Medicine Lake. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Who shall conquer this world
And the world of death with all its gods?
Who shall discover
The shining way of the law?

You shall, even as the man
Who seeks flowers
Finds the most beautiful,
The rarest.

Understand that the body
Is merely the foam of a wave,
The shadow of a shadow,
Snap the flower arrows of desire
And then, unseen,
Escape the king of death.
And travel on.

Death overtakes the man
Who gathers flowers
When with distracted mind and thirsty senses
He searches vainly for happiness
In the pleasures of the world.
Death fetches him away
As a flood carries off a sleeping village.

Death overcomes him
When with distracted mind and thirsty senses
He gathers flowers.
He will never have his fill
Of the pleasures of the world.

The bee gathers nectar from the flower
Without marring its beauty or perfume.
So let the master settle, and wander.

Look to your own faults,
What you have done or left undone.
Overlook the faults of others.

Like a lovely flower,
Bright but scentless,
Are the fine but empty words
Of a man who does not mean what he says.

Like a lovely flower,
Bright and fragrant,
Are the fine and truthful words
Of the man who means what he says.

Like garlands woven from a heap of flowers
Fashion from your life as many good deeds.

The perfume of sandalwood
Rosebay or jasmine
Cannot travel against the wind.

But the fragrance of virtue
Travels even against the wind,
As far as the ends of the world.

How much finer
Is the fragrance of virtue
Than of sandalwood, rosebay,
Of the blue lotus or jasmine!

The fragrance of sandalwood and rosebay
Does not travel far.
But the fragrance of virtue
Rises to the heavens.

Desire never crosses the path
Of virtuous and wakeful men.
Their brightness sets them free.

How sweetly the lotus grows
In the litter of the wayside.
Its pure fragrance delights the heart.

Follow the awakened
And from among the blind
The light of your wisdom
Will shine out, purely.

~The Dhammapada

Wakefulness is the way to life.
The fool sleeps
As if he were already dead,
But the master is awake
And he lives forever.

He watches.
He is clear.

How happy he is!
For he sees that wakefulness is life.
How happy he is,
Following the path of the awakened.

With great perseverance
He meditates, seeking
Freedom and happiness.

So awake, reflect, watch.
Work with care and attention.
Live in the way, and the light will grow in you.

The fool is careless.
But the master guards his watching.
It is his most precious treasure.

He never gives in to desire.
He meditates.
And in the strength of his resolve
He discovers true happiness.

He overcomes desire —
And from the tower of wisdom
He looks down with dispassion
Upon the sorrowing crowd.
From the mountaintop
He looks down on those
Who live close to the ground.

Mindful among the mindless,
Awake while others dream,
Swift as the race horse
He outstrips the field.

By watching
Indra became king of the gods.
How wonderful it is to watch,
How foolish to sleep.

The beggar who guards his mind
And fears the waywardness of his thoughts
Burns through every bond
With the fire of his vigilance.

The beggar who guards his mind
And fears his own confusion
Cannot fall.
He has found the way to peace.

~The Dhammapada

From the time we open our eyes in the morning until we sleep at night,
if we can pass the whole day with a kind-hearted mind and cheerful face,
on good terms with people and talking pleasantly to them, our mind will
be relaxed when we go to sleep at night. ~The 17th Karmapa

Not attached to happiness nor depressed about suffering, we should seek a stable and constant path. If we are always looking to feel good, and if on top of that our minds are lost in distraction thinking about feeling good, then what will become of our life? We will be diverted from our true purpose and open ourselves to harm. ~17th Karmapa

In the game of life, we don’t know all the rules but still
we are playing where God is umpiring.
~Vikrant Parsai

In homes with more than one cat, it is best to have cats of the opposite sex. They tend to be better housemates. Talk about Facetime: Cats greet one another by rubbing their noses together. Source: AnimalPlanet

Instead of looking for the right person, you yourself should try to be the right person first. Keeping your focus on the simplest things offers an immediate experience of abundant joy. May you embrace simplicity in your daily life filled with lightness, disciplined routine life, honesty to to your work, honesty to the family, and it will bring sunshine in your life.   ~Anil Sinha 

To lead a life in which we are inspired and can inspire others,
our hearts have to be alive; they have to be filled with passion
and enthusiasm.
~Senora Roy