Subj : Thoughts on Daily Wisdom and Meditation
To   : All
From : Rachel L. Akers
Date : Sun Jun 17 2001 11:24 pm

 dailywisdom@yahoogroups.com
  
           During the time of the darkest night, act as if the morning 
                has already come.
                                - The Talmud 
 
 Robin:     And how many times have we felt doomed? We were lost and unsure 
        of our path, surrounded by thieves and murderers.
            This is the time to look inward for the flickering light of our 
        souls, for unless we have that, then we may as well reserve our 
        cemetery plot and lie in it.
            If we think as cynics and act on that attitude, we disparage 
        those who would envision a better future. We need to keep our hope 
        alive.
            The greatest darkness is just before the dawn, be it outward or 
        inward.
 
             The Meditation Tip of the Day - June 15, 2001
             --------------------------------------------
 
        The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can 
        understand the mind, everything else is included.
        It's like a tree. All of its fruit and flowers, its branches
        and leaves, depend on its root. If you nourish its root, a 
        tree multiplies. If you cut its root, it dies. Those who 
        understand the mind reach enlightenment with minimal effort. 
        Those who don't understand the mind practice in vain. 
        Everything good and bad comes from your own mind.
  
                                                 Boddhidharma
 
 Robin:     Boddhidharma was an Indian who went to China. and transmitted the 
        teachings of Buddhism.
            In India what was called Dhyana became Ch'an in China and finally 
        Zen in Japan. All the words mean meditation, but how this is done is 
        different in each culture.
            Bodhidharma was known as a kind of curmudgeon, a snarly old fellow 
        who was very antisocial. He meditated in a cave, facing the wall, with 
        a big frown on his face.  But there is a tale of a young man who wanted 

        to learn the Dhyana teachings so much that he would approach the sage 
daily, 
        to no avail. 
            Finally, the youth cut off his arm and offered it to Bodhidharma 
        as a sign of how he would give anything for this teaching.
            Then the teacher accepted him as a pupil, and the Buddhist
         tradition left India and entered China.
 
           'Bodhi Dharma' means 'the way of awakening.' (my translation) 
   
            Some may think Buddhist teachings have no place in Pagan lists. 
        But Buddhism is not a religion. It is a school of psychotherapy, 
        with religious trappings depending on the people who adopt it. It 
        points to the end of human suffering, and that is all.
            If we, as Pagans, suffer, we might do well to see what works for 
        other cultures and draw some water from that well. We are not too far 
        apart, as we share the same world, do we not?

--- Msged/2 4.00
 * Origin: Elfwhere - The POINTy eared POINT (3:640/531.2379)

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