Everyone post some favorite quotes!

[neti neti]

"Be thankful always for a slight glimpse of the bird, even if the song is not heard." ~Swami Shantananda Puri

[C T]

I distrust those who know so well what God wants them to do, 

because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. 

 

~~ Susan B. Anthony

[neti neti]

"You haven't understood, until you've solved the riddle of the one who thinks he has understood." ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

[9th]

"Take for instance the being of a mineral and of a plant. It is a different being. The being of a plant and of an animal is again a different being. The being of an animal and of a man is a different being. But the being of two people can differ from one another more than the being of a mineral and of an animal. This is exactly what people do not understand. And they do not understand that knowledge depends on being. Not only do they not understand this latter, but they definitely do not wish to understand it."

 

- The Black Greek, aka Tiger of Turkestan

[silent thunder]

1 hour ago, 9th said:

Not only do they not understand this latter, but they definitely do not wish to understand it."

 

the whole quote resonates, but this bit has been almost smashing me over the head of late it seems...

[blue eyed snake]

[9th]

Quote

 

I have already said before that sacrifice is necessary. Without sacrifice, nothing can be attained. But if there is anything in the world that people do not understand it is the idea of sacrifice. They think they have to sacrifice something that they have. For example, I once said that they must sacrifice "faith", "tranquility", or "health." All these words must be taken in quotation marks. In actual fact, they have to sacrifice only what they imagine they have, and which in reality they do not have. They must sacrifice their fantasies. This is difficult for them, very difficult. It is much easier to sacrifice real things.

 

Another thing that people must give up is their suffering. It is very difficult also to sacrifice one's suffering. A man will renounce any pleasure you like but he will not give up his suffering. Man is made in such a way that he is never so attached to anything as he is to his suffering. And it is necessary to be free from suffering. No one who is not free from suffering, who has not sacrificed his suffering, can work. Nothing can be attained without suffering but at the same time, one must begin by sacrificing suffering. Now, decipher what this means.

 

-- Gurdjieff

 

 

[9th]

"Upon what does this depend?" I asked.

G.'s answer was very vague.

"There is a definite period," he said, "for a certain thing to be done. If, by a certain time, what ought to be done has not been done, the earth may perish without having attained what it could have attained."

"Is this period known?" I asked.

 

On 10/27/2017 at 11:57 AM, 9th said:

"... but they definitely do not wish to understand it."

 

- The Black Greek, aka Tiger of Turkestan

 

[9th]

 

[9th]

14 hours ago, 9th said:

"Upon what does this depend?" I asked.

G.'s answer was very vague.

"There is a definite period," he said, "for a certain thing to be done. If, by a certain time, what ought to be done has not been done, the earth may perish without having attained what it could have attained."

"Is this period known?" I asked.

 

"It is known," said G.

 

"But it would be no advantage whatever for people to know it. It would even be worse. Some would believe it, others would not believe it, yet others would demand proofs. Afterwards they would begin to break one another's heads. Everything ends this way with people."

[9th]

Quote

I was issued a bowl, a sheepskin rug, horn, belt and cap, the standard dervish equipment - though I had little idea as to their significance or uses. 

 

One evening I was allowed to inspect some of the treasures of the community, and was assured that they had not before been seen by any non-initiate. They had been declared 'de-consecrated,' as it were, because a new phase of teaching, somewhere to the west, had superseded the ritual to which they belonged. Henceforth they would merely be museum pieces. 

 

An articulated tree, of gold and other metals, which seemed to me unbelievably beautiful and resembled a Babylonian work of art which I had seen in Baghdad Museum, was by far the most impressive. It served to indicate the postures assumed 
by dervishes in their Yoga-like exercises, which, performed to special music, they studied for self-development.

 

A tall pillar of lapis lazuli, about nine feet high by two feet in diameter, was used for the Daur, a turning movement, in which the devotees circle around, one hand on the pillar, to achieve a particular state of mind. 

 

On a wall faced with white Afghan marble, delineated in polished rubies glowed the symbol of the community. This is the mystical 'No-Koonja', the ninefold Naqsch or 'Impress,' an emblem which I was later to see in various forms embroidered on clothes. This figure 'reaches for the innermost secret of man,' I was informed. 

Its operation could only be manifest, at the right time and under special conditions, by the Lord of Time, the head of the community.

 

He, unfortunately, was absent. 

 

In any case he did not reside at this monastery, but at another very secret place called Aubshaur. He is referred to, with great deference, as a sort of human incarnation of all teachers. He is the Surkaur, or 'Workleader.' 

 

 

- Account of the Sarmoun Brotherhood

 

[9th]

 

[9th]

1. Thou, Soma, art preeminent for wisdom; along the straightest path thou art our leader. Our wise forefathers by thy guidance, Indu, dealt out among the Gods their share of treasure.

2 Thou by thine insight art most wise, O Soma, strong by thine energies and all possessing, Mighty art thou by all thy powers and greatness, by glories art thou glorious, guide of mortals.

3 Thine are King Varuna's eternal statutes, lofty and deep, O Soma, is thy glory. All-pure art thou like Mitra the beloved, adorable, like Aryaman, O Soma.

4 With all thy glories on the earth, in heaven, on mountains, in the plants, and in the waters, - With all of these, well-pleased and not in anger, accept, O royal Soma, our oblations.

5 Thou, Soma, art the Lord of heroes, King, yea, Vrtra-slayer thou: Thou art auspicious energy.

6 And, Soma, let it be thy wish that we may live and may not die: Praise-loving Lord of plants art thou.

7 To him who keeps the law, both old and young, thou gives happiness, And energy that he may live.

8 Guard us, King Soma, on all sides from him who threatens us: never let the friend of one like thee be harmed.

9 With those delightful aids which thou hast, Soma, for the worshipper, - Even with those protect thou us.

10 Accepting this our sacrifice and this our praise, O Soma, come, And be thou nigh to prosper us.
 

11 Well-skilled in speech we magnify thee, Soma, with our sacred songs: Come thou to us, most gracious One.

12 Enricher, healer of disease, wealth-finder, prospering our store, be, Soma, a good Friend to us.

13 Soma, be happy in our heart, as milch-kine in the grassy meads, as a young man in his own house.

14 O Soma, God, the mortal man who in thy friendship hath delight, him doth the mighty Sage befriend.

15 Save us from slanderous reproach, keep us., O Soma, from distress: Be unto us a gracious Friend.

16 Soma, wax great. From every side may vigorous powers unite in thee: Be in the gathering-place of strength.

17 Wax, O most gladdening Soma, great through all thy rays of light, and be A Friend of most illustrious fame to prosper us.

16 In thee be juicy nutriments united, and powers and mighty foe-subduing vigor, Waxing to immortality, O Soma: win highest glories for thyself in heaven.
 

19 Such of thy glories as with poured oblations men honor, may they all invest our worship. Wealth-giver, furtherer with troops of heroes, sparing the brave, come, Soma, to our houses.

20 To him who worships Soma gives the milchcow, a fleet steed and a man of active knowledge, skilled in home duties, meet for holy synod, for council meet, a glory to his father.
 

21 Invincible in fight, saver in battles, guard of our camp, winner of light and water, born amid hymns, well-housed, exceeding famous, victor, in thee will we rejoice, O Soma.

22 These herbs, these milch-kine, and these running waters, all these, O Soma, thou hast generated. The spacious firmament bast thou expanded, and with the light thou hast dispelled the darkness.

23 Do thou, God Soma, with thy Godlike spirit, victorious, win for us a share of riches. Let none prevent thee: thou art Lord of valor. Provide for both sides in the fray for booty.

 

- Rig Veda, Hymn XCI

[Aeran]

Not in any way pertinent to Daoism, I just happen to think it's one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've come across in recent memory:

 

Quote

 

Some of the evil of my tale may have been inherent in our circumstances. For years we lived anyhow with one another in the naked desert, under the indifferent heaven. By day the hot sun fermented us; and we were dizzied by the beating wind. At night we were stained by dew, and shamed into pettiness by the innumerable silences of stars. We were a self-centred army without parade or gesture, devoted to freedom, the second of man's creeds, a purpose so ravenous that it devoured all our strength, a hope so transcendent that our earlier ambitions faded in its glare.

 

As time went by our need to fight for the ideal increased to an unquestioning possession, riding with spur and rein over our doubts. Willy-nilly it became a faith. We had sold ourselves into its slavery, manacled ourselves together in its chain-gang, bowed ourselves to serve its holiness with all our good and ill content. The mentality of ordinary human slaves is terrible--they have lost the world--and we had surrendered, not body alone, but soul to the overmastering greed of victory. By our own act we were drained of morality, of volition, of responsibility, like dead leaves in the wind.

 

The everlasting battle stripped from us care of our own lives or of others'. We had ropes about our necks, and on our heads prices which showed that the enemy intended hideous tortures for us if we were caught. Each day some of us passed; and the living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage: indeed, our taskmaster was merciless, merciless, so long as our bruised feet could stagger forward on the road. The weak envied those tired enough to die; for success looked so remote, and failure a near and certain, if sharp, release from toil.

 

We lived always in the stretch or sag of nerves, either on the crest or in the trough of waves of feeling. This impotency was bitter to us, and made us live only for the seen horizon, reckless what spite we inflicted or endured, since physical sensation showed itself meanly transient. Gusts of cruelty, perversions, lusts ran lightly over the surface without troubling us; for the moral laws which had seemed to hedge about these silly accidents must be yet fainter words. We had learned that there were pangs too sharp, griefs too deep, ecstasies too high for our finite selves to register. When emotion reached this pitch the mind choked; and memory went white till the circumstances were humdrum once more.

 

Lawrence, T.E.. 'Lawrence of Arabia' - Seven Pillars of Wisdom [Illustrated] (Kindle Locations 102-119). LeClue22. Kindle Edition. 

 

 

[9th]

 

[Marblehead]

Well, I agree with the title  "Fear Is The Mind Killer".

 

[9th]

Yes, well its certainly not for everyone.  Thats for sure.

 

[Starjumper]

Don't worry about temptation -- as you grow older, it starts avoiding you.

 

-- Old Farmer's Almanac

[9th]

 

[9th]

(2) Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. After he finds, he will become troubled. After he becomes troubled, he will be filled with wonder, and he will rule over the All."

 

 

(97) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking on the road, still some distance from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal emptied out behind her on the road. She did not realize it; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty."

 

 

(60) They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples, "That man is round about the lamb."

They said to him, "So that he may kill it and eat it."

He said to them, "While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse."

They said to him, "He cannot do so otherwise."

He said to them, "You too, look for a place for yourself within repose, lest you become a corpse and be eaten."

 

 

(57) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a man who had good seed. His enemy came by night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The man did not allow them to pull up the weeds; he said to them, 'I am afraid that you will go intending to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.' For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be plainly visible, and they will be pulled up and burned."

 

 

(75) Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber."

 

 

(18) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."

Jesus said, "Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death."

 

 

(39) Jesus said, "The pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."

 

 

(3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."

 

 

(50) Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where did you come from?', say to them, 'We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?', say, 'We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.' If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your father in you?', say to them, 'It is movement and repose.'"

 

 

(11) Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"

 

 

(113) His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?"

Jesus said, "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'here it is' or 'there it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."

[9th]

Quote

“Sacrifice is necessary only while the process of crystallization is going on. When crystallization is achieved, renunciations, privations, and sacrifices are no longer necessary. Then a man may have everything he wants. There are no longer any laws for him, he is a law unto himself.”

 

– G. G. 

 

 

[9th]

Quote

 

1.  This restless Soma - you try to grab him but he breaks away and overpowers everything. He is a sage and a seer inspired by poetry.

 

2.  He covers the naked and heals all who are sick. The blind man sees; the lame man steps forth.

 

3.  Soma, you are a broad defense against those who hate us, both enemies we have made ourselves and those made by others.

 

4.  Through your knowledge and skills, rushing forward you drive out of the sky and the earth the evil deed of the enemy.

 

5.  Let those who seek find what they seek: let them receive the treasure given by the generous and stop those possessed by greed.

 

6.  Let him find what was lost before. Let him push forward the man of truth. Let him stretch out the life-span that has not yet crossed its span.

 

7.  Be kind and merciful to us, Soma; be good to our heart, without confusing our powers in your whirlwind. 

 

8.  King Soma, do not enrage us; do not terrify us; do not wound our heart with dazzling light.

 

9.  Give help, when you see the evil plans of the gods in your own house.  Generous king, keep away hatreds, keep away failures.

 

 

- Rig Veda 8.79.1

 

 

[9th]

 

[9th]

 

[blue eyed snake]

The Song of the Wanderer

Nobody, nobody told me
What nobody, nobody knows
But now I know where the rainbow ends
I know where there grows
A Tree, that’s called the Tree of Life
I know where there flows
The river of All-Forgotteness
And where the lotus blows
And I, I’ve trodden the forest
Where, in flames of gold and rose,
To burn and then arise again
The Phoenix goes.
Nobody, nobody told me
What nobody, nobody knows
Hide thy face in a veil of light
Put on thy silver shoes
Thou art the stranger I know best
Thou art the sweet heart, who
Came from the land between Wake and Dream
Cold with the morning dew.

 

Walter de la Mare