W hen the absolute Reality is known, it is seen to be without any individual selves, and devoid of any objective forms; All past [mental and physical] actions which lead to hell are instantly wiped away. After the Awakening, there is only vast Emptiness; this vast universe of forms ceases to exist [outside of one's Self]. Here, one sees neither sin nor bliss, neither loss nor gain. In the midst of the eternal Serenity, no questions arise; The dust of ignorance which has accumulated on the unpolished mirror for ages, Is now, and forever, cleared away in the vision of Truth.

temple_buddhist

quote 3763  |   Yung-chia Ta-shih Cheng-tao Ke “Sonf of Enlightment”, in Suzuki, 1960; pp. 89-103

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N ot knowing how near the Truth is, People seek It far away, -- what a pity! They are like one who, in the midst of water, Cries imploringly for a drink of water, Or like the son of a rich man Who wanders away among the poor. ... Those who testify to the truth of the nature of the Self, Have found it by reflecting within themselves, And have gone beyond the realm of mere ideas. For them opens the gate of the oneness of cause and effect; And straight runs the path of non-duality ... Abiding with the Undivided amidst the divided, Whether going or returning, they remain forever unmoved. Holding fast to, and remembering, That which is beyond thought, In their every act, they hear the voice of the Truth. How limitless the sky of unbounded freedom! How pure the perfect moonlight of Wisdom! At that moment, what do they lack? As the eternally quiescent Truth reveals Itself to them, This very earth is the lotus-land of Purity, And this body -is the body of the Buddha.

temple_buddhist

quote 3753  |   Hakuin in Suzuki, 1961, p. 336

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T he eye cannot see God, words cannot name Him, flesh and blood cannot touch Him, the ear cannot hear Him; but within the soul That which is most fair, most pure, most intelligible, most ethereal, most honorable, can contemplate Him because it is like Him, can hear Him because of their kinship. ... The soul holds herself erect and strong, she gazes at the pure light [of the Godhead]; she wavers not, nor turns her glance to earth, but closes her ears and directs her eyes and all other senses within. She forgets the troubles and sorrows of earth, its joys and honors, its glory and its shame; and submits to the guidance of pure reason and strong love. For reason points out the road that must be followed, and love drives the soul forward, making the rough places smooth by its charm and constancy. And as we approach heaven and leave earth behind, the goal becomes clear and luminous-that is a foretaste of God's very self. On the road we learn His nature better; but when we reach the end, we see Him.

candle

quote 3655  |   Maximus of Tyre Diss., X1.9-10

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O f that Heaven which is above the heavens what earthly poet ever did or ever will sing worthily? It is such as I will describe; for I must dare to speak the truth, when Truth is my theme. There abides the very Being with which true knowledge is concerned; the colorless, formless, intangible Essence visible only to mind, the pilot of the soul. ... Every soul which is capable of receiving the food proper to it rejoices at beholding Reality. ... She beholds Knowledge absolute, not in the form of generation or of relation, which men call existence, but Knowledge absolute in Existence absolute.

candle

quote 3640  |   Plato Phaedrus, 247C-E; Jowett

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M y soul was further told that God having done all these thing for her, and having been born for her -- which also meant "having descended to such a great level of indignity and vileness" for her -- it is fitting that in return the soul be thus reborn into God and die to itself, that is, to its vices and sins, and in this way "ascend to a high level of dignity." Because as soon as the soul thus dies to itself and becomes aware of how much it is loved, the life of grace is given to it and it lives in Christ.

church

quote 3449  |   Angela of Foligno Complete Works. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1993, p. 161

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W hen the intellect has been perfected, it unites wholly with God and is illumined by divine light, and the most hidden mysteries are revealed to it. Then it truly learns where wisdom and power lie… While it is still fighting against the passions it cannot as yet enjoy these things… But once the battle is over and it is found worthy of spiritual gifts, then it becomes wholly luminous, powerfully energized by grace and rooted in the contemplation of spiritual realities. A person in whom this happens is not attached to the things of this world but has passed from death to life.

church

quote 3409  |   The Philokalia Philokalia (Vol. 2), p. 355

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T he pleasure and the love of God for His creatures constitute the original state. His pleasure and love are the means by which He has brought His creatures into existence and are the cause of that bringing into existence. He who knows that he possesses neither being nor act rediscovers himself in that original state of pleasure and divine love.

mosque

quote 3272  |   Abd el-Kader Kitab al-Mawaqif 180, p. 43,in The Spiritual Writings of 'Abd al-Kader. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1995

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A s I gazed at the tiny Blue Pearl, I saw it expand, spreading its radiance in all directions so that the whole sky and earth were illuminated by it. It was now no longer a Pearl but had become shining, blazing, infinite Light. The Light which the writers of the scriptures and those who have realized the Truth have called the divine light of Chiti. The Light pervaded everywhere in the form of the universe. I saw the earth being born and expanding from the Light of Consciousness, just as one can see smoke rising from a fire. I could actually see the world within this conscious Light, and the Light within the world, like threads in a piece of cloth, and cloth in the threads. Just as a seed becomes a tree, with branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, so within Her own being Chiti becomes animals, birds, germs, insects, gods, demons, men, and women. I could see this radiance of Consciousness, resplendent and utterly beautiful, silently pulsating as supreme ecstasy within me, outside me, above me, below me.

temple_hindu

quote 3123  |   Muktananda Muktananda, Swami. Play of Consciousness. South Fallsburg, NY. SYDA Foundation, 1978, p. 183.

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I look into the mirror and see my own beauty; I see the Truth of the universe revealing itself as me. I rise in the sky as the morning Sun. Do not be surprised Every particle of creation is my own form. What are the holy spirits? - My essence revealed. And the human body? -The vessel of my own form. What is the ocean that encircles the world? A drop of my abundant Grace; And the purest light that fills every soul? A spark of my own illumination. What is the water that grants eternal life? A drop of my divine nectar. And the breath that brings the dead back to life? A puff of my breath, the breath of all life. I am Light itself, reflected in the heart of everyone. I am the treasure of the Divine Name, the shining Essence of all things. From the highest heavens to the bedrock of the earth All is but a shadow of my splendor. If I dropped the veil covering my true essence The world would be lost in a flash of brilliant light.

mosque

quote 3059  |   Araqi Shahram Shiva and Jonathan Star from: La' amat (Divine Flashes), flashes 7, 14, 25, 27.

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I am neither created nor uncreated, for I have always been here. I am neither deluded nor undeluded, for I have always been here. I am neither of light nor of darkness, for I have always been here. I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. How can I speak of having desires or not having desires? How can I speak about attachment or non-attachment? How can I speak about God as being real or unreal? I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. That One is everything- How can I say it is one? How can I say it is more than one? How can I say it is eternal or non eternal? I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. It is neither solid nor subtle. Neither appearing nor disappearing. It is without beginning, middle, or end. It is neither above nor below. This is the secret of the Ultimate Truth. I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. All your senses are like clouds; All they show is an endless mirage. The Radiant One is neither bound nor free. I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. Dear one, I am not unknowable nor hidden. I am not imperceivable nor lost. I am not near nor far. I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. […] I have no actions that bring regret or misery. I have no thoughts that bring pain or suffering. I have no sense of "me" or "mine." I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky. Avadhuta Gita

temple_hindu

quote 3015  |   The Avadhuta Gita Jonathan Star, the Inner Treasure, Tarcher Putnam.

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T he Divine Persons who form one sole God are in the fecundity of their nature ever active; and in the simplicity of their essence they form the Godhead and eternal blessedness. Thus God according to the Persons is Eternal Work: but according to the essence and its perpetual stillness, he is Eternal Rest. Now love and fruition live between this activity and this rest….

church

quote 2834  |   John Ruusbroec John Ruusbroec, adapted from the translation by Evelyn Underhill in Mysticism (London: Methuen, 1911).

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T here are two classes of those who may not enter the Nirvana of the Tathagatas: there are those who have abandoned the Bodhisattva ideals, saying, they are not in conformity with the sutras, the codes of morality, nor with emancipation. Then there are the true Bodhisattvas who, on account of their original vows made for the sake of all beings, saying, "So long as they do not attain Nirvana, I will not attain it myself," voluntarily keep themselves out of Nirvana. But no beings are left outside by the will of the Tathagatas; some day each and every one will be influenced by the wisdom and love of the Tathagatas of Transformation to lay up a stock of merit and ascend the stages. But, if they only realized it, they are already in the Tathagata's Nirvana for, in Noble Wisdom, all things are in Nirvana from the beginning.

temple_buddhist

quote 2625  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.356, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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N irvana is the realm of Dharmata-Buddha; it is where the manifestation of Noble Wisdora that is Buddhahood expresses itself in Perfect Love for all; it is where the manifestation of Perfect Love that is Tathagatahood expresses itself in Noble Wisdom for the enlightenment of all -there, indeed, is Nirvana.

temple_buddhist

quote 2624  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.356, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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N irvana is where the Bodhisattva stages are passed one after another; is where the sustaining power of the Buddhas upholds the Bodhisattvas in the bliss of the Samadhis; is where compassion for others transcends all thoughts of self; is where the Tathagata stage is finally realised.

temple_buddhist

quote 2623  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.356, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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T he Tathagata's Nirvana is where it is recognized that there is nothing but what is seen of the mind itself; is where, recognizing the nature of the self-mind, one no longer cherishes the dualisms of discrimination; is where there is no more thirst nor grasping; is where there is no more attachment to external things. Nirvana is where the thinking-mind with all its discriminations, attachments, aversions and egoism is forever put away; is where logical measures, as they are seen to be inert, are no longer seized upon; is where even the notion of truth is treated with indifference because of its causing bewilderment; is where getting rid of the four propositions, there is insight into the abode of Reality. Nirvana is where the twofold passions have subsided and the twofold hindrances are cleared away and the twofold egolessness is patiently accepted; is where, by the attainment of the "turning-about" in the deepest seat of consciousness, self-realization of Noble Wisdorn is fully entered into,-that is the Nirvana of the Tathagatas.

temple_buddhist

quote 2622  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.355, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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T he Dharma which establishes the Truth of Noble Wisdom belongs to the realm of the Dharmata-Buddha. To the Bodhisattvas of the seventh and eight stages, Transcendental Intelligence is revealed by the Dharmata-Buddha and the Path is pointed out to them which they are to follow. In the perfect self-realization of Noble Wisdom that follows the inconceivable transformation death of the Bodhisattva's individualized will control, he no longer lives unto himself, but the life that he lives thereafter is the Tathagata's universalized life as manifested in its transformations. In this perfect self-realization of Noble Wisdom the Bodhisattva realizes that for Buddhas there is no Nirvana.

temple_buddhist

quote 2621  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.355, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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A s to the notion of Nirvana as held by disciples and masters who still cling to the notion of an ego-self, and who try to find it by going off by themselves into solitude: their notion of Nirvana is an eternity of bliss like the bliss of the Samadhis-for themselves. They recognize that the world is only a manifestation of mind and that all discriminations are of the mind, and so they forsake social relations and practice various spiritual disciplines and in solitude seek self-realization of Noble Wisdom by self-effort. They follow the stages to the sixth and attain the bliss of the Samadhis, but as they are still clinging to egoism they do not attain the "turning-about" at the deepest seat of consciousness and, therefore, they are not free from the thinking-mind and the accumulation of its habit-energy. Clinging to the bliss of the Samadhis, they pass to their Nirvana, but it is not the Nirvana of the Tathagatas. They are of those who have "entered the stream"; they must return to this world of life and death.

temple_buddhist

quote 2619  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.353, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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S ome imagine that Nirvana is where self-nature exists in its own right, unhampered by other self-natures, as the variegated feathers of a peacock, or various precious crystals, or the pointed-ness of a thorn. Some conceive being to be Nirvana, some non-being, while others conceive that all things and Nirvana are not to be distinguished from one another. Some, thinking that time is the creator and that as the rise of the world depends on time, they conceive that Nirvana consists in the recognition of time as Nirvana. Some think that there will be Nirvana when the "twenty-five" truths are generally accepted, or when the king observes the six virtues, and some religionists think that Nirvana is the attainment of paradise. These views severally advanced by the philosophers with their various reasoning are not in accord with logic nor are they acceptable to the wise. They all conceive Nirvana dualistically and in some causal connection; by these discriminations philosophers imagine Nirvana, but where there is no rising and no disappearing, how can there be discrimination? Each philosopher relying on his own textbook from which he draws his understanding, sins against the truth, because truth is not where he imagines it to be. The only result is that it sets his mind to wandering about and becoming more confused as Nirvana is not to be found by mental searching, and the more his mind becomes confused the more he confuses other people.

temple_buddhist

quote 2618  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.353, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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A s to the Nirvanas discriminated by the philosophers: there really are none. Some philosophers conceive Nirvana to be found where the mind-system no more operates owing to the cessation of the elements that make up personality and its world; or is found where there is utter indifference to the objective world and its impermanency. Some conceive Nirvana to be a state where there is no recollection of the past or present, just as when a lamp is extinguished, or when a seed is burnt, or when a fire goes out; because then there is the cessation of all the substrata, which is explained by the philosophers as the non-rising of discrimination. But this is not Nirvana, because Nirvana does not consist in simple annihilation and vacuity.

temple_buddhist

quote 2617  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XIII, p.352, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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H owever, there is another sense in which the Tathagatas may be said to be permanent. Transcendental Intelligence rising with the attainment of enlightenment is of a permanent nature. This Truth-essence which is discoverable in the enlightenment of all who are enlightened, is realizable as the regulative and sustaining principle of Reality, which forever abides. The Transcendental Intelligence attained intuitively by the Tathagatas by their self-realization of Noble Wisdom, is a realization of their own self-nature,-in this sense the Tathagatas are permanent. The eternal-unthinkable of the Tathagatas is the “suchness" of Noble Wisdom realized within themselves. It is both eternal and beyond thought. It conforms to the idea of a cause and yet is beyond existence and non-existence. Because it is the exalted state of Noble-Wisdom, it has its own character. Because It is the cause of highest Reality, it is its own causation. Its eternality is not derived from reasoning based on external notions of being and non-being, nor of eternality nor non-eternality. Being classed under the same head as space, cessation, Nirvana, it is eternal. Because it has nothing to do with existence and non-existence, it is no creator; because it has nothing to do with creation, nor with being and non-being, but is only revealed in the exalted state of Noble Wisdom, it is truly eternal.

temple_buddhist

quote 2609  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XII, p.346, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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T he Bodhisattva's Nirvana is perfect tranquillization, but it is not extinction nor inertness; while there is an entire absence of discrimination and purpose, there is the freedom and spontaneity of potentiality that has come with the attainment and patient acceptance of the truths of egolessness and imagelessness. Here is perfect solitude, undisturbed by any gradation or continuous succession, but radiant with the potency and freedom of its self-nature which is the self-nature of Noble Wisdom, blissfully peaceful with the serenity of Perfect Love.

temple_buddhist

quote 2602  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XI, p.341, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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T o the Bodhisattvas of the eighth stage, life is past and is remembered as it truly was a passing dream.

temple_buddhist

quote 2601  |   The Lankavatara Sutra Ch XI, p.341, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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M oreover, Subhuti, what I have attained in Anuttarasamyak-sambodhi is the same as what all others have attained. It is something that is undifferentiated, neither to be regarded as a high state, nor is it to be regarded as a low state. It is wholly independent of any definitive or arbitrary conceptions of an individual self, other selves, living beings or an Universal Self.

temple_buddhist

quote 2534  |   The Maha Prajna Paramita Diamond Sutra, 23 A, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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O nce the contemplation of the body is practiced, developed, often repeated, has become one's habit, one's foundation, is firmly established, strengthened and well perfected, one may expect ten blessings: Over Delight and Discontent one has mastery; one does not Allow one's self to be overcome by discontent; one subdues it as soon as it arises. One conquers Fear and Anxiety; one does not allow one's self to be overcome by fear and anxiety; one subdues them as soon as they arise. One endures cold and heat, hunger and thirst, wind and sun, attacks by gadflies, mosquitoes and reptiles; patiently one (endures wicked and malicious speech, as well as bodily pains, that befall one, though they be piercing, sharp, bitter, unpleasant, disagreeable and dangerous to life. The four Trances, the mind-purifying, bestowing happiness even here: these one may enjoy at will, without difficulty, without effort. (1) One may enjoy the different Magical Powers. (2) With the Heavenly Ear the purified, the super-human, one may hear both kinds of sounds, the heavenly and the earthly, the distant and the near. (3) With the mind one may obtain Insight into the Hearts of Other Beings of other persons. (4) One may obtain Remembrance of many Previous Births (5) With the Heavenly Eye the purified, the super-human, one may see beings vanish and reappear, the base and the noble, the beautiful and the ugly, the happy and the unfortunate; one may perceive how beings are reborn according to their deeds. (6) One may, through the Cessation of Passions, come to know for oneself, even in this life, the stainless deliverance of mind, the deliverance through wisdom.

temple_buddhist

quote 2498  |   Buddha Sakyamuni Majjhima Nikaya, 119

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T he extinction of greed, the extinction of anger, the extinction of delusion: this indeed is called Nibbana.

temple_buddhist

quote 2468  |   Buddha Sakyamuni Anguttara Nikaya, III.53

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