topics: |  religion | buddhism | anthology

I picked this up around 2005 from an used book store most probably
in NYC - and it has always been a pleasure to flip through it.

Like most popular western mystic books of this type, it is geared to the
seeker.  while one is not sure about the authenticity of some of the pieces,
they definitely make for an excellent collection of poems and thoughts.

very high on the page-fall-open test - i.e., most pages have something new
and enriching to say...

Excerpts

Wakefulness (Dhammapada)

Wakefulness is the way to life.
The fool sleeps
As if he were already dead,
But the master is awake
And he lives forever.

He watches.
He is clear.

How happy he is!
For he sees that wakefulness is life.
How happy he is!
Following the path of the awakened.

With great perseverance
He meditates, seeking
Freedom and happiness.

	from dhammapada, tr. Thomas Byron p.1

The Sage (sutta-nipata)

A person of wisdom should be truthful, without
arrogance, without deceit, not slanderous and not
hateful. The wise person should go beyond the evil of
greed and miserliness.

To have your mind set of calmness, you must take power
over sleepiness, drowsiness and lethargy. There is no
place for laziness and no recourse to pride.

Do not be led into lying, do not be attached to forms.
You must see through all pride and fare along without
violence.

Do not get excited by what is old, do not be contented
with what is new. Do not grieve for what is lost or be
controlled by desire.

	from sutta-nipata tr. H. Saddhatissa p.3

-Dhammapada--
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the
cart.
We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable.
How can a troubled mind
Understand the way?
Your worst enemy cannot harm you
As much as your own thoughts, unguarded.
But once mastered,
No once can help you as much,
Not even your father or your mother.

--Harmlessness (dhammapada)
All beings tremble before violence.
All fear death.
All love life.

See yourself in others.
Then whom can you hurt?
What harm can you do?

He who seeks happiness
By hurting those who seek happiness
Will never find happiness.

For your brother is like you.
He wants to be happy.
Never harm him

And when you leave this life
You too will find happiness.

		tr. Thomas Byron p.8

The Awakened (dhammapada)

How joyful to look upon the awakened
And to keep company with the wise.

Follow then the shining ones,
The wise, the awakened, the loving,
For they know how to work and forbear.

But if you cannot find
Friend or master to go with you,
Travel on alone
Like a king who has given away his kingdom,
Like an elephant in the forest.

If the traveler can find
A virtuous and wise companion
Let him go with him joyfully
And overcome the dangers of they way.
Follow them
As the moon follows the path of the stars.

	tr. Thomas Byron p.14

Sand castles (yogacara bhumi sutra)

	Some children were playing beside a river. They made
	castles of sand, and each child defended his castle and
	said, "This one is mine." They kept their castles
	separate and would not allow any mistakes about which
	was whose.

	When the castles were all finished, one child
	kicked over someone else's castle and completely
	destroyed it. The owner of the castle flew into a rage,
	pulled the other child's hair, struck him with his fist
	and bawled out, "He has spoiled my castle! Come along
	all of you and help me to punish him as he deserves."
	The others all came to his help. They beat the child
	with a stick and then stamped on him as he lay on the
	ground....

	Then they went on playing in their sand castles, each
	saying, "This is mine; no one else may have it. Keep
	away! Don't touch my castle!"

	But evening came, it was getting dark and they all
	thought they ought to be going home. No one now cared
	what became of his castle. One child stamped on his,
	another pushed his over with both hands. Then they
	turned away and went back, each to his home.

	 	  tr. Arthur Waley p.16

Mirage (lankavatara sutra)

This triple world resembles a net, or water in a mirage that is
agitated; it is like a dream, maya, and by thus regarding it one is
emancipated.

Like a mirage in the springtime, the mind is found bewildered;
animals imagine water but there is no reality to it.

There is here nothing but thought construction, it is like an image
in the air; when they thus understand all, there is nothing to know.

Eternity and non-eternity; oneness, too, bothness and not-bothness as
well; these are discriminated by the ignorant who are confused in
mind and bound up by errors since beginingless time.

In a mirror, in water, in an eye, in a vessel, and on a gem, images
are seen; but in them there are no realities anywhere to take hold
of.

	tr. D. T. Suzuki, p. 137

Links
extensive selection (with some errors) at : http://www.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/~adafu/wakeful.pdf


---blurb
This treasury of essential Buddhist writings draws from the most popular
Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese sources. Among the selections are some
of the earliest recorded sayings of the Buddha on the practice of freedom,
passages from later Indian scriptures on the perfection of wisdom, verses
from Tibetan masters on the enlightened mind, and songs in praise of
meditation by Zen teachers. The book also includes traditional instruction on
how to practice sitting meditation, cultivate calm awareness, and live with
compassion. Jack Kornfield, one of the most respected American Buddhist
teachers, has compiled these teachings to impart the essence and inspiration
of Buddhism to readers of all spiritual traditions.

This revised and expanded edition of the Shambhala Pocket Classics version of
the same title offers a broad array of teachings representing the full
spectrum of the Buddhist tradition, including new selections on the role of
women in early Buddhism.

Jack Kornfield was trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India
and has taught around the world since 1974. He also holds a Ph.D. in clinical
psychology. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and of the
Spirit Rock Center. He lives in northern California.