Thich Quang Duc. The most powerful statement ever

1963. Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist priest in Southern Vietnam , burns himself to death protesting the government’s torture policy against priests. Thich Quang Dug never made a sound or moved while he was burning.

http://buddhismtoday.com/english/vietnam/figure/003-htQuangduc.htm

44 years ago .. I am still in shock .

Bless his soul.

"The Indian Parrot" by Coleman Barks

"The Indian Parrot" by Coleman Barks
(Published in One-Handed Basket Weaving. Maypop Books, 1991.)

There was a merchant setting out for India.
He asked each male and female servantwhat they wanted to be brought as a gift.
Each told him a different exotic object:A piece of silk, a brass figurine,a pearl necklace.
Then he asked his beautiful caged parrot,the one with such a lovely voice, and she said,

"When you see the Indian parrots, describe my cage.
Say that I need guidance here in my separation from them.
Ask how our friendship can continue with me so confined and them flying about freely in the meadow mist.
Tell them that I remember well our mornings moving together from tree to tree.
Tell them to drink one cup of ecstatic wine in honour of me here in the dregs of my life.
Tell them that the sound of their quarreling high in the trees would be sweeter to hear than any music."

This parrot is the spirit-bird in all of us, that part that wants to return to freedom, and is the freedom. What she wants from India is herself!

So this parrot gave her message to the merchant, and when he reached India, he saw a field full of parrots. He stopped and called out what she had told him.

One of the nearest parrots shivered and stiffened and fell down dead.

The merchant said,
"This one is surely kin to my parrot. I shouldn't have spoken."

He finished his trading and returned home with the presents for his workers.

When he got to the parrot, she demanded her gift.
"What happened when you told my storyto the Indian parrots?"

"I'm afraid to say."

"Master, you must!"

"When I spoke your complaint to the fieldof chattering parrots, it broke one of their hearts.
She must have been a close companion,or a relative, for when she heard about you she grew quiet and trembled, and died."

As the caged parrot heard this, she herself quivered and sank to the cage floor.

This merchant was a good man. He grieved deeply for his parrot, murmuring distracted phrases, self-contradictory -cold, then loving - clear, then murky with symbolism.

A drowning man reaches for anything!
The Friend loves this flailing about better than any lying still.
The One who lives inside existence stays constantly in motion, and and whatever you do, that king watches through the window.

When the merchant threw the "dead" parrot out of the cage, it spread its wings and glided to a nearby tree!

The merchant suddenly understood the mystery.

"Sweet singer, what was in the message that taught you this trick?"

"She told me that it was the charm of my voice that kept me caged.Give it up, and be released!"

The parrot told the merchant one or two more spiritual truths. Then a tender goodbye.

"God protect you," said the merchant "as you go on your new way. I hope to follow you!"

What if ... ?

What if... ?

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
-- Eden Phillpotts

What if you were to pretend that you were healthy, wealthy and wise? What if you were to decide to be happy, no matter what else was happening? Take the power of ‘what if...’ seriously, and you will grasp the power to create a world of your own design. Everything, EVERYTHING begins in the imagination. Put it to work constructively for you.

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes."
-- William James

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
-- Lewis Carroll

Life in abundance comes through love

There is no force more potent than love.
Take away love and your world is a tomb.
Your life echoes emptiness without love.
With it, your life will vibrate with warmth and meaning.
Even during hardship, love will shine through.
As you look back upon the events in your life you will find that the moments that stand out,the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.

If you have it, you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter what else you have.

Therefore, search for love.

Once you have learned to love, you will have learned to live.
Love is the most important ingredient to your success.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Daily Guru
www.dailyguru.com

YOur LIfe Purpose ( Wayne Dywer )

Ignore what anyone else tells you about your purpose.Regardless of what anyone might say to you, the truth about your feeling purposeful is that only you can know it, and if you don't feel it in that innerplace where a burning desire resides, it isn't your purpose. Your relatives andfriends may attempt to convince you that what they feel is your destiny. Theymay see talents that they think will help you make a great living, or they maywant you to follow in their footsteps because they think you'll be happy doingwhat they've done for a lifetime. Your skill at mathematics or decorating orfixing electronic equipment might indicate a high aptitude for a givenpursuit--but in the end, if you don't feel it, nothing can make it resonate withyou.

Your purpose is between you and your Source, and the closer you get to what thatfield of intention looks and acts like, the more you'll know that you're beingpurposefully guided. You might have zero measurable aptitudes and skills in agiven area, yet feel inwardly drawn to doing it. Forget the aptitude-testresults, forget the absence of skills or know-how, and most important, ignorethe opinions of others and listen to your heart.Wayne Dyer

Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharishi

Happiness

All beings desire happiness always, happiness without a tinge of sorrow. At the same time everybody loves himself best. The cause for this love is only happiness. So, that happiness must lie in one. Further, that happiness is daily experienced by everyone in sleep, when there is no mind. To attain that natural happiness one must know oneself. For that, Self-Enquiry 'Who am I?' is the chief means.

Consciousness

Existence or Consciousness is the only reality. Consciousness plus waking we call waking. Consciousness plus sleep we call sleep. Consciousness plus dream, we call dream. Consciousness is the screen on which all the pictures come and go. The screen is real, the pictures are mere shadows on it.

Mind

Mind is a wonderful force inherent in the Self. That which arises in this body as 'I' is the mind. When the subtle mind emerges through the brain and the senses, the gross names and forms are cognized. When it remains in the Heart, names and forms disappear. If the mind remains in the Heart, the 'I' or the ego which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self, the Real, Eternal 'I' alone will shine. Where there is not the slightest trace of the ego, there is the Self.

Who Am I ?

Enquiry For all thoughts the source is the 'I' thought. The mind will merge only by Self-enquiry 'Who am I?' The thought 'Who am l?' will destroy all other thoughts and finally kill itself also. If other thoughts arise, without trying to complete them, one must enquire to whom did this thought arise. What does it matter how many thoughts arise? As each thought arises one must be watchful and ask to whom is this thought occurring. The answer will be 'to me'. If you enquire 'Who am I?' the mind will return to its source (or where it issued from). The thought which arose will also submerge. As you practise like this more and more, the power of the mind to remain as its source is increased.

Surrender
There are two ways of achieving surrender. One is looking into the source of the 'I' and merging into that source. The other is feeling 'I am helpless myself, God alone is all powerful, and except by throwing myself completely on Him, there is no other means of safety for me', and thus gradually developing the conviction that God alone exists and the ego does not count. Both methods lead to the same goal. Complete surrender is another name for jnana or liberation.

The Three States :
Walking, Dream and Deep SleepThere is no difference between the dream and the waking states except that the dream is short and the waking long. Both are the result of the mind. Our real state, called turiya, is beyond the waking, dream and sleep states.

Grace and GuruI have not said that a Guru is not necessary. But a Guru need not always be in human form. First a person thinks that he is an inferior and that there is a superior, all-knowing, all powerful God who controls his own and the world's destiny and worships him or does Bhakti. When he reaches a certain stage and becomes fit for enlightenment, the same God whom he was worshipping comes as Guru and leads him on. That Guru comes only to tell him that ‘God is within yourself. Dive within and realize.’ God, Guru and the Self are the same.

Self - Realization

The state we call realization is simply being oneself, not knowing anything or becoming anything. If one has realized, he is that which alone is, and which alone has always been. He cannot describe that state. He can only be That. Of course, we loosely talk of Self-realization for want of a better term. That which is, is peace. All that we need do is to keep quiet. Peace is our real nature. We spoil it. What is required is that we cease to spoil it.

HeartIn the center of the cavity of the Heart, the sole Brahman shines by itself as the Atman (Self) in the feeling of 'I-I'. Reach the Heart by diving within yourself, either with control of breath, or with thought concentrated on the quest of Self. You will thus get fixed in the Self.

RenunciationAsked “How does a grihastha (householder) fare in the scheme of Moksha (liberation)?” Bhagavan said, “Why do you think you are a grihastha? If you go out as a sannyasi (ascetic), a similar thought that you are a sannyasi will haunt you. Whether you continue in the household or renounce it and go to the forest, your mind goes with you. The ego is the source of all thought. It creates the body and the world and makes you think you are a grihastha . If you renounce the world it will only substitute the thought sannyasi for grihastha and the environment of the forest for that of the household. But the mental obstacles will still be there. They even increase in the new surroundings. There is no help in change of environment. The obstacle is the mind. It must be got over whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in the forest, why not at home? Therefore, why change your environment? Your efforts can be made even now - in whatever environment you are now. The environment will never change according to your desire.”

Fate and Free Will

Free will and destiny are ever existent. Destiny is the result of past action; it concerns the body. Let the body act as may suit it. Why are you concerned about it? Why do you pay attention to it? Free will and destiny last as long as the body lasts. But jnana transcends both. The Self is beyond knowledge and ignorance. Whatever happens, happens as the result of one's past actions, of divine will and of other factors. There are only two ways to conquer destiny or be independent of it. One is to enquire for whom is this destiny and discover that only the ego is bound by destiny and not the Self and that the ego is non-existent. The other way is to kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, by realizing one's helplessness and saying all the time, 'Not I, but Thou, oh Lord' and giving up all sense of 'I' and ‘mine’, and leaving it to the Lord to do what he likes with you. Complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through Self-enquiry or bhakti marga (path).

The Jnani
The jnani has attained Liberation even while alive, here and now. It is immaterial to him as to how, where and when he leaves the body. Some jnanis may appear to suffer, others may be in samadhi; still others may disappear from sight before death. But that makes no difference to their jnana. Such suffering is apparent, seems real to the onlooker, but is not felt by the jnani, for he has already transcended the mistaken identity of the Self with the body. The jnani does not think he is the body. He does not even see the body. He sees only the Self in the body. If the body is not there, but only the Self, the question of its disappearing in any form does not arise.

About Burt Harding

Burt Harding, founder of the Awareness Foundation in Vancouver, offers a radical invitation to recognize the truth of our being as already whole and fulfilled.
He holds satsangs (meetings) in which we are reminded of the love we really are beyond the personal stories we carry. In this way, we come to recognize what we have always known but did not live from ‹ the beauty and wonder of our own true essence.
Burt also conducts sessions and workshops in Supersentience, a system devised to help heal deep wounds and promote a shift in the perception of who we really are.
He has conducted studies in higher consciousness for thirty years and had his own television series on the mind/body connection.

http://members.shaw.ca/burtharding/Biography.html

Burt started teaching after an experience with Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, who appeared to him in 1974 while he was living in Toronto, Ontario. As a result of this experience, he acquired the sure knowledge that the only reality lies in the present moment, the Now, and that everything else is just an illusion. His spiritual search ended in that realization.

( On 4th January 2007 ramana-maharshi.org was divided into two new distinct websites:
The first website is dedicated to Arunachala, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and to helping devotees in whatever way it is possible to do so. It also has a forum for use by devotees. The address is:
http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/
Sri Ramanasramam now has its own website hosted in India. The address is:
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/ - Their new email address is - ashram@sriramanamaharshi.org
ramana-maharshi.org will continue to function in a very limited way throughout 2007. Please do not forget to bookmark the new sites. )

Reviewing feelings versus emotions ( Burt )

Dear Burt,

Thank you for the Satsang today. Would you please clarify feelings versus emotions (energy in motion like frustration, anger, sadness, depression, fear?) again?
With love, M.

Dear sweet M.,
I noticed your energy last night and your listening was quite good. When someone listens well there is an aura of beautiful energy around the person.

You asked me to clarify feelings versus emotions. First of all please remember that words like ‘feelings’ and ‘emotions’ are often intertwined and mixed up by most people. However, when you start going deep into spiritual understanding, you will start to feel subtler feelings — feelings that most people are not aware of. So, in order to explain them one must use special explanations like saying ‘there is a vast difference between true feelings and emotions.’

A true feeling is joy, it is a feeling as if you have disappeared and have merged with everything around you. For example, observe a baby when they are happy, there is a brightness in their eyes with so much joy. Their smile is captivating and their innocence is heart-warming yet as they reach out to you, they are oblivious of themselves. In other words, they are not self-conscious. Now, this feeling is known as Pure Feeling. It is not an emotion because the body is not caught in any sensation other than total ‘melting’ with whatever is at the moment.

Now, an emotion is the opposite of that feeling. An emotion is a motion of sensation in the body. Again, suppose you are with a group of people that make you feel uncomfortable. You can feel the sensation of emotion in your face, in your red hot ears, in your contraction, self-consciousness or a feeling of smallness. Along with this emotional feeling in the body you also feel a ‘story’ going along with it such as, “I could kill them,” or maybe not as drastic such as, “They are obnoxious,” or “Gee, I don’t like them...” and so on. Just as pure feeling is joyous and all -encompassing with the environment with no story or physical discomfort, so is emotion filled with a story (mental activity regarding that emotion) plus self-conscious contraction.

Every emotion such as anger, depression, frustration and even sadness is a carry-over from a thought. For example, if you have been often ignored by others as a child or not shown love by your parents and so on, then there is the inevitable thinking that you are separate and different from others. This can’t be helped. Any thought regarding feeling ignored or unloved brings the need for having love, having meaning, having importance or becoming something. The human being can’t help seeking that which they feel they are missing. The reason for this automatic seeking is because that is how the heart reaches for itself through us. However, when these needs for love are not understood they start making us feel lonely, separate from others and create a feeling of smallness, which again makes us want to be special even more. This vicious circle creates many emotional feelings of quiet sadness, depression, anger, frustration, irritability, judging others, and general unhappiness. Every human being goes through this and it can’t be helped.

What happens with most people is that they can’t feel happy and so bury these emotional feelings by ‘trying’ to have fun, have wild sex, look for parties, maybe drink alcohol, become workaholics, take drugs, do crazy things and a million other escapes in order NOT to feel this nagging emptiness. However, this nagging emptiness cannot be avoided because it is not something bad, it is a warning (karma) that we are not being honest with ourselves, we are lying and deceiving our truth of being. Did you know that very very few people actually know that true feelings are joy (inner peace, contentment or inner fulfillment)?

So, growth is dealing with emotional suffering through awareness until only pure feeling remains. Pure feeling is the voice of God within. It ‘talks’ to us through silence and shows us (through its light) how everything IS!! This is the Inner Silence that all masters talk about.

To understand what I have written to you, is to begin to ‘FEEL’ inside you what is beyond words. The extent that you ‘FEEL’ (not emotional) what is being said here is called heart-understanding. It is spiritual understanding.
With love,
Burt
http://members.shaw.ca/burtharding/feelings.html

Emotions ( Wayne Dyer )

Your emotions are the inner experiences that tell you how much of the divine energy you're summoning for the manifestation of your desires.

Feelings can be measuring tools that gauge how you're doing in the manifestation process.

An exceptionally positive emotional response indicates that you're summoning the divine energy of intention and allowing that energy to flow to you in anonresistant manner.

Feelings of passion, pure bliss, reverence, unmitigatedoptimism, unquestioned trust, and even illumination indicate that your desire to manifest success and abundance, for example, have an extremely strong pulling power from the universal Source to you.

You must learn to pay close attentionto the presence of these feelings.

These emotions aren't just facets of yourlife that are empty of energy--they're agents that are in charge of how you clean and purify the connecting link to intention. These emotions tell youp recisely how much of the life force you're summoning,and how much pulling power you have going for you at that moment.

-- Wayne Dyer