knot

My teacher once said to me,
--become one with the knot itself,
til it dissolves away.
--sweep the garden.
--any size.

~Gary Snyder

Cognition

Mind is not Buddha

Cognition is not the path.

~Zen Master Nam Choen

Where are you going?

Buddha is your mind

And the Way goes nowhere.

Don't look for anything but this.

If you point your cart north

When you want to go south,

How will you arrive?

~Zen Master Ryokan

Mullah's Tigers?

One day, a student of Mullah Nasrudin went to visit him. He happened to sneak up from behind, intending to surprise Mullah, when he noticed that he was sprinkling bread crumbs around the perimeter of the garden.
"Mullah, what on earth are you doing?"
"Oh, this? It's my technique for keeping the tigers away."
"But Mullah", the student replied, "there are no tigers for miles around here!"
"Effective, isn't it?" said Mullah.

Sink into This World

So much suffering in Nirvana castles
So joyous to sink into this world.

When in old clothes you call yourself Buddha,
What do you call yourself in silk?

Wooden man went out with shoes at night,
Stone woman came back with hat in morning.

You, for the first time, can perceive when you
Pick up the moon three times as it floats on the pond.

~Zen Master Seung Sahn, Bone of Space.

Existence

You are what you are.
I am what I am.

The sky is blue,
The trees are green.
The sun is bright.
The night is dark.

Sunset

"It has only been a game all this while. Must do some work now", thought the sun. He managed to get out of the clutches of the clouds and looked around him. Then, he spread his sharp rays over the world illuminating it with his splendour. The sun was serious about his work, the wind was quiet. Both were engrossed in their respective tasks. The grove on the bank of the river hummed with the primeval sound of the universe. The river, when it was but a trickle, had played with all the pebbles it met on its way - the big ones and the little ones. Now that it had attained maturity, it had a dignity of its own. Then, too, it had flowed towards the sea. But it was not obsessed with its journey. Now, it was only concious of its duty. But even if it had the status of an adult, should there not be a little playfulness too? So, it went round and round in some places, jumped and danced in others, making soft sounds as it flowed along.

The rays of the sun touched the river, the grove on its banks, the quiet village in the distance. Everything bathed in golden glow. The sun realised that the world had its radiance from him. He saw it all and he wanted to stay. But he had to go. Faced with this dilemma, the sun went down. The day ended. A calm filled the earth.

~ Excerpt from a book by Venkatesha Iyengar.

Joy

Opal: "Gloria says people are alone because they forgot how to share their sadness, but I think it’s because they forgot how to share their joy".
Gloria: "There ain't no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it."

~Movie: Because of Winn Dixie.

singularity

The moon shines on the river,
The wind blows through the pines,--
Whose providence is this long beautiful evening?

One moon is reflected in many waters;
All the water-moons are from the one moon.

~Zen Master Yung-chia Hsuan-chueh,
Song of Enlightenment.

Love and Beauty

Love and Beauty,
both are fine.
None is great,
none is more.
Beauty proud,
it looks so good!
Love humble.
it likes the good.

A moment...

drizzle mingles into

the whispering river
leaves dance to
the rhythm of rain-drops
mind and nature
exists none.

Rain

The nature of rain is the same,
but it makes thorns grow in the marshes

and flowers in the gardens.

~Arabic saying.

Emptiness

Sometimes there would be a rush of noisy visitors
and the Silence of the monastery would be shattered.

This would upset the disciples;
not the Master, who seemed just as content
with the noise as with the Silence.

To his protesting disciples he said one day,
"Silence is not the absence of sound,
but the absence of self."

~ Anthony de Mello

Yoda Quotes

Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.

---

Do or do not... there is no try.

---

May the Force be with you.

---

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

---

Grave danger you are in. Impatient you are.

---

Always in motion is the future.

---

Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.

---

Named must your fear be before banish it you can.

---

You will find only what you bring in.

---

Not if anything to say about it I have.

---

Soon will I rest, yes, forever sleep. Earned it I have. Twilight is upon me, soon night must fall.

---

[Luke:] I can’t believe it. [Yoda:] That is why you fail.

---

Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.

---

Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you.

---

The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the future is.

---

Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.

---

Pain, suffering, death I feel. Something terrible has happened. Young Skywalker is in pain. Terrible pain.

---

Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Luke... Luke... do not... do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor or suffer your father's fate you will. Luke, when gone am I... the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned, Luke. There is... another... Sky... walker.

---

Ohhh. Great warrior.Wars not make one great.

---

The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader.

---

Lost a planet, Obi Wan has.

---

Happens to every guy sometimes this does.

---

Only the Dark Lord of the Sith knows of our weakness. If informed the senate is, multiply our adversaries will.

---

Feel the force!.

---

Around the survivors a perimeter create.

---

Good relations with the Wookiees, I have.

---

Not victory Obi won. The shroud of the darkside has fallen. Begun the clone war has.

---

Use your feeling, Obi-Wan, and find him [Anakin] you will.

---

Blind we are, if creation of this clone army we could not see.

---

Urm. Put a shield on my saber I must.

---

Save them [Luke and Leia], we must. They are our last hope.

---

Always two there are, a master and an apprentice.

---

When 900 years you reach, look as good, you will not.

---

Project Mayhem

Tyler Durden: The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is - you DO NOT talk about Fight Club. Third rule of Fight Club, someone yells Stop!, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule, only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule, one fight at a time, fellas. Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes. Seventh rule, fights will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight.

---

Tyler Durden: You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f*** khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.

---

Narrator: Well, what do you want me to do? You just want me to hit you?
Tyler Durden: C'mon, do me this one favor.
Narrator: Why?
Tyler Durden: Why? I don't know why; I don't know. Never been in a fight. You?
Narrator: No, but that's a good thing.
Tyler Durden: No, it is not. How much can you know about yourself, you've never been in a fight? I don't wanna die without any scars. So come on; hit me before I lose my nerve.
Narrator: This is crazy.
Tyler Durden: So go crazy. Let 'er rip.
Narrator: I don't know about this.
Tyler Durden: I don't either. Who gives a shit? No one's watching. What do you care?
Narrator: Whoa, wait, this is crazy. You want me to hit you?
Tyler Durden: That's right.
Narrator: What, like in the face?
Tyler Durden: Surprise me.
Narrator: This is so f*** stupid...
[Narrator swings, connects against Tyler's head]
Tyler Durden: M**f**! You hit me in the ear!
Narrator: Well, Jesus, I'm sorry.
Tyler Durden: Ow, Christ... why the ear, man?
Narrator: Guess I f*** it up...
Tyler Durden: No, that was perfect!

---

Narrator: Oh, it's late. Hey, thanks for the beer.
Tyler Durden: Yeah, man.
Narrator: I should find a hotel.
Tyler Durden: [in disbelief] What?
Narrator: What?
Tyler Durden: A hotel?
Narrator: Yeah.
Tyler Durden: Just ask, man.
Narrator: What are you talking about?
Tyler Durden: [laughs] Three pitchers of beer, and you still can't ask.
Narrator: What?
Tyler Durden: You call me because you need a place to stay.
Narrator: Oh, hey, no, no, no, I didn't mean...
Tyler Durden: Yes, you did. So just ask. Cut the foreplay and just ask.
Narrator: Would - would that be a problem?
Tyler Durden: Is it a problem for you to ask?
Narrator: Can I stay at your place?
Tyler Durden: Yeah.

---

Tyler Durden: This is your life... good to the last drop.

---

Tyler Durden: The things you own end up owning you.

---

Narrator: After fighting, everything else in your life got the volume turned down.

---

Tyler Durden: Tell him. Tell him, The liberator who destroyed my property has realigned my perceptions.

---

Tyler Durden: Reject the basic assumptions of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions.

---

Tyler Durden: Something wrong, Dear?

---

Hacker

Trinity: You came here because you wanted to know the answer to a hacker's question.
Neo: The Matrix. What is the Matrix?
Trinity: Twelve years ago I met a man, a great man, who said that no one could be told the answer to that question. That they had to see it, to believe it. He told me that no one should look for the answer unless they have to because once you see it, everything changes. Your life and the world you live in will never be the same. It's as if you wake up one morning and the sky is falling. The truth is out there, Neo. It's looking for you and it will find you, if you want it to.

---

Morpheus: How did I beat you?
Neo: You -- You're too fast.
Morpheus: Do you think my being faster, stronger has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you believe that's air you are breathing now? If you can free your mind, the body will follow.

---

Morpheus: Do you now understand what it means when we say, if you're not one of us, you're one of them?
Neo: The agents. They're sentient programs. They can commandeer any software hardwired to the mainframe.
Morpheus: Anyone that is still in a power plant. That is why we try to be invisible in the Matrix.
Neo: The best hacking is always traceless.

---

Spoon Boy: Your spoon does not bend because it is just that, a spoon. Mine bends because there is no spoon, just my mind. Link yourself to the spoon. Become the spoon and bend yourself.

---

Neo: This isn't real?
Morpheus: What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then all you're talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

---

Noise

"aarghh feeling so sleepy! umm had too much today. dunno what I should work on? Tomorrow is niyati's exam! Is this browser vulnerable too n they said firefox is revolution, most secure? but i have fixed it neways. that blog was cool. why i feel ache in my back? maybe this chair is not really ergonomic? i need to fix that SOA paper stuff today! am i typing?? ............................"
so many thoughts. how many of these do really matter? what would be the noise ratio? too high? do we have noisy minds? polluted minds?
who cares! is this noise too? Damn it!

Welcome

Title lines are result of inspiration from Zen readings.
Will continue further soon....