From Parabola:
The Miroku Bodhisattva statue.
"... I do believe it is possible to create, even without ever writing a word or painting a picture, by simply moulding one's inner life. And that too is a deed."
—Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life, p. 87
Dancing Ganesh (Ganesha) sculpture from North Bengal, 11th century AD, Asian Art Museum of Berlin (Dahlem), slate, 56.5 x 25.0 cm, Inv.-Nr. I, 5855
"I spend my happiest hours in reading Vedantic books. They are to me like the light of the morning, like the pure air of the mountains - so simple, so true, if once understood."
—Max Muller
A Tibetan in-exile performs a religious ritual at the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images from The Guardian.
“If, as a result of one’s commitment to the principles of the Bodhisattva ideal, one sees that the purpose of one’s life is to be of benefit to others, and from the depths of one’s heart there is a real sense of dedication of one’s entire life for the benefit of other sentient beings, and that kind of strong courage and principle – for that kind of person, then time doesn’t seem to matter much. Whether or not that person becomes enlightened, as far as he or she is concerned, it doesn’t make any difference, because the purpose of existence is to be of benefit to others, and if the person is able to be of service to others, then that person is really able to fulfill his or her true purpose. Such is the kind of courage and determination to altruistic principles that bodhisattvas should adopt.”
—The Dalai Lama in a talk at UCLA in 1997 in reference to a passage in Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland that deals with feeling discouraged over the length of time required to become “enlightened.”
Prospero Intorcetta "Life and works of Confucius," 1687
"How dare I allow myself to be taken as sage and humane!" he said. "It may rather be said of me that I strive to become such without ceasing."
—Confucious
llustration to Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', XI, verses 592ff. Drawn by Jacob de Gheyn III, Dutch, c.1616-19
Is My Soul Asleep?
Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that work
in the night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought, is it
going around now, cups
empty, carrying only shadows?
No, my soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open
far-off things, listens
at the shores of the great silence.
—By Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz, also known as Antonio Machado (1875-1935), Spanish poet. © 1983 Robert Bly
The Miroku Bodhisattva statue.
"... I do believe it is possible to create, even without ever writing a word or painting a picture, by simply moulding one's inner life. And that too is a deed."
—Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life, p. 87
Dancing Ganesh (Ganesha) sculpture from North Bengal, 11th century AD, Asian Art Museum of Berlin (Dahlem), slate, 56.5 x 25.0 cm, Inv.-Nr. I, 5855
"I spend my happiest hours in reading Vedantic books. They are to me like the light of the morning, like the pure air of the mountains - so simple, so true, if once understood."
—Max Muller
A Tibetan in-exile performs a religious ritual at the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images from The Guardian.
“If, as a result of one’s commitment to the principles of the Bodhisattva ideal, one sees that the purpose of one’s life is to be of benefit to others, and from the depths of one’s heart there is a real sense of dedication of one’s entire life for the benefit of other sentient beings, and that kind of strong courage and principle – for that kind of person, then time doesn’t seem to matter much. Whether or not that person becomes enlightened, as far as he or she is concerned, it doesn’t make any difference, because the purpose of existence is to be of benefit to others, and if the person is able to be of service to others, then that person is really able to fulfill his or her true purpose. Such is the kind of courage and determination to altruistic principles that bodhisattvas should adopt.”
—The Dalai Lama in a talk at UCLA in 1997 in reference to a passage in Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland that deals with feeling discouraged over the length of time required to become “enlightened.”
Prospero Intorcetta "Life and works of Confucius," 1687
"How dare I allow myself to be taken as sage and humane!" he said. "It may rather be said of me that I strive to become such without ceasing."
—Confucious
llustration to Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', XI, verses 592ff. Drawn by Jacob de Gheyn III, Dutch, c.1616-19
Is My Soul Asleep?
Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that work
in the night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought, is it
going around now, cups
empty, carrying only shadows?
No, my soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open
far-off things, listens
at the shores of the great silence.
—By Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz, also known as Antonio Machado (1875-1935), Spanish poet. © 1983 Robert Bly
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