haiku about bodhidharma wall-gazing, meditating in a cave for nine years frost or thunder fail to touch bodhidharma: gazing at the wall
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Happier life is possible through books and love for nature. Emerson very aptly remarks that meek young men grow up in libraries. On the other hand, William Wordsworth, one of the greatest philosophers and immortal poets of nature, in his poem "The Tables Turned" persuades his friend Matthew to quit reading books and enjoy the beautiful world of nature. The truth is that it is good to avoid extreme views. Wordsworth with his beautiful, calm and mystic atmosphere of mind revealed his preference not for a bookworm but to a person who loves objects of nature. It will be quite prudent to follow both Emerson and Wordsworth to make our life happier and better. Hence, instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm.
Forgiveness is a divine quality. There is a great need that all generations and worlds should realize it. This is an incomparable quote by Mark Twain: "Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." All through our life there is always a battle between evil and virtue. If we follow the ancient philosophers and prophets, we will certainly learn to make the quality of forgiveness our lifestyle.
Kindness will become our habit, if we do little acts of kindness and compassion at least for three weeks. The most important point is that we should be kind not only in our words, but also in our actions. Speaking kind words is not enough. This should be followed by acts of selfless love and kindness. Lao Tzu aptly remarks: " Kindness in words creates confidence.. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.. Kindness in giving creates love."
The Largest Battle
"The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) the largest confrontation of World War II , in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) in Southern Russia . Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids , it was the largest (nearly 2.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (1.8–2 million killed, wounded or captured) battle in the history of warfare". What a tragedy! About 2 million people were killed in the Stalingrad Battle. Nobody cared to follow the sacred Commandments.Everybody was indifferent to the ancient prophets of peace and brotherhood. Human nature has not changed at all. The dark ominous clouds of The World War 3 'hover through the fog and filthy air', and the World War may break out any moment if we fail to love one another. I'm reminded of the following immortal lines by Matthew Arnold: And we are here as on a dar
An humble view of our Importance It is acknowledged by all teachers, sages and prophets that vanity is an evil. The truth is that we boast about our learning and knowledge. We are unaware of our ignorance of an endless number of things. Thomas a Kempis says: "No man can ever lack this mortification of his vanity, that what he knows is but a very little in comparison of what he is ignorant of. Consider this, and instead of boasting thy knowledge of a few things, confess and be out of countenance for the many more which thou dost not understand." Whenever we indulge in self-display, we are deprived of the divine quality of humbleness. It will be very good to build up our children's personality on the foundation of humbleness by telling them the stories of Socrates, Jesus, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and other international leaders, philosophers and poets, who always revealed the great value of humility in our life. Sophocles aptly writes: " For God ha
There's Victory for the Nonviolent
The best policy when surrounded by enemies is to defeat them without fighting. Belligerent nations boast of conquering the enemy by militarism, but this victory will never be permanent because it is founded on bloodshed and massacre of the innocent people and children. It is our duty to conquer the enemies by love, violence and suffering on our own self. It is necessary to win the enemy not by ferocious anger and pride, but by changing his heart. Tolstoy and Martin Luther King Jr. always supported nonviolence for creating a social change. Martin Luther King Jr aptly remarks: “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.” The significant fact is that the policy of civil resistance is better than violence and bloodshed. Ovid points out:"Yield to the opposer, by yielding you will obtain the victory."
The Story of True Friendship In the postmodern world afflicted with suspicion, hatred and violence, it seems to be almost impossible to find a true friend. Charles Lamb aptly says: “Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.” The fact is that an ideal friend extends our personality, accepts our faults and allows us to develop our individuality. True friend always inspires us. One of the finest examples of true friendship is companionship among William Wordsworth, his sister Dorothy and Coleridge. This had a tremendous impact on their poetry., and inspired the publication of Lyrical Ballads. Shakespeare very wisely says about true spirit of friendship: " A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”
Immortal Love: An Ideal Woman never dies Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. Aristotle We are quite impressed by this classic interpretation of love. Such perfect love we notice in Sonnets from the Portuguese , a collection of 44 love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning . Most sincere love for her husband Robert Browning, one of the greatest English poets, is quite visible in her following lines: I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. Poverty, want and financial crisis fail to dampen the spirit of Platonic love. As soon as the ideal husband and his partner are afflicted with diseases in old age, their love is not reduced. Their motto of life is :"Grow old along with me/ The best is yet to be." There is no age limit if love is sincere, true and 'the marriage of true minds" (Sha
Mother's Selfless Love No doubt, mother's love for her children is the noblest kind of love and unsurpassed in highest beauty.It is quite apt to call such mother the best philosopher and teacher of mankind. Louise Glück says in the following highly inspiring lines: There is always something to be made of pain. Your mother knits. She turns out scarves in every shade of red. They were for Christmas, and they kept you warm A motherly woman is always full with affection and human kindness.
Never Stop Thanking God It is a universal truth that all of us should be grateful to the Almighty Lord for all His blessings and mercy to us. This view is founded upon the conviction that His infinite love flows through the whole world. Our each breath is sustained and nourished with His great kindness. It will be a grave error of perspective if we argue that God wants something in return from us .It is our pious duty to thank Him ceaselessly for His great mercies to us. The immortal quote by William Arthur War inspires us to offer thanks to our Benevolent God: " God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you"?"
E. E. Cummings' Love for God The following lines by E. E. Cummings inspire us with his sincere faith in God: i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes It is well-known that Cummings was quiet innovative and unconventional in his poetic style, but the above quote leaves no doubt in our mind that his attitude toward life was traditional and spiritual.
3 Golden Rules for living a Healthy Life 1. Deep breathing is indispensable for good health. The best way to maintain good health is to breathe in positive emotions like love, peace, gratitude, serenity, hope, and exhale hate. We along with our family members will certainly flourish under such positive feelings. 2. Just find a quiet place and concentrate on the nose-tip or middle of the two eyebrows. The mind is always restless and wandering in so many aimless directions. It has been advised by several yoga scriptures to provide our mind a seat to rest upon. Meditating on an object like sun, moon, stars, heaven,birds, water gives us peace of mind. 3. Ceaseless chanting prayer always gives peace of mind, and we are able to have better sleep. There are different forms of prayer. We may chant inwardly: God, have mercy on us. It is good if we inhale God or any other name of God with which we feel comfortable and at ease, and exhale 'have mercy on us'.
The Universal Truth of Life The following famous quote by Ezra Pound reveals the transience of life: And the days are not full enough And the nights are not full enough And life slips by like a field mouse Not shaking the grass. After reading the above lines, it is clear that Pound has heightened our solitude in a very intense and poignant manner. The universal truth is that we are all mortal, and our life 'is not full enough' to accomplish our mission and aim fully.
The Middle Way to Enlightenment The following incomparable lines by Ovid reveal the great significance of the middle way between extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. Buddha too emphasized the benefits of practicing the middle course to attain enlightenment: My son, I caution you to keep The middle way, for if your pinions dip Too low the waters may impede your flight; And if they soar too high the sun may scorch them. Fly midway. haiku about heart's wisdom revive tolerance and innocence this alone is our true self our true world
God's presence with us What an extraordinary quote by Aeschylus! The following lines make us aware of God's presence with us, always comforting us: But when a man speeds toward his own ruin, a god gives him help. haiku about paradise possible on earth paradise on earth benevolent impulses instinct to give and share
The Truth of Mercy in Addison's significant quote No doubt, each act of mercy is an angelic quality. This is a divine spark that transforms savage animals. This is quite visible in the following quote by Joseph Addison: When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view I'm lost, In wonder, love and praise.
haiku of sacrifice and surrender God tests us in the fire of sorrow we should never worry All our tribulation is grace of the Almighty Lord doing good to others better to suffer if that's His will Jesus journey to Golgotha saying goodbye to all comforts inspired by the holy will Self sacrifice to pay ransom for our sin and violence matchless act of sacrifice and surrender
Three Wise Quotes The following quotes certainly provide gushing moisture to our postmodern age full of chaos. The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life. William Faulkner Real generosity toward the future consists in giving all to the present. -Albert Camus In the end, man is not entirely guilty — he did not start history. Nor is he wholly innocent — he continues it.-Albert Camus