Usually
when we suffer, we look around for someone to help or save us from what we’re
going through. During illness, we expect
the doctor to take control of the disease and make us well again. But from the Zen point of view this attitude
is part of the original disease.
Behaving in this manner, you relinquish your part on the illness and
deny that it has come to you for a reason.
It’s up to you to stop, listen, and discover the meaning and the lessons
it brings.
Times
of loneliness, confusion, doubt, or separation come for a powerful reason – so
we can stop our usual way of being and discover where true strength,
connection, and understanding lie. These
difficult times are actually a blessing, removing us from preoccupation with
externals and inviting us to embark on a journey into the heart and meaning our
lives.
Your attention is your life force.
What you attend to increases; your attention feeds it energy. What you withdraw your attention from
inevitably fades.
When
you are cold, freeze. When you are hot,
burn. When you’re sad, grieve. Whatever comes, welcome it 100%, nothing left
over. Leave no traces. Do not escape your experience. Do not avoid it in any way. This is mindfulness taken to its fullest
extent.
What
you are at this moment contains the whole message of what you were.
When you become you,
zen becomes zen.
Marriages are spiritual partnerships, and each couple serves in a
way given to them.
