self awareness

493 items found

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The Stone Mind

Hogen, a Chinese Zen teacher, lived alone in a small temple in the country. One day four traveling monks appeared and asked if they might make a fire in his yard to warm themselves.

While they were building the fire, Hogen heard them arguing about subjectivity and objectivity. He joined them and said: There is a big stone. Do you consider it to be inside or outside your mind?’

One of the monks replied: ‘From the Buddhist viewpoint everything is an objectification of mind, so I would say that the stone is inside my mind.’

‘Your head must feel very heavy’, observed Hogen. ‘if you are carrying around a stone like that in your mind.’ 

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donotdestroy:

Lecture on Happiness by The Venerable Ajahn Jayasaro Bhikkhu

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“Listening to and understanding our inner sufferings will resolve most of the problems we encounter.”— Thich Nhat Hanh

RIP #ThichNhatHanh (1926 – 2022)

Thich Nhat Hanh on Compassionate Listening | SuperSoul Sunday | Oprah Winfrey Network

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The Real You  |  Alan Watts

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“The personality of a person, the ways of a person, the thoughts, the deeds, and the actions. It’s all based around his heart. For what is a man? A man is his heart! A lying, cheating heart, means a lying, cheating man. A loving, merciful heart, means a loving, merciful man.

A living heart means a living man. A dead heart, means a dead man. Regardless of man’s title, regardless of man’s wealth, rank or position. If the heart is not great, then he cannot not be great. But, if the heart is great, that man remains great under all circumstances. Rich or poor, large or small, so does the heart that make one large or small⁣.”— Muhammad Ali

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44. The Thief Who Became a Disciple

One evening as Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras a thief with a sharp sword entered, demanding either money or his life.

Shichiri told him: “Do not disturb me. You can find the money in that drawer.” Then he resumed his recitation.

A little while afterwards he stopped and called: “Don’t take it all. I need some to pay taxes with tomorrow.”

The intruder gathered up most of the money and started to leave. “Thank a person when you receive a gift,” Shichiri added. The man thanked him and made off.

A few days afterwards the fellow was caught and confessed, among others, the offence against Shichiri. When Shichiri was called as a witness he said: “This man is no thief, at least as far as I am concerned. I gave him money and he thanked me for it.”

After he had finished his prison term, the man went to Shichiri and became his disciple.

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Nobody can say anything about you. Whatsoever people say is about themselves. But you become very shaky, because you are still clinging to a false center. That false center depends on others, so you are always looking to what people are saying about you. And you are always following other people, you are always trying to satisfy them. You are always trying to be respectable, you are always trying to decorate your ego. This is suicidal. Rather than being disturbed by what others say, you should start looking inside yourself…

Whenever you are self-conscious you are simply showing that you are not conscious of the self at all. You don’t know who you are. If you had known, then there would have been no problem— then you are not seeking opinions. Then you are not worried what others say about you— it is irrelevant!

When you are self-conscious you are in trouble. When you are self-conscious you are really showing symptoms that you don’t know who you are. Your very self-consciousness indicates that you have not come home yet.

— Osho

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The Case of Lee Rodarte

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What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find. … When someone is seeking, it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose.

— Siddhartha (novel)

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Develop Your Heart | Ajahn Brahm | 2 Dec 2016