My thoughts and meditation, part I

The Warrior strives to reach above himself, his false perceptions, his adversaries... His highest achievement is not one of victory, but one of absolute truth. 

A warrior, once a warrior, will always be a warrior. 
A warrior is the epitome of controlled compassion & controlled violence. 
A warrior speaks from the pure heart and mind, transcending the ego. 
A warrior is one of great discipline. 
A warrior is a man of few words, refraining from speaking without reason. 
A warrior has not the luxury for excuses. 
A warrior recognizes the differences between the meaningful & trivial. 
A warrior can never afford fear, he lives in poverty of fear. 
A warrior learns how to defend before the attack. 
A warrior continues to develop the skills of his trade without end. 
A warrior seeks unity of mind, body, & spirit. 
A warrior understands the merits of compassion. 
A warrior pursues a knowledge of all things, regardless of nature. 
A warrior's profession is war, his product is peace. 
A warrior integrates the practice of truth within all his day to day activities. 
A warrior sees the truth within himself, within his adversaries, within the world. 
A warrior is not separate from all things, but strives to flow as one with all things. 
A warrior is as water taking the shape of its container. 
A warrior places the lives of those innocent & weak above himself. 
A warrior knows pain, sadness, joy, & solitude.

Have compassion for all beings, causing them no unnecessary hurt, nor needless harm. 

Refrain from needless competitiveness, from contriving for self-advantage, and from subjugating others.  

When accepting authority over others, know also that you accept responsibility for their well being. 

Value true friendship, and fulfill your obligations, rather than striving with egotistical motive.  

Seek liberation from the negative passions of hatred, envy, greed and rage, and especially from delusion, deceit and sensory desire. 

Learn to let go of that which cannot be owned, or which is destroyed by grasping. 

Seek the courage to be; defend yourself, and your convictions. 

Accept transience, the inevitable and the irrevocable. Know that change exists in everything. Negate the barriers to your awakening; discover the positive in the negative, and seek a meaningful purpose in what you do. 

Be just and honorable; take pride in what you do, rather than being proud of what you have accomplished. 

Having humility and respect, give thanks to those from whom you learn, or who have otherwise helped you. 

Act in harmony with your fellow beings, with nature, and with inanimate objects.  

Know that a thing or an action which may seem of little value to oneself, may be a priceless treasure to another.  

Help those who are suffering or disadvantaged, and as you yourself become awakened, help those who seek to make real their own potential.  

Know that there is no shame in questioning.  

Be diligent in your practice, and on hearing the music of the absolute, do not be so foolish as to try to sing its song. 

Remember to renew the source, in order to retain good health. 

Seek neither brilliance nor the void; just think deeply, and work hard. 

When still, be as the mountain; when in movement be as the dragon riding the wind. 

Be aware at all times, like the tiger which only seems to sleep, and at all times let the mind be like running water. 

When you are required to act, remember that right motive is essential to right action, just as right thought is essential to right words. 

Beware of creating burdens for yourself or others to carry. 

Act with necessary distinction, being both creative and receptive, and transcending subject/object dichotomy. 

Know that you are not the center of the universe, but learn to put the universe at your center by accepting the instant of your being. 

Seek security within yourself, rather than in others. 

Know that even great worldly wealth, and the accumulation of material things are of little worth, compared with the priceless treasures; love, peace and the freedom to grow. 

Allow yourself to be, so that your life may become a time of blossoming. 

– Ch'onsa Kim

(no subject)

Discipline, courage, hard work and intelligence are required because that is what any quest of the heart demands. Tantra, which molds the power of creation and ego into skillful means cutting through delusion, requires careful preparation. We don't expect someone who just wants to play around now and then on a keyboard to become a concert pianist. We don't expect someone to be able to get up off the couch one day and run a four minute mile. Great tasks require great effort." - Traktung Rinpoche

 "Tantra is the hot blood of spiritual practice. It smashes the taboo against unreasonable happiness; a thunderbolt path, swift, joyful, and fierce. There is no authentic Tantra without profound commitment, discipline, courage, and a sense of wild, foolhardy, fearless abandon." - Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

I've got some work to do, and some serious delusions to cut. I've found some deeper shields in myself that I have to dispose of. I'll be out of touch with just about everyone for the next few days.

Formality

“Secret forces are bringing compatible spirits together. If the man permits himself to be led by this ineffable attraction, good fortune will come his way. When deep friendships exist, formalities and elaborate preparations are not necessary.” I Ching

“You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you find absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions you despise, condemn, and know lack all foundation. It is that permanent contradiction between your ideas and desires and all the dead formalities and vain pretenses of your civilization which makes you sad, troubled and unbalanced. In that intolerable conflict you lose all joy of life and feeling of personality, because at every moment they suppress and restrain and check the free play of your powers. That's the poisoned and mortal wound of the civilized world.” Octave Mirbeau

“Speak without anger or spite without any artificiality or formality straight from the heart, then you will be spreading joy and love among all.” Sri Sathya Sai Baba

“Writing in other voices is almost Japanese in the sense that there's a certain formality there which allows me to sidestep the embarrassment of directly expressing to complete strangers the most intimate details of my life.” Suzanne Vega