Sunday, November 05, 2006

Proverbs of Samsara

Hello all! Being an admirer of William Blake and Buddhism, I thought it would be fun to follow his example of The Proverbs of Hell (from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell), and make up some "Proverbs of Samsara." If you have any comments, cool. If you have some "proverbs" to add, even cooler! Remember, don't take yourself too serious...

Proverbs of Samsara

1. Emptiness delights in myriad forms.

2. Meticulous Conduct & Observance is the mask of Pride.

3. "Outside words and letters" is the most adamantine of Idols.

4. The Sword that kills is the Sword that gives Life.

5. The cut cat forgives the knife.

6. The worship of Enlightenment will keep a person in Ignorance.

7. In still pools, larvae flourish.

8. In each particle, all particles, in all, each.

9. Without Emptiness, Passion is a vicious circle; without Form, even the dew dripping on lotus blossoms becomes loathsome.

10. An ordinary mortal who sees all things in each thing is a Buddha. A Buddha who sees anything outside all things is an ordinary mortal.

11. Discern the Greatness of a person's god by the Greatness of their Passion, or the smallness.

12. Those whose goal is Nothing Special, are themselves, nothing special.

13. Only by way of Great Doubt, can one arrive at Great Certainty.

14. Lucidity of preference is the measure of freedom.

15. Loving lies reveal; hateful honesty conceals.

16. Trust the man that has deceived you, to deceive you.

17. Hate only those that can be hated with love.

5 comments:

Ted Biringer said...

Hey mike,

Thanks for the post.

Whilst answers are possible questions remain.

Baloons and pins. POP!

Gassho, Ted

Ted Biringer said...

Ha!

I have personally resolved the koan:

"Does this dress make me look fat."

The enlightened response is, "Absolutely not! You make it look beautiful!"

Ted Biringer said...

Mike,

Don't feel bad, I did not realize it until my fifth marriage...

Gassho, Ted

Ted Biringer said...

Mike,

You really have developed an evolutionary mode of upaya!

Thank you!

Ted

Ted Biringer said...

Mike,

Thanks for the warning...

I have tried to be careful, but it seems that every thing I see is not really there...

I will work on it. Ha!

Take care, Ted