Blindspot

The real danger of the evil eye is that one recognizes the faults in others, but never in oneself.

Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.--Matthew 7:5

A Cruel Truth

Nature is indifferent, but only man is cruel.

"Beasts are not beastly."--Eric Hoffer

Cause and Effect

Science leads us back to religion through which we enter the realm of sacred awe.

Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion.--Albert Einstein

Expert Advice

The definition of an expert: one who thinks he knows.

It is then tempting to define a wise man as one who knows that he does not know. But this is still to be trapped in the realm of the known.

To be truly wise, we must enter into the unknown.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.--Shunryu Suzuki

A Willing Slave

The original sin is fear. The only way to atone for it is by holy service.

Love has made me the servant of all.

A Close Observation

To learn from experience can be painful, expensive and time-consuming. The wise learn from the experience of others, and the creative know how to make a crumb of experience go a long way. The Greeks derived their theories not from experience but from looking on. The Greek theorein means to look on.--Eric Hoffer in Before the Sabbath

You Have It Wrong

"To know what is right meditation is much more important than earning a livelihood, getting married, having money, property, because without understanding, these things are all destroyed. So the understanding of the heart is the beginning of meditation."—Jiddu Krishnamurti

But even if we are inclined to agree with this teacher, his warning still begs the question, "How do I learn to meditate?"

If we are given instruction, our meditation will be formal and lifeless. If we receive no instruction, we can easily become confused and distracted and lose our way.

Perhaps the way out of this conundrum is to begin at once and to read what the wisest teachers have to say about the wrong way to meditate. Then moment-by-moment we can discover the right way for ourselves.

An Ugly Truth

Degenerate behavior will mar even a conventionally handsome face.

A Clear View From Here

"So big mind is something to express, but it is not something to figure out."--Shunryu Suzuki

If we already have big mind, then why do we have to practice zazen?

The purpose of Zen is not to obtain something that we do not already have. We practice zazen to purify our observation of things. When we do not judge, when we are not attached to our ideas of good and evil, we see reality as it is.

Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous.  If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life, to compare it with such things as we know, would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.--Henry David Thoreau in Walden

A Forgotten Realization

After much labor and suffering it all comes down to this truth: the ego cannot be fixed; it can only be forgotten.

Much Ado About Nothing

Obtuseness can serve as a shield to protect our self-esteem. If we are unaware that we are being insulted or rejected or that our reputation is being impugned, we remain as unconcerned as our pets over what others think of us. When we are less likely to take offense, we avoid conflict.

It is perhaps true then that the dull may have had an evolutionary advantage over those who were inclined to settle disputes with violence.

Act On This

"What is the relation of [contemplation] to action?

"Simply this. He who attempts to act and do things for others or for the world without deepening his own self-understanding, freedom, integrity and capacity to love will not have anything to give others. He will communicate to them nothing but the contagion of his own obsessions, his aggressiveness, his ego-centered ambitions, his delusions about ends and means, his doctrinaire prejudices and ideas." —Thomas Merton¹

¹Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action, 2nd ed. (University of Notre Dame Press: 1998), 160-161.

Check Point

Constitutional laziness can act as a natural check to personal vanity.

A Curious Watchman

"Some watch others to learn what to do, and some watch to learn what not to do."--Eric Hoffer in The Passionate State of Mind

And those who seek to master the art of living do both.

A Persuasive Argument

"The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders."--Eric Hoffer in The Passionate State of Mind

Although the marketer is the modern propagandist, the ego is still the same age-old tyrant.

A Wise Regret

I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born. —Henry David Thoreau

A Modern Luddite

Hell with an advanced technology is still hell.

The Worst Case Scenario

I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best. —Walt Whitman