Maxims

Run to the edge of a cliff
and stop on a dime.
- David Reynolds
Constructive Living, 1984

There are three key words here: run, edge, stop. When confronted by a problem in life, do what can be done to solve it (run); use every recourse in moving to the moment of solution (edge); and remain unattached to the outcome (stop). The goal is wholehearted commitment to the doing, not the result. If we merely meander toward the solution, or if we try only one recourse when several are possible, or if we rely on "everything working out well," there will inevitably be discontent because problems do not consistently resolve themselves as we want.

When you're not noticing your grief,
where is it?
- David Reynolds
Constructive Living, 1984

Some people would argue that grief, or any other emotion, is stored chemically in the body even when we're not aware of it. That's like saying the the mind and the brain are the same thing. They're not. Consciousness is only consciousness; it may be influenced by the physical world, but it is never identical to it.

Quotes

Reality is truth.

-- Shoma Morita

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

--Robert Byrne

There would be no satisfaction
if there were no desires.

--Shoma Morita

Life is denied by lack of attention,
whether it be to cleaning windows
or trying to write a masterpiece.

--Nadia Boulanger

Feelings can change like the Japanese sky.

--Shoma Morita

A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment.
If one fully understands the present moment,
there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue.

--Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Attending to symptoms, we lose our purpose.

-- Shoma Morita

What I did just now is already past.
Whether that moment brought success or failure,
the next moment is now arriving.
Herein lies existential hope
-- not as a feeling, but as an integral part of reality.

--David Reynolds

The whole of life lies in the verb "seeing".

--Teilhard De Chardin

Maxims

Give and give until you wave goodbye.

-- David Reynolds
Constructive Living, 1984

In some relationships (the principle applies to jobs, as well) there is psychological disengagement long before the breakup. We recommend that both members give themselves to the relationship right up to the moment of separation. Sometimes the separation becomes unnecessary when this effort is put forth, but in any case there is no regret for something left undone. We aim at doing everything well until we begin something else. Then we do that well, too.

Find compassion for others in your own transgressions.

-- Gregg Krech
Naikan: Hidden Gifts Revealed

How often do we make judgements about the way others are managing their lives? We cannot understand how they could be acting in such foolish, irresponsible ways. Our self- righteousness may dissolve as we recall our own mistakes and transgressions. Can we remember our own fear, confusion and anxiety? Can we recall our own irresponsible behavior? Can we reflect on the times we acted selfishly and blindly, causing suffering to others? Our own life experience may soften us to the difficulties of others and help us understand those who are struggling, just as we ourselves have struggled, and continue to struggle.

Quotes

Love is not a matter of getting what you want.
Quite the contrary.
The insistence on always having what you want,
on always being satisfied, on always being fulfilled,
makes love impossible.

--Thomas Merton

When the emphasis is on getting my share,
I'll always be disappointed. When the emphasis is on
realistically recognizing what I am already receiving
and on working to repay those around me,
this is the only genuine opportunity for fulfillment.

--David Reynolds

We need lots of love to forgive,
but we need much more humility to ask for forgiveness.

--Mother Theresa

Sometimes I go about in pity for myself
and all the while a Great Wind is bearing me across the sky.

-- Ojibwa Saying

The unexamined life is not worth living.

-- Socrates

We pray for our daily bread;
bread gives us the strength to do so.

-- R.H. Blyth

Today is for-giving.

--Patricia Ryan Madson

No matter what food you are blessed with,
if you weren't blessed with an appetite too,
you'd be in a bad way, wouldn't you?

--Kosho Uchiyama Roshi

It is the familiar that usually eludes us in life.
What is before our nose is what we see last.

-- William Barrett

Usually thinking is rather self-centered.
In our everyday life our thinking
is ninety-nine percent self-centered:
Why do I have suffering?
Why do I have trouble?

-- Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Have a look at the apple tree in your yard.
Look at it with complete attention.
It is truly a miracle.
If you notice it, you will take good care of it,
and you too are part of its miraculousness.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh