Spiritual Writings

Hastamalaka

Gill Washington Advaita, Enlightenment, Practice, Spiritual Writings , , 0 Comment

Here he was to get one more great disciple. Prabhakara was a brahmin.
He had a son who was a dumb boy. He appeared to be dull. But Shankara
felt that he was a yogi. Instead of asking the parents who had brought
the boy ‘Why is the boy like this? since when?’ he asked the boy
straightaway : “Who are you, my boy?” What else could be so sacred a
place as the one where the divine master was standing for the yogi to
break his silence? One who was dumb spoke in answer, “I am the eternal
self and not dead matter.” This was the simplest form of expressing the
nature of the self. By the grace of the master, the dull and the silent son
of that couple revealed himself to be a great and wise sage. The master
felt happy and taking him as disciple, named him Hastamalaka.

From freeindia.org

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The Choiceless Choice

Gill Washington Freedom, Spirituality, Tony Parsons , , 0 Comment

From:  The Open Secret

by Tony Parsons

In presence I see that I have never chosen or done
anything, but have only been lived through.
And so I have never stopped the sea or moved
the sun or taken one step nearer or further away
from my birthright.

In accepting my divine helplessness I enjoy the
freedom of never having a past or future I could
call my own.

Some people ask, “Who chooses, who directs this
wonderful chaos?” But once in the arms of the beloved
nothing matters, and I can live as though I choose and
rejoice in the letting go.

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Prayers

Gill Washington Love, Peace, Prayer, Spiritual Writings, Spirituality , , , 0 Comment

Power of Prayer

The following question was asked on the Allspirit Yahoo Group and these are the responses received.

Julie: If there would be something positive to pray for in that our world we live in would change,what would it be? World peace would be my favorite.

Ingrid:

I would have to pray for a cure for AIDS. 200 children are born daily in my country who are HIV positive. Over 40 million worldwide and counting. This disease is having a profound effect on our lives and the sad fact of the matter is that we don’t even realise how much.

Gill:

… that everybody recognise at what an alarming rate we are destroying the earth which nurtures us and supports us.

donovajz:

I would pray that everyone here on Earth would recognize their God-given talents and have the pleasure of utilizing it to the best of their abilities.

Pam:

If everyone recognized and utilized their God-given talents we probably would have that cure for AIDS and a much healthier environment….

Willow:

I would want there to be enough food for everybody, everywhere.

Christopher:

Oh gosh, there are so many things one might wish to change! I suppose I will give away my bias as an educator, and would pray for greater respect for the love of beauty and of the life of the mind. Maybe my perspective is skewed by the fact that I am an American, for the US has always had an anti-intellectualist tradition. But of late it seems as if vulgarity and violence are becoming increasingly tolerated in our culture. Now at the risk of sounding like a member of the radical Christian right, I will also note that I would pray for increased interfaith understanding. In terms of religious tolerance, we do seem to be moving into the era of universal understanding and mutual respect that was dreamt of some one hundred years ago by leaders such as Sri Vivekananda. Yet there are so many voices urging a retreat into the notion that “we have the one true religion.”

elaine:

What would I pray for and want to happen so that the world might change and there be peace? I am reminded of Gandhi, loosely quoted here, saying “Be the change you want.” Thich Nhat Hanh, similarly, said something like “Peace is every step.” St. Francis prayed, “Lord, Make me an instrument of Thy Peace.”

We cannot change the world (or so i believe), but we can change ourselves, and the rest will follow.

Now, what do i want to change about myself? Or better said, what do i want to real-ize within myself and my service to the world?

Fanaseeker:

I laud St. Francis’ prayer and would add:

“God, make me an instrument of Thy Love.”

My wish for myself and for the world? To become more loving. . .

Deborah:

I would pray for a change in human hearts–so that we would all possess hearts of compassion–it’s what ALL the religions teach–Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi and others. If we could melt our hearts of stone (read: fear, greed) into hearts of compassion, then all else would follow–world peace, coexistence with all of God’s creatures, the proper and equitable use of resources. But we have to be willing to change ourselves. To pray blindly for others to change is not the point.

Sandy:

…I’m coming to believe that the call I’m experiencing, a call to silence, to simplicity, to surrender, has an effect on the planet. Basically, because I know there are others around the globe who are responding in an honest attempt to become more fully human, too. Just as I don’t understand how a butterfly gently flapping its wings can affect our weather patterns, I don’t understand how my simple “yes” to Mystery can have a positive effect, but I believe it does. From that will come small, possibly ever-so-small, changes. But I have to remind myself that there is no goal. Only Love. Also, there’s a tendency in me to “look beyond” when I probably need to look right under my nose and better love and serve those who I spend my days with.

Christine:

I pray daily for all people to love unconditionally and understand one another, and treat the earth and all creatures upon it with great respect.

Gerri:

My prayer is for increased love in the world. It seems to be something concrete we can actually do every day to improve our own little spot in the world:

“Love gives life to the lifeless. Love lights a flame in the heart that is cold. Love brings hope to the hopeless and gladdens the heart that is sorrowful.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha)

Adrienne:

to add to gerri’s prayer….not only to have more love in the world…but to also have more love of the world.

Carol:

I pray that the world finds peace, through recognition of our oneness.

Prayers for Peace

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The River and the Clouds

Gill Washington Spiritual Writers, Spiritual Writings, Spirituality, Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes , , 0 Comment

The River and the Clouds
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Once upon a time there was a beautiful river finding her way among the hills, forests, and meadows. She began by being a joyful stream of water, a spring always dancing and singing as she ran down from the top of the mountain. She was very young at the time, and as she came to the lowland she slowed down. She was thinking about going to the ocean. As she grew up, she learned to look beautiful, winding gracefully among the hills and meadows.

One day she noticed the clouds within herself. Clouds of all sorts of colors and forms. She did nothing during these days but chase after clouds. She wanted to possess a cloud, to have one for herself. But clouds float and travel in the sky, and they are always changing their form. Sometimes they look like an overcoat, sometimes like a horse. Because of the nature of impermanence within the clouds, the river suffered very much. Her pleasure, her joy had become just chasing after clouds, one after another, but despair, anger,and hatred became her life.

Then one day a strong wind came and blew away all the clouds in the sky. The sky became completely empty. Our river thought that life was not worth living, for there were no longer any clouds to chase after. She wanted to die. “If there are no clouds, why should I be alive?” But how can a river take her own life?

That night the river had the opportunity to go back to herself for the first time. She had been running for so long after something outside of herself that she had never seen herself. That night was the first opportunity for her to hear her own crying, the sounds of water crashing against the banks of the river. Because she was able to listen to her own voice, she discovered something quite important.

She realized that what she had been looking for was already in herself. She found out that clouds are nothing but water. Clouds are born from water and will return to water. And she found out she herself was also water.

The next morning when the sun was in the sky, she discovered something beautiful. She saw the blue sky for the first time. She had never noticed it before. She had only been interested in clouds, and she had missed seeing the sky, which is the home of all the clouds. Clouds are impermanent, but the sky is stable. She realized that the immense sky had been within her heart since the very beginning. This great insight brought her peace and happiness. As she saw the vast wonderful blue sky, she knew that her peace and stability would never be lost again.

That afternoon the clouds returned, but this time she did not want to possess any of them. She could see the beauty of each cloud, and she was able to welcome all of them. When a cloud came by, she would greet him or her with loving-kindness. When the cloud wanted to go away, she would wave to him or her happily and with loving kindness. She realized that all clouds are her. She didn’t have to choose between the clouds and herself. Peace and harmony existed between her and the clouds.

That evening something wonderful happened. When she opened her heart completely to the evening sky she received the image of the full moon – beautiful, round, like a jewel within herself. She had never imagined that she could receive such a beautiful image. There is a very beautiful poem in Chinese: “The fresh and beautiful moon is travelling in the utmost empty sky. When the mind-rivers of living beings are free, that image of the beautiful moon will reflect in each of us.”

This was the mind of the river at that moment. She received the image of that beautiful moon within her heart, and water, clouds, and moon took each other’s hands and practiced walking meditation slowly, slowly to the ocean.

There is nothing to chase after. We can go back to ourselves, enjoy our breathing, our smiling, ourselves, and our beautiful environment.

Read poems from Thich Nhat Hanh

Read more quotations and excerpts from Thich Nhat Hanh

The Written Word

Gill Washington Gill Washington, Spiritual Writers, Spiritual Writings, Spirituality, Truth , , , 0 Comment

Words may be just words, or they may evoke
experiences, memories, responses, reactions,
feelings, emotions and more. Those written
words may help us clear out a lot of garbage,
especially when we can see that all of the
traditions are saying much the same.

Perhaps what we get from the written word is
what we are ready to get from it. Perhaps if
we are looking to get something, we won’t get
anything. Perhaps if we are open to Truth we can
see it in a child’s ABC book, a person’s face, a
master’s eyes, or the smile of a homeless person.And
if we are not ready, no master can transmit
anything. And if we are ready, is a  master even
needed? (“There are more questions than answers,
and the more I find out the less I know…” )

We may not be able to write Truth down, it does
not mean someone cannot realise it by reading
a book, or undertaking any other activity.

~ Gill Washington