food for thought
Day 65 of 2007; 300 days remaining in the year
From Everyday Osho:
Satori (illumination)
Many glimpses of satori come, but you cannot hold them. Don't
be worried that you could not hold them for longer. Forget
all about it. Just remember the situation in which it happened
and try to move into that situation again and again.
Try to recreate the experience- the aroma, emotion, what was
happening. Try to recreate the field. Just sit silently and
try to create that situation again.
Sometimes it happens accidentally. The whole science of yoga
happened out of accidents. The first time, people were not
looking for satori; how would they know about it? The first
time it happened in a situation- they became aware.
They started seeking it, looking for methods to reach it.
They became aware that if the situation could be created
again, maybe the experience would follow. This is how,
by trial and error, the whole science of yoga, tantra, and
Zen developed. It took centuries to develop them.
But everybody has to find in what situation satori starts
bubbling- samadhi (high level of meditation) starts happening.
Everybody has to feel their own way. If you are just a
little alert, after a few experiences, you will become able
to create these situations.
From Everyday Tao:
Transform (hua) transformation, change, metamorphosis
Tao changes very quickly. Life's circumstances shift so suddenly
that they leave you breathless. Bitter feelings can arise
in seconds. Great serenity can just as easily come in a moment.
Life changes, and we must be just as quick to change too.
Those who follow Tao do not always do things the straight-forward
and orthodox way. Instead of acting according to preconceived ideas,
they look for the greatest advantages. Structured thinking or
clinging to prevailing dogma are only inhibitions. When following
Tao requires reflexive action, inhibitions must be discarded.
When things go badly, those who cannot follow Tao see the causes
and correct them. If the problem cannot be corrected, they shift
the entire frame of reference so that the relative importance of the
problem is diminished or eliminated. For example, if a general finds
that weather and terrain suddenly become unfavorable, it is wise
to change and lead the armies away, no matter how much the king wants
to battle.
Therefore, the wise solely follow the shifting and changing of Tao
and avoid fixed routines. They do not stick stubbornly to ideas
or patterns. Tao is formless, constantly creative, and relentlessly
in flux. Those who follow Tao seek to change with it.
From 366 Readings of Hinduism:
The size of the soul
The universe emerges from God and will return to God; he is the
beginning and the end. God is all, and all is God.
You are your deepest desire. Your deepest desire in this life
will shape your next life. So direct your deepest desire into knowing
the soul.
The soul can be known by those who are pure in heart. The soul is
light and life, truth and space. The soul is the source of all activity,
all desires, all fragrances and tastes. The soul is beyond words.
From the soul comes eternal joy- and the soul dwells within every heart.
The soul is smaller than a grain of rice, smaller than a grain of barley,
smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than the grain of millet, and even
smaller even than the kernel of a grain of millet. Thus the heart has
room for the soul. The soul is also larger than the earth, larger than
the sky, larger than the entire universe.
Chandogya Upanishad 3:14, 1-4
From Everyday Osho:
Satori (illumination)
Many glimpses of satori come, but you cannot hold them. Don't
be worried that you could not hold them for longer. Forget
all about it. Just remember the situation in which it happened
and try to move into that situation again and again.
Try to recreate the experience- the aroma, emotion, what was
happening. Try to recreate the field. Just sit silently and
try to create that situation again.
Sometimes it happens accidentally. The whole science of yoga
happened out of accidents. The first time, people were not
looking for satori; how would they know about it? The first
time it happened in a situation- they became aware.
They started seeking it, looking for methods to reach it.
They became aware that if the situation could be created
again, maybe the experience would follow. This is how,
by trial and error, the whole science of yoga, tantra, and
Zen developed. It took centuries to develop them.
But everybody has to find in what situation satori starts
bubbling- samadhi (high level of meditation) starts happening.
Everybody has to feel their own way. If you are just a
little alert, after a few experiences, you will become able
to create these situations.
From Everyday Tao:
Transform (hua) transformation, change, metamorphosis
Tao changes very quickly. Life's circumstances shift so suddenly
that they leave you breathless. Bitter feelings can arise
in seconds. Great serenity can just as easily come in a moment.
Life changes, and we must be just as quick to change too.
Those who follow Tao do not always do things the straight-forward
and orthodox way. Instead of acting according to preconceived ideas,
they look for the greatest advantages. Structured thinking or
clinging to prevailing dogma are only inhibitions. When following
Tao requires reflexive action, inhibitions must be discarded.
When things go badly, those who cannot follow Tao see the causes
and correct them. If the problem cannot be corrected, they shift
the entire frame of reference so that the relative importance of the
problem is diminished or eliminated. For example, if a general finds
that weather and terrain suddenly become unfavorable, it is wise
to change and lead the armies away, no matter how much the king wants
to battle.
Therefore, the wise solely follow the shifting and changing of Tao
and avoid fixed routines. They do not stick stubbornly to ideas
or patterns. Tao is formless, constantly creative, and relentlessly
in flux. Those who follow Tao seek to change with it.
From 366 Readings of Hinduism:
The size of the soul
The universe emerges from God and will return to God; he is the
beginning and the end. God is all, and all is God.
You are your deepest desire. Your deepest desire in this life
will shape your next life. So direct your deepest desire into knowing
the soul.
The soul can be known by those who are pure in heart. The soul is
light and life, truth and space. The soul is the source of all activity,
all desires, all fragrances and tastes. The soul is beyond words.
From the soul comes eternal joy- and the soul dwells within every heart.
The soul is smaller than a grain of rice, smaller than a grain of barley,
smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than the grain of millet, and even
smaller even than the kernel of a grain of millet. Thus the heart has
room for the soul. The soul is also larger than the earth, larger than
the sky, larger than the entire universe.
Chandogya Upanishad 3:14, 1-4