Lamp Post in winter

Taken this picture two weeks ago during a lone walk back from the city of Reutlingen back to my hostel... 

The Only Book to Read

There is only one book to read : Your Heart

~Venerable Ajahn Chah~
No Ajahn Chah : Reflections

Settling Back into the Moment : Effort without Tension

There should be the greatest effort possible without causing tension

Taken from the book "Settling Back into the Moment : A Meditator's Inspirational Guide"

Settling Back into the Moment : Mindfulness

It's beautiful and peaceful
to stay in peace
of silence of mind
But that takes a lot of mindfulness
because we are conditioned
to a lot of talk

Taken from the book "Settling back into the Moment : A Meditator's Inspirationsl Guide"

Settling Back into the Moment : Being Here and Now

Every moment should be lived completely and wholeheartedly

taken from "Settling Back Into The Moment : A meditator's inspirational guide"

Withdrawal...

Withdrawal is Removal of Misery
Withdrawal is Extraction of Disease.
Withdrawal is Pulling out the splinter of Pain.
Withdrawal is Retraction from Danger.
Withdrawal is Renunciation of Ill.
Withdrawal is Letting Go of what is Burning.
Withdrawal is Turning Away from what is Sorrow.
Withdrawal is Seclusion from what is Grief.
Withdrawal is Clearing of Captivating Illusions.
Withdrawal is Waking Up from Enthralling Trance.
Withdrawal is Freedom from Enslaving Addiction.
Withdrawal is Protection of what is Entrapping.
Withdrawal is Giving Up what is Detrimental.
Withdrawal is Discharge of what is Infested.
Withdrawal is Breaking out of the Prison.
Withdrawal is Release from all Suffering...

 Withdraw, as the man newly freed from prison
 does not at all wish himself back in prison!
                                                       
The Basket of Conduct, Cariyapitaka 

Settling Back into the Moment : Death Awareness

The awareness of death provides the space of clarity in which we can understand the process who it is that we are, and who it is that dies.

taken from "Settling Back Into The Moment : A meditator's inspirational guide"

Settling Back into the Moment : Ripening Fruits

Like fruit ripening on a tree.

As the sun shines on it,
although from day to the next,
the process may be imperceptible.

In the same way,
the changes and ripening in our mind are also going on...

taken from "Settling Back Into The Moment : A meditator's inspirational guide"

Settling Back into the Moment : Eating Mindfully

Usually we eat very unmindfully.
Taste comes and goes very quickly.
While the food is in the mouth,
because of desire and greed for continuing taste sensations,
the arm reaches for more and generally we are unaware of the whole process involved.

Finish each mouthful before reaching for another.
In this way we become sensitive to our bodies and how much food we need.
It's very hard to overeat when you eat mindfully

taken from "Settling Back Into The Moment : A meditator's inspirational guide"

learning from the Past

Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.

~George Santayana.~

The most powerful one

The most powerful man is not he who counquers thousands upon thousands of heads in a battle, but he who can master his mind.

~The Buddha~

War

War is a savage relic left by primitive humans

~Albert Einstein~

A Prayer of Compassion

May i become at all times, both now and forever,
A protector for those without protection,
A guide for those who have lost their way,
A ship for those whit oceans to cross,
A bridge for those with rivers to cross,
A sanctuary for those in danger,
A lamp for those without light,
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter,
And a servant for all in need

~His Holiness the Dalai Lama~

Mirrors...

mirrors are tools for us to have a look at ourselves, it doesn't matter how the mirror is made out of, the normal ones on the wall, or reflections from the water surface or shiny and reflective items, they all can be used to reflect light...and show us how we looked like...

but have we tried to reflect on ourselves, in terms of spirituality?? have we ever reflect on what we have done today, both the good and bad things things. we may have helped the poor grandma cross the busy road, or may have taken a friend's pen without telling him or her...

reflecting enables you to evaluate yourself, and your attitude in general. Doing good things can make you feel very good about yourself while doing bad things can create guilt. most people will try to run from the feeling of guilt, but it is the very feeling that will help you improve yourself out there, and be a better person in the process..don't run, confront it and you'll eventually find out what your heart wants to tell you all this while...

reflect on yourself at the end of the day before you sleep, and act on the results...life'll feel much better :)

The Journey called Life... (Part 1 : Storytellers)

The Journey called Life...

1. Storytellers

Ever since we were born we have been travalling on a journey that will take us our whole life to be able to reach the end of it, a journey that we all called our lives. And each of everyone of will have lots of our very own unigue story to tell others. A unique story that no others will have the exact same experience as us.

some of us will have stories that will tell stories that will have a happy ending, some sad ending...some want to hide from it,some will want to reveal them to the whole wide world. some will have be very eventful, some will be rather dull...that's the nature of life, it can't be predicted, not even the so-called fortune tellers.

Behind these stories are people who have lived the times which had come to be the past..some will look forward to what's in the future, some will be stuck in their past, and a little of them will be living in the present, enjoying every breath they take, in and out. some will have guides that will guide them to the right path and enjoyed the fruits of their labour, some will have strayed from the path and had to suffer the consequences...

so what is it that all of us are travelling on now?? This journey is to be named life and the only place we are standing or should i say walking on shall be the present, what is in front of us will be the future and what is behind us will be the past...and it's like travelling through a series of doors that can only be opened in one way and not the other.

Regret shall be of no use in this and every life, what is in the past is in the past, it's above us in the slope now, and there shall be no way for us to travel back and repair the damage. The damage is done for now, and what we can do is to move on with the journey.

when we do come to a junction, often we are too afraid to choose what is best for us and let others do the choosing for us. If all turns well we'll keep relying on the person to keep choosing for us, if everything goes wrong, we blame the poor one for bringing us misery. If we had looked deep into our hearts and minds, we'll have the answers ready for everything, and there shall be no need to let other people make the choice for us. If it proves to be wrong then take note of it and move on with life, there are no need to stay there and weep. If it proves to be correct then also take note of it and keep moving forward, no need to celebrate for years and years, that will constitute as standing still too.

the road in front of us are always covered by a very thick fog, we can never ever see for sure what will happen if we keep moving on, neither can we see what's behind us as well. do we stay there and keep wondering in which direction we should be going? or take the risk and move on forward and see what is in store for us? Of course, our hearts will be our reliable guide as always..perhaps we can stop for a while and listen to what it have to say...most of us are so diluted be illusions that we are very afraid to see what is really good for us, because our visions are clouded by the thick fog. Look deep into your heart and let if guide you to the correct path, the fog will eventually disappear and all will be clear for you.

of every moment we are both dying into the past and being born into the future, what we really have is one and the only one, which is the present. can we actually enjoy every breath of air that we are breathing, when we can do that, then life will be so fulfilling...one does not need to accumulate lots and lots to be happy, all that is needed is only to live at the moment, enjoying whatever we are doing now, not worrying about what's in the part nor the future...

and of course, that will include letting go when it's time to do so, most of us are holding on to something, hoping things will go our way..some will keep holding on to things even though they are of no more use, some keep chaining themselves to their past..some fell slaves to what's going to (or perhaps will never come) happen. some keep clasping to what that is no more theirs, some kept holding on to the hope that the good times soon even though they are doing nothing but keep hoping. learn to let go of anything when it's time, and feel the joy of doing so, it's just being able to breathe fresh air after being kept in a jail with no windows for the last 100 years...

remember that nothing is permeanant over here, everything will change no matter matter how much we wanted them to stay the same forever. change is imminent no matter what and all we have to do is to accept it and move on..no point crying over what we had lost, for every lost we gain something else. we may not what we had gained by losing something but do be patient for a while, not everything can be clearly seen the first time around.

Life is all about patience,if we are can be patient in every situation and observe carefully, life can be very bad or very sweet But it all depends on how you would choose to look at it. If you choose to look at the world with gloomy eyes, then the world will be gloomy all the time,no matter how much you try to entertain yourself. If you choose to look at the world with a beautiful outlook, thethe world will be beautiful no matter how ulgy to others it is. Whether you want to live a happy or sad life depends on what you choose. Now the question to you all,how would you look at the world? What kind of story are you going to tell the others later on? Should it be a happy or sad? It's all up to you to do the choosing.