The Heart opens Everything

[Gerard]

When you start to see this bright light in the eyes of not only humans but all sentient beings, then you will be a step closer to universal love.

 

 

Like the Christ so nicely depicted in religious imagery: A pure Heart and unconditional Love to all sentient beings.

 

Fear nothing as there is nothing to fear only ignorance and the burden of sensual desire.

 

Sufi tradition

 

1. Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all

the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

 

2. Love is the bridge between you and Everything.

 

3. Only from the Heart can you touch the sky.

 

*4. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a Field. I’ll meet you there.

(Rumi)

 

5. The sun never says to the earth, 'You owe me.'

Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights up the whole sky.

 

6. I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God

(Hafiz)

7. Enlightenment must come little by little, otherwise it would overwhelm

(Idries Shah)

 

8. Whatever we perceive in the world around us tends to reflect who we are and what we care about most deeply, as in the old saying, "When a thief sees a saint, all he sees are his pockets.

 

(Heart, Self & Soul : The Sufi Psychology of Growth, Balance and Harmony - Robert Frager)

 

9. If words come out of the Heart, they will enter the Heart, but if they come from the tongue, they will not pass beyond the ears. (Al-Suhrawardi)

 

10. The Thing we tell of can never be found by seeking, yet only seekers find it.

(Bayazid Bistami)

 

Hinduism

 

The one who loves all intensely

begins perceiving in all living beings

a part of himself.

He becomes a lover of all,

a part and parcel of the Universal Joy.

He flows with the stream of happiness,

and is enriched by each soul.

(Yajur Veda)

 

 

Christianity

 

1. Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than this.

(Mark 12:31)

2. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;

where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

(Corinthians 13:4-8)

 

3. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

(Peter 4:8)

 

 

4. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.

(John 4:18-19)

 

5. Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.

(Proverbs 4:23)

 

6. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

(Romans 12:2)

 

Taoism

 

1. Universal love, compassion, the spirit of altruism and self-sacrifice—are these not precisely

the greatest needs of present-day society, filled with material desires but emotionally desensitized? If everyone lived with a loving heart, our world would have less loneliness, injustice, and murder. Then even if our material livelihood were not everything we might wish, we would still feel as if we were enveloped in a warm spring breeze. In public pronouncements, it is more effective to emphasize love and justice than enmity. The former nourishes a loving heart; while the latter fosters hostility. We should be sympathetic to all beings; surely the world would be a better place with universal human love!

 

2. The energy of lightning is in the category of fire, which corresponds to the heart organ in the human body. Thus the way to avoid lightning is to shut off the heart at the instant of the flash, to cut off any connection between the lightning fire and the heart. The energy of the lightning is enormous, but the fire energy in your heart is even greater. (Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard).

 

Buddhism

 

Perform the mindful prostration, then continue with the walking meditation (6 steps practice) for one hour. Then sit down and make the following wish:

 

May I find bliss. May all sentient beings find bliss.

If any sentient beings have thoughts of revenge against me, I forgive them.

If I have thoughts of revenge against any sentient beings, may they forgive me.

 

(Vipassana practice exercise during a 3 week-meditation retreat in the Thai Forest Tradition)

 

 

With Love,

 

Gerard

 

 

*Note: Absolute wonderful quote by Rumi. My personal favourite.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Gerard

[lifeforce]

Thanks for that Gerard. I especially love the Sufi quotes. It really is a unique path that I feel myself drawn to.

[Gerard]

You are most welcome dear friend.

 

Yes, the Sufi path is the inner dimension of Islam, cultivating the mind beyond the hoopla associated with mainstream Islam, which IMO has been corrupted by men...isn't this a common trait of all religions?

 

Inwardness vs outwardness

Merging our socially constructed identity with all that exists.

Fostering awareness, action, creativity and love that are far beyond the abilities of the superficial personality

Personal cultivation over social convention

It is a tradition of enlightenment rather than fear of God/Allah and unquestionable faith often dictated or shaped by individuals with a social and religious status (dogmatism)

 

Mainstream Muslims believe anything introduced out of the norm of Islamic tradition is considered bida (heresy); this includes the sacred Sufi ritualistic dances performed by “whirling dervishes.'

 

More Sufi wisdom:

 

1. It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis

 

Q: What is a fundamental mistake of man's?
A: To think that he is alive, when he has merely fallen asleep in life's waiting-room

 

 

One day we will all wear a garment which has no pockets… (brilliant!)

(Idries Shah)

 

2. The people of this world are like the three butterflies
in front of a candle's flame.

The first one went closer and said:
I know about love.

The second one touched the flame
lightly with his wings and said:
I know how love's fire can burn.

The third one threw himself into the heart of the flame
and was consumed.

He alone knows what true love is.

 

(Rumi)

 

3. A Sufi master walking with a young girl in the desert. The girl asks:

 

But where is this gathering?
- I don't know, my little angel
But do the others know?
- No, they don't know either
How can you go to a gathering without knowing where it is?
- It suffices to walk, just walk. Those who are invited will find the way

 

 

 

[bab 'Aziz: The Prince who Contemplated his Soul (2008)]

 

 

Similarly:

 

Mystic Christianity. One of my role models is Teresa of Ávila (Interior Castle, Way of Perfection). A Spanish mystic, a saint which I firmly believe attained full enlightenment.

 

 

The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit

 

Be gentle to all and stern with yourself

 

Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul

 

Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds

 

To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that

 

There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers

 

 

Lived her life as an ordained Carmelite nun. Carmelite nuns live in enclosed monasteries and follow a completely contemplative life. She was the founder of the Barefoot Carmelites.

 

"St. Teresa envisioned an order fully dedicated to poverty."

 

Very much like Theravada Buddhism and the Barefoot Wayfarer depicted in Opening the Dragon Gate.

 

Mental prayer and solitude, these two were the saint's main training methods.

 

Modern humans are slowly killing themselves by hardening their Hearts with increasing stress, materialism, sexual gratification, alienation, technology addiction while destroying the planet's natural equilibrium during this process.

 

I don't know how far society can go this way.

 

I fear for what future generations have to face and endure.

 

[Marblehead]

For me, to be able to accept the concept of unconditional love would require open-heart surgery.

[lifeforce]

If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?

 

Rumi

 

 

silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.

 

Rumi

 

 

Happy are those who find fault with themselves instead of finding fault with others.

 

Muhammad

[Gerard]

Yes dear Xingyi man I love that Sufi quote about anger, how about this one?

 

Suppose some bandits catch one of you and sever his body limb from limb with a two-handed saw, and if he should feel angry thereby even at that moment, he is no follower of my teaching (The Buddha)

 

— Kakacupama Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 21

 

 

Also:

 

Retaliation

 

38You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,h let him have your cloak as well. 41And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.(The Christ, gospel of Matthew)

 

 

[Gerard]

For me, to be able to accept the concept of unconditional love would require open-heart surgery.

Maybe if you go for a trip to meet desert dwelling Berbers or Tuareg: a friend of mine got lost in the outskirts of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and was picked up by an old man and invited him to spent the night in the large tent with him and his family. Tea, food, bed and comfort for being lost was offered all for free. The next day he was given a free ride to the next town. He said I have never been so grateful and happy in my entire life for such act of kindness and for being so hospitable without expecting anything in return.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africa/morocco/articles/Morocco-walking-with-Berber-nomads/

 

 

We need to learn more from indigenous people and those living in the so-called Third World countries.

[Gerard]

More Sufi wisdom:

 

*Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself

 

*Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form

 

*Knock, And He'll open the door

Vanish, And He'll make you shine like the sun

Fall, And He'll raise you to the heavens

Become nothing, And He'll turn you into everything

 

*I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think

 

*Two there are who are never satisfied -- the lover of the world and the lover of knowledge

 

*Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself

 

*Be like melting snow -- wash yourself of yourself

 

*Who could be so lucky? Who comes to a lake for water and sees the reflection of the moon

 

(Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, جلال‌الدین م)

[lifeforce]

I have my first Sufi meditation session next week with the Naqshbandi order.

[Gerard]

Enjoy!

[z00se]

For me, to be able to accept the concept of unconditional love would require open-heart surgery.

 

I would imagine you are more balanced than that.

 

I think unconditional love needs to be balanced with self preservation and insight, fruits of the other 2 treasures.

[z00se]

*Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself

 

I like this one. Change the world, Change myself, don't change the world, don't change myself. Be changed by the world or resist any change.  Do so passionately, or without passion. I sound like master Oogway from kungfu panda

[Marblehead]

I would imagine you are more balanced than that.

 

I think unconditional love needs to be balanced with self preservation and insight, fruits of the other 2 treasures.

 

As to the Three Treasures, I have never replaced compassion with love.  But then, you are correct, IMO, that we need to balance things in our life.

[z00se]

Mmmm I dunno, compassion feels like unconditional love for me?

[Marblehead]

Mmmm I dunno, compassion feels like unconditional love for me?

 

I suppose that would fall into the category of individual perspective.  From my perspective, love requires attachment, compassion does not.

[Gerard]

 

How long will you keep pounding on an open door begging for someone to open it?

 

Rabi'a al-Adawiyya, An 8th century woman Sufi ascetic.

 

It is in all of us, in the Heart's cavity. Why is it so difficult to look inside and reveal our Divine nature. Delusion, egotism, social conditioning?

 

With LOVE

[Marblehead]

How long will you keep pounding on an open door begging for someone to open it?

 

Even though the door is open I have not been invited in.  I don't go to places I might not be welcome.

 

I will suggest that love does not live in the heart but rather in the brain.  Love is an emotion.  I will also suggest that love first of all requires respect.  No respect, no love.

[z00se]

36,000+ Posts Marblehead, you are a true wandering taoist. Your involvement in the forum would have allowed you to have seen what troubles and benefits people who come and go realize from the tao from over a decade.

 

You are a true warrior, through life experience in the army and through talking the talk with the non-fighters. God bless u and  your commentaries.

[Marblehead]

Thanks for the ego boost.  Hehehe.

[cold]

Respect is integral to peace.

We have to respect our self first.

Then others.

 

No respect means no peace.

[lifeforce]

It is in all of us, in the Heart's cavity.

This !

[Gerard]

Your practice is going in the right direction, plus your good karma. Please, never forget that. Blessings dear friend.

 

Love,

 

Gerard

[Gerard]

You are a true warrior, through life experience in the army and through talking the talk with the non-fighters. God bless u and  your commentaries.

Hi,

 

You can write an entire library and still go nowhere if YOU NEVER CHANGE. What is then the point of practising if you are always the same person.

 

About "true warriors:"

 

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/encounter/in-search-of-a-wandering-buddhist-monk/5847926

 

He is one, we are only bystanders.

 

[qicat]

I don't believe males are capable of experiencing LOVE.

"Stick your ??? somewhere " feelings- yes, but LOVE - no.

 

Even the most "enlightened" one are still only after some tantra crap.

 

What's the point of showing them the heart if all they do is hurt it again and again?

 

p.s. Jesus ended up on the cross for "LOVE", so... pointless discussion if humans are capable of LOVE. 

Edited March 14, 2017 by qicat

[Gerard]

Dear friend,

 

Metta (loving-kindness/http://www.wildmind.org/metta/introduction/what-is-metta)is highly stressed in the Buddhist tradition, so much that without it you'd better do something else honestly. Yes you are right, humans are 'difficult' beings but we have to thank the ancient masters for their wonderful legacy.

 

Love according to Buddha's teachings:

 

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/pbs2_unit06.htm

 

Wonderful website maintained by Australian monk Venerable Pannyavaro, a forest dweller:

 

http://www.vesakday.mcu.ac.th/vesak50/biography.php?wh_id=9