what do you see?

Looking from these windows above, from the dining hall in Cluny Hill College, at the Findhorn Foundation, you see the far horizon... and green it is as far as you can see, grass, woods, hills...

And from the facing green hills, this is how Cluny Hill College can be seen (bellow), immersed in green... One facing the other, the view from the interior to the exterior, the view from the exterior to the facade...




And in between, right in the middle, what do you see?

Do you see the angels dancing in the that garden, on those hills, in these rooms?

What do you see?

(yes, the window with lights on is that of the picture at the top of this post)

guidance for the day

As you search diligently, you will surely find what you are looking for, your atonement with Me, the Source of all life. But you have to take time to search. It is something that will not drop into your lap without the deep desire in you to know Me, to know the truth, and to seek until you find what it means to you. This deep spiritual experience of inner knowing only comes to those souls who want to know; therefore never dabble vaguely in these spiritual experiences. It is up to you to go forth and experience it within. How completely empty and futile life is until you start living it to the full and putting everything to the test to see whether this spiritual life is practical and worth living! Start now doing something about it. Let there be no armchair spirituality. Let it be living and vibrating and there for all to see. Let Me see you start living a life now�



From Eileen Caddy's book Opening Doors Within, published by Findhorn Press, you can receive Daily Guidance by accessing the link:

http://www.findhorn.org/inspiration/daily_guidance.php?tz=180


Photo: lilac flowers in Forres, Scotland, May 2006

in his heart he prayed for guidance

The wind blowing over the mountain often turned into a tornado – the birds and animals living there, even the smaller rocks, found themselves whirled up into the air. When the gardenia flowers blossomed, a special gardenia wind blew. Not a single petal would fall to the ground, instead they would be swept up into the sky and their scent would fill the air.

Still, if he has come, he can’t really have come too soon. When anything comes or appears, it comes when it has to come, appears when it has to appear.

[…] he gathered his wits and made a sign of reverence in the direction he was heading. In his heart he prayed for guidance.



Ko Un, Little Pilgrim, Parallax Press, Berkley, 2005


drawing by Nakamura Hochu, taken from the marvelous blog Japonisme, a link that in my absence I leave as a gift for you to browse...

someone who is enlightened

Becoming a Buddha is not difficult because "Buddha" means
someone who is enlightened, who is capable of loving and forgiving.



Thich Nhat Hanh


from the opening page of the Plum Village site at:
http://www.plumvillage.org/

Photo: white Buddha at Upper Hamlet, Plum Village

the mind -- is not the heart

[...]

It wasn't my not weighing anything
So much as my not knowing anything --
My brother had been nearer right before.
I had not taken the first step in knowledge;
I had not learned to let go with the hands,
As still I have not learned to with the heart,
And have no wish to with the heart -- nor need,
That I can see. The mind -- is not the heart.
I may yet live, as I know others live,
To wish in vain to let go with the mind-
Of cares, at night, to sleep; but nothing tells me
That I need learn to let go with the heart.


This is the end of Robert Frost's long poem, Wild Grapes, from the book New Hampshire (Published/Written in 1923). To read the entire poem I kindly ask you to refer to:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/699


Photo: one of the many hearts I kept bumping into, at Plum Village. They would appear to me in the form of a stone, a leaf, a cloud or the open space among the clouds... Later those days, I would be able to find that The Guiding Light of the Heart was the Dharma name I would be given. Photo ©zentobe

depart towards heaven

Ode 2180

From these depths depart towards heaven;
may your soul be happy, journey joyfully.
You have escaped from the city full of fear and trembling;
happily become a resident of the Abode of Security.
If the body’s image has gone, await the image-maker; if the
body is utterly ruined, become all soul.
If your face has become saffron pale through death, become a
dweller among tulip beds and Judas trees.
If the doors of repose have been barred to you, come, depart
by way of the roof and the ladder.
If you are alone from Friends and companions, by the help of
God become a saheb-qeran.
If you have been secluded from water and bread, like bread
become the food of the souls, and so become!

Rumi


"Mystical Poems of Rumi 2" A. J. Arberry
The University of Chicago Press, 1991

(*) The Abode of Security seems to be an allusion to heaven which is sometimes called "the abode of peace" (dar-al salam) by Rumi as against "the abode of pride" (dar-al gorur) i.e., the world..

(**) Saheb qeran is a person who is born under a happy conjunction of the planets. [lord of happy circumstance]


If you'd like to read more poems by Rumi, please refer to:
http://www.rumi.org.uk/poetry/

he bids his beloved be at peace

I hear the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,
Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;
The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,
The East her hidden joy before the morning break,
The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,
The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:
O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless Desire,
The Horses of Disaster plunge in the heavy clay:
Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat
Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast,
Drowning love's lonely hour in deep twilight of rest,
And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet.


William Butler Yeats, from The Wind among the Reeds, 1899


If you'd like to read more of W. B. Yeats poetry, please refer to this extensive link:
http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/poemsalpha.html

we practice and serve

We bow deeply to express our gratitude
to the land and animals,
the Earth & Sky,
and all of our ancestors, spiritual and blood
for their support and wisdom,
for helping us experience
a wonderful and transformative retreat
this Memorial Day Weekend.
All the joy and peace,
all the wholesome energy that we received,
we offer it to the benefit of all beings,
to our children
who we hold dear in our heart
as we practice and serve.


If you'd like to read more, please refer to:
http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/news/reflectionsfromretreat/noregrets.html

More photos from Deer Park albums available at:
http://deerparkmonastery.org/news/albums.html

And I bow to you, dearest Silvinha.

throw away

o no naka ni
michi yori soto wa
nanigoto mo
supporapon no
pon ni shite oke



Whatever in the world
lies outside
the Way
throw
away!

Rai Shizuko, or Baishi (1760-1842)


Poem and image taken from one of my favorite blogs, precious Japonisme.