July 12, 1998

In a real sense all life is inter-related.

All persons are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,

tied in a single garment of destiny:

Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be,

and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.

This is the inter-related structure of reality.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

July 13, 1998

A human being is part of the whole called by us "universe,"

a part limited in time and space.

We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings

as something separate from the rest ~

a kind of optical delusion of consciousness.

This delusion is a kind of prison for us,

restricting us to our personal desires

and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison

by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures

and the whole of nature in its beauty.

~ Albert Einstein

Tuesday, July 14, 1998

Beginning the day,

I see that life is a miracle.

Attentive to each moment,

I keep my mind clear like a calm river.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

July 15, 1998

Love is there—always.

It lives as we live.

This is the essence that gives breath to our bodies and to our souls.

This is the breath of God.

It infuses each of us with life and purpose.

It endows us with the grace to give and receive ~

the way our bodies breathe out and breathe in….

~ Benjamin Shield

July 16, 1998

As long as there is driveness,

then we cannot experience our true nature.

Our true nature is effortless.

It is the nature of nature itself ~ an effortless spontaneous flow.

Whether we realize it or not, all of us, from infancy on,

start to acquire driveness, compulsiveness, grabbiness,

and that covers over our true nature.

As long as that is covered over…life is going to be suffering.

On the other hand, we could just as well say that

Buddhism teaches that life is heaven on earth if we see what is really there.

~ Shinzen Young

July 17, 1998

Prayer and love are learned in the hour

when prayer becomes impossible

and your heart has turned to stone.

~ Thomas Merton

July 18, 1998

The only abnormality is the incapacity to love.

~ Anais Nin

Sunday, July 19, 1998

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, let me be an instrument of thy Peace.

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may

not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~  St. Francis of Assisi

July 20, 1998

I do not think the measure of a civilization

is how tall its buildings of concrete are,

But rather how well its people have learned to relate

to their environment and fellow man.

~ Sun Bear of the Chippewa Tribe

July 21, 1998

If thy heart were right,

then every creature would be a mirror of life

and a book of holy doctrine.

There is no creature so small and abject,

but it reflects the goodness of God.

~ Thomas a’ Kempis

July 22, 1998

If you aim to dispense with method, learn method.

If you aim at facility, work hard.

If you aim for simplicity, master complexity.

~ author unknown

The Way of Chinese Painting

July 23, 1998

Heaven is my father and earth my mother

and even such a small creature as I

finds an intimate place in its midst.

That which extends throughout the universe,

I regard as my body

and that which directs the universe,

I regard as my nature.

All people are my brothers and sisters,

and all things are my companion.

~ Chang-tsai (11^th century)

July 24, 1998

The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao-tzu’s dictum:

Those who know do not say;

Those who say do not know.

When the master entered,

They asked him what the words meant.

Said the master,

"Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?"

All of them indicated that they knew.

Then he said, "put it into words."

All of them were silent.

~ from Anthony deMello, One Minute Wisdom

July 25, 1998

There is no enlightenment outside of daily life.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

July 26, 1998

Each day of human life

contains joy and anger,

pain and pleasure,

darkness and light,

growth and decay.

Each movement

is etched with nature’s grand design~

do not try to deny or oppose the cosmic order of things.

~ Morihei Ueshiba

July 27, 1998

There is a great need to bring spiritual values into the corporate setting.

Persuading your organization to shift from a paradigm of competition,

exploitation and self interest, to cooperation, empowerment

and the common good is one of the greatest gifts you can give to society.

~  Richard Barrett,

     at the World Bank

July 28, 1998

In the Native way we are encouraged to recognize

that every moment is a sacred moment,

and every action, when imbued with dedication

and commitment to benefit all beings,

is a sacred act.

~  Dhyani Ywahoo

July 29, 1998

He is one, the Lord and innermost Self of all;

Of one form, he makes of himself many forms.

To him who sees the Self revealed in his own heart

Belongs eternal bliss.

~ traditional, Katha Upanishad

Thursday, July 30, 1998

As human beings,

our greatness lies not so much

in being able to remake the world…

as in being able to remake ourselves.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

July 31, 1998

The Way is long ~

   let us go together.

The Way is difficult ~

   let us help each other.

The way is joyful ~

   let us share it.

The way is ours alone ~

   let us go in love.

The way grows before us ~

   let us begin.

~ Zen Invocation