Cats who teach me to fly…

The burnt orange sunrise strikes the wet of my back
As I bow my forehead on the steep sandstone track
Drops of sweat offered to the dust
So grateful to be walking away from lust.

Thousands of steps stretching to the sky
Mindful footsteps right, left, right
Forehead placed on sacred dirt
Where once Lord Buddha walked upon this earth.

Were it not for the Buddha,
These feed would drag me down
Were it not for the Dhamma
We would not be rising now.

Palms joined together, thumbs touching head
Pressed to throat, pressed to chest
Head bowed in supplication for the profundity of teaching
In penance too for any mindless breaching.

Though the going is hard it feels good and right
3 steps 1 bow at dawn – the day replaces night
Above the mud the lotus does rise
The darkness of ignorance mindfulness outshines.

Bowing with a heart’s most noble aspirations
There is also time for focused dedications
And prayers for every being for which you care
… as well as those in all directions everywhere.

Past the cave where Moggallana once stayed
Candles flicker and pilgrims quietly pray
Past the cave where Sariputta attained
Tears of grateful joy suppress the muscle pain.

On wobbly legs the summit you have reached
Prayer flags flutter up on Vulture’s Peak
The light of early morning is a special shade of gold
It was harder this time, you are getting old!

The morning dew lifts from ancient boulders
You wrap your robe around your shoulders
Monkeys gather also on the craggy knolls
And black birds are hungry, are they ravens or crows?

The empty skies feel close to heaven
In meditation upon the mountain
Here the devas gathered to hear the Lord teach
Listen closely, can you hear them in the breeze?

Emptiness of sky
Emptiness of self
Full of mindful knowing
Void of suffering.

Behind Vulture’s Peak mountain
A blood-red sunset falls
Like the life giving blood of the masters
Who came this way before.

Ajahn Achalo

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Contentment lies not in getting what we want, but in no longer wanting.

Moderation isn’t deprivation, it’s contentment.

The contented mind no longer lurches erratically between longing and aversion, but is at ease with all it encounters.

When we realize that we cannot control others, circumstances, or things, we will begin to let go. Begin to find freedom.

Accomplishing something, do not think you have gained. Not accomplishing it, do not think you have lost.

The less we have, the less we have to worry about. By being content with what we have, and knowing that nothing is lacking, we realize we have everything we need.

Imagine the contentment we will feel when upon deciding what to do, we ask ourselves not: “what will benefit me,” but: “what will help others.”

Instead of being swept along by others’ surging emotions, foster those that are stable and unruffled within.

Seek equanimity and contentment not on a distant mountaintop, but in everything you do.

Ven. Wuling

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Doing something is not just a question of “Can I?” But also: “Should I?”

It is not that we don’t have a choice but that we often forget to exercise that choice.

One of our daily choices: Self-indulgence? Or simpy joys? Another choice: To drift through life or navigate our way through it? And another: To lose ourselves in ager and jealousy or find ourselves in patience and gratitude?

Others choose how to act towards us. We, in turn, can choose how to act towards them.

When about to correct others, remind yourself, “That’s their choice.”

Not sharing others’ choices does not mean we are free to scorn them.

We would do well not to judge others for their choices. They may well be doing with their options than we are with ours.

When deciding how to spend time today, we can first consider how we spent it yesterday.

Did I make bad choices or good ones? Were they selfish or unselfish? Were they in line with my beliefs? Did they cause others unhappiness? And ultimately: How can I make better choices today?

Ven. Wuling

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For the past two days, I was complacent with my meditation and I didn’t take it seriously and sincerely while practising and on the third day, I told myself, I should not waste the conditions that I have right now and I should continuously and sincerely meditating. Personally, I felt I wasn’t obeying the Buddha. Such a precious human life and yet I just wasted two sessions of practice. Shame on me!

Today, I sat upright, sincerely meditating and it was good! Bright lights were all over, however, I did not have any intention to go into deeper meditation.

I am not hungry over praises but I definitely need encouragement. I saw this post posted in the facebook by Buddhist Fellowship. It gives me lots of comfort. And I really love Ajahn Brahm!

THAT WHICH IS WORTHY OF PRAISE~ AJAHN BRAHM

Goodness is worthy of praise. Good meditation is worthy of praise, and that’s why you should praise yourself. Tell yourself how good meditation is, how wonderful it is. Then you will do it again and again.

The mind feeds on praise, feeds on joy. Use that as a skilful means to encourage yourself more, and more, and more. We even have a word in Buddhism, Sādhu, Sādhu, Sādhu, well done, well done, well done! You have heard that so many times.

Buddhism is into praise, into encouragement, because it works. So worship that which is worthy of worship. Don’t praise foolish people; don’t praise sports stars, who win cups, or film stars, or whatever. If someone wins a war, don’t praise that sort of stuff. Praise those who are worthy of praise. It’s not worth praising those worldly qualities.

If you’ve become a millionaire, that’s not worthy of praise.What is worthy of praise? The person who has just given flowers to the shrine, or somebody who has worked so hard on the meditation cushion is worthy of praise.

Maybe, it was the first time they have been on a retreat, and they have done so well. That’s worthy of praise. Someone who has for the very first time maintained a mind in the present moment, even if just for a while during this whole nine day retreat, that’s worthy of praise.

Praise that which is worthy of praise. Work at that which is truly workable, and then you encourage yourself, and you encourage good qualities in the world. It means that your meditation becomes strong. Goodness becomes strong. Virtue becomes strong.

Not only does it mean that your happiness level rises in life, but it also means that when you come to a meditation retreat, you’ve done all of the background work. You come into the retreat not just with an empty hand, but with all these great spiritual qualities, with this great spiritual wealth, with all this goodness that you have done.

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Learning is like going upstream in a boat: if we do not advance, we fall back. It is the same with cultivation; if we do not progress, we regress.

What is progress?

It is doing one more good thing today than we did yesterday.

Cultivation is giving up that which has little value to attain that which is invaluable.

It is turning away from our incorrect ideas to those that are awakened.

Cultivating oneself is teaching others. It is not asking, why aren’t they doing more to help?”
But, “Why aren’t I?”

Cultivation takes courage.

When goaded, it takes courage not to fight back.
When about to act, it takes courage to honestly examine our motives.

Cultivation is realizing that it is our duty in everything we do, to do our best with what we have. No excuses. No complaints.

Achievement in our cultivation is to be able to improve an adverse situation rather than be affected by it.
Cultivation takes work.

It takes the confidence that the work is worth the effort.
Just like everything worthwhile.

Ven. Wuling

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