01
The problem with religion-- all religion-- is its take on blasphemy and heresy. A religion that embraces blasphemy and encourages heresy is my kind of religion. The only way to find that kind of religion is to create it on your own. I have done that by saying, "Don't listen to me! Listen to YOU!" And by encouraging people to sit still and be quiet, looking and listening for what arises in the silence to call/compel them to action. The only thing you have to believe is that it matters how you live your life, and then live as though it does. That is all the religion anyone needs. And it is religion because it is grounded in The Mystery at the Heart of Life and Being, about which nothing can be said beyond "It is The Mystery at the Heart of Life and Being!" The Buddha held up a Lotus flower and Mahākāśyapa smiled, indicating he got it, the only one in the crowd who did. I'd say that is above average. The Buddha followed this up with his Flower Wreath Sutra, in which he said, "There is nothing more to say. this is IT!!!" Look around you! This is IT!!! You either see the Mystery or you don't. You see the same old same old. You see nothing special. But you do not see what is so special about nothing special. You want to be told something, and I'm telling you all there is to say-- THIS IS IT!!! And if you still don't get it, sit still, be quiet and listen/watch for something to stir in the silence, calling you to life. The Silence is the essence of true religion. Waiting for disciples in the right frame of mind to spread the word. The distance from the wrong frame of mind to the right frame of mind is the length of the spiritual journey, and it is made sitting still, being quiet, waiting, looking, listening for something to come to life in the silence. We stand at the door and knock, waiting for us to open the door and see. See? The door is the Lotus flower! The Lotus flower is the door! Keep knocking!
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02
The core/base/foundational requirement for all spiritual practice is non-attachment. The three great temptations, with Jesus in the wilderness and with Buddha under the Bodi Tree, were fear, desire and duty. Detachment frees us from the threat of all three. Nothing to gain. Nothing to lose. Because we already have it all right here, right now, and nothing can take it from us. We are anchored/grounded/attached to the fundamental principle of non-attachment, and nothing can knock us off that. So, begin to check out your attachments. What matters to you? What do you care about? Upon what does your world turn? Upon what does your life depend? Begin the life-long process of detachment by being aware of your attachments, and reducing your need for them in your life. Live to be strongly attached to fewer things year by year. Distancing ourselves from our attachments allows us the freedom to respond to our situations with no investment in the outcome, being present solely to do what is called for with nothing to gain or to lose, and nothing to stand between us and doing what needs to be done, spontaneously, from the heart, moment to moment, all our life long.
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03
What is your art? What is your life? Answer those questions correctly, and you win!
