The Gate of Heaven

“At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth...which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will.

"This little point of nothingness…is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely.

"I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.”--Thomas Merton

The Intuitive Way

"It is not enough to tell people that it is possible to become Buddha. What Zen does is to actually produce Buddhas....It is something that must be experienced, not explained.

"Scientific knowledge is gained and developed by syllogism--but Zen, because it is based solely on intuition, has no need for such a roundabout method.

"Zen is the actualization of the unselfish life."

                                                                                                                                  --Nyogen Senzaki

Here Be Dragons

Do not come to this blog looking for a new answer. Come here looking for signs of danger so that you can discover the way home yourself. 

"You cannot discover the path, because there is no path. Truth is a thing that is living, and to a living thing there is no path - it is only to dead things that there can be a path.

"Truth being pathless, to discover it you must be adventurous, ready for danger; and do you think a guru will help you to be adventurous, to live in danger?

"To seek a guru obviously indicates that you are not adventurous, that you are merely seeking a path to reality as a means of security"-- J. Krishnamurti

On Guard

Hope is a weak defense against reality.

True courage guards the Soul as a fortress protects its inhabitants.

Photographs and Memories

Photographs can be a very helpful tool when seeking a greater understanding of the human condition. By capturing a past moment, photographs allow us to study one link in the never-ending chain of cause and effect.

And sometimes, if you examine the faces closely, you catch the ego with its guard down.

Modern Slavery

Those in power are slowly coming to the realization that the best way to control the masses is to teach them to love their own slavery.

A Common Practice

It is easy to spot an outright lie. It is the half truth that is really dangerous. It is a pious fraud that is practiced by politicians, religious leaders, marketers, and scam artists across the globe.