depth, humility, and compassion. It made them more real.

Whenever anything negative happens to you, there is a deep lesson concealed within it, although you may not see it at the time. Even a brief illness or an accident can show you what is real and unreal in your life, what ultimately matters and what doesn't.

Seen from a higher perspective, conditions are always positive. To be more precise: they are neither positive nor negative. They are as they are. And when you live in complete acceptance of what is - which is the only sane way to live - there is no "good" or "bad" in your life anymore.

There is only a higher good - which includes the "bad." Seen from the perspective of the mind, however, there is good-bad, like-dislike, love-hate. Hence, in the Book of Genesis, it is said that Adam and Eve were no longer allowed to dwell in "paradise" when they "ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

Q: This sounds to me like denial and self-deception. When something dreadful happens to me or someone close to me - accident, illness, pain of some kind, or death - I can pretend that it isn't bad, but the fact remains that it is bad, so why deny it?

A: You are not pretending anything. You are allowing it to be as it is, that's all. This "allowing to be" takes you beyond the mind with its resistance patterns that create the positive-negative polarities. It is an essential aspect of forgiveness. Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as it is - then there will be no accumulation of resentment that needs to be forgiven at some later time.

Remember that we are not talking about happiness here. For example, when a loved one has just died, or you feel your own death approaching, you cannot be happy. It is impossible. But you can be at peace.

There may be sadness and tears, but provided that you have relinquished resistance, underneath the sadness you will feel a deep serenity, a stillness, a sacred presence. This is the emanation of Being, this is inner peace, the good that has no opposite.

From "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

I believe

I believe-

That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.



I believe-

That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.



I believe-

That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.



I believe-

That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.



I believe-

That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.



I believe-

That you should always leave others with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.



I believe-

That you can keep going long after you can't.



I believe-

That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.



I believe-

That either you control your attitude or it controls you.



I believe-

That regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.



I believe-

That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.



I believe-

That money is a lousy way of keeping score.



I believe-

That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.



I believe-

That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.



I believe-

That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.



I believe-

That just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.



I believe-

That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.



I believe-

That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.



I believe-

That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.



I believe-

That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.



I believe-

That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.



I believe-

That two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.



I believe-

That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.



I believe-

That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

Qu'est-ce qu'on peut acheter?

L'argent peut acheter le plaisir... mais pas l'amour;

On peut acheter un spectacle....... mais pas la joie;

On peut acheter un esclave......... mais pas un ami;

On peut acheter une femme.......... mais pas une épouse;

On peut acheter une maison......... mais pas un foyer;

On peut acheter des aliments....... mais pas l'appétit;

On peut acheter des médicaments.... mais pas la santé;

On peut acheter des diplômes....... mais pas la culture;

On peut acheter des gardes du corps mais pas la sécurité;

On peut acheter des livres......... mais pas l'intelligence;

On peut acheter des tranquillisants mais pas la paix;

On peut acheter des indulgences.... mais pas le pardon;

On peut acheter la terre........... mais pas le ciel.

Metta sutra

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: in gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born --
May all beings be at ease!
Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any way
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down,
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The true-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

Metta sutra

Meditation has no goal

MEDITATION comes into existence only when you have looked into allmotives and found them lacking, when you have gone through the whole round of motives and you have seen the falsity of it. You have seen that the motives lead nowhere, that you go on moving in circles; you remain the same. The motives go on and on leading you, driving you, almost driving you mad, creating new desires, but nothing is everachieved. The hands remain as empty as ever. When this has been seen, when you have looked into your life and seen all your motivesfailing...

No motive has ever succeeded, no motive has ever brought any blessing to anybody. The motives only promise; the goods are never delivered. One motive fails and another motive comes in and promises you again ... and you are deceived again. Being deceived again and again by motives, one day suddenly you become aware – suddenly you see into it, and that very seeing is the beginning of meditation. It has no seed in it, it has no motive in it. If you are meditating for something, then you are concentrating, not meditating. Then you are still in the world – your mind is still interested in cheap things, in trivia. Then you are worldly. Even if you are meditating to attain to God, you are worldly. Even if you are meditating to attain to nirvana, you are worldly – because meditation has no goal.

Meditation is an insight that all goals are false. Meditation is an understanding that desires don’t lead anywhere.

Osho: THE ORANGE BOOK

Bowl of Saki

To become cold from the coldness of the world is weakness, to become broken by the hardness of the world is feebleness, but to live in the world and yet to keep above it is like walking on the water.

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

The spiritual path is easiest if there is not something pulling one from behind; and that force is the life in the world, one's friends, surroundings, acquaintances, and one's foes. Remain, therefore, in theworld as a traveler making a station on his way. Do all the good you can to serve and succor humanity, but escape attachment. By this in no way will you prove to be loveless. On the contrary, it is attachment which divides love, and love raised above attachment is like a rain from above nourishing all the plants upon the earth.

There is only one thing that helps us to rise above conditions, and thatis a change of outlook on life. This change is made practicable by achange of attitude. .. For a Sufi, therefore, not only patience to bearall things is necessary, but to see all things from a certain point of view that can relieve him for that moment from difficulty and pain. Very often it is one's outlook which changes a person's whole life. It can turn hell into heaven, it can turn sorrow into joy. When a person looks from a certain point of view, every little pin-prick feels like the point of a sword piercing his heart. If he looks at the same thing from a different point of view, the heart becomes sting-proof. Nothing can touch it. All things which are sent forth at that person as bullets drop down without every having touched him.

What is the meaning of walking upon the water? Life is symbolized aswater. There is one person who drowns in the water, there is another who swims in the water, but there is still another who walks upon it. The one who is so sensitive that, after one little pin prick he is unhappy throughout the day and night is the man of the first category. The one who takes and gives back and makes a game of life is the swimmer. He does not mind if he receives one knock, for he derives satisfaction from being able to give two knocks in return. But the one whom nothing can touch is in the world and yet is above the world.

He is the one who walks upon the water; life is under his feet, both itsjoy an its sorrow.

Verily, independence and indifference are the two wings which enable thesoul to fly.

To become cold with the coldness of the world is weakness, and to become broken by the hardness of the world is feebleness, but to live in the world and yet to keep above the world is like walking on the water. There are two essential duties for the man of wisdom and love; that is to keep the love in our nature ever increasing and expanding, and to strengthen the will so that the heart may not be easily broken.

Balance is ideal in life; one must be fine and yet strong, one must beloving and yet powerful.

有距离一样可以有爱

常常觉得，谈恋爱的人就像小孩子一样， 要宠著哄著，要时时陪伴，更要无微不至。还记得吗？在我们很小的时候， 只要看不见妈妈，就会因为不安而大哭起来。 其实，妈妈只是不在我们的眼前， 我们只因为眼前看不见，所以就认为妈妈不见了， 认为妈妈不见了的同时，也以为妈妈不爱我们了。恋爱，不就跟那时的我们很像......

在被拥抱的时候，听对方说情话的时候， 手牵手逛街的时候，我们都觉得对方是百分之百地爱著我们。 可是，从道了再见，关上家门的那一刻起， 就开始内心悬念。因为见不到，担心对方有没有想念我们； 听不到、见不到的我们，忧虑对方会不忠於我们。 只因为不在我们身边，我们就以为爱会不见， 却不知道，不在身边的他，不等於不爱你； 很多事情，看不到不等於不存在。而且，每一个人都是恋爱中的人， 所以，不安的不只是我们，还有看不见我们的他， 彼此，都有著一样的不安，都期望相同的谅解。 有时候，我们会抱怨当我们需要他的时候，他却不在身旁。可有些时候，他最需要我们的时候，我们也不知情，不是吗？

我想，很多人在年轻的时候，都会很热衷於工作， 也有很多人的工作，属於长期需要超时工作的状态， 对这些人的恋人来说，也许觉得心爱的人常常无法照顾自己。 可对那些人来说也是相同的，心爱的人常常不在身边， 不管因为什麽原因无法见面或分隔两地， 真心相爱的两个人，内心所感受的寂寞与不安会是相同的......

彼此，都有可能在最需要对方的时候，却必须一个人坚强起来。 他是爱你的，就如同看不见他的你， 还是深深爱著他的，不是吗？吃到好吃的东西时，看到美丽的景物时，都会希望和他分享， 他不在身边的时候，你不也抱著这样的心情在爱他吗？ 为何，就不能相信他也和你一样呢？你说是吗？

我相信，真心相爱的两个人，就算不在彼此身边，还是深深爱著的， 两颗心，也会因为著爱，而紧紧相系。 祝福所有人都能找到所爱......

本文由 zhaoyuzhen1225 在 2007-2-1 17:18 发表于: 倍可亲.美国 ( backchina.com )

这个世界，有五种人绝对值得你珍惜

世界上有一种人
和你一起的时候
总是千万次嘱咐要多穿件衣服
要注意自己的安全
你觉得很烦
却也觉得很窝心
缺钱的时候
他总会说些赚钱不易之类的话来训你
边教训
边塞钱给你
这种人
——叫做父母

世界上有一种人
和你在一起的时候
偶尔会和你打架
偶尔会和你斗嘴
他坏到总是抢你的点心
总是向父母打小报告
但也总是爱护你比谁都多
你们有最亲密最亲密的关系
这种人
——叫做手足

世界上有一种人
不见面的时候会一直惦记着他
见面时却又脸红心跳
什么话都说不出口
他总能轻易地把你的心愀住
让你无法忘怀
也能让你胡思乱想睡不好觉
但你仍然甘之如饴
因为你爱他
他是你最甜美
最甜美的负荷
这种人
——叫做情人
　　

世界上有一种人
知道你的一些不为人知的小秘密
考试的时候
他帮着你作弊
犯错误的时候
他帮着你找理由
暗恋一个人的时候
他帮着你传话
和情人吵架的时候
你一定会哭着跑去找他
你很抱歉的是你总是麻烦来了才想到他
但你很庆幸生命中出了这么好的一个人
也许你们在一起的日子
走得比情人还要长久
这种人
——叫做朋友　　
　　

世界上有一种人
总是在父母的保护下成长
在手足的关系中定位自己
在情人的呵护中找到真爱
在朋友的关心中得到温暖
你知道这些人经过了你的生命
也丰富了你的一生
你谢谢他们带给你的
却有总是说不出口
这种人
——就是自己　　

享受宁静

一直仰慕诸葛亮"淡泊以明志，宁静而致远"的人生观。

其实，宁静是淡泊的内核，淡泊是宁静的外延。两者相辅相成，可分而不可离。

宇宙产生前是宁静的，宇宙灭亡后仍是宁静的。宁静，悠然地主宰着人类的序幕和结局，没有谁会是例外。宁静，是生命的真实状态。生命从宁静中来，终须归于宁静。然而，喧嚣红尘使宁静变成了昨日黄花，到处充斥着人心的浮躁。

宁静，是一个文化概念。享受宁静，需要文化的介入。就像一幅对联所说：柴米油盐酱醋茶，不可不要；琴棋书画诗酒花，非要不可；横批，活得像人。文化给予人类最宝贵的是思想的能力，有了思想的能力，我们才能抵御孤独享受宁静。宁静，能使生活更有品味。

人只有在宁静中，才能真正意识到自我的决然独存，从而触摸到深藏的灵魂。否则，我们很容易在眼花缭乱的虚幻里迷失自我。

人类一直追逐着幸福，殊不知幸福是一种心灵愉悦的感觉。有人爱你是幸福，有人为你分担苦恼是幸福，有人愿意等着你也是幸福。幸福存在于生活中的每时每刻，它不一定是物质的，也不能量化。获得幸福，首先需要的是一颗宁静的心。

宁静，是"孤舟蓑笠翁，独钓寒江雪"的远离喧嚣；是"采菊东篱下，悠然见南山"的优雅休闲；是"宠辱不惊，看庭前花开花落"的恬淡从容；更是"不以物喜，不以已悲"的超脱人生。

前人曾有"小隐隐于野，中隐隐于市，大隐隐于朝"之说，其实隐者无大小，无论城市乡村塞北岭南，皆可随遇而安。宁静是心境，所谓我心即万物，我心宁静，万物即宁静".

宁静，并非消极隐居和不思进取。诸葛亮在《诫子书》中说："夫君子之行，静以修身，俭以养德，非淡泊无以明志，非宁静无以致远。夫学须静也，才须学也，非学无以广才，非志无以成学。"说明为学原本应该心思宁静，努力耕耘而不作奢望贪欲。

诸葛亮卓越超群的智慧才能，正是宁静学习的结果。

宁静，是一种领悟生命的境界。"长亭外，古道边，芳草碧连天。晚风拂柳笛声残，夕阳山外山……"，清澈悠远的歌声，至今飘荡在万里长空。李叔同，这个曾在文学音乐、书法绘画、话剧表演均有极高造诣的风流才子，竟然在事业巅峰时期出家为僧，成了青灯黄卷持斋诵经的弘一法师。
美丽的，未必是快乐的。李叔同由情欲走向空灵，以其独特的方式走进了宁静。

人的欲望可以很小很具体，也可以无限膨胀。当人们共同承受患难的时候，每一个平凡宁静的日子就会变得无比美好，那种只求在天长地久之中享受粗茶淡饭的愿望，就足以成为幸福的期盼。痛苦与快乐永远是相对的，凡是享受过极顶欢乐的人，欢乐结束便要承受极顶的痛苦。以宁静的心态去感受生活，虽然世界还是那个世界，却能享受那份平淡之中的永恒安详。

一个人的幸福，大多取决于自己的内心感受。

传统经济学认为，增加财富是提高人们幸福水平最有效的手段。但近年来，芝加哥大学商学院教授奚恺元却认为，财富只是影响幸福很小的因素之一，人们是否幸福，很大程度上取决于很多与财富无关的因素。物质只是精神的载体，它不是目的。

卢梭曾经断言，人类可以有两次诞生：一次为了生存，一次为了生活。也就是说，作为一个完整的人不仅有肉的诞生，还必须有灵的诞生。

宁静，是诞生和滋润人类灵魂的绿茵园地，是人类追求圆熟通达境界的必由之路。

人的生活，分为精神和物质两部分。物质在下，是根系；精神在上，是花叶。根系发达了，花叶自然茂盛。人的物质生活达到了一定的程度，自然就会追求精神的享受。然而，只有心境宁静，才能享受精神上的欢愉。为此大凡崇尚精神生活的人，都向往宁静。实际上，那些不屑追逐名利的隐者恰恰有着更大的欲望，他们孜孜追求的是更高级的生命内在的东西。

佛祖释迦牟尼的安详面相，是最宁静的心灵流露。人的脸部肌肉运动和内在情感变化有着密切的联系。面相，是长期面部表情的凝固。悲观之人长期愁眉苦脸而成"苦相"；乐观之人经常喜笑颜开而呈"福相"。美国有位将军曾经向林肯总统推荐某人担任要职，林肯没有答应，理由是"那人长相难看"。将军不理解，认为人的容貌是天生的，不该因为容貌不好就不录用。林肯回答说："一个人过了四十岁，就要为自己的容貌负责。"林肯的意思就是"相由心生"。

心理学研究表明，人类55％的信息通过下意识的肢体语言表达。美国心理学家保罗•埃克曼能根据嫌疑犯的面部表情鉴别供词真伪，他可以在几秒种内抓住他人面部表情的8个细节，从而判断出他是否在说谎。这种测谎技术的准确率高达90％，竟比测谎仪还精确。

宁静和寂寞是孪生姐妹，有人在宁静中感到寂寞，有人却在寂寞中享受宁静。前者因为灵魂的空虚，后者得益于灵魂的丰厚。

宁静，是经历沧桑后的沉静，是一种充满内涵的悠远。宁静不是消极退缩的同义词，它是看透历史风沙后的平和，是抚平岁月沧桑后的恬淡。宁静含有一种震撼生命的力量，它不仅是人生中的一种丰盈和豁达，更是心灵上的一种抵达和升华。宁静，孕育着人类的睿智。

外面的世界虽然很精彩，但是，我们依然渴望回到家里品味那份宁静。我们的心灵只有置身于家的宁静中，才能像那杯浸泡在开水里的绿茶一样，彻底地舒展放松。宁静是人生最美好的境界。

谁都可以拥有雨打芭蕉那样的美好境界，只要你把心灵托付给那芭蕉绿叶和潇潇雨滴，在清净优雅之中过滤掉那些浮躁妄念，你就会在心底生长出清逸纯真和安详快乐。

宁静的心灵，是快乐的源泉。

历史的宁静沉淀了岁月的艰辛，社会的宁静充满着人类的磨难，生活的宁静蕴含着平淡的幸福，在宁静中我们领略宇宙的奥妙，思考生命的意义，感受爱的真谛。

享受宁静，就是享受生命旅程中最感动的时刻，就是享受灵魂的安详。一片落叶，一丝阳光，都会使你感受到生命深处悄悄蔓延开来的美好。

海德格尔说过："人应当诗意地安居"。这"诗意"，正是指现代人生活中缺少的那种宁静。宁静，既是工作时的宁静、思索时的宁静、享受时的宁静，也是痛苦时的宁静、失落时的宁静、反省时的宁静。当这份宁静慢慢渗入我们心底深处的时候，生活就会变得豁达洒脱。

周国平说："有钱又有闲当然幸运，倘不能，退而求其次，我宁愿做有闲的穷人，不做有钱的忙人。我爱闲适胜于爱金钱。金钱终究是身外之物，闲适却使我感到自己是生命的主人。"

罗曼•罗兰把幸福形容成"是一种灵魂的香味"。

享受宁静，就是享受那份清幽淡雅的闲适，就是享受那份灵魂深处的香味。

转贴自倍可亲网 (BackChina.com)

一切都是最好的安排--An Inspiring Story

從前有一個國家， 地不大，人不多， 但是人民過著悠閒快樂的生活， 因為他們有一位不喜歡做事的國王和一位不喜歡做官的宰相。

國王沒有什麼不良嗜好，除了打獵以外，最喜歡與宰相微服私訪民隱。 宰相除了處理國務以外，就是陪著國王下鄉巡視， 如果是他一個人的話，他最喜歡研究宇宙人生的真理， 他最常掛在嘴邊的一句話就是 「一切都是最好的安排」。

有一次，國王興高采烈的到大草原打獵，隨從帶著數十條獵犬，聲勢浩蕩。 國王的身體保養得非常好，筋骨結實，而且肌膚泛光， 看起來就有一國之君的氣派。 隨從看見國王騎在馬上，威風凜凜地追逐一頭花豹， 都不禁讚歎國王勇武過人！ 花豹奮力逃命，國王緊追不捨， 一直追到花豹的速度減慢時， 國王才從容不迫彎弓搭箭，瞄準花豹， 嗖的一聲，利箭像閃電似的，一眨眼就飛過草原， 不偏不倚鑽入花豹的頸子， 花豹慘嘶一聲，仆倒在地。 國王很開心，他眼看花豹躺在地上許久都毫無動靜， 一時失去戒心， 居然在隨從尚未趕上時，就下馬檢視花豹。 誰想到，花豹就是在等待這一瞬間，使出最後的力氣, 突然跳起來向國王撲過來。 國王一愣，看見花豹張開血盆大口咬來，他下意識地閃了一下， 心想：「完了！」 還好，隨從及時趕上，立刻發箭射入花豹的咽喉， 國王覺得小指一涼， 花豹就悶不吭聲跌在地上，這次真的死了。 隨從忐忑不安走上來詢問國王是否無恙， 國王看看手，小指頭被花豹咬掉小半截，血流不止， 隨行的御醫立刻上前包紮。 雖然傷勢不算嚴重，但國王的興致破壞光了， 本來國王還想找人來責罵一番， 可是想想這次只怪自己冒失，還能怪誰？ 所以悶不吭聲，大夥兒就黯然回宮去了。

回宮以後，國王越想越不痛快，就找了宰相來飲酒解愁。 宰相知道了這事後，一邊舉酒敬國王，一邊微笑說： 「大王啊！少了一小塊肉總比少了一條命來得好吧！ 想開一點，一切都是最好的安排！」 國王一聽，悶了半天的不快終於找到宣洩的機會。 他凝視宰相說：「嘿！你真是大膽！你真的認為一切都是最好的安排嗎？」 宰相發覺國王十分憤怒，卻也毫不在意說： 「大王，真的，如果我們能夠超越『我執』，確確實實，一切都是最好的安排！」 國王說：「如果寡人把你關進監獄，這也是最好的安排？」 宰相微笑說：「如果是這樣，我也深信這是最好的安排。」 國王說：「如果寡人吩咐侍衛把你拖出去砍了，這也是最好的安排 ？」 宰相依然微笑，彷彿國王在說一件與他毫不相干的事。 「如果是這樣，我也深信這是最好的安排。」 國王勃然大怒，大手用力一拍，兩名侍衛立刻近前， 他們聽見國王說：「你們馬上把宰相抓出去斬了！」 侍衛愣住，一時不知如何反應。 國王說：「還不快點，等什麼？」 侍衛如夢初醒，上前架起宰相，就往門外走去。 國王忽然有點後悔，他大叫一聲說：「慢著，先抓去關起來！」 宰相回頭對他一笑，說：「這也是最好的安排！」 國王大手一揮，兩名侍衛就架著宰相走出去了。

過了一個月，國王養好傷，打算像以前一樣找宰相一塊兒微服私巡， 可是想到是自己親口把他關入監獄，一時也放不下身段釋放宰相， 嘆了口氣，就自己獨自出遊了。 走著走著，來到一處偏遠的山林， 忽然從山上衝下一隊臉上塗著紅黃油彩的蠻人， 三兩下就把他五花大綁，帶回高山上。 國王這時才想到今天正是滿月，這一帶有一支原始部落， 每逢月圓之日就會下山尋找祭祀滿月女神的犧牲品。 他哀歎一聲，這下子真的是沒救了。 其實心裡很想跟蠻人說：我乃這裡的國王， 放了我，我就賞賜你們金山銀海！ 可是嘴巴被破布塞住，連話都說不出口。 當他看見自己被帶到一口比人還高的大鍋爐， 柴火正熊熊燃燒，更是臉色慘白。 大祭司現身，當眾脫光國王的衣服，露出他細皮嫩肉的龍體， 大祭司嘖嘖稱奇，想不到現在還能找到這麼完美無暇的祭品！ 原來，今天要祭祀的滿月女神，正是「完美」的象徵， 所以，祭祀的牲品醜一點、黑一點、矮一點都沒有關係， 就是不能殘缺。 就在這時，大祭司終於發現國王的左手小指頭少了小半截， 他忍不住咬牙切齒咒罵了半天，忍痛下令說： 「把這個廢物趕走，另外再找一個！」

脫困的國王大喜若狂，飛奔回宮，立刻叫人釋放宰相， 在御花園設宴，為自己保住一命、也為宰相重獲自由而慶祝。 國王一邊向宰相敬酒說： 「愛卿啊！你說的真是一點也不錯，果然， 一切都是最好的安排！如果不是被花豹咬一口，今天連命都沒了。」 宰相回敬國王，微笑說：「賀喜大王對人生的體驗又更上一層樓了。」 過了一會兒，國王忽然問宰相說： 「寡人救回一命，固然是『一切都是最好的安排』， 可是你無緣無故在監獄蹲了一個月，這又怎麼說呢？」 宰相慢條斯理喝下一口酒，才說： 「大王！您將我關在監獄?，確實也是最好的安排啊！」 他饒富深意看了國王一眼，舉杯說： 「您想想看，如果我不是在監獄?，那麼陪伴您微服私巡的人， 不是我還會有誰呢？等到蠻人發現國王不適合拿來祭祀滿月女神時， 誰會被丟進大鍋爐中烹煮呢？ 不是我還有誰呢？ 所以，我要為大王將我關進監獄而向您敬酒，您也救了我一命啊！」 國王忍不住哈哈大笑，朗聲說： 「乾杯吧！果然沒錯，一切都是最好的安排！」

在人的一生中所遭遇的困難挫折 在當下或許是如此難以接受， 但在過後突然某一時刻中會覺得… 這是最好的安排! 不完美，正是一種完美！ 我們老了、都鏽了，都千瘡百孔了， 總隔一陣子就去看醫生來修補我們殘破的身軀， 我們又何必要求至自己擁有的人、事、物 都完美無暇，沒有缺點呢？ 看得慣殘破，也是歷練，是豁达，是成熟，是一種人生的境界！

转贴自倍可亲网 (BackChina.com)