Wherever you are is the perfect place to awaken. This moment is the exact place to practice compassion and loving awareness. You have all the ingredients to breathe and find freedom just where you are. ~Jack Kornfield
It only take a few minutes of meditation to directly realize we are a river of sensations, feelings, thoughts, perceptions. How can we navigate this evanescent river of life wisely? With mindful awareness and love it becomes clear. You can fight against the river of change, or use its wisdom to teach you how to graciously move and create and flow with the full measure of joy and sorrow, gain and loss, praise and blame that make up every human incarnation. ~Jack Kornfield
Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down. ~Unknown
Through practice, gently and gradually we can collect ourselves and learn how to be more fully with what we do. ~Jack Kornfield
Dokkōdō
In the final days of his life, the mythical Japanese samurai Musashi Miyamoto retreated to a cave called the Reigandō. (Spirit Rock Cave) In that cave he spent the final months of his life meditating and writing his views on the world. While secluded in the cave he wrote two works. The Go Rin No Sho (Book of Five Rings) and the Dokkōdō. The Go Rin No Sho he imparted with all of his samurai martial arts. The Dokkōdō contains his very own soul. Each of these books are the result of years of his life spent as a samurai and ronin. While the works themselves speak of Japanese culture and sophistication, especially in the warrior class, he also speaks of strategy, combat, and of the arts.
Both of these works are dedicated to his favorite disciple Terao Magonojo.
Lines of Wisdom
The Dokkōdō means “The Path of Aloneness” or “The Way to be Followed Alone” . Musashi wrote this work a week before his death. It is 21 lines long, each line containing a different idea one would live by.
1. Accept Everything Just The Way It Is.
Beautiful advice. Rather than worry or fret about what’s going on around you, accept it. The time you’ve spent dwelling on it is better spent improving yourself.
2. Do Not Seek Pleasure For It’s Own Sake.
I’ve seen many men not heed this warning; just hit the lobby at MGM. Anyone who has lived a few years understand the pains of losing friends to addictions and watching the problems that come with them. If it makes you happy; go for it. Just make sure that when the feeling fades you’re a couple steps farther ahead.
3. Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Depend On A Partial Feeling.
You must be sure of where you put your foot before you step. The meaning here is not to get confused, to keep your head clear, and only act when you’re certain. Continue reading
Have respect for yourself, and patience and compassion. With these, you can handle anything. ~Jack Kornfield
It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire. Perfect tranquility within consists in the good ordering of the mind, the realm of your own. ~Marcus Aurelius
If a person’s basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience. ~Dalai Lama
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. ~ Buddha
Saying ‘goodbye’ to Uncle Yoeun at the graveyard on April 24, 2020. Uncle passed away on April 16, 2020 (the final day of Khmer New Year). He’s now resting next to little sister Alanthara and my wonderful father…
Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good. ~ Buddha
Jendhamuni and auntie San at uncle Yoeun’s graveyard on April 24, 2020. Uncle passed away on Thursday April 16, 2020.
