Chinese Proverbs

Quotes

 Had a maximum hits on the Proverb sections, here are some more for your reading pleasure:

• ·         A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
• ·         A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.(My favorite)
• ·         A book holds a house of gold.
• ·         A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
• ·         A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.
• ·         A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.
• ·         A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
• ·         A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.
• ·         A fool judges people by the presents they give him.
• ·         A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.
• ·         A nation's treasure is in its scholars.
• ·         A rat who gnaws at a cat's tail invites destruction.
• ·         Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
• ·         Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.
• ·         Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.
• ·         Dig the well before you are thirsty.
• ·         Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil.
• ·         Do not employ handsome servants.
• ·         Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
• ·         Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.
• ·         Don't open a shop unless you like to smile.
• ·         Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown.
• ·         Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
• ·         He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
• ·         He who is drowned is not troubled by the rain.
• ·         He who strikes the first blow admits he's lost the argument.
• ·         If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.
• ·         If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
• ·         If you bow at all, bow low.
• ·         If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Chinese_Proverb/

"Better to light a candle than curse the darkness." - Chinese Proverb

Here are a few words each one of us need to think and reflect upon,

Do you carry feelings of guilt about something you did–or failed to do–in the past? 

This much is certain: you acted according to your level of consciousness or rather 

unconsciousness at that time. If you had been more aware, more conscious, you 

would have acted differently. 

Guilt is another attempt by the ego to create an identity, a sense of self. To the ego, 

it doesn’t matter whether that self is positive or negative. What you did or failed to 

do was a manifestation of unconsciousness–human unconsciousness. The ego, 

however, personalizes it and says, “I did that,” and so you carry a mental image of 

yourself as “bad." 

Throughout history humans have inflicted countless violent, cruel, and hurtful acts 

on each other, and continue to do so. Are they all to be condemned; are they all 

guilty? Or are those acts simply expressions of unconsciousness, an evolutionary 

stage that we are now growing out of? 

Jesus’ words, “Forgive them for they know not what they do,” also apply to 

yourself. 

- by Eckhart Tolle 

(Stillness Speaks)

From Stillness Speaks - Echart Tolle

Stillness is your essential nature. What is stillness? The inner space or awareness in 
which the words on this page are being perceived and become thoughts. Without 
that awareness, there would be no perception, no thoughts, no world. 
You are that awareness, disguised as a person. 


The equivalent of external noise is the inner noise of thinking. The equivalent of 
external silence is inner stillness. 


Whenever there is some silence around you — listen to it. That means just notice it. 
Pay attention to it. Listening to silence awakens the dimension of stillness within 
yourself, because it is only through stillness that you can be aware of silence. 
See that in the moment of noticing the silence around you, you are not thinking. 
You are aware, but not thinking. 

When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still 
alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective 
human conditioning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, 
how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness. 

Reiki Healing

Reiki is a healing practice that originated in Japan and means "universal life energy". Reiki healing is based on the idea that there is a universal source of energy that supports the body's innate healing abilities. Practitioners seek to access this energy, allowing it to flow through the body and facilitate healing. 

Reiki practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the person receiving treatment, with the goal of facilitating the person's own healing response. Reiki is used for relaxation, stress reduction and symptom relief, in efforts to improve overall health and well-being. Reiki is also used to treat people with anxiety, chronic pain and other health conditions. People recovering from surgery or experiencing side effects from cancer treatments have used Reiki as well as people who are dying (and to their families and caregivers) to help impart a sense of peace. 

This ancient art has been in practice since a very long time, the benefits are truly remarkable to experience.

Breathe

Breathe.

Breathing can transform your life.

If you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will help bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it for longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.

Tip: Put the word “Breathe” as a screensaver or desktop pic, or put it up as a note on your wall or fridge or on your desk. Then do it every time you see the word.

Mindfulness Gathas: Present Moment, Wonderful Moment – Thich Nhat Hanh

I am currently reading a book by Thich Nhat Hanh. Mindfulness Gathas: Present Moment, Wonderful Moment. Here is a review from Amazon I found aptly says about the book.


Thich Nhat Hanh is simply one of the easiest, most gentle authors on the practical application of eastern thought available today. Present Moment, Wonderful Moment is a delight to read. It is a collection of useful verses to keep us mindful throughout the day, recognizing how easy it is to lose sight of the present moment when the crash of life clamors about us constantly. 


Thich Nhat Hanh uses the technique of memorizing "gathas" for the purpose of focusing the mind on the thing you are doing now rather than on whatever other chatter is going on in the mind. Further, with each verse there is anywhere from a paragraph to a few pages of commentary that give the reader not only insight into the application of the verse, but also insight into the mind and soul of Thich Nhat Hanh. The result is inspirational, soothing, and useful. Of particular importance is the fact that the author, while a monk, is not in the least unaware of the realities of modern life, and included in his verses are ones for talking on the phone, turning on the television, and turning on an electric light. 


Those not familiar with mindfulness practice might wonder at the insignificance of those daily, mundane experiences, but Thich Nhat Hanh helps us to recognize that there is life "spent" in each of those (and countless other) little activities, and without recognizing that life mindfully, it is life wasted. This man has a simple message...live life fully, abundantly, happily and peacefully, with full awareness of that life as you experience it in the moment. This is a book you will refer to often as you practice mindfulness.

Quotes and Proverbs

Emptiness is infact form when we forget the self. There's nothing in the universe *other* than ourself. Nothing to compare, name, or identify. When it's the only thing there is, how can we talk about it??- Taizan Maezumi

If you put your conditioned intellect to rest for a long time, suddenly it will be like the bottom fallin out of a bucket -- then you will naturally be happy and at peace.

- Yaunwu

This sounds an extraordinary statement to make, but in fact all truth is very ordinary. It is peoples' fantasies of what is true that is so extraordinary. That that we were born and that we face eternal extinction after death is an extraordinary fantasy.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
- Helen Keller
- Osho
- Dogen Zenji

If you are in the future, then ego seems to be very substantial. If you are in the present the ego is a mirage, it starts disappearing.

Not to study the Buddha way is to fall into the realm of shameless and erroneous ways. All preceding and succeeding Buddhas always practice the Buddha way.