ShivAllahSita sutra 106

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The undisturbed state of being is bliss; the disturbedstate is what

appears as the world. In non-dualitythere is bliss; in duality -

experience. What comesand goes is experience with its duality of pain

andpleasure. Bliss is not to be known. One is alwaysin bliss, but

never blissful. Bliss is not an attribute.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Simmering strokes of light sizzle and steam over stones in the late

afternoon. They undulate against the shadows ofa merciful darkness

now approaching to cool the scorched earth and my own hot heart,

ablaze with thoughts of you, journeying over distant, violet hills to

meet my fire with your own.Slowly the night discovers its silence and

one by one the sounds of birds fall still.There is a resonant

exhalation as the last light disappears, unifying usbeyond any

distance.Swept up in the arcing radiance of desireI see a mountain

rise from the shrouds of memory, and behold another life of

wanderingfrom valley to peak, sharing songs of discoveryand tears,

heart-struck with desolate, desperate yearning.Cold Mountain!

Ah!Startled again and again by the Tiger Lily,crown on the highest

crags,rebirthing me in breathless aweof all that blooms anew within

me – that fragrant blossom nodding in the breeze, forever scenting

this world with bliss,longing once again forgotten.~Mazie & b

Do your work in the world, but inwardlykeep quiet. Then all will come

to you. Donot rely on your work for realization. It mayprofit others,

but not you. Your hope liesin keeping silent in your mind and quiet

inyour heart. Realized people are very quiet.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Two snow-white butterflies,one winging up-river, one downmeet directly

before me, sharea sudden dance together, then proceed their separate

ways --memories with nowhere to land.What remains,the opening space

left by their parting,resumes.As it isI am.~Mazie & b

The idea of enlightenment is of utmostimportance. Just to know that

there issuch possibility, changes one's entireoutlook. It acts like a

burning match ina heap of saw dust. All the great teachersdid nothing

else. A spark of truth can burnup a mountain of lies. The opposite is

alsotrue. The sun of truth remains hiddenbehind the cloud of

self-identificationwith the body.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Standing knee-deep in the Autumn River,lit by the waning warmth of

asoon settling sun,savoring the steady rush of water through a canyon

richwith ancient praise-ladenhumming trees, raising hands, humming

heart to a Truth only the silent graceful language of the passing

Great Blue Heron can translate into sound,noiselessly turning the

bend in the river,vanishing nowout of sight.

~Mazie & b

Behave as best you know, do what youthink you should. Don't be afraid

ofmistakes; you can always correct them,only intentions matter. The

shape thingstake is not within your power; the motivesof your actions

are.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Memories dissolve like mountain mistspierced through by morning

sunlight, yetI am not naive enough to think thatthey will not return

again, climbingalong the spine of my sentimentto linger again at

dusk, phantoms Iwill carry with me to the cave of my heartto be

tenderly consigned to the fire I have lit for them to disappear in

once again.Only then will the clarity of moonlightreveal the hidden

secret memory can't bear –I never had a past.~Mazie & b

True happiness is uncaused and this cannotdisappear for lack of

stimulation. It is notthe opposite of sorrow, it includes all

sorrowand suffering.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

The visions of luminous vastness that absorbed my heart today are

tonight fast consumed by hard freezing mists --stinging airborne

water curtains darkeningthe once-bright stage and leaving this now-

soaked audience of one to contemplate the alternations of yin and

yang, impermanence, and some such sober truths – yet like a lunatic I

rock back and forth, arms hugging my sides to keep them from

splitting, loud pealing laughterechoing through the canyons like a

thousand peacocks drunk and falling, falling all at once in love.

~Mazie & b

Q: Why is live so full of contradictions?N: It serves to break down

mental pride.We must realize how poor and powerlesswe are. As long as

we delude ourselvesby what we imagine ourselves to be, toknow, to

have, to do, we are in a sadplight indeed. Only in complete

self-negation there is a chance to discoverour real

being.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Form is empty. Emptiness is form.The activity of form is not other

than emptiness, nor is the action of emptiness other than form.It's

the same with feeling, knowing, conception, and consciousness.Dear

One, in this way all dharmas are empty, without any qualification,

not existing, not ceasing, without bondage or liberation from

bondage, undiminished, limitless.Dear One, in this way, in emptiness

there is no form, no feeling, no knowing, no conception, no

consciousness.There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body,

no mind, no shape, no sound, no color, no flavor, no feeling, no

space. There is no center of vision,no center of mind,no center to

referenceinterpretation of perception. No ignorance,no transition

from ignorance tothe end of ignorance, no aging and death, no end of

aging and death.It's the same forsuffering, miserysin, nivana. There

is no path, no wisdom, no enlightenment, no non-enlightenment.Dear

One, in this way all buddhas -- realizing nothing, anchored in the

Heart -- are clear,fearless. They are not the one confused, they are

not the one suffering.They are Free.There's a saying:"Gate gate

paragate parasamgate bodhi swaha."This is how the Compassionate One

--Beloved -- whispers from the Heart.~Mazie & b

While the mind is centered in the body andconsciousness is centered in

the mind,awareness is unattached and unshaken. Itis lucid, silent,

peaceful, alert and unafraid,without desire and fear. Meditate on it

asyour true being and try to be it in your dailylife, and you shall

realize it in its fullness.Mind is interested in what happens,

whileawareness is interested in the mind itself.The child is after

the toy, but the motherwatches the child, not the toy.~Nisargadatta

Maharaj

The whoosh of the wind among the high pinesdoes not diminish the

fragrance of apples, royal round fruit flamed in crimson,ripening in

some unseen orchardin the valley down below.There are no boundaries

inthe heart of gratitude.I am the haunting bouquet of sunset,

brimming with the poignancy of this dissolving moment --wind rushing,

light fading,apples falling -- aromas permeating an emptiness that

staggers and stills all thought.I am here for love alone.The

vanishing light of day is nearly imperceptible now, even in the

sudden lifting ofmy smallness into Everything-Everywhere,dying into

life, arms spread wide to worship in the orchards of this

night.~Mazie & b

Learn to live without self-concern. Forthis you must know your own

true being(swarupa) as indomitable, fearless, evervictorious. Once

you know with absolutecertainty that nothing can trouble you butyour

own imagination, you come to disregardyour desires and fears,

concepts and ideasand live by truth alone.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

I've heard all the grand talk about life's purpose and meaning –just

never took it seriously.Without purpose I ramblethrough these

mountain meadowswhile meaning, that inveterate straggler, tries to

catch up with me.It hops along on one foot, whilemine barely touch

the ground.Listen you old mountain:not one word today abouthistory or

direction –not while these wildflowersgiddily riot over your

hillsides!~Mazie & b

Fight with all the strength at your disposalagainst the idea that you

are nameable anddescribable. You are not. Refuse to think ofyourself

in terms of this or that. There is noother way out of misery, which

you havecreated for yourself through blind acceptancewithout

investigation. Suffering is a call forenquiry, all pain needs

investigation. Don't belazy to think.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

No longer anxious to arrive atsome mythical garden, I freelysquander

my time, doting over the way the green and gold grasses, gaily

gathered in the arms of the billowing breeze, bend to blend like

willinglovers, mindless in the act of love.

~Mazie & b

It is not the worship of a person that iscrucial, but the steadiness

and depth ofyour devotion to the task. Life itself isthe Supreme

Guru; be attentive to itslessons and obedient to its commands.When

you personalize their source, youhave an outer Guru; when you take

themfrom life directly, the Guru is within.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

All I'll ever need to know of truthfloats serenely high above me,

wrapped in the silence of a small white cloud, vanishing into the

endlessness of blue.~Mazie & b

Between the banks of pain and pleasurethe river of life flows. It is

only whenthe mind refuses to flow with life, andgets stuck at the

banks, that it becomesa problem. By flowing with life, I

meanacceptance - letting come what comesand go what goes. Desire not,

fear not,observe the actual, as and when ithappens, for you are not

what happens,you are to whom it happens. Ultimatelyeven the observer

you are not.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

You wondersitting sipping tea whether anythingmatters or not.It

matters in the same waynothing matters to the lover, resting in the

arms of the beloved,spent from a night of passion,sleepily stunned by

dawn.It matters in the same waynothing matters to the single

sparrow,bolting through a golden noon, heart set for the sun.It

matters in the same waynothing matters to the mountain stream,steeped

in memories of snow,eager for the river flowingswiftly home to sea.If

you still ponder"Does it matter?"have another cup of tea. ~Mazie & b

When you demand nothing of the world,nor of God, when you want

nothing, seeknothing, expect nothing then the SupremeState will come

to you uninvited andunexpected.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

I am not here to explain.I am here to praise.Sometimes an explanation

can be a form of praise, and so I offer the following explanation:I

am not here to explain.I am here to praise.There have been enough

explanations,not enough praise.I'm just along for the wagon

ride,sharing these songs of praise for the workings of wonder

beyondthe bridge over Peach Blossom River.As it so happens, the

sights may bedifferent on the other side yetI am not, whichever side

I'm on.This alone is cause for praise andneed not be explained.~Mazie

& b

Be fully aware of your own being and you willbe in bliss consciously.

Because you take yourmind off yourself and make it dwell on whatyou

are not, you lose your sense of well-being,of being

well.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Water leans over a water well,wishing only for water.Hope seems harder

the morethere is of it.To be near enough to the fireis to be already

ash.A field of sleeping thoughts issoft music in a dream thatTime

wakes out of with a songbook of melodiesnobody will ever hear

again.~Mazie & b

Weak desires can be removed by introspectionand meditation, but

strong, deep-rooted onesmust be fulfilled and their fruits, sweet or

bitter,tasted.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

The waving tail of the squirrel in the pineis the gateway to the

treasure room,the intimate breeze climbing the spine is a welcoming

call from the waiting bride,the rainbow arc of the flame-tipped arrow

illuminates the fabulous seven cities,the heart that's pierced in the

dead of winter bleeds out in the snow all it once knew of

spring.~Mazie & b

If the seeker is earnest, the light can begiven. The light is for all

and always there,but the seekers are few, and among thosefew, those

who are ready are very rare.Ripeness of heart and mind is

indispensable.~Nisargadatta Maharaj

In the village two days before the new year, trays of sweet moon cakes

cool behind the gates to the baker's shop. A dozen children press

against thewindow at that fragrant threshold,all attention rapt

around the soft multi-colored objects of their youthful desire, just

barelyout of reach.In which of them will such keen hunger ripen for

the pursuit of a treasure far tastier than pastry rice and mashed

beans?

~Mazie & b

Which God are you talking about? What is God?Is he not the very light

by which you ask thequestion? 'I am"' itself is God. The

seekingitself is God. In seeking you discover that youare neither the

body nor mind, and the love ofself in you is for the self in all. The

two are one.The consciousness in you and the consciousnessin me,

apparently two, really one, seek unity andthat is love.~Nisargadatta

Maharaj

Every place is my favorite placealong the stream. This way, there are

no ambiguities norhard feelings.Each place has its own flavor,

thoughit's all one stream. Each offersits own gift generouslyby

emptying out of itself to wind its way through me.I return the

favor.It's just the natural thing to do.Enter the stream,become the

stream,forget the stream.Water forgets itself in me. I forget myself

in water.Yes,this marriage will work! ~Mazie & b

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