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Post by Smithee on Nov 19, 2012 5:05:20 GMT 10
The Master was walking down a street when a man rushed out of a doorway and the two collided with great force.
The man was beside himself with rage and exploded into abusive language. The Master made a little bow, smiled pleasantly and said, “My friend, I do not know which of us is responsible for this encounter, but I am not inclined to waste time investigating. If I ran into you, I beg your pardon; if you ran into me, don’t mention it.”
Then, with another smile and bow, he walked away.
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Post by Smithee on Nov 20, 2012 11:16:20 GMT 10
The Master always taught that Truth was right before our eyes and the reason we did not see it was our lack of perspective.
Once he took a disciple on a mountain trip. When they were halfway up the mountain the man glared at the underbrush and complained. “Where’s the beautiful scenery you are always talking about?
The Master grinned. “You’re standing on top of it as you will see when we reach the peak.”
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Post by Smithee on Nov 21, 2012 5:31:22 GMT 10
Rarely was the Master so eloquent as when he warned against the bewitching power of words:
“Beware of words,” he said, “The moment you look away they will take on a life of their own; they will dazzle, mesmerize, terrorize - lead you astray from the reality they represent - lead you to believe they are real.
“The world you see is not the Kingdom seen by children but a fragmented world, broken into a thousand pieces by the word... It is as if each ocean wave were seen to be distinct and separate from the body of the ocean.
“When words and thoughts are silenced the Universe blossoms forth - real and whole and one - the words become what they were always meant to be: the score - not the music, the menu - not the food, the signpost - not journey’s end.”
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Post by Smithee on Nov 22, 2012 12:19:17 GMT 10
Once when the Master spoke of the hypnotic power of words, someone from the back of the room shouted, “You’re talking nonsense! If I say, ‘God, God, God,’ will that make me divine? And if I say, ‘Sin, Sin, Sin,’ will it make me evil?”
“Sit down, you bastard!” said the Master.
“The man became so livid with rage it took him some time to recover his speech. Then he screamed a torrent of abuse at the Master.
The Master, looking contrite, said: “Pardon me, sir, I was carried away. I truly apologize for my unpardonable lapse.”
The man calmed down immediately.
“Well there you have your answer: all it took was a word to give you a fit and another to sedate you,” said the Master.
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Post by Smithee on Nov 23, 2012 13:28:04 GMT 10
Everyone was talking about the religious man who lost his life in a suicide raid.
While no one in the monastery approved of the man’s action, some said they admired his faith.
“Faith?” said the Master.
“Well he had the courage of his convictions, didn’t he?
“That was fanaticism, not faith. Faith demands a greater courage still: to re-examine one’s convictions and reject them if they do not fit the facts.”
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Post by Smithee on Nov 24, 2012 13:40:15 GMT 10
When the Master heard that a neighbouring forest had been devastated by fire, he mobilized all his disciples. “We must replant the cedars,” he said.
“The cedars?” exclaimed an incredulous disciple. “But they take 2,000 years to grow!”
“In that case,” said the Master, “there’s not a minute to lose. We must set out at once.”
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Post by Smithee on Nov 25, 2012 9:38:11 GMT 10
A friend said to a university student, “What do you go to the Master for? Will he help you earn a living?”
“No, but thanks to him I will know what to do with the living when I earn one,” was the reply.
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Post by Smithee on Nov 26, 2012 13:08:18 GMT 10
A disciple said, “People are forever fighting the world or bored with it. The Master is enchanted with what he sees as stupendous, awesome, and unfathomable.”
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Post by Smithee on Nov 27, 2012 7:38:20 GMT 10
The man was a religious writer and asked for a word of wisdom. Said the Master:
“Some people write to make a living; others to share their insights or raise questions that will haunt their readers; others yet to understand their very souls. None of these will last. That distinction belongs to those who write only because if they did not they would burst.”
As an afterthought he added: “These writer give expression to the divine - no matter what they write about.”
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Post by Smithee on Nov 28, 2012 11:50:06 GMT 10
When asked what enlightenment felt like, the Master said, “It is like going into the wilderness and suddenly feeling that you are being watched.”
“By whom?”
“By rocks and trees and mountains.”
“An eerie feeling.”
“No, a comforting one. But because it is unfamiliar, one feels the urge to rush back to the commonplace world of people - their noise, their words, their laughter - which has cut us off from Nature and Reality.”
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