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@rookie54
Ha! That strawberry in between is tasty though

The Great Way has no gate;
There are a thousand paths to it.
If you pass through the barrier,
You walk the universe alone.

- Wu-Men (1183–1260)

Does God listen to our thoughts? Not at all. That would drive God mad. Does God judge our actions? Not a bit. We judge each other quite enough. Does God descend into our bodies, whirling and tipsy with the nectar of bewilderment? O yes, again and again, with every breath. Clever people search for lovers here and there, but all they find are lonely faces in a crowded mirror. Friend, why not dance to the drum inside, and meet the crazy lover in your chest? When you open your eyes, the world will be a kiss.
~Fred Lamotte

When the mind is at peace,
The world too is at peace.
Nothing real, nothing absent.
Not holding onto reality,
Not getting stuck in the void,
You are neither holy or wise,
Just an ordinary person who has completed their work.

- Layman Pang-yun (740-808)

Earth, mountains, rivers - hidden in this nothingness.
In this nothingness - earth, mountains, rivers revealed.
Spring flowers, winter snows:
There's no being or non-being, nor denial itself.

- Saisho (d. 1506)

To glorify the Way what do people turn to?
To words and deeds that match,
But oceans of greed never fill up,
And sprouts of delusion keep growing.
Plum trees in bloom cleanse a recluse;
A patch of taro cheers a lone monk.
But do hermits who live by rules
Ever see the Way for the mountains?

- Stonehouse

Whenever you are alone, remind yourself that God has sent everyone else away so that there is only you and Him.

~ Rumi

The Milky Way
Pours waterfalls over this
Human world
The cold rushing tumbling
Sounds echo through the blue sky
Veneration to the great
Compassionate Avalokitsvara
How lucky I am
To have no trouble hearing.

- Muso Soseki (1275-1351)

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
:
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
:
Because I knew you
:
I have been changed for good
:
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for
:
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share
:
And none of it seems to matter anymore
:
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood
:
Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better
:
And because I knew you...
:
Because I knew you...
:
Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good...
~Stephen Schwartz, from the Broadway musical, Wicked
Happy Valentine’s Day

desire again bubbles to the top
like oil finding its way to the surface

fresh hallucinations
~~~~~~~~

By the west eaves I rested
From drafting edicts,
Pines and bamboos
Wrapped in deep stillness.
Then the moon came up,
A fresh breeze began to blow,
And suddenly it was like
An evening in the mountains.
That was why I dreamt
Of the southwest,
Dreamt I was on an outing
To Hsien-yu Temple.
And when I woke and
Heard the sound of the
Palace water clock,
I still thought it was the
Trickling of a mountain stream.

- Po Chu-I (772-846)

The clouds of sunset
Gather in the western sky,
And over the silent silvery Han
Rises a white jade moon.
Not often does life
Bring such beauty.
Where shall I see the moon
Next year?

- Su T’ung-Po (1037-1101)

The dream world cannot be found
Away from my pillow
But nowhere on the pillow can I find it.
And when I am in the dream world
My pillow might as well not exist.
Awake, I feel my dreams are empty;
In dream, the waking world has disappeared.
Can I be sure that the waking universe
Has no pillow beneath it?
If dream and waking alternate,
Which is fantasy, which is real?

- Yuan Hung-tao (1568-1610)

Body comfortable, you forget your four limbs;
Mind comfortable, you forget right and wrong.
Once comfortable, you forget about comfortable,
No longer know who you are.

- Po Chu-I (772-846)

The nature of mind is non-arising;
What need it there of knowledge and views?
Originally there is not a single dharma;
Why discuss inspiring and training?

- Niu T’ou Fa Jung (594-657)