The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi
In the immaterial world, there is no time. The changing, physical body is the temporary vessel of the soul, which exists eternally. The soul, independent of the body, connects with the deceased. Guardian spirits assist it during this transition. Death is an awakening, a remembering of the soul. During life, consciousness has forgotten the truths of the immaterial world. Shortly after death, the soul is judged. The soul is trapped in the body and its perception is limited by the senses.
Plato 427-347 BC. Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 339
The spirit (Atman) was never born; its being will never end. There was never a time when it did not exist. Beginning and end are a dream. The Self knows everything. Immortal without beginning, unchanging, the spirit exists for all time. The spirit is not killed when the body is killed. He who thinks he kills, and he who thinks he can be killed, is ignorant. He does not kill, nor is he killed. The spirit is less than the least and greater than the greatest. It lives in all hearts. The individual self and the universal self live in the heart like shadow and light… The ignorant one strives for happiness and becomes entangled in the snares of death. But the wise one, who seeks the immortal, does not dwell with mortal things… For he who realizes that which is soundless, incomprehensible, and formless, imperishable, tasteless, constant, odorless, and without beginning or end, will be redeemed from death… When the spirit, the bodiless one, departs from the body, leaving the body breathless, what remains? What is here is also there, what is there is also here. Whoever sees a difference in this goes from death to death.
Katha Upanishad Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 335
It is in motion, yet unmoved. It is distant, yet near. It is in everything, yet outside of it. But he who recognizes all beings here in the Self, and the Self in all beings, and for whom all beings have become his own Self—what delusion, what sorrow could possibly overcome him who beholds such unity? The Self is everywhere, radiant, incorporeal, whole, immaculate, pure, exalted above all, wise, intelligent, all-encompassing; for all things in the eternal expanse of time, there is a place.
Isha Upanishad Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness p. 336
Coming and going is pure illusion. The soul neither comes nor goes. Where would it go if all space is within the soul itself? When would it be time to leave if all time is within the soul itself?
Indian Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 331
Non-local consciousness is endless, and every part of consciousness is also endless. But our body is not endless. Every day, 50 billion cells are broken down and rebuilt within our body. And yet, we experience our body as a continuous entity. What is the basis for the continuity of a constantly changing body? How is long-term memory possible when the molecular composition of the cell membrane of neurons is completely renewed every two weeks?.
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 280
Everything is a kind of space. Consciousness contains all non-local space. This applies to both my consciousness and yours. And every part of consciousness also contains all space, because every part of infinity is infinite. This is precisely what is meant by the term non-locality.
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 280
A prejudice is harder to split than an atom.
Albert Einstein.
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 259
Sit quietly for a moment and close your eyes briefly. Now open them again and ask yourself: What did the world look like while my eyes were closed and I couldn't consciously perceive the world around me? How can I know what the world looked like at that moment? And what reality existed last night while I slept? Where was the world while I lay slumbering? How do we know that the world exists while we sleep? Incredibly, there are indeed renowned quantum physicists who, based on theoretical considerations, maintain the thesis that the world doesn't exist if we don't look at it. After all, without perception, we can't know that it exists. These quantum physicists believe that through our perception, we create a personal world from an infinite number of indeterminate possibilities.
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 235
Unperceived objects are instantaneously connected or intertwined in a way that transcends space and time.
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 236
The world is a construct of our feelings, perceptions, and memories.
Schrödinger, "Mind and Matter"; Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 236
What we consider to be material objects and forces is nothing other than forms and changes in the structure of space.
Schrödinger, Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 234
We have come to the conclusion that space is primary and matter is only secondary.
Albert Einstein, Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 234
The universe is not composed of matter particles, but of knowledge particles; subjective, meaningful particles in consciousness.
Von Neumann (1903-1957) Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 232
What comes after death cannot be grasped through intellectual arguments or discussions. Absolute truth cannot be scientifically proven, for it cannot be perceived, objectified, or grasped by our senses. For this reason, scientists cannot draw any compelling conclusions about the immortality of the soul and life after this life, and nothing can convince them of a different view. … The objective world is only one half of the universe. What we perceive with our senses is not the whole world. The other half of the universe, which consists of our consciousness, thoughts, and feelings, cannot be explained by the sensory perception of external things. … The soul is not created. It is, by its very nature, consciousness and is perfect. After separation from the material body, everything hidden remains preserved. The soul persists. Our soul remains eternally perfect and is neither destroyed nor dissolved after death. Life and death are merely two names for the same thing; two sides of the same coin. … We do not fear death itself, but rather the fear of death. The dying process itself is not painful; it is more a change in circumstances. Insufficient preparation and attachments cause pain that is experienced at the moment of death. One suffers because one is unable to let go completely.
Swami Rama 1925-1996 Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness pp. 336-337
It is in motion, yet unmoved. It is distant, yet near. It is in everything, yet outside of it. But he who recognizes all beings here in the Self, and the Self in all beings, and for whom all beings have become his own Self—what delusion, what sorrow could possibly overcome him who beholds such unity? The Self is everywhere, radiantly incorporeal, whole, immaculate, pure and exalted above all, wise, intelligent, all-encompassing; for all things in the eternal expanse of time, there is a place.
Isha Upanishad Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness p. 336
Just as pliable wax forms itself into new shapes, never remaining as it was, never retaining the same form yet remaining the same, so I teach, so too is the soul always the same, yet it constantly wanders into new forms.
Ovid, Roman poet 43 BC – 17 AD.
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 332
No insight is as useful as reflecting on this: This is not new; it has existed for centuries. Frederik von Eeden 1860-1931, Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 330
Those who never change their minds rarely learn anything. NRC Handelsblatt Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness p. 329
The more familiar we become with the idea that consciousness transcends the organism, the more natural we will find it that the soul survives the body.
Henri Bergson, philosopher (1859-1941); Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 70
I do not know what I am; I am not what I know. Angelus Sibelius, actually Johannes Scheffler, physician, mystic, and poet, 1624–1677. Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 307
If we have learned anything from the history of inventions and discoveries, it is that the most audacious predictions have, in the long run—and often even in the short term—proven ridiculously conservative in retrospect. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 302
That this universe, in all its unimaginable order and precision, should be the result of blind chance is as believable as a printing press exploding and all the type falling down in the complete, flawless form of a dictionary. Edwin Grant Conklin 1863-1952 Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 288
In science, it is less important to discover new facts than to find new ways of thinking about them.
Sir William Lawrence Bragg, physicist and Nobel laureate, 1890-1971; Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 281
The search for truth is more valuable than possessing it.
Albert Einstein 1879-1955 Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness p. 279
I am more convinced than ever that hasty rejection and a lack of willingness to investigate unknown and strange things is the greatest enemy of scientific progress.
Frederik van Eden 1890 Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness p. 264
Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it. Niels Bohr, quantum physicist and Nobel laureate, 1885–1962
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 221
What is mind? No matter. What matters? Nevermind.
Thomas Hewitt Key, classical philologist 1799-1875
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 220
The brain is a messenger of consciousness. Prof. John C. Eccles, 1903-1997. Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 218
Man, where you soar your spirit beyond place and time, you can be every glance in eternity. Angelus Sibelius, actually Johannes Scheffler, physician, mystic, and poet, 1624–1677. Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 70
How we face death determines how we stand in life. Dag Hammarskjöld, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, UN Secretary-General 1905-1961
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 64
Happiness does not depend on external things, but on how we see them. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 86
Whoever taught people to strive would teach them to live.
Michel de Montainge, writer and philosopher 1533-1592
He described his own NDE in the essay "On Practice" in Essays II, 6
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 91
What if you were asleep? And what if you dreamed in your sleep? And what if in your dream you went to the sky and picked a wondrous flower? And what if you woke up holding that flower in your hand? Yes, what then?
ST Coleridge, poet and philosopher, 1772-1834
Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 101
My entire life up to this day seemed to unfold before me in a kind of panoramic, three-dimensional retrospective. Every event was accompanied by an understanding of good and evil, or an insight into its causes and consequences. I didn't just view everything solely from my own perspective, but also knew the thoughts of everyone else involved in that event, as if their thoughts were within me. I could see not only what I had done and thought, but even how my actions had influenced others—as if I were seeing with omniscient eyes. Thoughts, too, are not lost. And throughout this retrospective, the importance of love was constantly being affirmed. In retrospect, I cannot say how long this life review, or this life insight, lasted. It may have been quite a while, because every point was touched upon. On the other hand, it seemed to me like only a fraction of a second, since I perceived everything simultaneously. Time and distance seemed to cease to exist. I was everywhere at once; sometimes my attention was drawn to something, and suddenly I was there.
NTE Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness p. 64
If one wants to refute the generally accepted rule that all crows are black, it is sufficient to prove that there is at least one white crow.
William James, psychologist and philosopher, 1842–1910; Pim van Lommel, Endless Consciousness, p. 20
Suppose we woke up one morning and found that suddenly everyone had the same skin color and the same beliefs; we would certainly have new prejudices by noon. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799), German physicist
The difference between what is real and what we perceive is the source of our suffering. – Dalai Lama
Ideas can only be useful if they come alive in many minds. Alexander von Humboldt
Everything is interconnected. Alexander von Humboldt
Every man has a duty to seek in his life the place from which he can best serve his generation. Alexander von Humboldt
Communication is:
Exchange of subjective truths, ,
mutual information,
Truthfulness, ,
It deals with needs and desires, with the present and the future,
Communication creates space
Communication is attentive calm and active, listening silence.
The need to speak not only hinders hearing, but also seeing.
Marcel Proust
„"The world we live in is the worst of all possible worlds." Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
„"The world we live in is the best of all possible worlds.".
Leibniz (1646-1716)
Every human experience, including scientific reasoning, mathematical models of thought, moral insights, artistic expressions, and religious experiences, is based solely on our brains. There are no exceptions to this rule. Jeffrey Schwartz, neuropsychiatrist
The enemy of photography is convention.,
the hard and fast rules on how to do it. Laszló Moholy-Nagy
Photography is the creation of light. Laszló Moholy-Nagy
Time never stands still,
the moment slips away,
and the one you didn't use,
You haven't lived that life.
Friedrich Rückert, "The Wisdom of the Brahmin"„
Wilhelm Busch, „Julchen“
One, two, three, at a brisk pace
Time marches on; we march with it.
„"Sometimes I go crazy at that hour,
Day and year, oh, all the time!
It ferments, it roars, but right at the bottom
It's so quiet, so cold, and snowy!“
Gottfried Keller, „Appearance and Reality“
Emanuel Geibel, „Sayings“
Time is like a mosaic picture;
Looking at it too closely only confuses the eye; if you want to understand the nature and meaning of the whole,
That's how you have to see it, friend, from a distance.
Christian Morgenstern, „Quote of Destiny“
The stream of time flows and tears unstoppably,
in which we swim with equally scattered flowers,
The storm of time roars and sweeps uncontrollably,
We barely called out, our voices have been blown away.
Paul Fleming, „Thoughts on Time“
Time dies within itself and also begets itself from within itself.
This comes from me and you, from whom you are and I.
Man exists in time; time exists in him as well.,
But if it remains, man must give way.
Gottfried Keller, „Time Does Not Pass“
Time doesn't pass,
she stands still,
We pass through them;
It is a caravanserai,
We are the pilgrims inside.
Andreas Gryphius, „Contemplation of Time“
The years that time has taken from me are not mine.,
Those years are not mine; they may come.
The moment is mine, and I cherish it,
Thus is mine He who made year and eternity.
A person who loves has always already won.,
regardless of whether his love is fulfilled or not.
Peter Stamm „Seven Years“ p. 200
Wealth is buying things you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like. Alexander von Humboldt
Two things are necessary for our work: tireless perseverance and the willingness to discard what one has invested a great deal of time and effort into. Albert Einstein
Never live your life without laughter, because there are people who live because of your laughter. Ottavia Bollen
If people only talked about what they understand, the world would be a very quiet place. Albert Einstein
„"Is it worth it?" asks the head.
„No, but it feels so good!“ replies the heart. Ottavia Bollen
Some people have a great fire in their soul, and no one comes to warm themselves by it. - Vincent van Gogh
Hope is the confusion of the desire for an event to occur with its probability. Arthur Schopenhauer
Art is a lie that reveals the truth to us. - Pablo Picasso
The feeling is not what you want, but what you want! Oscar Wilde
Ultimately, it is always the connections with people that give life its value.
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Never let anyone leave your company happier. - Mother Teresa
Normality is a paved road; it's comfortable to walk on, but no flowers grow there. Vincent van Gogh
There is nothing to fear in life, only to understand it. Marie Curie
It's no art to grow old. The art is in enduring it. – J.W. Goethe
To achieve the possible, we must constantly attempt the impossible. H. Hesse
If men knew what women were thinking, they would be a thousand times bolder. Pablo Picasso
Love discovers the other's strengths and can live well with their weaknesses. Ottavia Bollen
Happiness: the state of quietly laughing oneness with the world. Hermann Hesse
The desire for reciprocated love is not the desire of love, but of vanity. F. Nietzsche
Happiness is the only thing that doubles when you share it. - Albert Schweitzer
»"Happy is he who forgets,
which cannot be changed."«
(Rosalinde, Act I) Bat
by Richard Strauss
We can't always change things, but we can change our attitude towards them.
Epictetus
A master is not someone who teaches, but someone who inspires their student to give their best in order to discover knowledge they already possess. Paolo Coelho, "The Way of the Bow," p. 25
A prayer without intention is like an arrow without a bow. An intention without prayer is like a bow without an arrow.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
You must be the one who burns with the fire you wish to ignite in others. - Augustine
A hundred times have I thought New York is a catastrophe,
and fifty times: it is a beautiful catastrophe. Le Corbusier
The trees, the shrubs, the plants are the adornment and the garment of the earth. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The quality of cities and squares can be designed on the drawing board, their beauty comes with time. Renzo Piano
The face reveals the mood of the heart.
Dante Alighieri
I believe that nothing can be more abstract, more unreal, than what we actually see. Giorgio Morandi
Fashion is fleeting. Style is eternal. Coco Chanel
If I, as a sane person, am so immodest as to see things as they are, and not as they should or could be, please forgive me, but I cannot do otherwise. Nothing is more detestable to me than saccharine photography with its gimmicks, poses, and effects. August Sander
Uncertainty permits the possibility of anything and everything. Duane Michels
Work as if you will live forever, and pray as if you will die tomorrow.
Ahmadou Bamba, Senegal
Things don't change; we change.
Henry David Thoreau
(1817–1862), American philosopher, naturalist, writer, and mystic
For people who only know a hammer as a tool, every problem is a nail. (Chinese proverb).
No pain is greater than remembering a time of happiness when one is in misery.
If you are wise, act as a vessel, not a channel that receives and gives almost simultaneously, while the vessel waits until it is full. In this way, it gives away what overflows without harming itself.
Learn, too, to pour out only from your abundance, and do not desire to be more generous than God. The bowl imitates the spring. Only when it is saturated with water does it flow to the river, does it become a sea. You do the same! First fill up, and then pour out. Kind and wise love is accustomed to overflowing, not running dry. I do not wish to become rich if you become empty in the process. For if you treat yourself badly, to whom can you be good? If you can, help me from your abundance; if not, take care of yourself.
Bernard of Clairvaux
Equanimity, called "Upekkha" in the Buddhist Pali scriptures, is one of the qualities most highly valued by the Buddha. According to ancient Buddhist teachings, it is one of the seven prerequisites for enlightenment, alongside mindfulness. Equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy are the four "divine states" in Buddhism. However, equanimity must not be confused with indifference. The following narrative illustrates this in a manner characteristic of Zen, namely without textbook-like moralizing:
The Zen master Hakuin (1685-1768) was widely praised for his impeccable conduct. A beautiful Japanese girl, the daughter of a grocer, lived in the neighborhood. One day, her parents discovered she was pregnant. The girl remained silent about the father, but finally put an end to the trouble by naming Hakuin. Furious, the outraged parents rushed to the master.
“Is that so?” That was all he said.
The child was born and taken to Hakuin, who by that time had already lost his good reputation, but this didn't bother him. He lovingly cared for the baby. A year later, the remorseful mother confessed to her parents that the child's real father was a young man who worked at the fish market.
The parents immediately rushed to Hakuin, asked him about the child and said they wanted it back.
“Is that so?” That was all he said as he handed them the child.
The divine within us always loves
the divine in the other.
| “The Divine” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Let man be noble, Helpful and good! Because that alone Differentiates him Of all beings, Those we know. Hail to the unknown. Higher beings, The ones we suspect! They are like humans! His example teaches us Those believe. Because they are unfeeling Is nature: The sun is shining About evil and good, And the criminal Shine like the best The moon and the stars. Wind and currents., Thunder and hail Rushing their way And seize Passing by One after the other. That's happiness too. Tap into the crowd, The boy will soon grasp Curly innocence, Soon also the bald one Guilty parting. | After eternal, honorable, Great Laws Do we all have to Our existence Complete the circle. Only man alone. It can do the impossible: He distinguishes, Choose and judge; He can seize the moment lend duration. He alone may Reward the good, Punishing the wicked, Heal and save, Everything that is erring, wandering Connecting usefully. And we adore. The Immortals, As if they were human, Large-scale actions, What's best in a small space Does or wants to. The noble person Be helpful and good! He worked tirelessly The useful, the right, Be a role model for us Those anticipated beings! |
“The Divine” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Don't just walk on the smooth streets.
Go where no one has gone before, so that you leave footprints and not just dust.
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Our mind is restlessly torn between the,
what we want and what we don't want.
SH 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.
The universe is real but you can't see it. You have to imagine it.
Once you imagine it,
you can be realistic about reproducing it.
Calder
One must learn to understand that others see things differently.
Fred Ammon 1930, German aphorist
If we want to understand the world through photography, we must first learn to be still. Only when mind and body are centered and focused can we perceive the external world free from concepts and judgments, opening ourselves to conscious experience.
Mindfulness and silence are essential conditions for a photograph that transcends a mere depiction of the external world. Then, for a moment, we experience the profound beauty of our cosmos and resonate with its full richness.
Klaus Schick, Bielefeld photographer, at Waldbröl Monastery
In a dispute about the truth, the dispute itself remains the only truth.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941)
Ordinary love is selfish and clings to desire and pleasure. Sri Yukteswar
Children are neither vessels to be filled nor flames to be kindled; they are a burning fire that should not be extinguished.
ANDRÉ STERN, FRENCH FREELANCER, BORN 1971
The apparent ease of photography also has something very deceptive about it. This contradiction between what a photograph is and what people want to see in it probably reveals a great deal about the contradictions of human nature itself—about the way we generally deal with reality. Wolfgang Tillmans
Home can be a place, but also a thought that gives you a feeling of connection. Wherever you feel a sense of belonging and have built that connection, there is always a little bit of home.t.
David Zink Yi, artist KAT_A Bad Honnef
All art is dedicated to joy, and there is no higher and more serious task than to make people happy.
Friedrich von Schiller
Art may not be the bread, but it is the wine of life.
Jean Paul
There are painters who turn the sun into a yellow spot. But there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, can transform a yellow spot into the sun.
Pablo Picasso
Art is the inner beauty of a person formed in matter.
Margarete Seemann
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
„"And it goes without saying that a disciple of Buddha must not hate, cannot hate anymore. Likewise: that he can no longer hate in the everyday sense of the word." love He is allowed to, and finally can no longer love. Yet he does not become unfeeling, indifferent. He shares his rich capacity for love with everyone and everything he encounters, without expecting anything in return, loving impartially, completely selflessly, as if for the sake of loving itself. And this is not because it gives him personal pleasure, satisfies some personal urge, but because he must do it out of giving love. This love, then, if one may even call it that, which can no longer turn into hatred, stands beyond both love and hatred. It is not like a blazing flame that collapses back in on itself, but like a still ember, nourished evenly from within. This love, which knows no disappointment, but also no external encouragement, which is mingled with kindness, compassion, and gratitude, which does not woo, impose itself, make demands, pursue, or trouble, which does not give in order to take, possesses an astonishing power precisely because it does not strive for power. She is gentle, mild, and ultimately irresistible. Even so-called inanimate things open up to her, and animals, otherwise shy and fearful, trust her.“ Eugen Herrigel, The Zen Way
The rifle is in one view è illusione, so it comes even more so è illusione, just fruit of the children of the mind. Ogni cosa non è reale. Ma allora cos'è reale? Duane Michels
The law of interdependence also includes the principle that you should do everything in your power to create the causes of happiness.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Our mind creates the world in which we live.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
How we experience the world depends primarily on our prevailing emotions and our inner attitude.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
Peter Benenson Founder of Amnesty International
Everything has always been the same. Nothing else. Always tried. Always failed. It doesn't matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Samuel Beckett
Most of the work is still ahead of us.
A wonderful future. Ingvar Kamprad
A person who is at peace with themselves does not count on time.,
Development cannot be measured by time.
Life itself must always be the ultimate source, never another person. Many people, especially women, draw their strength from another person instead of truly living themselves; that person, and not life, is their source. This is as twisted and unnatural as can be.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 40
A woman's center of gravity lies in a single man, a man's center of gravity lies in the world. Can a woman shift her center of gravity without, in a sense, violating herself, without doing violence to her very being?
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 48
And as I walked, I suddenly had the feeling that I wasn't alone, but rather "with someone else." I was alone, and yet it felt as if I were made up of two people, snuggling intimately together and warming each other. Very close contact with myself, and therefore great warmth within me. And complete self-pleasure.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 50
You want to encompass all aspects of life with your mind, instead of letting life encompass you.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 60
One should never go to extremes; there must still be something left for the imagination.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 101
He pressed five small rosebuds into my hand and said: "They never expect anything from the outside world, therefore they always receive something."„
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 108
For me, everything always works from the inside out, never from the outside in. The most threatening regulations – and there are certainly enough of them – usually shatter against my inner security and trust, and once I've processed them internally, they lose much of their menacing power.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 110
I read about a priest: He had stood as a mediator between God and humankind. Nothing of everyday life could touch him. And precisely for that reason, he understood the plight of all those who are unborn so well.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 111
Peace can only become true peace, sometime in the future, when every individual finds peace within themselves and eradicates hatred towards their fellow human beings, regardless of race or nationality. Defeated and transformed into something that is no longer hatred, but could, in the long run, even become love.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 115
Through suffering, I am learning to accept that one must share one's love with all of creation, with the entire cosmos.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 117
Most people in the West don't understand the art of suffering and are terrified of it. That's no longer living the way most people live: in fear, resignation, bitterness, hatred, despair. My God, it's so understandable. But if this life is taken from them, then surely not much is taken from them? One must accept death as a part of life, even the most terrible death. But don't we experience a whole life every day, and does it really matter much whether we live a few days more or less? I am in Poland every day, on the battlefields, one might say; sometimes the vision of yellow-green battlefields forces itself upon me; I am with the starving, the abused, and the dying. Every day I am there, but I am also here with the jasmine and the patch of sky outside my window. In a single life, there is room for everything. For faith in God and for wretched ruin.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 122
The possibility of death is ever-present in my mind; my life has been enriched by facing death, by accepting it as a part of life. One must not prematurely sacrifice a part of life to death by fearing and resisting it; resistance and fear leave us with only a pitifully withered remnant of life, which can hardly be called life anymore. It sounds almost paradoxical: if one banishes death from one's life, life is never complete, and by embracing death, one expands and enriches life.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 125
Oh, letting go of someone you love, letting them live their own life entirely, is the hardest thing there is.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 132
Rather, the primal force consists in the fact that, even if one dies miserably, one perceives life as meaningful and beautiful until the very last moment, in the feeling that one has realized everything within oneself and that it was good to live.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 134
And between our eyes and hands flows a continuous stream of gentle tenderness, in which every petty desire is extinguished; it is only about being good to each other with all the kindness we are capable of.
And every gathering is also a farewell.
Etty Hillesum The Thinking Heart p. 135
„"Ultimately, it's always about the connections with people,
who give life its value.“
(Wilhelm von Humboldt)
From Chad Eastham's Barefoot in the Relationship Jungle
To be loved is to be deeply known, and isn't that what we all want? - Chad
Love is our true destiny. We will not find the meaning of life alone. We will find it together. Thomas Merton
I have learned that loving and being loved is the human emotion that gives the most strength and joy. – Jane Goodall
Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but rather look around us attentively. James Thurber
Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Mark Twain
The world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong precisely in those broken places. Ernest Hemingway
Love knows no fear. True love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18
Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King Jr.
I not only use the brain I have, but I also borrow whatever I can get. - Woodrow Wilson
Common sense is not something you find very often. - Voltaire
Even if you only stumble forward, you're still making progress. - Unknown
If we want to change but refuse to change our thinking first, we become slaves. Slaves to the past, slaves to our old selves, and we will never change. – Chad Eastham
A borrowed brain is worthless. Yiddish
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. Robert Frost
You gain strength, courage, and confidence from every experience that forces you to stop and face danger. – Eleanor Roosevelt
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. Albert Einstein
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! - Virginia Woolf
A person's greatest successes follow their disappointments. - Henry Ward Beecher
I prefer dreams of the future to the history of the past. – Thomas Jefferson
THE WORLD IS A BOOK AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY ONE PAGE.
Journalism is about publishing something that others don't want published. Everything else is propaganda.
George Orwell, author of "1984"„
from http://www.carstenbruns.de/
| Success | Joy | self-consciousness |
| Even as an X I can become rich | All the details will fall into place; I trust in that. | Everything I do will be a success. |
| The money is lying in the street, I just have to get it. | All my relationships are harmonious. | Other people love and respect me just the way I am. |
| The universe loves me and takes care of me. | Everything in my world is good. | The universe (God, higher power) supports me on all my paths. |
| Success is an integral part of my life. | Everything is fine. | No matter what happens, I feel free and safe. |
| There is a great demand for my skills and talents. | Life inspires me and fills me with new energy. | It's good to be who I am. |
| It's good for me to be successful. | Life loves me. | It is my right to live fully, completely, and freely. |
| It's good when I receive money. | Life will always provide for me. | It is wonderful to be a woman / a man. |
| It is my right. | The universe is giving me its full support. | I pay attention to the messages my body sends me. |
| Everything I need is always provided for. | The universe lovingly cares for me. | I pay attention to my thoughts and consciously choose healthy ones. |
| Money can do a lot of good. | The energy and love in my relationship strengthens me, and I feel safe and secure with my partner. | I breathe freely and deeply. |
| Money gives me many opportunities | Love fills me and radiates from me. | I breathe deeply, calmly and relaxed. |
| Money is energy | The world is safe and friendly. | I move consciously at all times. |
| Money is a pleasant thing. | No matter where I go, I always find a reason to feel connected to the people. | I am gifted. |
| Money is a beautiful and good thing. | It is good for me to be alive. | I am the expression of perfect freedom. |
| Money is freedom | It's good to be alive. | I am worthy of the path I have chosen. |
| Money is my friend | It's good that I'm alive and full of joy. | I am the creative force in my world. |
| Money is pure energy | It's good to feel. | I am the perfect reflection of God. |
| Money is freedom in written form. | Nothing can happen to me | I am a divine expression of life |
| Money makes you sexy | There is time and space for everything I want to do. | I am a loving, compassionate person. |
| Making money is easy | Limitless energy flows through my body. | I am an oasis of peace, love, and joy. |
| Good and intelligent people should always be wealthy. | Goodness is everywhere for me, and I feel safe and secure. | I am an infinite source of love. |
| I accept myself, and my decisions are always right for me. | I pay attention to my diet | I am one with all life. |
| I submit to God's law of abundance and allow this abundance into my life. | I rely on divine wisdom and guidance to protect me at all times. | I am one with God. |
| I admire the rich | I enjoy immersing myself in the flow of new experiences, directions, and changes. | I am worth it |
| I am the center of power | I get enough | I am worthy of being loved. |
| I am the creator of my prosperity. | I decide to view life as eternal and joyful. | I am the one who creates all my experiences. |
| I am the power. | I decide to love myself and enjoy joy. | I am free to become the best version of myself. |
| I am successful | I look at myself and what I do with eyes of love. | I am free to love and enjoy life. |
| I am successful | I am grateful for all the good things in my life. | I am free. |
| I am successful in everything I do. | I express harmony, peace, and joy. | I am joy |
| I am successful no matter what I do. | I receive and show joy. | I am peace |
| I am worth charging money. | I perceive my body as a harmonious whole. | I am completely centered and live in peace. |
| I am worth being able to afford everything. | I'm discovering now how wonderful I am. | I am enough |
| I am worth being rich. | I relax and allow my mind to find peace. | I am blessed. |
| I am worth being paid properly. | I experience acceptance from all life. | I am healthy and slim |
| I am good at creating wealth. | I receive new opportunities every day. | I am willing to experience life. |
| I am an ace in my profession. | I recognize my own intuitive ability. | I am happy to be wealthy |
| I am worth my salary | I allow the love in my heart to heal everything I see. | I am happy to be myself. |
| I am worth my money | I allow my body to follow the rhythm of the ebb and flow. | I am divine. |
| I am rich | I allow myself to eat healthily. | I am good enough |
| I am rich and wealthy | I create my own life. | I am good enough just the way I am. |
| I am strong and capable | I only create good things in my life. | I am whole and healthy |
| I am valuable | I eat well and conscientiously. | I am happy here and now. |
| I am valuable and unique | I eat when I'm hungry. | I am me |
| I am successful | I am happy with my way of expressing life. | I am in flow with the rhythm of my body. |
| I am infinitely rich | I am happy about my femininity/masculinity. | I am at peace with life. |
| I am allowed to charge money | I am happy to be who I am. | I am at peace with myself and with life. |
| I choose abundance. | I feel healthy | I am at peace wherever I am right now. |
| I choose abundance in my life. | I feel connected to my body at every moment. | I am at peace. |
| I choose wealth. | I feel safe being myself. | I am at home in the universe. |
| I climb the career ladder with ease. | I feel good inside and out. | I am always safe and secure. |
| I feel comfortable with a lot of money. | I feel and I know that I am perfect in every way. | I am at peace with life. |
| I handle money carefully. | I am moving towards another dimension of my existence. | I am at home in my body. |
| I enjoy being able to afford everything. | I belong only to myself. | I am safe, secure, and understood. |
| I enjoy being rich. | I enjoy being very close to other people, both physically and emotionally. | I am safe. |
| I enjoy making money. | I enjoy moving around more and more. | I am completely capable of handling any situation. |
| I have a right to abundance and prosperity. | I allow myself to have my desired weight. | I feel safe and secure at all times. |
| I have a right to wealth | I have the freedom to bring love and joy to every part of my world. | I am physically and mentally flexible. |
| I deserve to be promoted. | I deserve to be happy. | I am powerful and alive. |
| I deserve to get the job I want. | I have peace and harmony within me and around me. | I am love |
| I deserve to receive money | I can control myself when I want to. | I am lovable |
| I deserve to live in abundance. | I have something in common with every person, and I find that... | I am loving and lovable. |
| I deserve to get any job I want. | I maintain my weight with ease. | I am pure consciousness. |
| I deserve to have a good life. | I can't make mistakes, only gain experiences, because everything I do teaches me something new. | I am self-confident |
| I deserve to be rich and successful. | I can choose what I want. | I'm sure of it, at every point in the universe. |
| I deserve to be rich. | I let go of everything that is not in accordance with love. | I am sure. |
| I deserve to have a lot of money. | I let go of everything that is not love. | I am spiritual. |
| I have the power, strength, and knowledge to handle everything in my life. | I let the pattern that led to this state leave my consciousness. | I am vibrant life. |
| I can achieve anything in my life | I let go of the past and allow love to heal every area of my life. | I am strong and desirable. |
| I can be successful in any job | I'm now channeling my anger in a positive direction. | I am proud of the person I am. |
| I can earn a lot of money with any job. | I live a healthy and balanced life. | I am part of the universal plan. |
| I can own as much money as I want. | I live in loving and honest relationships. | I am and will remain young and dynamic. |
| I know the value of money. | I live in harmony and balance with everyone I know. | I am full of energy. |
| I love the rich | I love the live. | I am full of new energy |
| I love making money | I love playing sports. | I am full of confidence. |
| I love money | I love fruit | I am fully responsible for myself. |
| I love myself and my success | I love nutritious food. | I am whole, complete, and complete. |
| I love myself, and that's why I have a job that I truly enjoy. | I am internally detaching myself from the pattern that drew this experience to me. | I am perfect just the way I am. |
| I love wealth | I'm giving myself the gift of pleasant relaxation. | I am naturally okay because I am good. |
| I like to surround myself with rich people. | I accept the good within me and know that all my needs and desires will be met. | I am important and am loved by life itself. |
| I bless the rich | I accept divine guidance and am always safe. | I am important. |
| I earn a lot of money while doing what I enjoy. | I am opening myself up to life. | I am responsible for my own life. |
| I know that I automatically attract the right people into my life. | I respect and love my family just the way they are. | I change when I want to. |
| I know that I am valuable. | I proceed with ease. | I am constantly changing and growing. |
| I know I can learn a lot from and with other people. | I proceed confidently and easily. | I am wonderful. |
| I am noticed and appreciated in the most positive way. | I myself am eternal, joyful, and at peace. | I have boundless self-confidence. |
| I am well paid | I feel and enjoy my vitality. | I have a right to be in this world. |
| I am becoming more successful every day. | I am under the protection of divine love. | I can achieve anything I set my mind to. |
| I am getting richer and richer every day. | I am now making the decision to make my life easy, simple, and joyful. | I listen lovingly to my inner voice. |
| I am getting better and better every day in every way. | I surrender all control to the universe. | I love being a woman/man. |
| I attract success | I trust that life is good for me. | I love my body. |
| I attract money | I trust that the right thing will always be done in my life. | I love myself and I am loved. |
| I attract money like a magnet. | I trust the process of life. | I love myself. |
| I attract exactly the kind of challenge into my life that I need. | I trust my higher self. | I love myself and I am worthy of being loved. |
| I attract wealth | I trust my fellow human beings and they trust me. | I love myself and I am fulfilled. |
| I attract wealth | I trust and flow with the process of life. | I love myself and know that my future is safe here. |
| Anyone can become rich and successful. | I choose peace. | I love myself, and therefore I treat all people with love. |
| Power is a beautiful thing. | I turn to my partner with love | I love myself, and that's why I'm creating a beautiful home for myself. |
| My life is full and rich | I present myself as free and joyful. | I love myself, and that's why I lovingly care for my body. |
| My work is a pleasure and fulfills me | The more love I spread and give, the more I have to give. | I love myself. |
| My unique and creative abilities and talents flow through me. | Every cell in my body is loved. | I love and accept myself completely. |
| My imagination is limitless. | Every day I give more and more love | I love and accept myself and trust the process of life. |
| I was born with all the tools I needed to acquire wealth. | Every day I give and receive more and more love. | I love and accept myself and trust that the process of life will only bring me good things. |
| I was given giftedness, creativity, talent, friends, family and a lot of strength, because I need all of this for my life's work. | Every breath gives me new energy. | I love and accept myself completely, just as I am. |
| With power and money, I can do a lot of good. | Love surrounds and protects me. | I love and accept myself as I am. |
| Being rich means being free | I lovingly accept my decisions and know that I have the freedom to change things. | I love and accept myself. |
| Being rich is easy | Over time, my weight settles down to exactly where it's good and right for me. | I love and appreciate myself. |
| Being rich is nice | My heart always shows me the next step | I accept myself as I am. |
| Rich people are good for me. | My body is a body of God, I am whole and perfect. | I can achieve everything I want to achieve. |
| Wealth is a natural state in my life. | My body is beautiful and supple. | I'm doing the best I can. |
| Wealth is beautiful | My body knows deep down what health means. | I am free from my parents |
| Wealth makes one powerful | My life is the life of God; I am now perfect. | Through breathing, I connect body, mind, and soul. |
| Wealth suits me. | My life is under divine guidance, and I always move in the best direction. | I deserve only the best, and I'm opening up for it now. |
| Wealth and success are an integral part of my life. | My family is a wonderful source of strength. | I trust my inner voice. |
| Wealth and prosperity are a natural state for me. | I find it easy to love and accept other people. | I know what's best for me. |
| Having a lot of money gives me many opportunities to do good. | I find it easy to open myself up to the needs of other people. | I am loved. |
| Great wealth means great power. | I have space to breathe and grow. | Intelligence, courage, and self-esteem are part of me. |
| If I follow my calling, wealth and abundance will automatically come to me. | I move forward with joy and confidence, knowing that everything will be good in my future. | I lovingly pay attention to the messages my body sends me. |
| Prosperity and abundance in all areas are now flowing to me. | With love, I completely let go of the past. | My self-confidence is boundless. |
„IN THE DESERT I AM WORTH THAT,
WHAT MY GODS ARE WORTH."“
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Ruth Reibold-Lorenz
Grass doesn't grow faster if you pull on it.
Confucius
What remains when everything has been said?
Matsuo Basho
Reduction! People always want to say more than nature does and make the unnecessary mistake of trying to say it with more means than nature does, instead of with fewer.
Paul Klee Diaries 1908
As long as you chase after happiness,
You are not ready to be happy.
Hermann Hesse
The simplest solution is not always the best.,
But the best thing is always simple.
Heinrich Tessenow, architect
Woe speaks: Perish!
But all desire longs for eternity.,
I want deep, deep eternity.
Friedrich Nietzsche in Zarathustra
Just two things
Having gone through so many forms,
through I and We and You,
But everything remained a tragedy.
through the eternal question: why?
That's a child's question.
You only realized this much later.,
There is only one thing: endure.
– whether meaning, addiction, or legend –
Your remotely determined: You must.
Whether roses, snow, or seas,
everything that bloomed, faded,
There are only two things: emptiness.
and the drawn self.
Gottfried Benn in Distillations
A restless mind breeds artifice and invention; all of this is defilement. If you want to understand the path directly, the "normal mind" is the way. What I mean by "normal mind" is the mind without artifice, without subjective judgments, without desire or aversion.
Mozu Daoyi
Personal freedom and interdependence are equally important for a shared life.
Mahatma Gandhi
Even if everything goes wrong, hardly anything is lost as long as you are at peace with yourself.
Mahatma Gandhi
Where love grows, life flourishes.,
Where hatred arises, destruction threatens.
Mahatma Gandhi
God answers every prayer in his own way –
not on ours.
Mahatma Gandhi
If one is capable of making the greatest sacrifices, one can rise to unimaginable heights.
Mahatma Gandhi
The only dictate I submit to in this world is the gentle voice.
Mahatma Gandhi
The path of peace is the path of truth.
Mahatma Gandhi
Nonviolence is the weapon of fearlessness.
Mahatma Gandhi
Hatred can be overcome by nothing but infinite love. Mahatma Gandhi
Take care of today, God will take care of tomorrow.
Mahatma Gandhi
The freedom of one person ends where the freedom of another begins.
Mahatma Gandhi
Good can never come from lies and violence.
Mahatma Gandhi
True satisfaction is achieved in fighting, in striving, in suffering – but never in winning.
Mahatma Gandhi
Strength does not come from physical power, but from an indomitable will.
Mahatma Gandhi
Those who submit to God need not fear any human being.
Mahatma Gandhi
Only God knows what true greatness is –
For only he knows the hearts of men.
Mahatma Gandhi
The ability to forgive is the true virtue of the brave.
Mahatma Gandhi
You shouldn't strive for anything you don't really need.
Mahatma Gandhi
What is the value of a faith that is not expressed in actions?
Mahatma Gandhi
Therefore, contemplating transience, even in the objects where it is most evident, cannot be wrong. On the contrary, observing ugliness without hatred helps us develop equanimity. Conversely, observing beauty without desire can also be a form of mindfulness – and this is fine as long as it doesn't lead us to clinging, greed, or the desire for possession.
True happiness, says Buddha, is a life with little desire, little possession, and enough time to enjoy the many wonders within and around us.
The more a person focuses on pleasure, the more it fades away. The more they chase after happiness, the more they drive it away.“
Viennese psychoanalyst Viktor Frankl + 1997
True coolness is always serene – and thus very close to the ideal of the ancient hedonists, who called this state ataraxia. Perhaps it's best described with an old-fashioned word: equanimity, which many today confuse with indifference. But that would be fundamentally wrong. Equanimity is anything but disinterest and ignorance. It consists of reason and a measured calm that takes precedence over passion. One sees oneself, others, and the world without passion. Wolf Lotter in BrandEins “LUST”
There is much coldness among people because we do not dare to show ourselves as warmly as we truly are. Albert Schweitzer
The wisdom of life lies in omitting the inessential. - Lin Yutang
Only those who suffer will be freed from suffering. - Lao Tzu
Those who look outside are dreaming.
Those who look inward awaken.
Carl Gustav Jung
When I was younger, I could remember everything, whether it had actually happened or not.
Mark Twain
The essence of happiness: wanting to be who you are.
Erasmus of Rotterdam 1466-1536
»In the essence of observation—its true meaning—there is no thinking; there is no center of an «I’ looking at ‘you,’” says Jiddu Krishnamurti in his book. The Mirror of Love.
The beauty of things lives in the soul of the one who...,
who looks at them.
David Hume
Do what is necessary first, then what is possible.
And suddenly you achieve the impossible.
Francis of Assisi
„"In documentary photography, the focus is solely on the WHAT – on WHAT is being photographed. Everything is linked to this WHAT. WHAT, WHAT, WHAT. As I see it, this is the most problematic aspect of photography. Let's put it this way, from an artistic point of view, it's the least crucial aspect. The HOW – I'm talking about the creative, not the technical HOW – is much more important. The HOW is often pushed aside, if not eliminated altogether. Yet the most profound content is to be found in the HOW."“
JAN DIBBETS
We have everything we need. Yet we are not happy. – Dalai Lama
„"Whatever you can do
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin now.“
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
My autosuggestion:
I am determined to seize the opportunities of a lifetime.
Anyone who wants to be successful must be proficient in speaking and absolutely confident in the tone of their voice.
I know that inner security is crucial for the power of language – it's a question of confidence in one's own strength. I can only be confident in my speech if I am confident inside.
I am certain – completely certain – and free from all inhibitions.
Nikolaus B. Enkelmann
On Success (Dr. Enkelmann)
Quotes – Success
Only on the basis of a sound worldview can a successful life be planned and shaped.
A successful system should be based on ethical and moral principles.
A person who knows what they want has a clear vision of the future. Someone who is disoriented stagnates, runs in circles, goes backward, and stumbles.
Most people plan their own lives worse than a two-week vacation.
When planning and thinking ahead about our future, we do not escape from our reality into illusions, but rather we understand our present as the foundation for tomorrow.
We can cry about the past; we cannot change it.
Successes are solved problems. Success is the ability to see problems only in connection with their solutions.
The focus of success is always the individual; with their energy, their will, their performance, their abilities, their creativity, their capacity for enthusiasm.
Success is just another word for life.
Success is the fundamental principle of the universe.
Learn how to interact with successful people.
Everything that lives needs success. Every blade of grass, every bud, every tree, every animal, every person – whether young or old.
A successful person has successful friends.
Anyone can start. Only by persevering will you become a king. Become a master, don't remain a beginner!
Success is anything that supports life.
The world we live in is not perfect, and neither is humanity. These two shortcomings give rise to the problems of life.
Problems give us the chance to show how capable we are.
Humans are not reactive or passive beings, but creative beings.
Faith leads to action and concentration to success: repetition leads to mastery.
The will to succeed must be rekindled daily to prevent the monotony of everyday life from taking over.
A clear goal and perseverance guarantee success.
Thoughts are only effective, constructive forces when we direct them towards our personal goals.
You don't fight bad habits, you replace them with good ones.
To consciously shape one's destiny – this endeavor distinguishes truly successful people.
We need to deal with the things we want to cause.
There have never been more opportunities than today.
The secret to success lies in the way you seek it.
There are many paths to success. You can only take one.
It goes without saying that career goals in the first half of life must look different than in the second.
Those who leave themselves to chance are like helpless pieces of wood floating on the water.
Recipe for success: There is no substitute for victory.
What matters is not what we are born as, what starting conditions we encounter, but what we make of them ourselves.
Humans are the only beings capable of changing themselves and their world and shaping their future.
When a person is successful, the brain produces endorphins, happiness hormones.
I cannot imagine a more beautiful life than using the time of my life to work towards fulfilling my own desires.
Neither the stars nor the gods have predetermined your fate. You become the architect of your own destiny the moment you know what you want.
Just as you shouldn't let a bonsai tree grow too wild, we should shape our lives into an ideal.
Only when you are as good as your master do you have a chance to improve.
The world is changed by action, not by thought.
Knowing today what tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will bring freedom.
The most important part of life is the future! Those who don't think about their future don't have one!
The brains of all people are the same. It is our thoughts that control us.
A self-confident person focuses on their tasks and goals.
I want to leave the world a tiny bit better than when I entered it.
What we need is someone who forces us to do what we can.
Success requires lead time.
Changing is not about becoming different, but about becoming better.
I want to motivate you to turn your talents into successes in life and to become actively involved in shaping your own future.
Those who have a center within themselves are better able to cope with the hectic pace of modern life.
Wishing – planning – daring – winning – should therefore be our motto in life, so as not to be among the cheated.
He who wins the future comes with the past being pure.
The primary cause of success is love. Love unleashes desires and awakens creative potential. Genius is nothing other than the ability to fall in love with one's desires and goals. Those who have no goals in life get lost.
Most people spend their whole lives holding back. Better to step on the gas! Reach for the stars!
Recalibrate your compass so you can stay on course like a captain.
Where energy transforms into concentration – the future is created.
You will find that the most powerful weapon in the struggle for existence is belief in yourself and in the meaning of your vision.
The best give their best.
The vain person believes in himself, the self-confident person in his future.
Those who fail here on Earth do not fail because they lack good intentions, but because they fail to carry out their own valuable intentions.
Memorizing means shaping one's personal subconscious mind so that it can use what has been learned unconsciously, i.e., completely automatically.
We are free to decide, but bound by the consequences.
The greatest success is like a painting made up of many small mosaic tiles.
Success is not a stagnation, a gift, or a coincidence, but a lifelong growth process.
People are always at the heart of success.
Belief in success is the same as belief in one's own abilities and goals.
Success is the ability to achieve one's goals despite internal and external resistance, by investing time and effort.
Clarity about the goal, awareness of inner strength, and patient handling of time are the most important prerequisites for success.
Everything that lives needs success.
Success in life is the result of our thinking.
Success is just another word for life.
Success is the art of solving problems and overcoming obstacles!
Successes are problems solved!
Success is a matter of my behavior and my attitude.
With a positive subconscious mind, success is unstoppable.
The door to success opens inwards!
A clear goal and perseverance guarantee success.
Love is positive thinking in its purest form; love is the primary cause of success.
Always remember that your own determination to succeed is more important than anything else.
Success is the fundamental principle of life, the central task of the universe.
Success begins with an optimistic thought about success.
Success only comes at the finish line – persevere!
Those who strengthen their strengths are on the right path to happiness and success.
Not achieving your goals is less damaging than not having any goals at all. If you truly want something, all your wishes will come true!
Courage saves time and energy for what is essential.
Wishes show us the way. What we desire, we can also obtain.
What a person can desire, they can also achieve.
Clearly and specifically formulated wishes become goals!
Just wish away, plan like a world champion, dare ANYTHING – and you will win!
Those who strive for the utmost will achieve the possible!
I can do what I want!
Each repetition is a deepening.
Falling down is no disgrace, but staying down is despicable!
Anyone can start – but only through perseverance will you become king!
All skill comes solely from practice.
Every problem contains within it the seed of its solution.
Problems are signposts to the future.
The field of our future is larger than a king's land.
People can only achieve great goals in groups. The lone wolf no longer stands a chance.
Success is a matter of our behavior.
Goals give me the chance to look forward to something.
The people and the problems haven't changed. What has changed are the techniques used to deal with the problems.
We will achieve success through training. Reputation comes from being respected.
We are only successful where we are of use, not where we exploit.
Doubt about one's own abilities is the precursor to failure.
Those who look for difficulties will always find them.
Anyone who puts their resolutions in writing is, in a sense, making a contract with themselves. That creates a obligation.
Wanting to is good, doing is better.
Small deeds done are better than great ones planned. – Georges Marshall
Friendship is the union of souls. - Voltaire
Books are ships that sail the vast seas of time. – Francis Bacon
Leisure is the art of being a pleasant partner to oneself. KH Waggerl
Humor is simply a funny way of being serious.
Man becomes I through Thou. Martin Buber
Hopefully it won't be as bad as it is. - Karl Valentin
Those who arm themselves with humor are practically invulnerable.
Watch your thoughts! They are the beginning of your actions. Chinese proverb
Be cheerful, do good, and let the sparrows chirp. Don Bosco
Humor begins where fun ends. - Werner Finck
When you let go of what you thought you were, it gives you the space to broaden your horizons and grow.
Rick Hanson
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, a person cannot exist without a spiritual life. – Buddha
Those who look outside are dreaming.
Those who look inward awaken.
Carl Gustav Jung
The way füIt does not lead to heaven, the way füIt touches the heart. Buddha
Start living now and count each day as a life in itself.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Life is the fire that burns, and all the sun that gives light. Life is the wind and the rain and the thunder in the sky. Life is matter and is mass, that which is and that which is not, and that which is beyond in eternity.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
If you want to be loved, love!
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
I began by being a friend to myself. That's already a great achievement; one can no longer be lonely. Know also that such a person will be a true friend to everyone. Lucius Annaeus Seneca
He who possesses insight is also temperate; he who is temperate is also equanimous; he who is equanimous is not easily disturbed; he who is not easily disturbed is without sorrow; he who is without sorrow is happy: therefore, the insightful person is happy, and insight alone is sufficient for a happy life. Lucius Annaeus Seneca
No one achieves a wise life by chance. As long as one lives, one must learn how to live. Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Everything in nature, every flower, every tree, every animal has important lessons to teach us if we simply pause, look, and listen.
Eckhart Tolle
True salvation is a state of freedom from compulsive thinking, and especially from the past and future as psychological necessity. Eckhart Tolle
True happiness is hidden in the simplest, seemingly insignificant things.
Eckhart Tolle
Do something good for your body,
so that your soul will want to live there.
Teresa of Ávila about 500 years ago
CHAT
Do you love me?
»"I love you."«
-Very? "Much more than you think."»
– And yet you are always far away, always traveling!
»"Because my travels are a way to reach you."«
– When will you arrive?
»"I will never arrive."«
- Why?
»"Because you are the direction, and direction remains direction."«
– What about the secrets?
»"Like the secrets."«
– And what do you do on the go during the heatwave?,
of famine and storms?
»"I see you behind the mountains and jungles"
and go on."«
-Where?
»"To you."«
A warm, deep silence; she lifts her head.
and sees a vast sky in his eyes,
Forests full of buds.
From: Fuad Rifka. The Valley of Rituals.
1. Recognize the inner core and beauty in every person.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 23
2 Our innermost nature is compassion. It arises from our interconnectedness with all things.
Jack Kornfield The Wise Heart p. 39
3 When we shift our attention from the experience to the space of consciousness in which it takes place, wisdom arises.
Jack Kornfield The Wise Heart p. 59
4. Recognize the mental states that fill consciousness. Transform unwholesome ones into wholesome ones.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 77
5. Our concept of self arises through identification. The less we cling to ideas of self, the freer and happier we will be.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 95
6. Our lives have both a universal and a personal dimension. Both must be respected if we want to be free and happy.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 119
8. Mindfulness of the body allows us to live our lives to the fullest. It gives us healing, wisdom, and freedom.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 163
9 Wisdom recognizes which feelings are present without getting lost in them.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 184
Ten thoughts are often one-sided and wrong. Learn to be aware of your thoughts instead of getting lost in them.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 200
11. There is the personal unconscious and the universal unconscious. Penetrating the unconscious with awareness brings insight and freedom.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 225
12 The unwholesome aspects of our personality can be recognized and transformed so that our natural temperament finds wholesome expression.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 243
13. There are wholesome and unwholesome desires. Learn the difference and find peace amidst your desires.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 265
14 If we cling to anger or hatred, we will suffer. A hate-free, powerful, wise, and compassionate response is entirely possible.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 296
15. Ignorance fails to understand the world and forgets who we truly are. It underlies all unwholesome states of mind. Free yourself from ignorance and see with wisdom.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 319
16. Pain is inevitable, suffering is not. Suffering arises from attachment. Learn to let go and free yourself from suffering.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 342
17. Pay attention to your motivation. Motivation and intention are the seeds from which our future grows.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 364
18. Whatever we visualize changes our body and our consciousness. Imagine freedom and compassion.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 390
19 What we think over and over again shapes our world. It is a commandment of compassion that we replace unwholesome thoughts with wholesome ones.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 418
20 The power of concentration can be cultivated through inner practice. Concentration opens awareness to the profound dimensions of healing and insight.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 441
21. Virtue and integrity are indispensable prerequisites for true happiness. Therefore, we should pay particular attention to our integrity.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 467
22 Forgiveness is both necessary and possible. It is never too late to find forgiveness and start over.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 478
23 There is no separation between inside and outside, self and others. When we accept ourselves, we accept the world. When we care for the world, we care for ourselves.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 499
24. The middle way lies between the opposites. Stay in the middle and you will feel comfortable wherever you are.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 517
25. Let go of your opinions. Free yourself from fixed views. Open yourself to the mystery.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 524
26 From a peaceful heart springs love. When love encounters suffering, it becomes compassion. When it encounters happiness, it becomes joy.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 542
Form is not different from emptiness. Emptiness is not different from form. And yet, form is form and emptiness is emptiness. Heart Sutra in Jack Kornfield, *The Wise Heart*, p. 118
Experience this world as a soap bubble, as a wave, as an illusion, as a dream.
Dhammapada in Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 119
When you understand, you will realize that you are nothing. When you are nothing, you are everything.
Kalu Rinpoche in Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 115
What is in your mind? In my mind there are only three things: loving-kindness, concentration, and peace.
Dipama Barua in Jack Kornfield The Wise Heart, p. 115
In the light of consciousness, our self, composed of identifications, relaxes.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 112
You are the one who experiences these things, not the one who possesses them.
Ajahn Chah in Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 112
You always identify so quickly with everything—with your body, your thoughts, your opinions, your roles. That's why you suffer. I've relinquished all identification. Look at how my thumb and index finger touch. When I identify with my index finger, I am the feeler and the thumb is the object I perceive. When I reverse the identification and become the thumb, I perceive the index finger as the object. So, when I shift my attention, I become the object I look at. I call this capacity to empathize with other points of view love. Love says, "I am everything." Wisdom says, "I am nothing." Between these two, my life flows.
Sri Nisargadatta in Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 102
To explore the path is to explore the self. To explore the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be illuminated by all things. Zen Master Dogen in Jack Kornfield, *The Wise Heart*, p. 93
We take everything quite personally. The more we cling to our sense of self, the more problems we have. No sense of self… well… no problem.
Master Hina-Tyana-Dhamma-Loka in Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 93
Wholesome and unwholesome states of mind are mutually exclusive. When wholesome factors are present, unwholesome ones have no room to develop. Therefore, if we focus on creating wholesome states of mind, the unwholesome ones will disappear on their own.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 86
Ordinary states of mind:
Memory, stability, mood (pleasant or unpleasant), willpower and vitality.
Unwholesome mental states:
The 3 roots of attachment, aversion, and illusion, from which the following states arise: worry, envy, stubbornness, excitement, greed, self-absorption, hatred, avarice, shamelessness, dullness, narrow-mindedness, confusion, faulty perception, recklessness, and others.
Healing mental states:
The three roots of wisdom, love, and generosity give rise to the following states: mindfulness, trust, courtesy, humility, joy, insight, flexibility, clarity, equanimity, adaptability, kindness, and others.
Jack Kornfield The Wise Heart p. 85
Recognize the mental states that fill consciousness.
Transform the unwholesome into the wholesome.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 77
In Western culture, we generally learn that we can only achieve happiness if the external world changes according to our wishes. But this strategy rarely works. Pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame coexist in our lives, no matter how hard we try to experience only joy, gain, and recognition. Buddhist psychology shows us a different path to happiness. It teaches us that it depends on the state of our mind.
Jack Kornfield The Wise Heart p.76
There is no fixed authority that perceives.
Awareness has no form or color. It is beyond presence or absence, coming or going. Instead, there is only the clear space of experience, of consciousness, which is empty and yet "conscious".
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 71
Consciousness in its spatial aspect:
open, transparent, timeless, conscious, pure, wave-like, unlimited, unborn, not ending with death.
Consciousness in its particle-like aspect:
episodic, impersonal, registers the current sensory experience, colored by the current experience, conditional, momentary, fleeting.
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 64
The mind is like a television with hundreds of channels. Which channel do you turn on? – Thich Nhat Hanh
The Wise Heart, p. 64
Namaste = I recognize the sacredness in you.
The great danger lies not in the soul doubting that it can have bread, but in convincing itself that it is not hungry. – Simone Weil
The Wise Heart, p. 47
Do something good for your body,
so that your soul will want to live there.
Teresa of Ávila
Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo
Kan ji zai bo za tsu
Gyo jin han ya ha ra mi ta
Ji sho ken go on kai ku
Do i sai ku
Yaku sha ri shi
Shiki fu i ku
Ku fu i shiki
Shiki soku ze ku
Ku soku ze shiki
Ju so gyo shiki
Yaku bu nyo ze
Sha ri shi
Ze sho ho ku so
Fu sho fu metsu
Fu ku fu jo
Fu zo fu gen
Ze ko ku chu
Mu shiki mu ju so gyo shiki
Mu gen ni bi ze shin i
Mu shiki sho ko mi soku ho
Mu gen kai nai shi mu i shiki kai
Mu mu myo yaku mu mu myo jin
Nai shi mu ro shi yaku mu ro shi jin
Mu ku shu metsu do mu chi yaku mu toku i
Mu sho toku ko bo dai sa ta e
Han ya ha ra mi ta ko
Shin mu ke ge mu ke ge ko
Mu u ku fu on ri i sai ten do mu so ku gyo ne
Han san ze sho butso e
Han ya ha ra mi ta ko
Toku a noku ta ra san myaku san bo dai
Ko chi han ya ha ra mi ta
Ze dai jin shu ze dai myo shu
Ze mu jo shu ze mu to do shu
No jo i sai ku shin jitsu fu ko
Ko setsu han ya ha ra mi ta shu
Soku setsu shu watsu
Gya tei gya tei
Ha ra gya tei
Hara so gya tei
Bo ji so wa ka
Hannya Shingyo
Heart Sutra — (The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom Sutra)
AvalokitesvaraBodhisattva doing deep Prajna Paramita
Perceived the emptiness of all five conditions,
And was freed from pain.
O Sariputra, formis nothing other than emptiness,
Emptiness no other than form,
Form is precisely emptiness,
Emptiness precisely form.
Sensation, perception, reaction and consciousness are also like this.
O Sariputra, all things are expressions of emptiness,
Not born, not destroyed, not stained, not pure,
Neither waxing nor waning.
Thus emptiness is not form;
Not sensation nor perception,
Reaction nor consciousness;
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;
No color, sound, smell, taste, touch, thing;
No realm of sight, no realm of consciousness;
No ignorance, no end to ignorance;
No old age and death; no cessation of old age and death
No suffering, no cause or end to suffering,
No path, no wisdom and no gain.
No gain – thus Bodhisattvas live this Prajna Paramita
With no hindrance of mind –
No hindrance therefore no fear.
Far beyond all such delusion, Nirvana is already here.
All past, present and future Buddhas live this Prajna Paramita
And achieve supreme, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore know that Prajna Paramita Is the holy mantra, the luminous mantra,
The supreme mantra, the incomparable mantra
By which all suffering is cleared.
This is nothing other than truth.
Therefore set forth this Prajna Paramita mantra,
Set forth this mantra and proclaim:
Gate, Gate, Paragate Parasamgate,
Bodhi Svaha
Prajnaparamita Sutra
The Desire lives in the senses, the Cheerfulness or lack of cheer, however, lies in the hearts. Lue Buewei
Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.
Pablo Picasso
Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.
Pablo Picasso
| And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.Abraham Lincoln |
Mountains don't meet, but people do.
Persian proverb
Most people take a very long time to become young. - Pablo Picasso
There are only two days in the year when nothing can be done. One is yesterday, the other is tomorrow.
This means that today is the right day to love, to believe, and above all, to live.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our greatest fear is that we are powerful without limits.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.
We ask ourselves: Who am I to be so brilliant?
But who are you not to be it?
You are a child of God.
It doesn't serve the world if you make yourself small.
Making yourself small just so that others around you don't feel insecure is not enlightened.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is in us.
He is not just in some of us, he is in every single one of us.
And when we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.
When we are freed from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson
Yesterday I was clever; I wanted to change the world.,
Today I am wise, therefore I am changing myself.
Sri Chinmoy
When mindfulness touches something beautiful, it reveals its beauty. When it touches something painful, it transforms and heals it.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
Albert Einstein
The calmer we become, the more we can hear.
Ram Dass
We are what we think. All that we are arises from our thoughts.
We shape the world with our thoughts.
Buddha
One should not pay attention to where things come from, but to where they go.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Don't call yourself poor, because
Your dreams have not come true.
The only truly poor person is one who has never dreamed.
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path. - Buddha
From Mother Teresa
1910-1997, Foundress of the Missionaries of Charity„
1999 Beatification
The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.
„"Man is from God
never further away than a prayer.“
If you want to seek God, seek him in humility, in poverty, seek him where he is hidden: among the very needy, the sick, the prisoners.
Pope Francis
It is the attitude alone that matters. For only the attitude alone is lasting, and not the goal, which is merely an illusion for the wanderer as he progresses from ridge to ridge, as if the achieved goal possessed some inherent meaning.
(The city in the desert)
With a candle, it's not the wax that's important, but the light.
The big picture doesn't reveal itself as a picture: it simply is. Or more precisely: you are within it.
(The city in the desert)
For the space of the spirit, where it can spread its wings, is silence.
(A smile is the most important thing)
Those who wish to increase their wealth should take a lesson from bees. They gather honey without harming the flowers. They are even beneficial to the flowers. Gather your wealth without destroying its sources, and it will steadily increase.
Judge your successes by what you had to give up to achieve them.
If we are aware that death can occur at any time, we can enjoy every moment of life and die in peace.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Imagine someone who doesn't share your views as a master who teaches you patience and compassion. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted are the worst forms of poverty. – Mother Teresa
As long as there is life, there is happiness. Leo Tolstoy
Life is safe with a loyal friend.
Jesus Sirach
With patience you can even cross the sea. Romanian proverb
Friends are never homeless, for one lives in the other's heart.
Rabindranath Tagore
The beginning lies not in the head, but in the heart. Maxim Gorky
God never appears to us as a person, but always in deed. Mahatma Gandhi
If you feel afraid, jump in. Because if you want to get out, you first have to get in. Very basic! Mr Ramesh
A Japanese legend tells of a proud samurai who once challenged a monk to explain heaven and hell to him. The monk replied, "You are nothing but a lout. I don't waste my time with people like you." Enraged, the offended samurai drew his sword to behead the insolent monk. "That," said the monk calmly, "is hell." Astonished by the profound realization of the anger that had just overcome him, the samurai sheathed his sword and bowed to the monk in gratitude for the insight. "And that," the monk then said, "is heaven.".
Somewhere in space, very far away from here, there once lived a tranquil star, which moved leisurely through the depths of space, surrounded by a host of tranquil planets about which there is nothing further to report. This star was very large, very hot, and its weight was enormous: And here, for us as reporters, the first difficulties arise. We have written "very far away," "large," "hot," "enormous": Australia is very far away, an elephant is large and a house even larger, this morning I took a hot bath, Everest is enormous. It is obvious that something is wrong with our vocabulary. Primo Levi
We dream of traveling through space, but isn't space within us?
We do not know the depths of the mind. – Inward goes
the mysterious path.
Within us, or nowhere.
Eternity is eternity with its worlds, the past and the future.
Novalis
He who does not carry heaven within himself will search for it in vain throughout the entire universe. Otto Ludwig
When two elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers the most. (Swahili)
Separating the head from the hand ultimately harms the head as well. Richard Sennett (Chicago 1943-)
Say what is.
Do what you're told.
And be what you do.
Alfred Herrhausen on authenticity
If you don't know what you're talking about, just shut up. Dieter Nuhr
We have larger houses, but smaller families;
More work simplifications but less time.
We have more academic titles, but less intelligence.,
More knowledge but less judgment;
More experts, but more problems.,
More medicine, but less health.
We've made it to the moon and back, but we find it difficult to,
to cross the street to meet the new neighbor.
We are building more and more computers to store more and more information, but we are talking to each other less and less.
While we focus on quantity, quality is becoming increasingly scarce.
We live in times of fast food and slow digestion,
of tall people and short characters,
the hefty profits and the stunted relationships.
It's a time when there's a lot in the window – and nothing in the room.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
I dress to kill & I cook the same way
Listen only to your inner voice, focus your mind's eyes on it, and you will experience for yourself how it works, and thereby learn. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
In exchanging the gifts of the earth, you will find abundance and be content.
However, if the exchange does not consist of love and merciful justice,
Then it will lead some to greed and others to hunger. Khalil Gibran
Everyone is corrupt
We are cheaper
It is easy to live according to foreign ideas within a community.
It is easy to live according to one's own ideas when one is alone.
But only he who maintains his independence within the community is truly remarkable. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
The whole misfortune of humankind consists in its inability to remain quietly in its room. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
My life has been full of misfortunes – most of which never came to pass. Montaigne (1533–1592)
I wish you that you float yet remain grounded.
That your feet feel the ground and your hands touch clouds.
Stretched out between heaven and earth, free and unbound, be wholly yourself, yet capable of surrendering completely when the moment demands it. You do not belong to yourself, nor to anyone else. But He to whom you belong, the Creator, will guide you on the right path to yourself and to others at the right moment. Ju Sobing, found by the wayside.
An old, wise priest once said: "My life has been a journey from clarity to clarity."„
Then he paused, smiled slyly and added: "And in between: long stretches of uncertainty."„
Activity
The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.
Ducks lay their eggs in silence. Chickens cackle like crazy while doing so. What's the result? Everyone eats chicken eggs. Henry Ford
Everyone said: THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. Then someone came along who didn't know that, and simply did it.
I was already fully grown up –
And now this relapse.
If I agree with YOU, then I won't have any left.
How am I supposed to know what I mean before I hear what I say?.
Falk Eichmann
Education is the organized defense of adults against youth. Mark Twain
The more collected a person
lives in the innermost depths of his soul,
the stronger this charisma,
which originates from him and
captivates others.
But the greater the impact, the stronger it also carries
all free mental behavior
the stamp of personal individuality,
which is located in the innermost part of the soul.
Furthermore, the stronger the body is the more
shaped by this and thereby "spiritualized".
This is the true center of the
mental-psychic-spiritual being.
Edith Stein
I believe in the future resolution of these seemingly contradictory states of dream and reality into a kind of absolute reality, or, if you will, surrealism.
André Breton 1924
Meaning can only be found by those who seek it.
Dream and waking flow into one another,
Truth and lies. There is no safety anywhere.
We know nothing about others, nothing about ourselves.
We always play, whoever knows that is clever!
Arthur Schnitzler „Paracelsus“ 1898
I am not, without exception, available to speak for ANYONE today.
Peter Altenberg
It is not what a person does that should be considered, but the spirit and will with which they act. Augustine (354-430)
Oh God, I could be confined in a nutshell and think myself a king of immeasurable territory. Shakespeare
Is art photography? Man Ray
Through meditation and contemplation, we learn to live calmly in the present moment and not to be so easily disturbed by what we desire. SH 14. Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Sutta Nigata
- What leads to downfall:
hating the right
He loves ignoble people, but has no love for noble people.
He is devoted to sleeping and socializing.
weak-willed, lazy, easily angered
He does not support his father and mother.
He deceives ascetics and Brahmins with lies.
as a rich man eating the delicacies alone
Pride in possessions and heritage
libertine with women, wine and dice
Not satisfied with his own wife, he abuses the wives of others.
Taking a young woman as his age
Jealousy always awake
to entrust a leading position to a wasteful, alcoholic man/woman
Born of noble birth, poor, striving for a royal crown
When I first dedicated myself to photography, my wish was to see it recognized as art. Today, I wouldn't give a fig for that goal.
The task of photography is to explain humanity to humankind and to help humans achieve self-knowledge. Edward Steichen
Ultimately, the only thing that truly matters is that we are there for others and can enjoy the happiness that comes from it. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Werner Bischof. His motto: „It is not about making photography into an art in the old sense, but about the deep social responsibility of the photographer, who, with the given elementary photographic means, performs work that could not be done with other means. This work must become the unadulterated document of temporal reality.“
It is pointless to expect happiness and contentment from external things. SH 14. Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The most important hour is always the present.
The most important person is always the one standing right in front of you.
The most necessary work is always love. Meister Eckhart
Tears cleanse the heart. – Dostoevsky
„"It's not about adding more days to life, but adding more life to the days."“
Cicely Saunders
„"To understand means to comprehend all things for our own good."“
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, philosopher
„"I know who I should flee from, but not to whom."“
Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC, Roman orator and statesman
„"Marriage is like going to a restaurant: you always think you've chosen the best thing until you see what your neighbor is having."“
Bernd Stelter, born 1961, television comedian
| „"You usually don't hear the crack in your own head." - Doc Happinez |
„"Nothing corrupts us more than silently fleeing from ourselves."‘
Johann Kaspar Lavater, 1741-1801, theologian & writer
We should make the earth into heaven through our lives.
John Chrysostom
We can view the world as flawed or as wonderful: it all lies in our thinking.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
„"If you want to travel on water, a boat is suitable because a boat moves on water in a suitable way. But if you go on land, you won't get anywhere with it and will only have trouble and achieve nothing except harming yourself."“
– Zhuangzi XIV
It is pointless to expect lasting happiness from external things. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
15.
We expect the greatest happiness when we give without expecting anything in return and do not demand love or affection in return.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
16.
Having a lot of possessions does not bring inner peace. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
17.
Suffering, too, is impermanent and transient, and does not exist in and of itself. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
When, after years of striving for perfection, the archer finally forgets all conscious effort, the perfect shot can occur unintentionally, "like snow sliding off a bamboo leaf".
Zen in the Art of Archery Eugen Herrigel
Those who follow their own path will grow wings.
Zen
| All things arise in the mind, are creations of our mighty mind. Speak with an impure mind, act with an impure mind, and suffering will follow you, as the wheel follows the foot that pulls the chariot. All things arise in the mind, are creations of our mighty mind. Speak with a pure mind, act with a pure mind, and happiness will follow you, as the shadow follows the body and does not depart. (Dhammapada 1) |
„"What you are experiencing as success right now is exactly what you have wanted to have as success. Period." Veit Lindau
Accept that you are insignificant.
Don't worry about loss or gain. TTC13
True love does not depend on special circumstances and expects no return.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
I am not available to speak for anyone today, without exception. Peter Altenberg
Meaning can only be found by those who seek it.
DREAM AND WAKE FLOW INTO ONE ANOTHER,
TRUTH AND LIES. SECURITY IS NOWHERE.
WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT OTHERS, NOTHING ABOUT US.
WE ALWAYS PLAY, WHOEVER KNOWS IT IS SMART!
ARTHUR SCHNITZLER IN "PARACELSU" 1898
The purest form of insanity is to leave everything as it is and still hope that something will change. Albert Einstein
| Zen story 7 arrows like in King Lear | |
| A father had seven sons who often disagreed. Their bickering and quarreling caused them to neglect their work, and some wicked people wanted to exploit this discord to cheat the sons out of their inheritance after their father's death. So the old man summoned his sons, presented them with seven sticks bound tightly together, and said, "To the one of you who breaks this bundle of sticks, I will pay one hundred large thalers." One after another, they exerted all their strength, but each, after much fruitless effort, said, "It is impossible." "And yet," said the father, "nothing could be easier!" He untied the bundle and broke one stick after another with little effort. „Oh,“ cried the sons, „that’s certainly easy, even a little boy could do that!“ The father replied: „As with these staffs, so it is with you, my sons. As long as you stand firmly together, you will endure and no one will be able to overcome you. But if the bond of unity that is meant to bind you is broken, then you will suffer the same fate as the staffs that lie broken here on the ground.“ | |
The feeling of happiness associated with desire is short-lived and constantly demands replenishment.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Digital is made to be forgotten, analog is made to be remembered. Roberto Polidori (found at Steidl)
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything! plato
Deceiving yourself without realizing it is just as easy.
how difficult it is to deceive others without them noticing.
(La Rochefoucauld)
Once you have found yourself, you have nothing in the world to lose.
Stefan Zweig
Thoughts are just thoughts, too.,
Feelings are just thoughts. - Kabat-Zinn
The truth lies beyond reality. Max Ernst
From Cristián Gálvez's "Logbook for Heroes"„
- 240
Eliminate constant contact with people who regularly "bring you down" and hinder you from achieving your goals: Instead, make it a rule to spend even more time with people beyond your immediate life boundaries.
- 203
„"If you live each day as if it were your last, one day you'll be right." If today is the last day of my life, would I want to do what I'm about to do? If the answer is no for many days in a row, I need to change something.
p.162
Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible. Paul Klee
- 139
I myself can ensure that my body, my mind, my heart and my soul powerfully carry me through an exhilarating life.
- 131
It is not things that disturb us, but our opinions about them. – Epictetus
p.95
You too will discover that many of the truths we cling to are dependent on our personal point of view. Star Wars VI
Hiking makes you well-traveled. Otto Kimmig
Everything we do is a distraction, and what we are distracting ourselves from is our own mortality.
Duane Michels
Anyone who says, "My house is full, there's no room for more art," is not a collector. Anyone who says they don't have the money for it is not a collector.
If my wife and I really wanted a picture and couldn't afford it, then we paid for it in installments over a year.
Wilfried Wiegand
You never find a picture – they come and bite you.
Elliot Erwitt
A photographer doesn't need to know much. He just needs to look.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
„Are you afraid of death?“ the little prince asked the rose. She replied, „But no. I have lived, I have bloomed, and I have used my strength as much as I could. And love, given a thousandfold, returns to the one who gave it. So I will wait for new life and bloom without fear or despair.“ – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Where there is fear, there is the path. Pema
(The ego doesn't want to…)
(THE EXALTED ONE)
Never associate with fools, only fellowship with the wise.,
Worship of those who are worthy of worship – that, truly, is the highest salvation.
260
To reside in a favorable location, to have performed a good deed in a previous life,
And even now to follow high aspirations – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
261
To be rich in knowledge and skill, to have well-practiced the rules of morality,
Only well-spoken words speak – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
262
Give the parents every help, care for wife and child,
Occupation that is calm and orderly – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
263
Generosity and living lawfully, caring for relatives,
Employment of an impeccable nature – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
264
Avoid bad things, abstain; avoid intoxicating drinks.,
To be tireless in all that is good – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
265
A heart full of reverence and humility, a contented and grateful mind,
To listen to the teaching at the right time – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
266
Be approachable and patient, even when visiting ascetics.,
A timely and instructive dialogue – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
267
Ascetic practice and chaste conduct, insight into Noble Truth,
To experience Nibbāna itself – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
268
A heart that does not tremble when struck by worldly events [2],
That which is free from sorrow, spotless and peaceful – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
269
Those who achieve such things are everywhere and always undefeated;
They go everywhere in search of happiness – for them, this is the highest salvation!
Mangala Sutta (German) Ü(translation)
This is how I heard it. At one time, the Exalted One was staying at Savatthi, in the Jeta Forest, in the grove of Anathapindika. Then, as night drew near, a certain deity of great beauty, whose light illuminated the entire Jeta Forest, went to where the Exalted One was staying. After going there, it greeted the Exalted One and stood to one side. Having stepped to one side, this deity addressed the Exalted One in verse:
„Many gods and humans have thought about the paths to salvation,
by striving for prosperity. Call that the highest salvation!“
The Buddha:
The greatest happiness
Not to follow fools, but to serve the wise.,
Admiring good people brings good luck.
To live in the right country, in the right place,
Merit acquired through good deeds and
Real effort brings happiness.
Be honest and open, efficient and disciplined
And being mindful of your own words – that brings happiness.
Parents support and are loving towards their life partner.,
Doing your work undisturbed brings good luck.
Be charitable and good, friendly to your relatives.
And giving your best – that brings happiness.
Avoiding harmful acts,
Don't get intoxicated
And tirelessly fulfilling your tasks – that brings happiness.
Respecting others, being humble
Content, grateful, and taking time for oneself
Listening is wise: Teaching brings happiness.
Be patient and gentle,
Seek the company of good people,
Taking time for wise conversations brings happiness.
Restriction and salutary acts,
Recognizing the truth and living accordingly – that brings happiness.
To have a mind that is not moved by the ups and downs
The world that is without care, free from passion
And full of peace – that brings happiness.
Whoever achieves this is invincible.,
He is doing well and
He achieves the highest happiness.
Humans are equally incapable of seeing nothingness,
from which he originates, like the universe that surrounds him. Blaise Pascal
What within me causes my environment to behave this way? Christian Weber
A quote from the Book of Revelation: „Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.“ Revelation 3:20
from "Hermit" by Kerstin Rubel:
Wonder and respect for the power behind everything is my religion. - Albert Einstein
Peace begins with each of us taking good care of our own body and mind. Thich Nhat Hanh
It's a beautiful idea that miracles can happen. But at some point, you have to decide if you want miracles to happen to you. Deepak Chopra
My mind already thinks it knows everything. - Jon Kabat-Zinn
Heart, how torn you are,
And how blissful to rummage blindly,
Not to think, not to know,
Just to feel, just to feel.
Hermann Hesse
Rain
Light rain, summer rain
It rustles from bushes, it rustles from trees.
Oh, how good and full of blessings!,
To dream to my heart's content once again!
I was outside in the daylight for so long,
This rippling is unusual for me:
To dwell in one's own soul,
Never moved to a foreign country.
I desire nothing, I demand nothing,
Hum soft children's sounds,
And I arrived home in amazement.
In dreams, warm beauty.
Heart, how sore and torn you are
And how blissful to rummage blindly,
Nothing to think about, nothing to know,
Just breathe and feel!
I believe that no feeling is as widespread among women as "feeling wrong." - Eva-Maria Zurhorst
I know of nothing as beautiful as you.
Xavier Naidoo
Do you really want to feel bad? Eva-Maria Zurhorst
Begin by becoming still within. Let the outer world fall silent so that the inner world can grant you insight. Neale Donald Walsch
No one can eat for me. - Jon Kabat-Zinn
Primary reality is within, secondary reality is without. Eckhart Tolle
Losing the present moment is losing being. – Eckhart Tolle
Thoughts are completely impersonal. They come and go.
I am breathed, I am thought. Byron Katie
It's still taken for granted by most of us to dedicate all our energy daily to our work, our financial security, and our advancement. But what about our relationships, our hearts, our souls? Eva-Maria and Wolfram Zurhorst
You cannot be responsible for how well another person accepts your truth; you can only be responsible for how well it is communicated. And by "how well," I don't just mean the degree of clarity; I mean how lovingly, compassionately, sensitively, courageously, and completely. Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness is like a loving, knowing mother who compassionately observes her child, knowing that everything that troubles the child will pass. This mindfulness cultivates love, kindness, and compassion for ourselves and others. – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Paradoxically, everything gets worse and better at the same time; it's just that the bad stuff is more noticeable because it makes so much "noise." - Eckhart Tolle
Every human thought and every human action is based either on love or on fear. —Neale Donald Walsch
We believe that if we do nothing, we waste our time. That's not true. Our time is first and foremost for us, to simply be. To be what? To be peace, to be joy, to love. And that is what the world most urgently needs. Thich Nhat Hanh
It's never too late to have had a happy childhood. – Lency Spezzano
And the spirit found itself gifted with an understanding that did not understand, surpassing all knowledge. John of the Cross
The ego is the unsupervised mind. Eckhart Tolle
Feelings are the language of the soul, but you must make sure that you listen to your true feelings and not to a false model that your mind has constructed.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
You realize that the worst thing that can happen to you is a thought. Byron Katie
The waves of life never stop. Let's learn to surf. Chuck Spezzano
There is nothing more attractive than a person who loves—and in whom you can tell that they love not just anything or anyone, but life itself. Erich Fromm
The person who loves most is the one who is self-centered. Neale Donald Walsch
Nowadays, there are very few adults left in a world full of grown-ups.
Eva-Maria Zurhorst
Don't give up until you encounter happier feelings. Chuck Spezzano
Your soul doesn't care what you do for a living—not now, and not after your life ends. Your soul cares only about your being, while you do whatever you do. Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mind your own life, and then mind us. - Xavier Naidoo
I breathe in and my mind returns to my body, back home.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The only thing to learn is mindfulness. Osho
To love, you must be present. Thich Nhat Hanh
I am not my thoughts. - Jon Kabat-Zinn
It is what it is – says love. Erich Fried
All your problems stem from a feeling of isolation. - Chuck Spezzano
Within me is an island to which I can return. Thich Nhat Hanh
In every human relationship, at the crucial crossroads, only one question arises: What would love do now? – Neale Donald Walsch
Now please stand up and look out the window. Do you see anything happening that you're not involved in? Karin
May I be free from fear and go through life with serene composure. May all beings be free from fear and go through life with serene composure. Champa
I'm not interested in how you earn your money. I want to know what you yearn for and whether you dare to dream of fulfilling your heart's desires. Oriah Mountain Dreamer
You can love from across the room, too. Chuck Spezzano
Please don't stop dreaming of a better world. Xavier Naidoo
I can stop time. - Jon Kabat-Zinn
You realize that everything that truly matters—beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace—originates beyond the mind. Eckhart Tolle
The ego chooses another person and makes them special. In this egoic state, love becomes entangled in the form of that other person. Eckhart Tolle
We can choose at any moment where we want to sit: on a lotus blossom or on burning coals. Thich Nhat Hanh
Let your face shine upon me. Psalm 31
When I see an obstacle, I throw my heart over it and jump after it! Gerda Klingenfuss, Entrepreneur
Seeing is feeling with the eyes. Jef Verheyen, painter
No problem can be solved by the same consciousnessöst will be,
which it created.
Albert Einstein
| »"Those who seek the truth should not be afraid when they find it." - Chinese proverb |
„"A photograph is a secret about a secret.".
"The more it reveals, the less you know." (Diane Arbus)
Our lack of insight is responsible for the fact that we constantly cause our own misfortune.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
In Germany, the person who points out the dirt is considered much more dangerous.
as the one who makes the mess.
Kurt Tucholsky
The introductionävalid
There is nothing to prove, and therefore he doesn't want to deceive anyone.
There is nothing to search for, because everything is already there.
The present is its eternity.
He neither takes himself seriously nor does he find himself tragic.
„One reason (purpose) for the existence of science is the abolition of miracles: science is an ongoing discourse of explanations, and the definition of a miracle is something that has not yet been clarified. […] The less wondrous the world is, the more we wonder why it is there and even whether it exists at all.“
Vilém Flusser, Wondering About Science, 1989
Humility does not consist of considering ourselves inferior, but rather in being free from the feeling of our own importance. This is the state of natural simplicity, which is in harmony with our true nature and allows us to savor the freshness of the present moment. Matthieu Ricard
Nothing is inside, nothing is outside, for what is inside is outside. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The whole misfortune of mankind consists in his inability to sit quietly in his room. Blaise Pascal
My life has been full of misfortunes, most of which never came to pass. Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
In community it is easy to live according to others' ideas. In solitude it is easy to live according to one's own ideas. But only he who maintains his independence in community is truly remarkable. Ralph Waldo Emerson
If there is an answer to our enormous problems,
then the one after Löto search for songs,
the bedüneeds of all those affected aboutütake into account.
This is not utopian idealism.
I have experienced such things.ösung möare equal
– again and again, all over the world.
Marshall Rosenberg NVC Nonviolent Communication
Turn towards the sun, and the shadows will stay behind you.
| »"If what you want to say is not more beautiful than silence, then be silent." (from China) |
Poems by
Hermann Hesse
From the years 1911 to 1918
| I do love the dark night. I do love the dark night; but often, when it laughs, pale and gloomy as if in pain, I am horrified by its wicked realm, and I long to see the sun and light-filled clouds in the blue, to dream warmly in shining daylight of the night. Summer night O dark, glowing summer night! Violins beckon in the balmy garden, luminous orbs bloom upwards in soft, delicate arcs. My dancing partner laughs. Secretly I slip away. The branches of blossoming trees grow pale with dawn. Ah, all joy soon fades, only longing burns without ceasing. Wondrous, glorious summer night festivals of my youth, where have you gone? All dances, though I am merry, glide so coolly, the best is missing. O dark, glowing summer night, let me just once empty the dream-laden cup of pleasure to the very bottom, that satiates me and finally makes me still! Love Once again my joyful mouth longs to meet Your lips, which kiss and bless me, I want to hold Your dear fingers And playfully fold them into my own, Fill my thirsting gaze with yours, Deeply enfold my skin in your hair, With ever-awake, young limbs I will faithfully reciprocate the stirrings of your limbs And from ever-new fires of love I will renew Your beauty a thousand times, Until we, both completely sated and grateful, Blissfully dwell above all suffering, Until we greet day and night, today and yesterday, without desire, as beloved sisters, Until we, above all doing and acting, Walk as transfigured ones in complete peace. inspiration Night. Darkness. In weary hand, I let my brow rest from the day's noisy activity, turned downwards to eternal night. How still! How soundless the vastness! Scarcely a withered leaf rustles in the way, the clouds' dark journey is guided neither by moon nor stars. Slowly, the wicked sting slips from my breast, unconsciously stripping away all that surrounded it by day, my soul. What comforting and loving it knows, emerges familiarly from the wondrous homeland of dreams and bends over it. O comforter of my soul, be welcome, you who foreshadowed one, whose melody so often lifted the nightmare from my breast! Let me listen again to your voice, dream-deep wellspring of adorned songs, to the rustling of your silver strings, raptured and lost in dreams! Lying in the grass Is this all, a play of flowers and the downy colors of the bright summer meadow, a delicate blue sky stretched, the song of bees? Is this all a god's groaning dream, a cry of unconscious forces for redemption? The mountain's distant line, which rests beautifully and boldly in the blue, is it too only cramp, only wild tension of fermenting nature, only woe, only torment, only senseless groping, never resting, never blissful movement? Ah no! Forsake me, you unhappy dream of the world's suffering! A mosquito's dance rocks you in the evening glass, a bird's call cradles you, a breath of wind that cools my brow with caresses. Forsake me, you ancient human woe! Let all be torment, let all be suffering and shadow—but not this one sweet summer hour, nor the scent of red clover, nor the deep, tender feeling of well-being in my soul. The Küartist What I created in the blazing heat of years, stands displayed in the noisy marketplace. The merry world passes by easily, laughing and praising and finding everything good. No one knows that this joyful wreath, which the world laughingly presses into my hair, swallowed up the strength and splendor of my life, alas, and that the sacrifice was useless. To melancholy To wine, to friends I fled from you, For I dreaded your dark eyes, In loving arms and to the sound of the lute I forgot you, your unfaithful son. But you silently followed me And were in the wine I desperately drank, Were in the sultry heat of my lovemaking nights And were in the scorn I spoke to you. Now you cool my weary limbs And have taken my head into your lap, As I have come home from my travels: For all my wandering was a path to you. Without you My pillow stares at me in the night, empty as a gravestone; I never imagined it would be so bitter, to be alone and not nestled in your hair! I lie alone in the silent house, the lamp switched off, and gently stretch out my hands to embrace yours, and softly press my hot mouth to yours and kiss me, tired and sore—and suddenly I'm awake, and all around the cold night is silent, the star in the window shines clear—Oh, you, where is your blond hair, where is your sweet mouth? Now I drink woe in every pleasure and poison in every wine; I never knew it would be so bitter, to be alone, alone and without you! The Schöno Just like a child who is given a toy, who looks at it, hugs it, and then breaks it, and tomorrow forgets the giver, so you playfully hold in your little hand my heart, which I gave you as a precious trinket, and you don't see how it twitches and suffers. Transformation Since I was a youth, since my first timid forays into the longed-for land of love all brought me back desolate and miserable into the misunderstood, glaring day, then my only solace was to wallow deep in sorrow with open hands, self-destructively with voluptuous bitterness to turn every lovely color to black, wildly on breaking strings to the agony of my deprivation. And in the evening I fled the light, fled the convivial gardens, to creep alone deep in the shadow of the beeches down the rugged shore, following darkly drifting waves, longing for death in my burning heart. But today, since a meager day slips unfelt into fleeting hours, since my buried soul, rising deep from the ruins of hastily built castles in life, lost the path to hope, since the darkest, most unhappy hour of youth still reveals to me a treasure of gold from a distant depth. Laughs, Today I have left the dark paths of languidly flowing melancholy, of sweet lament. In the evening, when the quiet hour comes, I brightly light my lamp, so that before the window the hostile night may sink. Tenderly I string the most golden strings that remain to me, and in the deliberate play of every lovely form, follow every cheerfully comforting beauty. Far is death and far is sorrow in my dreams; carefully I guide them, so that their tangled tendrils show nothing but light and comfort and happy images: Blessed gardens, people full of childlike joy, intimate love's delight and flower-adorned festivals, pure, sublime women, men full of benevolent ardor—this I create for myself in dreams and seek what remains of shattered treasures, to gather anew in harmony into beautiful forms. Lonely, in peaceful hours, my longing plays its game. See, and often I can laugh without desire, outwitting life's senseless cruelty through my meaningful, dreamy play. And the most glorious image of a girl, to whom I once, in ardent desire, sacrificed the splendor of my youth in gloomy renunciation, walks (she, who long ago lost herself far in the gray of everyday life) radiant, more beautiful than ever, spotless, like a spring blossom, across the lovingly spread carpet of my melodious dreams. As she strides and has become wholly a goddess, the misery of my life sinks far away, and it becomes the secret meaning of my days to be the beloved's echo and ennobling mirror. Thus, from earliest youth, when my hour comes, I build the memory of all my years into a temple of a love that knows no more desire, no more disappointment. When going to sleep Now, the day has weary me, May my yearning longing be kindly received by the starry night, Like a tired child. Hands, cease all doing, Brow, forget all thinking, All my senses now yearn to sink into slumber. And my soul, unguarded, will soar in free flight, To live deep and a thousandfold in the magic circle of the night. The flame Whether you go dancing in trinkets and trinkets, or your heart aches with worry, you still experience anew each day the wonder that life's flame burns within you. Some let it blaze and squander it, drunk in the rapturous moment; others carefully and serenely pass on their destiny to children and grandchildren. But lost are only those whose path leads through dull twilight, who satiate themselves in the day's toil and never feel life's flame. Tough people How hard is your gaze, seeking to petrify everything. Is there not even the smallest dream within it, is it all cold present? Can no sun shine in your mind? And must you not weep that you were never children? To friends in difficult times Even in these darker hours, dear friends, let me be with you; whether I find it bright or gloomy, I will never scold life. Sunshine and storm are the same heaven's faces; fate, whether sweet or bitter, shall serve me as dear food. The soul treads winding paths, learn to read its language! Tomorrow it will praise as grace what was torment today. Only the brutish can die; the divine wishes to teach others to nourish the soulful mind from the lowly and the sublime. Only on those final stages may we grant ourselves rest, where, called by our fathers, we can already behold heaven. Rain Gentle rain, summer rain, rustles from bushes, rustles from trees, Oh, how good and full of blessing, Once again to dream satiated! I was out in the daylight for so long, Unaccustomed to this surging: To dwell in my own soul, Nowhere drawn away from a stranger. Nothing do I desire, nothing do I demand, I hum soft childlike tones, And wondertily I came home To the warm beauty of dreams. Heart, how wounded you are, And how blissful, to rummage blindly, Not to think, not to know, Only to feel, only to feel. Lost SoundOnce in my childhood days, I walked across the meadow, and came, carried silently by the morning breeze, a song, a note in the blue air, or a fragrance, a flowery fragrance, that smelled sweet. The sound lasted for an eternity, all my childhood long. I was no longer aware of it—only now, in these days, do I hear it beating hidden within my breast again. And now the whole world is the same to me; I don't want to trade places with the happy ones, I only want to listen, to listen and stand still, to hear the fragrant sounds, and whether it is still the sound from back then. Lonely evening In the empty bottle and in the glass, the candle's flickering light falters; it is cold in the room. Outside, the rain falls softly onto the grass. Once again you lie down for a brief rest, shivering and sad. Tomorrow comes and evening again, always coming back, but never you. Loss Nightwalker, I grope my way through wood and ravine, A magic circle glows fantastically around me, Heedless of whether courted or cursed, I faithfully follow my inner command. How often has reality awakened me, In which you live, and summoned me to itself! I stood in it, disillusioned and frightened, And soon stole away again. O warm homeland, which takes me away, O dream of love, from which you disturbed me, My being flees back to you on a thousand stealths, as water returns to the sea. Springs secretly guide me with song, Dream birds stir their gleaming plumage; The sound of my childhood resounds anew, In the golden braid, in the sweet song of bees, I finally find myself with my mother again. A path into solitude The world falls away from you, all joys fade away that you once loved; from its ashes, darkness threatens. Inwardly you sink, unwillingly, pushed by a stronger hand, shivering you stand in a dead world. Behind you, the weeping echo of a lost homeland drifts, children's voices and tender tones of love. Hard is the path into solitude, harder than you knew, even the wellspring of dreams has dried up. But trust, at the end of your journey there will be home, death and rebirth, grave and eternal mother. concert The violins swirl high and soft, The horn laments from the depths, The ladies glitter brightly and richly, And sparkle of light above. I close my eyes silently: I see a tree in the snow, Standing alone, It has what it wants, Its own happiness, its own sorrow. Oppressed, I leave the hall, And behind me the noise fades. Half pleasure, half pain—It remained unmoving to me. I seek my tree in the snow, I want to have what it has, My own happiness, my own sorrow, That satisfies the soul. Büdear All the books in the world won't bring you happiness, but they secretly guide you back to yourself. There is everything you need: sun, stars, and moon, for the light you sought dwells within you. Wisdom you long searched for in libraries now shines from every page—for now it is yours. Waking up in the night The moon from the window woke me, sleep-heavy eyes writhed, in the pallor solemnly I sensed new dreams swinging. Here and there a light and white, behind everything blue blackness, glassy, reflective sheen, devil's tail and pious candles. From the light and dark, the dream spirit builds silent palaces, block and axe, crowned bride, dancers, intoxication, feasts. And the soul, enraptured, tears at the decaying realities, to glide anew, blissfully into its own realm. |
»"If you see someone worthy, strive to emulate him. If you see someone unworthy, examine yourself."«
Confucius
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
The most important prerequisite for happiness is the willingness to be happy. Bernhard Moestl
„"Beautiful things don't ask for attention."“
Photographer Sean O'Connell in
„"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"“
The true nature of existence is free from suffering, but as long as we haven't realized this, painful experiences will remain a part of our being. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
»"The wise man seeks what is within himself,
the gate, what is outside."«
from China
An atheist professor of philosophy was teaching his class about the problem that science has with God, the Almighty. He asked one of his new Christian students to stand up and…
Professor: You're a Christian, right?
Student: Yes.
Professor: So, you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely.
Professor: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Professor: Is God omnipotent?
Student: Yes.
Professor: My brother died of cancer, even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would at least try to help others who are sick. But not God. How can this God be good then, hmm?
(The student remained silent…)
Professor: You can't answer that question, can you? Let's start again from the beginning, young man: Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Is the devil good?
Student: No.
Professor: Where does the devil come from?
Student: From God.
Professor: That's true. Tell me, is there any evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God created everything, correct?
Student: Yes.
Professor: So who created evil?
(The student did not reply…)
Professor: Does illness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness exist? All these things exist in this world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created these things then?
(The student had no answer)
Professor: Science proves that you have five senses to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, have you ever seen God?
Student: No.
Professor: Tell me, have you ever heard of God?
Student: No.
Professor: Have you ever felt, tasted, or smelled your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God?
Student: No, sir, I haven't.
Professor: And yet you still believe in God?
Student: Yes.
Professor: According to an empirical, test-rich, and demonstrative protocol, science states that YOUR God does not exist. What do you say to that?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes… belief. That's precisely the problem that science has…
Student: Professor, isn't there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student: And is that something like cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student: No, sir, that doesn't exist.
(The lecture hall became very quiet as the conversation changed)
Student: Sir, you can have a lot of heat, even more heat, or even super heat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat, or no heat at all. But there isn't such a thing as cold. We can reach -458 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn't heat, but we can't go beyond that limit. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We can't measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold isn't the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(The lecture hall was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop)
Student: What about darkness, sir? Does darkness even exist?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there is no darkness?
Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have a little light, normal light, bright light, or even glaring light. But if you constantly have no light, then you have nothing, and that's called darkness, right? So, in reality, darkness doesn't exist. If it did, couldn't you make the darkness even darker?
Professor: So, what are you trying to say, young man?
Student: Sir, what I'm saying is that your philosophical understanding is incomplete.
Professor: Incomplete? Can you explain why?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You claim that there is life and death, a good God and a bad God. You imagine God as something finite, as something we can measure.
Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has neither seen nor fully understood either of them.
Those who see death as the opposite of life ignore the fact that death is not a substance. Death is not the opposite of life, only its absence. Now tell me, sir, do you teach your students that they descended from apes?
Professor: If you're referring to the theory of evolution: Yes, of course I teach that.
Student: Have you witnessed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where this discussion was leading)
Student: If no one has witnessed evolution in action and cannot prove that this process is progressive, are you not teaching your own opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist, but a preacher?
(The class went wild)
Student: Is there anyone in this room who has seen the professor's brain?
(The class laughed)
Student: Is there anyone here who has felt, heard, touched, or smelled the professor's brain?
No one seems to have done it. So, according to the established rules of the empirical, stable, and demonstrative protocol, science says you don't have a brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how can we trust your teaching, sir?
(The lecture hall was silent. The professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Professor: I guess you'll have to take them by their faith, boy.
Student: That's it, sir! Exactly! The connection between people and God is FAITH. That's the only thing that keeps things alive and drives them forward.
Those who do not love themselves in the right way cannot love others. For true self-love is also the natural way of being good to others. Self-love is therefore not selfishness, but goodness. Robert Musil
In a sense, forgiveness sometimes simply means deciding to no longer carry the hatred within us because we've realized it's poisoning us. Jack Kerouac
Inner strength begins with one's own thoughts. Bernhard Moestl
Free yourself from your own power. Wing Tsun
Everything is within us when we look inward and are authentic. - Mengzi
„Master, if I have nothing in my mind, what should I do?“ Joshu replied, „Then throw it out.“ – „But if I have nothing at all, how can I throw it out?“ – “Well, then carry it out.“
Learn that you can start anew in every moment.
You can begin. Bernhard Moestl
Experience is like a lantern at your back; it only illuminates the part of the path you have already traveled. (Chinese proverb)
People only see that,
what they expect to see.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The greatest and best thing you can do for someone is not to share your wealth with them, but rather to reveal to them the wealth that already lies within them. Benjamin Disraeli
Once you have found yourself, you can lose nothing in this world. – Stefan Zweig
He who rides a tiger cannot dismount. (Chinese proverb)
Art is magic, freed from the lie of being truth. Theodor W. Adorno
Before you act, listen.
Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Ernest Hemingway
The best way to resolve conflicts is to show understanding and respect to the other person.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Silence itself is divine.; It contains and conveys the power of God's essence. Silence is often equated with 'space,' so that it appears as nothingness, but in reality it is a divine 'something,' the divine field in which every 'thing' appears. Mother does not give speeches and rarely answers questions in public. Here, too, she remains true to her principle of giving only what is essential, the divine. She leads us to silence— the essential nondual field in which everything appears —and thus gives us more than would be possible through endless explanations. In a world where we are surrounded by information sources and noise everywhere, both in our private and public lives, Mother gives us her silence, the ultimate Ütransmission medium für teachings and transformation.
God is silent. Everything comes from silence. In silence, more work can be done. The true experience of bliss knows no words. – Mother Meera
Fulfill your work and duties wholeheartedly and with joy, bring peace and happiness to your family and your surroundings, make your Japan (repeating the divine name) and then ask for what you desire. Mother Meera
A person's character, as an expression of their individual personality, determines their fate.
Transform your personality, and your destiny will change as well. This wisdom is ancient, yet highly relevant in today's world, which is marked by dramas and misfortunes of all kinds.
What generally defines a person's personality? That they are different from everyone else, at least in one tiny detail! What specifically defines you with your individual personality? Perhaps simply the desire to be something truly special or to create something unique? Yes, absolutely, because otherwise you wouldn't have been born into this era with its small and large dramas, into this world full of bad news, disaster reports, and conspiracy theories.
It was your free choice to experience this world in this way because you were curious about duality.
This freedom of choice can never be lost to you, no matter what circumstances you currently find yourself trapped in. You can choose anew at any moment, even if you've forgotten how. Thus, even today you have the freedom to recreate your destiny, because you are weary of life's struggles and deep down already know that you have experienced all the dramas and successes, all the highs and lows of life. Your curiosity about duality has been satisfied, but you have missed the opportunity to escape the dramas. The way out seems blocked, or the door locked. Begin now, in this very moment, to transform your destiny and open yourself to self-knowledge. Without self-knowledge, there is no purpose for change, for knowledge is the first step toward improvement.
Treatment through love
Deep within my being, an infinite spring of love bubbles forth. I now allow this love to surge to the surface. It fills my heart, my body, and my mind, my consciousness and my innermost being, and it radiates from me in all directions, returning with renewed strength. The more love I practice and give, the more I have to give; the supply is limitless. When I practice love, I feel good; this is the expression of my inner joy. I love myself, and therefore I lovingly care for my body. I lovingly nourish it with good food and drink, and I lovingly tend to and dress it. My body thanks me for this with love, radiant health, vitality, and energy. I love myself, therefore I create a comfortable home that fulfills all my needs and where being there is a pleasure. I permeate all the rooms with vibrations of love so that everyone who enters them—including myself—will feel this love and be strengthened by it.
I love myself, therefore I work in a place where I truly enjoy my work, where my creative gifts and abilities are put to good use. I work with and for people I love and who love me, and I earn a good living doing so. I love myself; therefore, I treat all people with love and think of them with love, because I know that everything I give will return to me more abundantly. I attract only loving people into my world, because they are a reflection of who I am. I love myself; therefore, I forgive and completely release myself from the past and all past experiences, and I am free. I love myself, therefore, I live each day in the present and experience every moment as good. I know that my future is bright, joyful, and secure, because I am a beloved child of the universe, and the universe lovingly cares for me, now and forever. So it is. I love you. Louise L. Hay
If I could put it into words, I wouldn't need to paint it. My paintings speak for themselves. I couldn't explain them either.
Gotthard Graubner
The space between the words is more important than the words themselves.
The more space there is between the words, the better.
This only works, however, if you are aware of this space. Otherwise, it's just an unwelcome interruption, and you wait impatiently for the next word or sentence. Eckhart Tolle
Nature is sufficient unto itself and should be sufficient unto humankind as well. What we can still find of nature around us (I deliberately avoid the word 'have') needs no human additions. It is itself—and for us, a revelation… Herman de Fries
I have never in my life seen a fanatic with a sense of humor. Amos Oz
Be patient if your conversation partner doesn't seem to be listening. Maybe they just have a bit of fur in their ear. Winnie-the-Pooh
Life doesn't have to be easy, as long as it's fulfilling.
Liese Meitner
The more I see of people, the more I appreciate dogs.
Frederick the Great
The present: that part of eternity which separates the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope. Ambrose Bierce
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. (Unknown thinker)
The space between the words is more important.
than the words themselves.
Eckhart Tolle
The difference between what is and what we perceive is the source of all suffering. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Because all pornography is an image that points beyond itself, it is therefore dissatisfied, always striving for more, wanting to be more immediate, to step out of the image, to get under the reader's skin as if it were a part of themselves. And because pornographic images become increasingly elusive the more one stares at them, they become ever more colorful, wild, and crude. Thomas Steinfeld on Jonathan Littel's "The Kindly Ones" in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 17, 2013
If a man doesn't acknowledge his feminine traits—his feelings, his creative and gentle side—he projects them onto women, who then fascinate him. Projection always creates fascination.
The man should acknowledge and affirm that he carries within himself everything that attracts him to women. Anselm Grün
Spending his whole life desperately trying to push open the door, sinking down exhausted and realizing the door opens inwards.
God empties us through disappointments, he reveals our emptiness through our failures, he works on us through the suffering he inflicts upon us. Anselm Grün
„"The easy option is right.".
Start right and it's easy.
Continue gently, and it will be correct.
The right way to find what is easy is,
to forget the right way and to forget,
that he is light."“
-Zhuang Tzu- (also: Yang Zhu)
A life without morality reduces humans to the level of animals. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
“Health is less a state than an attitude, and it thrives with the joy of life.” Thomas Aquinas (1224 – 1274)
Therefore, the true artist despises nothing; he is obliged to understand rather than judge. Albert Camus Nobel Prize speech
C'est pourquoi les vrais artistes ne méprisent rien ; It is obligatory to take the Juger lieutenant.
That is why true artists scorn nothing: they are obliged to understand rather than to judge.
| That which is composed of components in such a way that it forms a unified whole, not in the manner of a heap, but like a syllable, is evidently more than merely the sum of its components. |
| Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) |
If we consistently make an effort over a long period of time,
Success is ultimately inevitable.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
One should not try to predict the future, but rather...öTo make equal. Antoine de Saint-Exupéryéry
If life has no vision to strive for, to yearn for, to realize,öIf you want to make an effort, then there is no motivation to exert yourself. - Erich Fromm
The world doesn't owe any of us a livelihood, but we all owe each other a livelihood. Henry Ford
Inner satisfaction is not dependent on material or sensual satisfaction.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The open-minded person finds a solution for every problem.,
The closed-minded person is a problem for any solution.
Albert Einstein
Every change begins within us. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Belief in an afterlife helps us to,
to accept things as they are.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
It is better not to insist on one's personal views, but to engage in dialogue with the other person. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
And suddenly you know: It's time to begin something new and trust in the magic of beginnings. Meister Eckhart
In the end, the question is: what have you made of your life? Do now what you wish you had done. Erasmus of Rotterdam
Don't let anyone pressure you into a decision you might later regret. - Bernhard Moestl
Life is the sum of your choices. - Albert Camus
Everyone pursues a dream in their life. Either someone else's or their own. Make sure you pursue your own dream. Christopher La Brec
We cannot predict what truly matters. The greatest joy is always found where we least expect it. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One should not consider oneself so divine that one cannot occasionally improve one's own works.
Ludwig van Beethoven
„Magnificent!“ exclaimed the emperor. „This is the most beautiful garden in all of Japan. And that one there is the most beautiful stone in the entire garden.“ Immediately, the gardener removed the stone that had so pleased the emperor. „Only now is the garden perfect,“ he said. „Only now, with nothing standing out, does its appearance convey true harmony. A garden is like life. It must be seen in its entirety. If we allow ourselves to be captivated by the beauty of one detail, the rest will appear ugly to us.“
We are called upon to attain a non-judgmental awareness of our own selves. Bernhard Moestl
Humility means accepting even what we don't like, if we cannot change it. Bernhard Moestl
Humility means not comparing oneself to others. - Dag Hammarskjöld
When hopelessness becomes apparent, running away in time is the best method. (from China)
Anyone who notices that you avoid confrontations will seek them out. Bernhard Moestl
Ultimately, the decision to consciously accept something flawed in order to avoid confrontation is yours alone. Bernhard Moestl
Confrontation means steadfastness, not conflict. Bernhard Moestl
Learn that the fear of confrontation weakens you and makes your opponent strong. Bernhard Moestl
Imagine there's a war, and nobody goes – then the war will come to you. Bertolt Brecht
The great cease to rule when the small cease to crawl. Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller
Surround yourself exclusively with the best employees you can find. Only then will you remain king in the long run. Bernhard Moestl
Meeting on equal terms doesn't just mean not looking up to anyone. It also means the opposite: not looking down on anyone. Bernhard Moestl
Meeting people on equal terms means understanding that you are just as valuable as everyone else.
Bernhard Moestl
A wise man scattered seeds around his house every evening. One day, one of his students, who was watching him, asked, "Master, why do you scatter seeds around the house?" "To keep the tigers away," replied the wise man. "But Master," retorted the student, "there are no tigers in the area!" "Then," said the wise man, "my method is effective." China
Comparing yourself to others only wastes energy and makes you weak. Bernhard Moestl
No matter where you go, be your own master, and wherever you stand, stand tall. Linji
Peace should be sought not outside, but only within oneself. He who has found inner stillness grasps at nothing, and he rejects nothing. – Buddha
In the end, good concepts are only discarded because someone else didn't react enthusiastically enough. Bernhard Moestl
In my opinion, those who automatically consider themselves the best don't reach the top, but rather those who have learned to deal with their doubts and fears. Bernhard Moestl
Value good company, even when you're alone. Asia
It's impossible to please everyone. (From Germany)
Like true strength, true wealth comes exclusively from within. In the end, it's not what we have that counts, but solely who we are. Bernhard Moestl
Wanting something but not being able to have it causes us suffering. Bernhard Moestl
If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours forever. Confucius
Everything that exists, however great and good it may be, has its time, fulfills its purpose, and passes away. Francis of Assisi
Attachment to an object always leads to the downfall of its owner. Marcel Proust
Those who don't love themselves in the right way cannot love others. For true self-love is also the natural way of being kind to others. Self-love is therefore not selfishness, but rather being good.
Robert Musil
Free yourself from your own power. Wing Tsun
Everything is within us when we look inward and are authentic. - Mengzi
The easiest path for us is the one we've always taken. Bernhard Moestl
Experience is like a lantern at your back. It only ever illuminates the part of the path you have already traveled. China
People only see what they expect to see.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Once you have found yourself, you can lose nothing in this world. – Stefan Zweig
He who rides a tiger cannot dismount. China
It is probably fair to say, generally speaking, that in The most fruitful developments in the history of human thought often occur there.
a place where two different ways of thinking have met.
Different ways of thinking may have their roots in
have different areas of human culture or in different times, in different cultural environments or different religious contexts
Traditions. If They only truly meet, i.e., when they enter into a relationship with each other to such an extent that a genuine interaction occurs.
If it takes place, then one can hope that new and interesting things will happen.
Developments will follow. Werner Heisenberg
If I could put it into words, I wouldn't need to paint it. My paintings speak for themselves. I couldn't explain them either.
Gotthard Graubner
The space between the words is more important than the words themselves.
The more space there is between the words, the better.
This only works, however, if you are aware of this space. Otherwise, it's just an unwelcome interruption, and you wait impatiently for the next word or sentence. Eckhart Tolle
Nature is sufficient unto itself and should be sufficient unto humankind as well. What we can still find of nature around us (I deliberately avoid the word 'have') needs no human additions. It is itself—and for us, a revelation… Herman de Fries
Life doesn't have to be easy, as long as it's fulfilling.
Liese Meitner
The more I see of people, the more I appreciate dogs. Frederick the Great
The present: that part of eternity which separates the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope. Ambrose Bierce
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. (Unknown thinker)
The space between the words is more important.
than the words themselves.
Eckhart Tolle
His whole life trying to the Tür to pressücken, sink down exhausted and realize that the TüThe right side opens inwards.
„"The easy option is right.".
Start right and it's easy.
Continue gently, and it will be correct.
The right way to find what is easy is,
to forget the right way and to forget,
that he is light."“
-Zhuang Tzu- (also: Yang Zhu)
A life without morality reduces humans to the level of animals. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
“Health is less a state than an attitude, and it thrives with the joy of life.” Thomas Aquinas (1224 – 1274)
Therefore, the true artist despises nothing; he is obliged to understand rather than judge. Albert Camus Nobel Prize speech
If we consistently strive for success over a long period of time, it is ultimately inevitable. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
QUOTES IN THE EXHIBITION:
STILL MOVES
VIDEO ART AND OLD MASTERS
13.10.2013 – 23.2.2014
What is high fame / and youth / honor and art?
When this hour comes: everything will turn to smoke and mist.
Andreas Gryphius, To Himself
Wherever you look, you see only vanity on earth.
What one builds today, another tears down tomorrow:
Where cities now stand / there will be a meadow /
Auff der ein Schäfers-Kind wird spelen mit den Herden.
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
What now blooms so splendidly / will soon be trampled.
What now throbs and defies will be ash and bone tomorrow.
Nothing is eternal, not even ore or marble.
Now luck smiles upon us / soon complaints will thunder.
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
The glory of great deeds must fade like a dream.
Should the game of time / the light man endure?
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
Ah! What is all this that we consider so delicious?
As a bad nothingness / as a shadow / dust and wind;
Like a meadow flower / that you won't find again.
No one wants to consider what is eternal!
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
Man plays the game of time / because he lives here.
In the stage of this world; he sits / and yet not firmly.
One rises and that one falls / he who sought palaces /
And he who has a bad roof / rules, and he who weaves.
What was yesterday is gone / what happiness now elevates;
The previously green branches will perish tomorrow.
We are now withered and dead / we poor are merely guests
Whether a sharp sword is suspended on delicate silk.
And learn: that when one departs from Pancket of life:
Crown / Wisdom / Strength and Goodness / remain a borrowed splendor.
Andreas Gryphius, Image of Our Life
These years are not mine,
Those who took the time for me;
These years are not mine,
They would like to come;
The moment is mine,
And should I take care of him?
That's mine,
Made for years and eternity.
Andreas Gryphius, Reflections on Time
Come on friends! Let's hurry to the table!
In which the sun is held in the center of the sky
And the world weary of heat and work
Seek their way / and to share our day.
The floral ornament is adorned with flames.
Too badly damaged / the parched field
If you wish for the dew, the reaper for the tent;
No bird complains about its love ropes.
Now the light reigns. The black shadow flees.
Into a cave / into which one hides /
It forces one to hide oneself from shame and fear.
One can escape the glitz of the day!
But not the light / that / where we always stand
Vhn siht und richt / und Hell' und Grufft durchdringet.
Andreas Gryphius, Noon
You live in time / yet know no time /
Thus you humans do not know of / or in what you are.
This you know / that you were born in a certain time.
And that you too will be lost in a time.
But what was the time / that brought you into it?
And what will this be that makes you worthless?
Paul Fleming, Thoughts on Time
Man exists in time; time exists in him as well.
But man must give way / if she remains.
Time is what you are, and you are what time is.
Only that your Wenger is still / than what time is / be.
Paul Fleming, Thoughts on Time
That which you call beauty / Are flower-like things / That are fleeting / And
flee like the wind.
There will not be constant spring on your cheeks. The starlight fades.
As if the flowers were in full bloom.
No river fades away so soon / As beauty and form.
Christian Hofmann von Hofmannswaldau
My whole life
At all times /
Remain firmly devoted /
In joy and sorrow /
Eternity.
Christian Hofmann von Hofmannswaldau, Transience
„"What is blooming so beautifully /
should be entered soon
What now throbs and defies
Tomorrow is ash and bone /
Nothing is / that is eternal /
"No ore / no marble stone."“
Andreas Gryphius: It is all vanity
The future is not something to be predicted, but something to be created. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
If life has no vision to strive for, no yearn for, no desire to realize, then there is no motivation to make an effort. Erich Fromm
The world doesn't owe any of us a livelihood, but we all owe each other a livelihood. Henry Ford
Inner satisfaction is not dependent on material or sensual satisfaction.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The open-minded person finds a solution for every problem; the closed-minded person finds a problem for every solution. - Albert Einstein
Every change begins within us. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Belief in an afterlife helps us to,
To accept things as they are. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The Chinese farmer, his son and his horse.
In a village in China, not very small, but not large either, lived a farmer – not poor, but not rich either, not very old, but no longer young, who had a horse. And because he was the only farmer in the village who had a horse, the people in the village said: "Oh, what a beautiful horse, how lucky he is!"„
And the farmer replied: „Who knows? I don’t know if it’s good or bad. You’d all better go home.“
One day, a perfectly ordinary day, for no one knows why, the farmer's horse broke out of its paddock and ran away. The farmer saw it galloping off, but he couldn't catch it. That evening, the villagers stood by the fence of the empty paddock, some grinning with a touch of schadenfreude, and said, "Oh, the poor farmer, now his only horse has run away. Now he has no horse at all, poor thing!"„
The farmer must have heard this and just muttered: "Who knows? Everyone go home now.".
I don't know if it's good or bad.“
A few days later, the beautiful horse was seen in the farmer's paddock one morning, chasing back and forth with a wild mare: she had followed him down from the mountains. The neighbors were envious and exclaimed, "Oh, how lucky that farmer is!" But the farmer simply replied, "Who knows? Everyone should go home now.".
I don't know if it's good or bad.“
One fine summer day, the farmer's only son climbed onto the horse to ride it. Soon he was no longer alone; half the village watched as he proudly rode the beautiful horse. "Ah, how lucky he is!" But suddenly the horse shied, reared up, and the farmer's only son fell off and broke his leg. And the neighbors cried out and said, "Oh, the poor farmer! His only son! Will he ever be able to walk properly again? What bad luck!" But the farmer only said, "Who knows? Everyone go home now. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."„
Some time later, the whole village was startled awake by a wild clatter of footsteps through the streets towards morning. The ruler's soldiers rode into the village and dragged all the boys and men from their beds to take them off to war. The farmer's son couldn't go. And many sat at home and said, "How lucky he is!"„
But the farmer just muttered: "Who knows?!"„
It is better not to insist on one's personal views, but to engage in dialogue with the other person. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
For whom time is like eternity,
And eternity like time;
He is free
From all arguments.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Darkness is the greatest enemy of light, yet it is the reason why light may be revealed.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
God has given me knowledge. Not I, the "I," know it, but God knows it within me.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
But the saint has his church with him and within him in all places.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
The true heaven is everywhere, even in the place where,
where you stand and go.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Just open your eyes and you will see:
The world is filled with God.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
There is no more beautiful music, for it makes a person feel at peace within.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
No work pleases God unless it is done through faith in God.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Go where the road is hardest.,
And take in what the world throws away!
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Why do you talk about God more than you know or what has been revealed to you?
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
Mae West
What do we understand by liberation?
The victory over our emotions.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
In ancient times, the True People breathed Yin and Yang. All beings looked to their virtue and thus found themselves in peaceful harmony. In those times, the leaders worked in secret and spontaneously created pure simplicity. Pure simplicity had not yet been lost, and so the ten thousand beings were free and unconstrained. Wen-tzu
Gradually, society deteriorated. During the reign of Fu Xi, conscious effort awakened: people slowly lost their innocence and began to grasp the universe through conscious understanding. Human virtues became multifaceted and no longer formed a unified whole. Wen-tzu
In the times when Shen Nong and Huang Di ruled the land and created the calendar to achieve harmony with Yin and Yang, people rose up and thoughtfully bore the burden of seeing and hearing. Therefore, order prevailed, but harmony was lost. Wen-tzu
The path of evolved beings consists of nurturing the body through rest and nourishing life through contentment… If you wish to guide the body and nourish true nature, sleep and rest only in moderation, eat and drink appropriately, bring harmony to your emotions, and simplify your actions. If you are mindful of yourself within, you will achieve this and be impervious to corrupting energies. Wen-tzu
Those who adorn their outward appearance harm their inner selves.
Giving free rein to one's feelings harms one's mind.
Those who display their ornaments hide their reality.
Anyone who cannot put their intellect aside for even a moment inevitably burdens their innermost nature.
Anyone who, even on a 100-step walk, doesn't forget to keep up appearances, inevitably puts a strain on their physical body.
Therefore, the beauty of feathers harms the bones, and dense foliage on the branches damages the roots. No one can excel at both. Wen-tzu
What applies to the lower classes of society must not be disregarded at the higher classes: What is forbidden to the people must not be permitted to privileged individuals. Therefore, when those who lead others enact laws, they should first apply them to themselves to test them. Only when a regulation is suitable for the rulers may it be imposed on the people. Wen-tzu
If there is more than enough, the people are compliant; if there is less than enough, competition prevails. If people are compliant, courtesy and justice develop; if competition prevails, violence and confusion arise. If desires are numerous, worries do not diminish. For those who seek enrichment, competition never ceases. Thus, if a society is orderly, the people maintain their integrity and are not seduced by gain or advantage. If a society is disorderly, the ruling class acts criminally, and even the laws cannot restrain them. Wen-tzu
Discern your destiny, control your thoughts, order your desires, and live in harmony with your true nature; then you will have grasped the path of leadership. Discern your destiny, and neither fortune nor misfortune can overwhelm you. Control your thoughts, and you will not be helplessly at the mercy of feelings of joy or anger. Order your desires, and you will not crave what is useless. Live in harmony with your true nature, and your desires will not be excessive.
If neither fortune nor misfortune can confuse you, then you follow reason, whether you are acting or resting. If you do not leave it to chance whether you feel joy or anger, then you do not flatter people in hope of reward or fear of punishment. If you do not desire what is useless, then you do not harm your nature through greed. If your desires are not excessive, then you nourish life and experience contentment. These four things you cannot find externally; they do not depend on other people. You can attain them by returning to yourself. Wen-tzu
Great people are peaceful and free from desires. They are calm and free from worries. They make the sky their canopy and the earth their vehicle. They make the four seasons their horses and darkness and light their charioteers. They travel into the pathless, traverse the inexhaustible, and set out through the gateless. Wen-tzu
Therefore, the affairs of the world cannot be forced, but only fostered in accordance with their own nature. Nothing can support the myriad things in their change unless one grasps the essence and returns to it. For this reason, the wise cultivate their inner foundation and do not adorn their outward appearance with superficiality. They activate their life force and bury their preconceived notions. Thus, they are open and free from all intention, and yet there is nothing they would not do; they do not order, and yet there is nothing that is not ordered. Wen-tzu
To be empty means to be inwardly free from burdens. To be balanced means that the mind is free from shackles. When habitual desires do not burden you—this is the pinnacle of emptiness. When you know neither likes nor dislikes—this is the pinnacle of balance. When you abide in oneness and do not change—this is the pinnacle of tranquility. When you are not entangled in anything—this is the pinnacle of purity. When you feel neither sorrow nor delight—this is the pinnacle of virtue. Wen-tzu
The great path is gentle and not far from yourself.
Those who seek in distant lands go and return.
Wen-tzu
Happiness has nothing to do with wealth or prestige, but is a matter of harmony. Those who know enough to consider themselves important and the world insignificant are close to the path. Wen-tzu
Those who are so-called true people are in their essence connected to the Way. Therefore, they possess gifts, even though they appear to have none; they are fulfilled, even though they appear to be empty. They direct the inner, not the outer. In their purity and utter simplicity, they do not strive for the artificial, but return to simplicity. Wen-tzu 42
Take the world lightly, and your mind will be free from all burdens. Don't attach importance to the myriad things in life, and your heart will not be troubled. Let life and death be equally important to you, and your mind will be without fear. Adopt the same attitude toward change and constant, and nothing will cloud your clarity.
Perfected people lean against a pillar that will never shake, they travel on roads that are never interrupted, they draw from a spring that never runs dry, and they learn from a teacher who is immortal. Everything they undertake is crowned with success, and wherever they go, they arrive. No matter what they do, they accept their destiny and walk their path free from all confusion. Misfortune and fortune, gain and loss cannot harm their spirit. Wen-Tzu 32
When people lose their innermost nature by giving in to their desires, their actions are never right. Leading a nation in this way can only end in chaos; leading oneself in this way defiles one's inner being. - Wen Tzu
The path gives form to the myriad things, yet is itself forever formless. It is still and immobile, and yet in its entirety it encompasses the undifferentiated unknown. Nothing is so vast as to transcend it, nothing so minuscule as to penetrate its interior. It has no dwelling place and arises between being and non-being.
True people embody this through open emptiness, balanced ease, clear calm, flexible yielding, unadulterated purity, and simple simplicity, and they do not become entangled in things. Their perfect virtue is the way of heaven and earth. That is why they are called true people. Wen-tzu
Look straight ahead like a newborn calf, without asking why; let your body be like a weathered tree and your mind like dead ash. Realize true knowledge and do not follow convoluted trains of thought. Preserve your openness and lack of intention, for then you can attain clarity and mastery. How could there be any talk of ignorance then? Wen-tzu 5
Kindness, compassion, humanity, and duty form a short and narrow path: He who first travels this narrow path and then a wider one will lose his way; he who first travels a short way and then a long way will be confused. On the path of the wise, one enters the vastness without getting lost and travels far without becoming confused. The pinnacle is reached when one constantly abides in emptiness and with oneself. Wen-tzu 118
Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, a German army officer from the First World War who was personally sidelined by Hitler during the Second World War due to his skeptical views, mentally divided his officers into four camps: The stupid and lazy, who made up ninety percent of every army, were suitable for routine tasks. The clever and diligent belonged on the General Staff. The clever and lazy, however, were predestined for the highest leadership positions, because only they possessed "the mental clarity and the composure for difficult decisions." One should beware of the stupid and diligent, on the other hand. They should not be entrusted with any responsibility, because they would "always only cause harm." In fact, this framework would still offer good guidance today in the recruitment of elites.
When you create art, you live in a world full of dreams that have become reality. Ignacio Lopez Porras
Happiness comes from taming the mind. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The secret of happiness lies not in possessing, but in giving. He who makes others happy will be happy himself. André Gide
It's best if we don't constantly worry about our personal gain or loss. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
We only suffer because we think too much. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The best qualities in a person are love and compassion. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Talking a lot without needing to be necessary is like letting our garden be overgrown with weeds.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The only way to develop the enlightened mind is: Meditate, meditate, meditate.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Without hope there is no progress. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
It is an illusion to believe that the external world can fulfill our wishes. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The more collected a person
lives within him,
the stronger his charisma,
which originates from him
and captivates others.
But the greater the impact, the stronger it also carries
all free mental behavior
the stamp of personal individuality,
which is located in the innermost part of the soul.
Furthermore, the stronger the body is the more
shaped by this and thus "spiritualized".
This is the true center of the
of physical, mental, and spiritual being. Edith Stein
Art should do something other than sit on your backside in a museum. (Claes Oldenburg)
Works of art only stay in the room if they stand out from the frame. (Wolfram Weidner)
„"The head is round so that thinking can change direction." (Francis Picabia)
I was already fully grown up –
And now this relapse.
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you, they do not belong to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but do not seek to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bow be in the archer's hand for gladness, for even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is steady.
Khalil Gibran: The Prophet
The culture of a people can be recognized by how they treat their dead.
Pericles
Receive what you are: the Body of Christ!
Become what you receive: the body of Christ!
Aurelius Augustinus (354-430), Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, philosopher, Church Father, saint
Look for what you are looking for, but not where you are looking.
Augustine
If you are searching for the truth, you are already separated from it. ZEN
„"The key is not to prioritize what's on the schedule, but to schedule deadlines for your priorities.".
Stephen R. Covey
I am only responsible for that,
what I say,
Not for what you understand.
My boss doesn't eat honey, he chews bees!
Money alone does not bring happiness,
It has to belong to you.
Life is delicious, you just have to have the courage to,
to lead his own life. Giacomo Casanova
Extension question:
If everything goes as it did last month, would you continue to live the same kind of life with me in the future?
Would you rather come home or go?
First marriage, then a tricycle, then a house, then it's over.
Only when you are doing well can you give your best to the world.
The smallest bee collects more honey every day.
than an elephant in a year.
Zhuang Zi:
„"Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, a fluttering butterfly, feeling comfortable and happy, and knowing nothing of Zhuang Zhou himself. Suddenly he awoke: there he was again, truly and genuinely Zhuang Zhou. Now, I don't know whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, or whether the butterfly dreamed that it was Zhuang Zhou, although there is surely a difference between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly. That's how things change."“
In Genesis, my camera allowed nature to speak to me. And it was my privilege to listen. (Sebastiao Salgado)
gratitude
is the most important key to wealth.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
„"Love in the beginning, love in the end!"
All experiences in between are meaningless;
That's all you have to learn.“
Mhaádeii AmaMia
Elphism
The five creation theories
The first creation theory states:
Everything is you. You are the beginning and the end of your world as the ONE creator.
The second creation theory states:
If there is only You as the ONE Creator, then the Other must be a reflection of You and is therefore not separate from You.
The third creation theory states:
If you and the other person are not separate, then you yourself are the cause of "good and evil" and thus both the perpetrator and the victim.
The fourth creation theory states:
If you, as the creator, are both victim and perpetrator, then there is no guilt on the part of the other. If there is no guilt on the part of the other, then there is no reason to look for the cause within the other or to demand punishment for guilt from external sources.
The fifth creation theory states:
No being is inherently "evil" or "good," but rather, at its core, always "holy." However, every being has the right, through its free will, to experience "good" and "evil," thereby being able to experience duality.
The seven theses of life
The first life thesis is:
All people are fundamentally equal and should not be judged differently based on their outward appearance. For this reason, respect and consideration for every life form are the foundation for harmony within any collective world.
The second life theory is:
Every person has the right to dispose of the wealth of their world through their creative power without restrictions, as long as they accept the consequences.
The third life thesis is:
Every person bears direct responsibility for all consequences of their creations, whether they are aware of it or not.
The fourth life thesis:
Every person, if they have violated one of the tenets of life, is obligated to attain natural forgiveness through their capacity for self-awareness of cause and effect. From this forgiveness, the person receives unconditional salvation.
The fifth life thesis:
Everything a person sends out through the power of their free, creative spirit will inevitably return to them in due time. If they do not accept this, they lose access to their creative power.
The sixth life thesis:
The free will of every human being is inviolable. If a person uses their free, creative spirit to manipulate or deliberately harm another person, they lose their own free will and thus their creative power.
The seventh thesis of life:
Every human being is obligated to maintain their highest consciousness in order to recognize the capacity to distinguish between "good" and "evil" in their creations. If a person loses this capacity for discernment, they remain powerless until they regain it.
The eyes of the other person are yours
Reflecting mirrors, you can recognize them by them,
where you stand. You can only see it in the eyes then.
encountering the love of another person,
when you look deeper than your ego allows.
Meet the ego without fear, then it will
willingly step aside and you will find behind it the
Recognize the radiant purity of your own love,
and glüBlissful joy will fill your heart
spread out, if you may know,
that YOU are love.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2013
Those who do not live with consideration and respect,
who has not practiced gratitude,
He absolutely cannot be one of them.ülife führen.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2013
Follow moment füThe moment the river
of life and accept everything,
what wants to come to you,
and don't hold anything againstück,
that wants to leave you again,
then you are in flow with yourself
and fear will drive you without your own
effort leave müssen.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2013
First the Üovercoming darkness through the
Acceptance of fear and powerlessness can bring light
to make it shine within yourself.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Find the tiny seed from the source within you and
öOpen within yourself the Tür to the light of love and
encounter your ownödead beings.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
The light of grace transforms our
self-destructiveörerischen thoughts,
Emotions and actions in a constructive and
Healing thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Isn't it greatßnicely recognizable,
that the EnttäSearch a blessing für You is.
Because only in this way could you gain experience with
Make it yourself and for yourself and your
SchwäIn loving, forgiving greetingsöße
and StäTurn towards rke.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
If you can immediately recognize that all
Obstacles only one beforeütemporary prüfung are,
which have no real consequences,
You will soon have achieved freedom.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Recognizing one's own weaknessesächen is the
clear indication of the beginning
of enlightenment.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Are you criticizing your Köbody, your thoughts,
Yourünegative actions or actions,
In doing so, you criticize yourself at the core of your strength.,
Negative at the core of your power.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
With each veräChange of perspective
veräAre you changing?,
Your living conditions, the other people,
Your future and your past.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
The addiction to emotions häLet you go,
to linger at the moment, and prevents,
that you have your necessary Fähigkeit
You can develop patience.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
It all always begins with the desire to,
as an individual being, a unique
to have meaning,
to stand out from the crowd,
to perceive oneself in the mirror through being differentönnen.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Forget your Wüwishes for experienceüllung,
Give up your search for perfection and
Focus on the peace within yourself,
Then you can gently...üren,
the emerging glüblissful love.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Do not seek enlightenment, peace, or perfection,
as long as you haven't realized the trust within yourself.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Start today by living in the moment.ühren.
Draw a line under your expectations.
and allow fate to,
You ÜTo bring surprise and adventure.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
The source of love can be found in your own heart.
Mhaádeii 2011
Freedom
does not mean,
to do what one wants,
rather
to want what one does.
Mhaádeii 2010
I respect your individual being and see beauty in it; I respect your unique qualities and see beauty in them; I respect your talents and see beauty in them. I acknowledge your limitations and respect them; I acknowledge your individual dislikes and respect them; I acknowledge your weaknesses and respect them; I acknowledge your individual vulnerabilities and respect them. I respect you as you are, with your many individual ways of expressing yourself as a human being. I neither judge your strengths nor your weaknesses. Because I don't judge you, I see no flaws in you. Because I don't idealize you, no envy or rejection arises within me; no competition or dissatisfaction does.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
„"It is not because it is difficult that we do not dare,
"But it is because we do not dare that it is difficult." Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The relative truth is this:,
what we perceive with our senses.
But the absolute truth is indescribable.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
The people of ancient times knew neither the joy of being born nor the aversion to dying. Their entry (into the world of the physical) was no joy for them, their arrival (in the afterlife) was without resistance. Calmly they departed, calmly they returned. They did not forget their origin; they did not strive for their end; they accepted their fate and rejoiced in it, and (forgetting death) they returned (to the afterlife).
Zhuang Zi
Living in the present moment is everything.,
What matters. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
It is not what you openly express through your mouth that determines your life, but what you whisper to yourself has the most power.
Robert T. Kiyosaki
Good ideas have the greatest energy immediately after being opened.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The space you give,
is the proportion,
who determines your share.
Nicole Spitzenberg
If you want to wait for things to progress on their own,
Let it roll downhill. Nicole Spitzenberg
The shoes you put on,
They help determine how you progress and how you arrive.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Headwinds bother him.,
who does not feel enough warmth for his goal.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Those who duck their heads,
can only look in one direction.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The greatest development opportunities are often buried there,
where you lose your composure.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Some people go pretty far,
so as not to have to abandon one's own point of view.
Nicole Spitzenberg
New paths are growing over again,
if you admire them long enough
but you don't hike. Nicole Spitzenberg
Above every door of longing is written:
Let yourself in.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The lasting enjoyment of beautiful memories
It is a first-class contraceptive against fertilization by new embryos. Nicole Spitzenberg
I am here, and there is nothing to say. What we need is silence. John Cage
We should all be concerned about our future,
because we will spend the rest of our lives in it.
Charles F. Kettering (1876-1958), American industrialist
Morality is not a divine matter, but a purely human one.
Albert Einstein
Nothing in the history of mankind legitimizes such endless suffering and misery as good intentions.
Richard David Precht, p. 48 „The Art of Not Being an Egoist“
In the world we encounter in ordinary experience, we are faced with choices between equally ultimate goals and equally absolute demands, some of which can only be achieved by sacrificing others. Sir Isaiah Berlin 1909-1997
Don't rely on the expedient meaning, but on the ultimate meaning.
Don't rely on the conditional, but on the unconditional.
Don't rely on words, but on meaning.
Buddha Shakyamuni
My Father is the wisdom of immediate awareness,
My mother is the highest joy and emptiness.
My land is the uncreated space of Dharma,
I do not belong to any particular caste.
Clarity and confusion serve as my sustenance.,
And I am here to destroy the poisons of the mind.
Yeshe Tsogyal, wife of King Trisong Detsen, disciple of Padmasambhava
I think about myself differently than everyone else. I don't know anyone, not one person, who thinks about me the way I think about myself.
Solve the problem – not the question of blame.
Assess the damage and repair it.
No one is being accused.
The real composer is in the brain of the audience.
Brian Eno extracted from Clifford Ross
The most beautiful monument a person can receive is in the hearts of their fellow human beings. Albert Schweitzer
You are today what you thought you were yesterday.
You will be tomorrow what you think today.
Boris Grundl
The difference between what is,
And what we perceive is the source of all suffering.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Every state, indeed every moment, is of infinite value.,
for he is the representative of an entire eternity.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
When I think about how good and comfortable I have it,
I am overcome with deep shame:
For my poor, brave people have only trouble, toil, and hardship!
Emperor Fushimi (reigned 1288-1298)
Simplicity is not a goal,
but one arrives at her unintentionally,
by getting closer to the essential. Constantin Brancusi
The eye sees what it seeks... Max Slevogt
I am ready to meet my Maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter. Sir Winston Churchill
Science abolishes all belief and transforms it into vision.
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
“Everything will be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, then it can't be the end!” Dev Patel in the film „The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel“
The day you were born was a rainy day.
But it wasn't really rain; the sky was crying because it had lost a star. We rejoice in the birth of…
I'm too old to just play,
Too young to be without desire. J.W. Goethe, Faust
It is in the nature of violence that it cannot be calculated. Therefore, its use cannot be controlled. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Pleasure or pain, gain or loss, praise or blame, fame or shame: these eight worldly worries shape our lives. 14. Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Today I'm not making myself supper, today I'm going to think.
A sky-high Difference:
We can think about it, feelings not.
Ernst Ferstl, Interjections
There are no limits.
Not for thoughts, not for feelings. Fear sets the limits.
The Poverty has her freedoms, the wealth of his Compulsions.
In the beginning, all thoughts belong to the Love.
Later, all love belongs to thoughts.
Thoughts make big, feelings rich.
The richest people are those who have the most waive can. Rabindranath Tagore
A work of art must arise from inner necessity, appealing not only to the eye but also to the soul and mind, and enriching humanity with its vision. Arturo Schwarz, gallery owner, Milan
If it is true that we can only live a small part of what is inside us, what happens to the rest? Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon.
If you can't see anything, you look läcloser.
Gerhard Hoehme
I am not interested in the relationship between color and form. I am only interested in expressing basic human emotions – tragedy, ecstasy, ruin, etc.
Marc Rothko
„We wearto avoid travel
through space –
Isn't the universe within us?
We do not know the depths of our minds –
Inwards
the mysterious path.
Within us, or nowhere.
is eternity with its worlds –
the past and the future."“ Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772–1801) Novalis
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in seeing things with new eyes. Marcel Proust
By giving the commonplace a high meaning, the ordinary a mysterious appearance, the familiar the dignity of the unknown, the finite an infinite semblance, I romanticize it. Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772–1801) Novalis
What is the hardest thing of all? What seems easiest to you: to see with your eyes what lies before your eyes. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The moment is timeless. Leonardo da Vinci
You often see something a hundred times, a thousand times, before you truly see it for the very first time. Christian Morgenstern
„"The more systematically people proceed,
the more effectively chance can strike them.“
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
The most important thing is that we have happiness for others.
To be there, to be able to enjoy it. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
If you don't think about it, then nothing else will happen.
Everything comes from human thought. Leo Tolstoy
It is not things themselves, but only our perceptions of things that make us happy or unhappy. Epictetus
Don't complain that God created the tiger, but thank him that he didn't give it wings. (Amharic proverb)
If there is a faith that can move mountains, it is faith in one's own strength. Marie Ebner-Eschenbach
Happiness is a matter of will. I am the result of what I imagined and envisioned, what I wanted, and what I decided to be. Karl Lagerfeld
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius
Only that which you yourself abandon is truly lost. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
It's pointless to complain about spilled milk. (Chinese proverb)
Most people make happiness a condition. But happiness only comes when you make no conditions. Arthur Rubinstein
One must buy one's superiority with constant vigilance. - Mark Twain
The best way to be deceived is to think you are smarter than others. - La Rochefoucauld
Before you burn something highly sought after, one should do that Luck to examine the one who already owns it. La Rochefoucauld
Avant que de déSirer fortement une chose, the faut examiner quel est le bonheur de celui qui la possède. La Rochefoucauld
The Luck lies within us, not in the things. La Rochefoucauld
The egoism speaks to everyone Languages and plays all Roll, even those of selflessness.La Rochefoucauld
Problems can never be solved with the same mindset that created them. - Albert Einstein
Good fortune and misfortune don't come of their own accord; they are only summoned. (Chinese proverb)
The thoughts of others are snares. Those who follow the Tao are not defined, disturbed, or admired by others. Deng Ming
Realize that others never do anything to you; you always make it happen yourself. Bernhard Moestl
Peace
One can neither at work
still in the pastügene,
neither in the world nor in a monastery,
but can only be found within one's own soul.
William Somerset
“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.” Duane Michels
It is better to fail with originality than to impress with imitation.
Herman Melville
Those who lack courage will always find a philosophy to justify it. - Albert Camus
There is no shortcut to a worthwhile destination. Beverly Sills
Success means going from defeat to defeat without losing your enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill
We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are. Anaïs Nin
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a car mechanic. Laurence J. Peter
Contentment is the bizarre lure of mediocrity. – Michel Montaigne
What the mind can imagine, it can also create.
Clement Stone
The noble man suffers only from his lack of ability. Confucius
One day everything will be alright, that is our hope.
Everything is fine today; that's our illusion.
Voltaire
For we are all mortal as long as we fear death, but are immortal as soon as we do not identify with the limitations of our present personality and surrender to the eternal rhythm of the universe in which we live. Lama Anagarika Govinda
Don't waste too much time looking for obstacles. There might not be any.
Franz Kafka
I don't understand why people are afraid of new ideas.
I'm afraid of the old ones. John Cage
Human freedom lies not in being able to do what one wants, but in not having to do what one does not want. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
„"Where the journey is headed, huh?"It doesn't depend on which way the wind blows – but how to set the sails…„
Chinese
Is there any accompanying information?üWhat could be better than knowing someone you can talk to as you would to yourself?
(Marcus Tullius Cicero)
There is perfection deep within all that is imperfect.
There is a silence, deep amidst all the bewilderment.
There is a goal, deep amidst all worldly worries and troubles.
Buddha
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
Πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει
„Pánta chorei kaì oudèn ménei“
„"Everything moves and nothing stays put." Heraclitus
As soon as the light of the colors red, green and blue
When mixed in the same way, it appears to us as white. Hermann von Helmholtz
There are always two people involved in a picture: the photographer and the viewer.
BIn unfavorable lighting conditions or with unphotogenic subjects, it is an art NOT to press the shutter button!
Andreas Feininger
DThe eye creates the image, not the camera.
Gisèmy friend
DAs one eye of the photographer looks wide open through the viewfinder,
The other, the closed one, looks into one's own soul.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
DEveryone can see the material, but only those who have something to add to it will find the content.,
and the shape is a secret to most.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
DUsing a camera is similar to using a knife:
You can use it to peel potatoes, but also to carve a flute.
Erich Kahlmeyer
DThe development doesn't only take place in the darkroom.
Almut Adler, 1951
DThe first 10,000 shots are the worst.
Helmut Newton, 1920
DPhotography is the mortal enemy of painting; it is the refuge of all failed painters, the untalented and the lazy.
Charles Baudelaire
DPhotography is a craft.
Many want to make an art out of it, but we are simply craftsmen who have to do their job well.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
DThe camera seemed destined for me, and I used it.
like a musician the piano, or a painter the canvas.
I felt like a master of the elements and believed wonderful things were happening.
to be able to effect change.
Alfred Stieglitz, 1864 – 1946
DNature seems to me more imaginative than the most gifted brain.
My achievement lies in discerning from the abundance of what is available what is suitable for my image, and in doing so,
To eliminate a lot of unnecessary things. I try to think with my eyes.
Hans Martin Erhardt
DThe fact that people are born with two eyes but only one mouth,
This suggests that they should see twice as much as they talk.
Marie Marquise de Svign
DThe fact that a technically flawed photograph (in the conventional sense) can be more emotionally effective
As a technically flawless image, it will shock those naive enough to believe that,
that technical perfection is what gives a photograph its true value.
Andreas Feininger
EA photograph never shows the truth.
Richard Avedon, 1923
EThe photo no longer tells the truth. It merely suggests one possibility.
photokina 2000
EMost people only look at photos – they rarely look into them.
Ansel Adams
EThe picture should be looked at – not talked about.
Elliott Erwitt, 1928
EA good photograph is one that you look at for more than a second.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908
EIt is no more a coincidence that the photographer becomes a photographer than it is a coincidence that,
that a lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.
Dorothea Lange, 1895 – 1965
FPhotography is the mourning for the transience of time and the need to capture a few moments –
There are formal emotions, evoked by light or form, sentimental or sensual,
those caused by humans, and purely intellectual ones.
Photography can unite them and create new ones from them…
Photography is inextricably linked to the time it captures, to the time that passes between the fingers,
between moments, it slips away with the time of things and people,
of light and emotions.
Time will never be the same again.
Jeanloup Sieff
“PHOTOGRAPHERS MISTAKE THE EMOTION THEY FEEL WHILE TAKING THE PHOTO AS A JUDGMENT THAT THE PHOTOGRAPH IS GOOD” – GARRY WINOGRAND
FPhotography means bringing the head, the eye, and the heart onto the same line of sight.
It's a way of life.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
FTo photograph is to hold one's breath when, in the moment of fleeting effect, all our abilities unite.
Head, eye, and heart must be aligned. Photography is a way of shouting.,
It's not about proving one's originality, though. It's a way of life.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
FPhotography is like archery:
Aim correctly, shoot quickly, get out of there.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
FPhotography is like writing with light, like making music with colors.,
Like painting with time and seeing with love.
Almut Adler, 1951, MüMunich photography course instructor
FPhotography means recognizing simultaneously and within fractions of a second –
a fact itself and the strict arrangement of the visually perceptible forms,
which give it its meaning.
It aligns the mind, the eye, and the heart.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
FFor me, a photograph and a drawing are one and the same.,
Neither takes precedence over the other…
I don't separate the two,
except with regard to the tool.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
II never asked myself what I was doing; it tells me what to do.
The photos were taken by themselves with my help.
Ruth Bernhard 1905-2006, American photographer
II love symbols. You photograph something banal and represent it differently.
People understand immediately and say:
Oh, I've never seen the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty like this before!
At that moment you know that you have created something.
Peter Turner
II discovered that digital photography allows for a more organic and natural way of seeing.
It's more like how the human eye sees. You take a camera, take a picture.
and can react and deal with it immediately. That's not possible with film.
And the latest technology that has now come onto the market is proving to be clearly better than the film.
Jim Brandenburg 2003
JAnyone can take a picture. Even a machine. But not everyone can observe.
Photography is only art insofar as it makes use of the art of observation.
Observation is a fundamentally poetic process.
Reality, too, must be shaped if one wants to make it speak.
Friedrich DüRenmatt
MIt is possible to record people without photographing them.
© Almut Adler
MYou have to hurry if you want to see something.,
Everything disappears.
Paul Cézanne, 1839 – 1906
MInferior painting results from the desire to reproduce everything.
The whole thing gets bogged down in details, and boredom is the result.
But the impression that arises from the simple distribution of colors, lights and shadows,
That is the music of the image.
Paul Gauguin
NIn my opinion, one cannot claim anything
to have seen it before photographing it.
Emile Zola, 1840 – 1902
PTaking photographs is a way of screaming, of freeing oneself…
It's a way of life.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908
PPhotography is more than just pressing the shutter button.
Bettina Rheims, 1952
SLearning about marriage develops awareness.
Robert Häusser, 1924
SMarriage changes our knowledge. Knowledge changes our perception.
Jean Piaget, 1896 – 1980
TTalent is more important than technique.
Andreas Feininger, 1906 – 1999
WIf I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need any
lugging a camera around.
Lewis W. Hine, 1874 – 1940
WAnyone who, as a beginner, ignores the rules of composition in photography has no sense.
But those who cling to photos their entire lives have no imagination.
Detlev Motz in „Devilish Views“
WIf he can see, he can also take photographs.
Learning to see, however, can take a long time.
Leica advertisement
WWe must learn to understand that artistic creation should not be limited to professionalism.
Art is not a craft, although craftsmanship is an art.
Art exists in all the actions of happy people.
Art is the joy of life; it is the automatic reflex of our attitude towards life.
Asgar Jorn
ZTo all the things we cannot see, there are also the things we do not want to see.,
because we have decided to ignore them. For example, I have decided at the moment to,
the sound of my breathing, the feeling of the ring on my finger, the sight of the glasses directly on my nose,
yes, even to ignore the nose itself.
The aperture of a camera and the pupil are not there to let in information,
but to hide which ones.
Anyone who has ever held a camera knows that too much information can blind you just as much as too little.
If you tried to listen to all nine of Beethoven's symphonies at the same time, you would only hear noise.
KC Cole, American science journalist and writer
ZTwelve good photos in one year is a good yield.
I'm glad I haven't found my style yet; I'd be bored to death. Edgar Degas
»A KüThe artist must approach his work in the same state of mind in which the criminal commits his crime.«
— Thomas Mann
When I take photographs, I am actually looking for answers to things.
— Wynn Bullock
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. LEAST REALITY.
KARIN KNEFFEL
Not from giving,
But we get sick from keeping things.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
„"I slept and dreamed that life was joy.".
I awoke and saw that life is duty.
I did my duty, and lo and behold, life became joy.“
„"Why don't you marry an archaeologist? The older you get, the more interesting he'll find you!"“
| Yes, I know where I come from, unsaturated like the flame's glow, and I consume myself. Light becomes everything I grasp, coal everything I let go of, flame I am surely. |
Loup Igaly
„"I don't want to say anything with any of my pictures.".
"The only thing that interests me about photography is seeing how something looks when photographed." Gary Winogrand
The beauty of nature is a revelation of God's love. Irmgard Erath
What is seen is not the object itself,
but rather the light rays reflected by it. Michael Heinrich
„"Being right" means clinging to one's old ways of thinking and living. - T. Harv Eker
Order for rich people: BEING, DOING, HAVING
Order for poor people: HAVE, DO, BE.
- Harv Eker
„"In death, the world of appearances dissolves."“
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
If, remaining in love, one falls to the point where one can no longer suppress the cry, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" and then remains at that point without ceasing to love, one ultimately touches something that is no longer misfortune, that is not even joy, but rather the pure, transcendent, innermost, essential essence that unites joy and sorrow, and that is the love of God itself. Simone Weil
Love is not there to make us happy, but to show us how much pain we can endure. (from "White as Milk, Red as Blood" by Alessandro D'Avenia)
To those who expect, the expected happens; to those who hope, the unexpected. Heraclitus
If you are not happy with what you have,
How can you be happier with more? Friedhelm Wachs
„"Those who trust others too little are afraid at every turn; those who rely too much on others awaken in terror. Only a light fence separates them, the two sorrows."ü"Too little and too much trust are neighbors' children."“
Wilhelm Busch
Our problem is not painful experiences,
but our reaction to it.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Going means missing the place.
Michel de Certeau
“"To walk is to lack a place. It is the indefinite process of being absent and in search of a proper. The moving about that the city mutliplies and concentrates makes the city itself an immense social experience of lacking a place — an experience that is, to be sure, broken up into countless tiny deportations (displacements and walks), compensated for by the relationships and intersections of these exoduses that intertwine and create an urban fabric, and placed under the sign of what ought to be, ultimately, the place but is only a name, the City…a universe of rented spaces haunted by a nowhere or by dreamed-of places.”
― Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life
The head is round so that thought can change direction. Francis Picabia
The most beautiful harmony arises from bringing opposites together. Heraclitus
So you too seek God, and yet He is everywhere. Everything proclaims Him to you. Everything bestows Him upon you. He walked beside you, He surrounded you, He permeated you, and He dwelt within you... and you sought Him! You strive for a conception of God, and in doing so, you essentially possessed Him. You pursue perfection, while it lies in everything you encounter without seeking it. In the form of your sufferings, your actions, the impulses you receive, God Himself confronts you. Therefore, you strive in vain for lofty conceptions with which He does not wish to clothe Himself.
Jean P. Caussade „Devotion to God’s Providence“
Willigis Jäger, Return of Mysticism, p. 84
Or whoever loves something so passionately, with all their heart, that nothing else pleases or touches their heart but this, and desires only this and nothing else: most certainly, wherever such a person may be, or with whomever, or whatever they begin, or whatever they do, that which they love so much never fades within them, and in all things they find the image of this thing, and this is all the more present to them the stronger and stronger the love becomes. Such a person does not seek rest, for no restlessness hinders them. Meister Eckhart
Willigis Jäger, The Return of Mysticism, p. 88
If we do our best, we are happy if we succeed. But if we don't, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Even if I am ground into powder,
My ashes will embrace you.
Liu Xiaobo Nobel Peace Prize Träger 2010 to his wife 2008
Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Emptiness is no different from form, and form is no different from emptiness. What is form is emptiness; what is emptiness is form. Buddhist Sutra, Fritjof Capra, "The Tao of Physics," p. 213
The great void can only consist of qi; this qi must condense to form all things; and these things must dissolve again to form the great void once more. Chang Tsai
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.212
As transient manifestations of emptiness, things in this world have no fundamental identity. Fritjof Capra, "The Tao of Physics," p. 211
In this spiritual world, there are no divisions of time like past, present, and future, for these have contracted into a single moment of the present, where life vibrates in its true sense... Past and future are unfurled in this present moment of enlightenment, and this present moment, with all that it contains, is not still but moves ceaselessly onward. DTSuzuki
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.180
The present moment is absolute peace.
Although it exists in this moment, this moment has no limits, and therein lies eternal delight. Hui-Neng
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.180
Time, space, and causality are like the glass through which one sees the Absolute... In the Absolute, there is neither time nor space nor causality. Swami Vivekananda
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.189
Most people believe that time passes. In reality, it stands still where it is. The idea of passing can be called time, but it is the wrong idea, because since we only see time as passing, we don't understand that it stands still where it is. Master Dogen
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.188
In Einstein's theory, matter cannot be separated from its gravitational field, and the gravitational field cannot be separated from curved space. Matter and space are thus seen as inseparable and interconnected parts of a single whole.
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.206
The theory of relativity showed that the activity of matter
that is the very essence of their being. The particles of the subatomic world are not only active in the sense of rapid motion; they are processes themselves! The existence of matter and its activity cannot be separated. They are simply different aspects of the same space-time reality.
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.202
European philosophy sought reality in substance,
Chinese philosophy in relation to others. Joseph Needham
Today, as I once again surrender to the moment, I skip around happily. Tenkai-san
Good role model
Follow the example of an old cow:
She is happy to sleep in the barn.
You need to eat, sleep, and shit.
This is unavoidable.,
Furthermore, you don't need to worry about anything else.
Do what you have to do,
and stay for yourself.
Patrul Rinpoche
Jealousy is the most radical, primal and unashamed form of admiration, admiration in war paint, so to speak.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Love is that you are the knife with which I dig inside myself.
Franz Kafka to Milena Jesenka
The observer cannot be separated from the observed.
Humans create their own world.
What we perceive is different from reality.
Nothing is what it seems. Willigis Jäger
Nothing is as it seems, least of all reality. - Karin Kneffel
If man were perfect and "whole", he would probably not yearn for union with another human being.
Pamela Ball „10,000 Dreams“
Emptiness is not nothingness.
It is the fullness of non-material consciousness.
Willigis Jäger
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Willigis Jäger
Trying to grasp or hold onto something is painful,
because there is nothing to grasp or hold onto.
Everything comes from emptiness and returns to it.
Student of Willigis Jäger
Everything we can allow tends to turn into something pleasant.
But what you resist, grips you. - Willigis Jäger
You cannot lengthen your life, nor can you broaden it. But you can deepen it! Gorch Fock
Thoughts proliferate like ivy, which clings so tightly to the tree.
Incompatibility as a Chinese wall between lovers?
At the intersection of sea and sky, the sun blazes towards the day.
There is no such thing as "self-salvation"; salvation can only be discovered. It is always there. The source of power flows within each of us, and our efforts can only be directed toward removing the obstacles that separate us from it.
Willigis Jäger
The story of awakening is the "love story" between the divine and the human, with the initiative always coming from God. We only think we are the seekers; in reality, we are the sought.
Willigis Jäger
Mystical consciousness could be described as a dimension of experience where everything is as it is, and as it is, it is also perfect. There, one is neither happy nor unhappy, neither content nor dissatisfied, neither joyful nor sad. Joy would already be a lesser degree, as would sadness. Acceptance and love already belong to a subordinate realm. There is no bliss, no happiness in the sense of a feeling. All other levels of consciousness appear relative in comparison, while that state is self-contained and perfect, fulfilled to the utmost.
Willigis Jäger
The connection between body and mind is established through emotions. Willigis Jäger
In mystical consciousness, form and formlessness are one. It is the fulfillment of all our longings. There is no subject and object, but only Being.
Willigis Jäger
The love that lasts the longest is the love that remains unfulfilled.
- Sumerset Maugham
„"Mystical knowledge can never be attained through observation alone, but only through full participation with one's whole being."“
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.142
„"The most fruitful developments have occurred wherever two different ways of thinking have met."“
Werner Heisenberg
„"THAT I CAN'T SEE,
IS OF INFINITELY GREATER IMPORTANCE,
AS WHAT I CAN SEE."“
Duane Michels
The key to happiness is being content with who you are and what you have in the present moment. SH 14. Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
I welcome whatever happens next. John Cage
Whoever recognizes the futility of all conceptual thinking will experience reality as pure being-as-it-is. Nagarjuna
„"A conflict is a tragic expression
an unmet need"“
Marshall B. Rosenberg
„"We don't see the world as it is,
We see the world as we are.“
from the Talmud
„"Be determined to do so."
and that's it"“
Confucius
„"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift,
The rational mind is a faithful servant.
We have created a society,
which distinguishes the servant
and forgot the talent.“
Albert Einstein
„"One should offer the body something good so that the soul is happy to live in it."“
Winston Churchill
To make someone desire something,
You just have to make it seem difficult to reach.
Mark Twain.
Impatience is the fear that it might not work out.
A lack of trust in oneself, in others, or in the world.
Not knowing how to purposefully develop yourself and others creates precisely this uncertainty. Boris Grundl
Nothing in this world lasts forever.,
Nothing exists on its own.
SH 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
„"You were my companion.".
Now you're gone, comrade.“
Let language be to you what the body is to lovers.
He alone is the one who separates beings and unites them.
Friedrich Schiller
Whoever tells themselves they can achieve their goals will inevitably succeed. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
What is man? Where does he come from? And why didn't he stay there? Matthias Beltz
The most dangerous worldview is that of the people,
who have not seen the world.
Alexander von Humboldt
YOU CAN'T DISCOVER NEW EARTH PARTS WITHOUT THE COURAGE,
To lose sight of all coasts. (André Gide)
If we succeed in simply accepting what is happening to us at present, without judging or evaluating, and then allowing it to happen, our lives will gradually become a paradise.
Jan van Helsing Hands off p. 163
I open myself up to all of that,
what belongs to me and finds its way to me, which is what I prefer to do most,
what I do best,
which gives me the most joy.
There is always enough money available,
And for me, the partner is the one I'm happy with and who suits me best.
Jan van Helsing „Hands off“ p. 384
I live in the here and now, in today. My life is defined by my positive thoughts and actions. I shape my life according to my own ideas and plans. I enjoy being successful. My successes are based on my perseverance and persistence in thinking positively, planning creatively, and acting decisively. I have a creative mindset regarding money. I have a fantastic instinct for money and good earning opportunities. I take responsibility for everything in my wonderful life—for my thoughts, my words, and my actions. I am constantly improving my professional skills, and I enjoy being well-prepared. I approach all people openly, regardless of their position or rank. I know that everything in my life depends solely on my attitude toward it. I look ahead and am determined to make the most of my life. I smile often and radiate positivity, and I know that everything I send out comes back to me. I am now in the best shape of my life.
Jan van Helsing „Hands off“ p. 390
„"Reside with a calm mind where you find satisfaction!"
Thus, the essence of happiness will be revealed to you!“
Vijnana Bhairava Tantra Daniel Odier
Through you, consciousness awakens.
his dream of identifying with the forms and withdraws from it.
Eckhart Tolle
Plan your work.
Work your plan.
Gil Reyes, coach of Andre Agassi
„In the early 1970s, documentary photography was praised for its potential for objectivity. But I have always believed that photography can only be effective if it is personal and subjective.“ Nobuyoshi Araki
Happy people seem to live less hectic lives.
They have more time and can enjoy the moment.
This happiness is within our reach.
Those who do not enjoy life become unenjoyable.
Oscar Wilde
The future should not be predicted, but made possible.
Atoine de Saint-Exupéry
The past is a source of knowledge, the future a source of confidence!
Coming together is a beginning
Staying together is progress
Working together leads to success
Henry Ford
All that really matters is how pictures move the viewer, not the level of difficulty in obtaining them.
Owen Edwards
Things are as they are, not as we would like them to be. Understanding and accepting this is the key to happiness.
SH 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
We want to completely eliminate emotions,
We must meet them with wisdom.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
We only ever regret the things we didn't do.
Marcel Proust
DAs one eye of the photographer looks wide open through the viewfinder,
The other, the closed one, looks into one's own soul.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
FPhotography is like writing with light, like making music with colors, like painting with time, and seeing with love.
Almut Adler, 1951, MüMunich photography course instructor
SMarriage changes our knowledge. Knowledge changes our perception.
Jean Piaget
From the moment man recognizes no limits to his power, he is prone to self-destruction. C. Lévi-Strauss
Growing old is a wonderful thing,
if you haven't forgotten,
What it means to begin. Martin Buber
„Truth is a category that changes as we acquire new knowledge,“ writes Mexican writer Juan Villoro.
The need is within us all.A longing for connection and security, and at the same time
the needA longing for variety and freedom. Michael Cöall
He looked at it like a person looks at a withered flower that he has picked and can only with difficulty recognize the beauty for which he tore it down and destroyed it.
Vronsky on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I don't believe we have a right to happiness. If happiness comes along, we should be grateful.
Marlene Dietrich
The ownerThe thing about love is that it is incessant.must grow,
if she shouldn't lose weight. André Guide
The moment two partners believe they are safe with each other,
They've usually already lost each other. Max Frisch (Stiller)
Sometimes you have to argue in marriage,
For then one learns something about each other. Goethe
Love me when I least deserve it,
Because that's when I need it most. Eugen Drewermann
It is not those who argue who are to be feared,
but those who evade it. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Crisis is a productive state.
One simply has to remove the aftertaste of catastrophe. Max Frisch
Many who are believed to be dead,
are merely married. Françoise Sagan
Admiration is blissful self-absorption.,
Envy is an unhappy form of self-assertion. – Søren Kierkegaard
Behind contempt lies desire. Sigmund Freud
He married her because he loved her.
She loved him because he married her. Jean Paul Richter
How else should one describe love than as a movement of the soul that makes everything external in the appearance of the other transparent to us in terms of their soul, and at the same time awakens in us the urge to learn more and more about the other, to recognize them and to understand them ever more deeply in everything?.
Eugen Drewermann
Without effort and without the willingness to experience pain and fear,
No one can grow. Erich Fromm To Have or To Be
Marriage is a constant battle against a monster that devours everything: habit. Honoré de Balzac
Partnership doesn't mean that only the partner does the work. (Swabian)
4
Our life is a river that flows into the sea called death. - Garcia Lorca
Often the secret to a successful partnership lies in one's own shortcomings:
Because you're such a sexual daredevil, you're good for me, the uptight wallflower.
We all use each other and call it love.,
And when we can't use each other, we call it hate.
Tennessee Williams Suddenly last summer
To love a person means to see them as God intended them to be.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
No fire, no coal
It can burn so hot
as a secret love,
which nobody knows about.
Swiss Cheese Model by James Reason 1990
There are different types of errors:
- Genuine error – arises from carrying out an incorrect action.
- A pause – occurs when an action is forgotten within a process.
- A slip-up occurs due to the incorrect execution of a correct measure.
There are different levels:
- practical and craft-based level
- Rule-based level of rules and reaction sequences
- Level of abstract thinking (knowledge-based level)
There are several factors:
- People involved: boss, team, colleagues, friends
- Technical conditions, equipment, workplace
- Organizational elements: task definition, time management
- External influencing factors: time, economic situation, mood, weather
Happiness (flow) occurs when we a) are focused on an activity that we b) choose ourselves, that c) neither underwhelms us (boreout) nor overwhelms us (burnout), that d) has a clear goal, and that e) provides immediate feedback. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 1961
We do not fail because of the defeats we suffer, but because of the battles we fail to fight. Graffiti in Bern
From today onwards, I release my partner, my family, my friends from the tyranny of longing for love.
From today on, I love myself. Safe in this love, I am free to give love to others.
Essen (0-40 nC)
Moral outrage consists, in most cases, of 2 percent morality, 48 percent inhibitions, and 50 percent envy. La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
In the fog
It's strange to be walking in the fog!
Life is being lonely.
No one knows the other,
everyone is alone
Hermann Hesse
From Death
For Ilse
Autumn
The leaves are falling, falling as if from afar,
as if distant gardens were withering in the heavens;
They fall with a gesture of rejection.
And at night the heavy earth falls
from all the stars into solitude.
We all fall. This hand is falling.
And look at others: it's in everyone.
And yet there is One who causes this falling
infinitely gently in his hands.
Rilke, Rainer Maria 1875-1926
| JJoseph von Eichendorff: On My Child's DeathThe little child played outside in the spring sunshine, and rejoiced and had so much to see, how the fields shimmered and the streams flowed—then evening peered in through the trees, confusing all the beautiful images. And as it now grows so still all around, a secret singing begins from the valleys, as if it wanted to embrace the world with melancholy; the colors fade and the earth grows pale. Full of wonder, the little child asks: ‘Oh, what is that?‘ And lies down dreamily in the rustling grass; then the flowers touch its heart with coolness, and smiling, it feels such sweet pain, and the earth, the mother, so beautiful and pale, kisses the little child and does not let go, draws it tenderly into her lap, and lays it down below, warm and soft, still beneath flowers and moss. "And why do you weep, father and mother, for me? In a far more beautiful garden I am, It is so large and wide and wondrous, Many flowers stand there of clear gold, And beautiful little children with wings Soar up and down and sing. -I know them well from springtime, How they wandered over mountains and valleys far and wide And many a one called me from the blue sky, When I slept down in the garden. -And in the middle among the flowers and lights Stands the fairest of all women, A shining little child at her breast. -I cannot speak nor weep, Only sing again and again, then gaze, Still with great, blissful joy."’ |
A monk visited a dying friend. „Shall I guide you across?“ he asked. „I came alone, and I go alone,“ was the reply. „If you truly believe you come and go, that is an illusion. Let me show you the path where there is no coming and going.“ The monk smiled and died. ZEN
The Absolute Spirit is the true nature of all living beings. It is here now, eternal, unchanging. When we experience this, we experience our true face, our primordial countenance, as it is called in Zen. This, our true face, the One, To recognize oneself again is the goal of all spiritual paths. So tell me, what is yours? true faceWhat is your original face? Which is your face, the one that is always, eternally, and unchangingly your own? This face that no one can take from you? This wonderful face of yours, which is you yourself?
It manifests in many ways, it changes like a wave on the sea, yet it always remains unmistakably your face, which cannot hide. It is primal and familiar to you, and when you discover it, you will recognize it again. Then you will know that it is and always has been the same—before your birth, before the birth of your parents, before endless ages, and at the end of the world. Then you will learn that the world may perish, but your primal countenance will never fade. Whoever breaks through to it immediately recognizes it as their true essence. You can then die, for what you are is imperishable.
Mysticism and Zen often use negative descriptions for the ineffable reality, stating what it is not. Zen Master Bassui described it similarly to Dionysius: „It does not come into being at birth, and it does not disappear at death. It is neither male nor female. It is neither good nor evil. It is incomparable to anything. Therefore, it is called the Buddha-being.“
It is featureless and surpasses everything we know and can imagine. And yet it is this one Our true identity. We are not created at birth. One It confines itself to this form. We do not perish in death, we merely lose our form.
It's always just the Absolute Spirit The one who has many experiences, even though he himself is neither born nor dies. The one experiences itself as both birth and death.
In a profound spiritual experience, a person learns that only the outer form arises and passes away. Then, finally, they recognize themselves as the true self. Infinite and absolute being. He discovers that he has always known himself and had simply forgotten, and that he has now rediscovered himself. Then he could speak as it is written in an Indian text: "I am the infinite ocean – I am eternal and immortal – I am spirit."„
From „East-West Wisdom“ by Willigis Jäger, pp. 113-114
Into Your hands, O Lord, I place my spirit with complete confidence.
Psalms
Pain that does not speak suffocates the full heart and makes it break.
William Shakespeare
Back
Why should one be afraid of death?
For as long as we exist, death is not there,
And as soon as he's here, we're no more.
(From that perspective, it actually didn't have any human being
(ever tormented to be dead)
(Epicurus)
None of us knowß, which is death;
Maybe he is the höThe best thing on earth?
(Plato)
Afraid of death?
I will – perhaps – be 80 or 90 years old one day,
and have done nothing else my whole life,
than the fear of dying prematurely.
(Kristiane Allert-Wybranietz)
I have given something to so many people;
One probably doesn't need another form of immortality.
(Hans-Georg Gadamer shortly before his „death“)
Out of fear of deathöCould the child be taken from us?ßen,
we withdraw it from life;
to prevent his death,
Let's not let it live properly.
(Janusz Korczak)
So many are falling victim to the regime,
Some people have to fall against it eventually.
(Sophie Scholl)
Dying does not take a smart person by surprise.
(Jean de la Fontaine)
Truth sits on the lips of dying people.
(Matthew Arnold)
Steps
Like every flower fades and every youth
As age gives way, every stage of life blossoms,
Does every wisdom and every virtue also flourish?
It has its time and cannot last forever.
The heart must beat with every call of life.
Being ready to say goodbye and begin anew,
To act bravely and without mourning
To give new, different bonds.
And every beginning holds a magic within it,
The one who protects us and helps us to live.
We should cheerfully walk through room after room,
No one is as attached to it as to a homeland.,
The world spirit does not want to bind or confine us,
He wants to raise and expand us, step by step.
We have barely settled into a circle of life,
And comfortably settled, sluggishness threatens,
Only those who are ready to depart and travel,
May escape paralyzing habit.
It may also be the hour of death.
Sending us into new spaces, young and vibrant,
Life's call to us will never end…
Well then, heart, take your leave and be well!
(Hermann Hesse)
No one who walks over corpses can walk the path of Jesus.
Violence is meant to force the end of all violence. Blood is to flow only so that never again will blood be shed. But who guarantees this certainty? Beautiful banners they are, shining in the wind, these ideas, but horrifying as soon as they are carried before storming regiments. No idea is the whole truth, but every single person is a whole truth. This, and only this, seems to me important to hammer into the consciousness of confused humanity, to promote this one revaluation in the feelings of humanity: the devaluation of ideas, the higher valuation of the individual human being.
(Stefan Zweig)
Only when we have the willingness to each If we were to finally abandon war, regardless of its aim or reasons, we would leave the madhouse of human history. Wars are what they are: the deliberate killing of people on command and the suppression of all guilt for the end of humanity. But we are not yet living in George Orwell's 1984. War is not yet a means of peace. Killing people is not yet saving people. Lying is not yet a prerequisite for truth.
It was on May 26, 1999, in Athens that Patriarch Bartholomew I, the honorary head of the Orthodox Church, declared: „The war is not the work of rationally thinking, responsibly acting people, but the work of the mentally disturbed.“
But this „mental disorder“ is still justified as „duty“, „responsibility“, „courage“, „loyalty“ and „obedience“.
(Eugen Drewermann)
We humans don't give each other a chance.
If we detonate this thing, we'll have to invite the Japanese generals so they can see, what awaits them.
(Albert Einstein, 1942, during the construction of the atomic bomb)
… It wasn't done
Under these circumstancesäfind it üextremely important, now and füIt is always important to relearn an old truth: Violence does not serve justice, war does not serve peace, and with the TöOne does not serve life by consuming the lives of others. Not the pacifism of Gandhian philosophy.ägung is dead, töThe steel helmet pacifism of German politicians in the service of NATO is a real problem.
The path to war is always the same psychologically: In a complicated historical situation, reality is simplified into the simplistic scheme of good and evil.öIf you do that, then you assign blame unilaterally to one side, and then you personify B.öThey are in a single person. You then have to get them.äfight like Saint Michael fights the devil.
(Eugen Drewermann)
The following stories are from Anthony de Mello's books
„"A Minute of Nonsense", "A Minute of Wisdom", "Why the Shepherd Loves All Weather", "Who Makes the Horse Fly?" and "Times of Happiness"“
Made easier
A student had to rush home when he received news that his house had burned down.
He was an old man, and everyone felt sorry for him.
All the master told him was: "It will make dying easier."„
For most
“Some people claim there is no life after death,” said one student.
„"Do they do that?" the master asked noncommittally.
„"Wouldn't it be terrible to die without ever seeing, hearing, loving, or moving again?"“
„"Do you find that terrible?" replied the master. "That's how most people are, even before they die."“
Like a child
One student decided to ask the master more personal and direct questions.
„"Do you believe you "Do you actually believe in life after death?" she wanted to know from him.
„"It's strange that you're clinging to this topic so much," said the master.
„"Why should that be strange?"“
„Here you have this glorious May day before you,“ replied the master, pointing out the window. — „Like a child who refuses to eat today because it knows what tomorrow will bring. You are hungry. Eat your daily bread!“
Father, I'm back
A soldier was urgently recalled from the front because his father was dying. He received special permission because his father had no other family members.
As he entered the intensive care unit, he immediately realized that this semi-conscious man with tubes in his mouth and nose was not his father. Someone had made a mistake and brought the wrong soldier back from the front.
„"How much longer will he live?" he asked the doctor.
„"Just a few more hours. They just made it."“
The soldier thought of the dying man's son, who was, God knows where, thousands of miles away at the front. He thought of the old man who had only stayed alive in the hope of seeing his son one last time before he died. That determined his decision. He bent down, took the old man's hand, and whispered:
„"Father, I'm here. I'm back."“
The dying man clutched the outstretched hand; his empty eyes opened and looked around; a contented smile crossed his face and remained there until he died about an hour later.
„"I was convinced you would come."“
„"My friend has not returned from the battlefield, sir. Please allow me to search for him and bring him in."“
„Refused,“ said the officer, „I don’t want you to risk your life for a man who is probably dead.“
The soldier nevertheless set out to search and returned an hour later mortally wounded, with his dead friend in his arms.
The officer raged. „I told you he was dead. Now I’ve lost you both. What was the point of going out to bring back a corpse?“
The dying man replied: „It was worth it, sir. When I found him, he was still alive. And he said to me: “I knew you would come, Jack.’”
Redistribute
The master enjoyed playing cards and once spent the entire night playing poker with some of his students during an air raid. When they took a break for a drink, they started talking about death.
„"If I were to drop dead in the middle of this game, what would you do?" asked the master.
„"What would you like us to do?"“
„"Two things. First, get rid of the body."“
„"And then?"“
„"Reshuffle the cards," said the champion.
Something else is necessary to be truly alive: to be present now. What does that mean? It means, first and foremost, understanding something that very few people grasp: that the past is not reality, any more than the future is, and that to live in the past and the future is to be dead. I am perfectly aware that there are many wonderful things in the past from which we can learn, and that the past influences and shapes us. Fine! But it is not reality.
Priorities
According to legend, God sent an angel to the master with the following message: „Ask for a million years of life, and they will be given to you, yes, even millions upon millions of years. How long would you like to live?“
„Eighty years,“ replied the master, without the slightest hesitation.
The students were dismayed. "But Master," they said, "if you could live for a million years, consider how many generations could benefit from your wisdom."„
„"If I lived for a million years, people would be more concerned with prolonging their lives than with developing wisdom."“
Present
When the students asked him to give them a model of spirituality that they could emulate, the master simply said, "Hush, listen!"„
And as they listened to the sounds of the night outside, the master began to quietly recite the famous haiku:
„"From an early death,
The cicada appears unimpressed.
She sings.“
reality
Although the master seemed to enjoy life to the fullest, it was also known that he didn't shy away from great risks. For example, when he condemned the tyranny of the government, thereby inviting arrest and death. Or when he and a group of his students provided aid in a plague-ridden village.
„"The wise know no fear of death," he used to say.
„Why would a person so recklessly risk their life?“ he was once asked.
„"Why does it affect people so little when a candle goes out after daybreak?"“
Recognize
When the master grew old and sick, his students begged him not to die.
The master said: "If I didn't go, how would you ever learn to see?"„
„"What is it that we don't see when you are with us?" they asked.
But the master refused to say so.
As the moment of his death drew near,
They said, "What will we see when you're gone?"„
With a smile in his eyes, the master said: „I did nothing more than sit on the bank of the river and hand out water.
"When I'm gone, I hope you'll see the river."“
Socrates was in prison awaiting execution. One day he heard a fellow prisoner singing a difficult lyrical song by the poet Stesichorus.
Socrates asked the man to teach him this poem.
„"Why?" asked the singer.
„That I can die with the knowledge that I have learned something new,“ was the great man’s reply.
Student: "Why should you learn something new a week before you die?"„
Master: "For the same reason you would learn something new fifty years before your death."„
The hero
„My friend,“ the master said to the freedom fighter in his prison cell, „you will bravely face your execution tomorrow. Only one thing holds you back from celebrating death with joy.“
„"What is that?"“
„"The wish that your heroic deeds will be remembered. The desire that future generations acknowledge your heroic struggle."“
„"Is there anything wrong with that?" asked the condemned man.
„"Has it ever occurred to you that not you It is not you with whom posterity associates your deeds, but your name?“
„"Aren't they both the same?"“
„"Oh no, my friend! Your name is the sound you respond to. Your calling card, your trademark. Who are you?" you?“
That was all the man needed to "die" in the darkness of that night – even before the execution squad stood at his door at dawn.
Those who embark on the spiritual path without being able to control their emotions,
will create more suffering than before – for others and for oneself. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Death is as natural as breathing. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
What would have become of us if our parents hadn't loved us? 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
You want to know what Nirvana is? A quality of mind. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
My religion is kindness. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Compassion automatically leads to non-violence. 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Because we cannot control our minds, we are unable to recognize true nature.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
First, we should learn to appreciate ourselves in order to then extend this appreciation to others.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
No one has ever achieved anything without self-confidence.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Everyone can love without making their entire happiness dependent on that love.
14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
You can't teach a person anything, you can only help them.,
to discover it within oneself. Galileo Galilei
The Orange of the Old
The village elder was asked by a young man if he could sell the village produce at a distant market. The elder considered him for a long time and then granted his request, saying, "Very well, try your luck, but please take an orange with you." A week later, the young man returned, very upset, angry, and disappointed. He hadn't been able to sell anything; all the customers were "stupid" and didn't want anything from him. The elder listened to his rant about the impossible customers for a short while, then interrupted him with the question, "Didn't I tell you to take an orange?" Now the young man was quite confused. "What am I supposed to do with the orange?" The elder smiled and said, "People buy from you when they sense that you carry love within you." "But what does that have to do with the orange?" the young man wanted to know. "What do you get when you cut it open and squeeze the halves?" "Orange juice." „What comes out when you hit the orange with a hammer?“ „Orange juice.“ „What comes out when you stomp on it?“ “Orange juice.” The old man continued, ”You see, whenever the orange is under pressure, orange juice comes out. When you are under pressure, what comes out is what is inside you. So try to awaken so much love within yourself that you are like the orange. Whenever you are under pressure, love comes out. I promise you that you will then be a very successful merchant at the market.“ The old man stood up and went back to his work, but the young man sat for a long time, holding an orange in his hands. Lena Lieblich
Whoever I love should be free.
From me too.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
„"One must mourn people at their birth, not at their death." Deaths.“ – Charles de Montesquieu
„Do you want peace, or do you want to be left in peace? These are not the same: not the same policy, not the same strategy – and above all, not the same consequences. I want you to think about that.“
(French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 2009)
(to the Munich Security Conference)
Being free means
Freedom to something,
not necessarily
Freedom from something.
In this sense, weI wish you all the best in your new apartment
Freedom to meditate
Freedom to think
Freedom for creative work
Freedom to be yourself.
Only when you have found yourself will you find the right connection to nature.Next, to you, to other people.
Helmut Bollen Köln 25.8.1984
My heart flows there in longing.
Where?
Here it is.
MBo 1982
Some aphorisms from the works of Teresa:
„Our nature is so dulled that we like to follow only what we see in front of us at present (V 10,6).“
„If someone worries about things that he shouldn’t be worrying about, he will naturally only be able to perform his actual duties imperfectly (C 34,5).“
„What can we buy with the money we crave? Is it something precious, something lasting? Or what do we want it for? Alas, it is a miserable peace that costs us so dearly! Often, money buys us hell, purchasing an unquenchable fire and endless torment. Oh, that all people would consider money useless dust! What peaceful order would then reign in the world, and how many burdens of worry would be banished! How friendly people would be with one another if they were free from the lust for honor and money! I believe everything would be solved then (verses 20:27).“
„How different our human will can be from the will of God; God wants us to reach out for the eternal – we bend down to things that are transient! He wants us to strive for great and high values – but we cling to the lowly and purely earthly! He wants us to seek that which alone gives security – but we love the flimsy (C XLII, 4).“
„The safest thing is to want nothing other than what God wills; for he knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us. Let us place ourselves in his hands, so that his will may be done in us; and we will not go astray if we always adhere to this with a resolute will (C VI 9-V).“
„He who does not grow, shrinks. I consider it impossible that love should be content to constantly stand still (C VII 4-V).“
„I suddenly considered why our Lord loved the virtue of humility so much, and then—it seemed to me not through deliberation, but quite unexpectedly—the insight came to me: because God is the highest truth, and humility is nothing other than walking in truth. For it is certainly true that we have nothing good of ourselves, but only wretchedness and nothingness. And whoever does not recognize this walks in falsehood. The more one understands this, the more one corresponds to the highest truth, since one walks in it (C VI, 11-V).“
„Science is of great importance; for it instructs us who know little; it enlightens us; and when we have come to know the truth of Holy Scripture through it, we also do what we owe. But God preserve us from foolish devotions (vv. 13, 16-A)!”
Whoever seeks the truth seeks God, whether they realize it or not.
Edith Stein
Many people's horizon is a circle with a radius of zero – and they call that their point of view.
Albert Einstein
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
Regarding the characteristics of the general condition of the people:
Emaciated children, degenerate tribes, people and animals living in shared quarters, incessant, mind-numbing work, subservience, despondency. And on the other side, the ministers and governors: nothing but self-interest, ambition, ostentation, and a lust for influence and power.
Leo Tolstoy, The Young Tsar, 1894
When asked about the secret to his success, Woody Allen replied: "Just go."„
The noblest development arises from reflection,
The easiest way is through imitation, and the most painful through experience.
If I go before you, I don't know if I'll lead you to the right path.
If you go ahead of me, then I don't know if you'll lead me on the right path.
If I walk beside you, we will find the right path together.
South African proverb
Do you want to keep wandering further and further?,
Look, the good things are so close at hand;
Just learn to seize happiness,
Because happiness is always there.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Kingdom of God is like a person scattering seeds on the land. 27and sleeps and rises, night and day; and the seed springs up and grows—it does not know how. a 28For the earth of itself produces fruit, first the stalk, then the ear, then the full wheat in the ear. 29But when it has yielded its fruit, he immediately sends in the sickle, because the harvest has come.
Mk 4, 26-29
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We often ask ourselves: Who am I to call myself brilliant, great, talented, fantastic?
But who are you not to call yourself that? You are a child of God. Playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about making yourself so small that others around you feel insecure.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us—it is in everyone.
And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. When we are freed from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandela
A true work of art
is the creation of love –
love for the subject first
and for the medium second.
Eliot Porter
If you don't want to be caught lying, just don't lie!
Kent Kobersteen, National Geographic
A person's true wealth is that,
what good he did for others.
Mahatma Gandhi
The pessimist sees difficulties in every situation. The optimist sees opportunities in every difficulty.
L.-P. Jacks
All true coercion for human beings ultimately stems not from things, but from thought, and is therefore not an external constraint, but a self-constraint. In truth, a person can only be coerced if they coerce themselves, and this is only possible if they have grasped the necessity of that to which they are compelled. From this, it follows that all real progress in the world can be brought about not through laws, decrees, or even coercion, but only through instruction. From time immemorial, the world has not needed so-called great men, but teachers; and from time immemorial, for the thinking person, the greatest deed is not victory and conquest, not discovery and invention, not mastery of the world, but mastery of oneself. And the only true path to this is: to understand oneself.
Paul Dahlke (1865-1928)
Huang Po:
If you awaken only to the One Spirit, there is nothing else left to realize.
GRAMES ZEN p.13
Hannya Hara Mita Shingyo:
Form is nothing other than emptiness, emptiness is nothing other than form.
GRAMES ZEN p.13
„"The first prerequisite for the immortality "That's dying." Stanisław Jerzy Lec
Bassui Zenjii To a Dying Man:
The essence of your spirit was not brought into being and does not die. It is not being, it is not nothingness. It is not empty vastness, it is not sensuality. It is also nothing that feels pain and pleasure. However much you strive to understand that which is now sick and full of pain, you cannot understand it with your intellect. Well then, what is the spiritual substance of one who suffers sickness and pain? Ponder this, and have nothing else in mind, not even any other desire. Do not seek to understand anything, and do not rely on anything else. Thus, when you conclude your days, just as the clouds in the sky pass away, the course of your karma will end, and you will soon be redeemed.
GRAMES ZEN p.37
Mumon:
Those who start thinking in terms of "has" or "has not" have lost their connection to life.
GRAMES ZEN p. 41
Huang Po:
If you awaken only to the One Mind, there is nothing else to realize. This is the true Buddha. The Buddha and all living beings are the One Mind and nothing else.
GRAMES ZEN p. 43
Huang Po:
The true nature of the spirit cannot be grasped or conveyed through human words. Enlightenment cannot be attained, and he who finds it does not claim to know. Even if I were to explain it, you still would not understand.
GRAMES ZEN p. 45
Huang Po:
As he entered the assembly hall, Master Huang Po said:
„"The possession of many kinds of knowledge cannot be compared to giving up the search for anything. That is the best of all things. There are not different kinds of mind, and there is no doctrine that can be put into words. Since there is nothing more to say, the meeting is closed."“
Buddha:
The phenomena of life can be compared to illusions: an air bubble, a shadow, reflections in the dew, the flash of lightning, and as such they must be regarded.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 7
Hindu proverb:
A mother is as good as ten fathers, but a teacher is as good as ten mothers.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 7
Picasso:
In life, there comes a moment after you've worked hard, when the forms and images come by themselves; you don't need to worry about it at all – everything comes by itself.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 7
The art of the samurai already included something that was completely independent of the strategy itself: namely, the idea that one wages battle with the intention of ending it and upholding justice.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 12
For Aikido, these higher purposes consist of mutual human understanding and striving for harmony and peace.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 13
This ability to act in a way that is fair to external circumstances as well as internal standards requires the ability to grasp situations that one has never encountered before.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 14
Very few practitioners and perhaps not many teachers still believe in the possibility of acquiring or maintaining human qualities such as patience, perseverance, and enjoyment of effort through the practice of martial arts, let alone in the possibility that a person's character can be shaped by the art of the sword.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p.19
Shinto culture has shaped an attitude among the Japanese that is characterized by the pursuit of harmony between man, nature and the deities, by respect for all that lives, by ancestor worship and by a feeling of serenity and constancy.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 24
the insatiable desire that makes people constantly chase after things that vanish into nothing once they are attained.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 29
The teaching encourages students to suppress all egoism and body awareness, to accept nothing but the equality of all creation, and to regard nothing as permanent or lasting. This is achieved by suppressing all feelings, desires, and hatred, and ultimately leads to the highest stage, Nirvana, a kind of perfect enlightenment in which one completely detaches oneself from one's own life and from every life that touches one.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 30
The attitude of non-attachment to transient things probably helped the warrior to overcome his fear of death.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 34
The center, the unmoving middle, around which everything is distributed, is called Hara. This is the center, the core of all stability and balance, from which all paths to perfection and inner harmony originate. The more stable the center, the wider the sphere it generates around itself, and the greater its radiance.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 37
Knowing others makes you smart.
He who knows himself is wise.
Tao Te Ching 33
That the weak defeat the strong
and the soft the hard,
Everyone on earth knows this, but no one is able to act on it.
Tao Te Ching 78
Humans consist of body and mind; the mind is like a clear mirror.
The body, however, dulls the mind. Aikido clears the body of dust.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 38
Competition deprives Budo of its essence and severs it from its tradition. It takes away the pursuit of wisdom that made it such a demanding activity.
Training fighters is one thing; perfecting people through the art of competition is another. Moreover, it's uncertain whether victory in competition brings much happiness.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 46
If you sit, then sit; if you walk, then walk… but above all, avoid any inner turmoil! Yun Men
André Protin AIKIDO p. 51
If you want to see, simply open your eyes; if you start thinking about something, you'll miss it. – Zen Master
André Protin AIKIDO p. 51
In such a moment, I no longer see the opponent before me, threatening me, but rather I transform into the opponent; and it happens as if every movement, every thought of the opponent were my own. Intuitively, or rather unconsciously, I then know how and when I must act. I find all this perfectly natural. Tkano Shigeyoshi
André Protin AIKIDO p. 53
The fact that the warrior disregarded his own well-being, even his own life, allowed him to place that life in the service of a higher power.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 57
From Bujutsu to Budo
To the originally destructive fighting technique, which was embedded in the ethics of warfare, another and even more evolving element is now added: integration into society and into the universe.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 66
Morihei Uyeshiba
Every time he set about learning a martial art, he persevered to the end, and often he retained nothing from it but the complete mastery of a technique and a much strengthened mind.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 75
The ideal in the martial art of Master Uyeshiba is to intuitively find the behavior appropriate to the requirements of the situation.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 78
I understood that Budo is not about violently throwing your opponent to the ground, and that it is not a tool to lead the world toward destruction through weapons. True Budo means absorbing the spirit of the cosmos, maintaining peace in the world, and creating, protecting, and respecting all living things in nature according to its example.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 79 very nice passage!
It differs from other forms of warfare in its consistently humane and peace-promoting character.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 79
In order to retain its full value and effectiveness, the art of war is committed to unconventionality.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 85
What allows the Aikidoka to control the attacker is not their technical skill, but something else entirely, something that may seem unimaginable to many and which in Aikido is called "Wu-Wei". This is a way of fighting without offering resistance, which makes the Aikidoka unassailable, but which can only fully develop after acquiring and mastering the basic techniques.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 91
Furthermore, Aikido presupposes the desire to maintain physical and mental balance and one's own integrity, while also restoring the integrity of other people when it is momentarily disturbed.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 93
By gaining some distance from our own time and environment, we may renew and preserve our inner balance and intellectual independence in a society that, sometimes without us even realizing it, is constantly distancing us from ourselves.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 94
Its distinctive feature compared to other martial arts and combat sports lies in the fact that Aikido has broken free from the narrow sphere of combat and competition and has become a form of personal development, with the intention of cultivating the body and all human abilities in the spirit of perfect order and harmony. The highest goal of Aikido is the mastery of human behavior, the assertion of the mind against the body.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 100
Series of movements and actions suitable for diverting the attack from its target and controlling it so that it exhausts itself.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 100
The overriding principle is never to meet the opponent's force with one's own strength, to avoid any direct confrontation, and to use the energy of the attack to neutralize the attack and subdue the attacker.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 101
In a world where anything can become a cause of clashes, struggle, and conflict, resistance and power struggles inevitably lead to the annihilation of the weaker party. Therefore, it is better to adopt an attitude of "letting go" or allowing oneself to be carried along by the forces at work, while maintaining one's own position and reacting only when these forces diminish or are about to dissipate on their own.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 101
If you push a judoka, he pulls, and if you pull him, he pushes.
The Aikidoka, on the other hand, performs an evasive turn around his own axis when pushed, and enters the opponent's action when pulled.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 102
The basic attitude is called the attitude of non-resistance.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 102
Aikido never resists, and the effect of its technique can only be recognized through the success of regulatory measures, namely the restoration of unity and harmony.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 103
Those who adopt a stance of non-resistance are afforded unlimited freedom of action, with countless possibilities for how they can live and act according to the circumstances and their own knowledge and abilities.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 104
Excess, regardless of its motivation, inevitably separates man from himself and from the world.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 107
"Guiding" refers to the course of action that leads the opponent back to the path of peace, tranquility, and harmony. The invincible weapon with which Aikido aims to achieve this goal is empathy.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 107
The ultimate goal of Aikido is to dissipate and exhaust the opponent's force, or to redirect it in such a way that it turns against the attacker – this, of course, in a non-aggressive, non-violent manner.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 113
In Aikido there is no attack. This martial art is fundamentally so defensive and without any intention to fight that it teaches no offensive strategy.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 116
The path of Aiki as a fighting form leads to the practice of non-violence.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 117
When the practitioner, having completed the long and arduous path to mastery, is inwardly and outwardly free, he sees the attack that disturbs the peace emerging before it has even taken concrete form. It is then sufficient to stop the attack's progress by a decisive and measured means, perhaps even before it has physically manifested.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 119
Those who choose the path of Aiki know from the outset that they must first gain a thorough knowledge of themselves and resolve their own contradictions before they can set about resolving the contradictions that life's circumstances present to them; they also know that they will need to muster a high degree of sympathy for others and a great deal of self-confidence in order to "take to heart" those who attack them.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 120
Respecting etiquette and ceremony means, first and foremost, expressing the desire to learn by attending a school steeped in Eastern tradition. This requires intellectual openness, great curiosity, and at the same time, considerable humility.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 130
The goal is to bring about reconciliation by first overcoming oneself: one's own selfishness, one's own harshness, the violence of which one is capable when feeling attacked. Finally, it is about firmly influencing the other person and leading them back to the path of kindness.
The fight is no longer a fight against the other in the sense of annihilation, rather than a struggle with him, something in common, where one tries to win the other over.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 133
…to train your minds in such a way that, if you simply sit quietly, even the most boorish lout will not dare to attack you. Inazo Nitobe
André Protin AIKIDO p. 134
However, there is no right action without a right perception and assessment of things as a whole and in detail.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 136
The goal of self-discovery is rather to prepare oneself to receive all events, not merely to endure them; to accept them without attaching too much importance to them, so that the mind does not dwell on one thing and miss others; to "go with life," wherever it leads when it comes to an end. In this way, one learns to maintain composure under all circumstances.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 137
The wisdom of Master Uyeshiba lies in having understood that the highest power or the greatest authority is that which we exercise at every moment in relation to our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
- 138
Through controlled, regular and deep breathing, man maintains continuity and thus establishes the relationship of his being to himself and to the cosmos.
- 143
The yogi follows his own path, renounces solidarity with his fellow human beings and isolates himself, while the aikidoka seeks the unity of his self in order to better integrate into the world of his fellow human beings, so that his path may also benefit them.
- 147
Spiritual influence is mediated through symbols. We owe our knowledge of things to appearances, but our awareness of reality to the heart. Lin Hsieh
- 149
It takes great humility, patience, and moderation to examine, internalize, and adopt the qualities of simplicity, modesty, wisdom, and expediency, as possessed by the reed that bends under the gusts of wind, or the willow branch that brushes off the snow without ever having had to exert itself.
- 151
Man must go to the heart of things and settle there. To get there, he must rediscover a state of primal simplicity, purify himself of his passions and thoughts, and curb his ambition in order to perceive reality as it is. He must, as it were, "dust off" the mirror. He must remove the dust that cloudes it, the rust that corrodes it.
- 154
The opponent is not a rival, but a mirror with which both can correct their mistakes, a stone to hone your technique and behavior against.
- 155
The Legend of the Blacksmith Masamume
The care taken in the sword's ornamentation demonstrates the importance the Japanese attached to this weapon. In addition to the splendor of the decoration, the quality of the blade was paramount; its manufacture was subject to a secret ritual and its final polishing was carried out with particular care.
One of the most famous swordsmiths was Masamume, whose art was highly revered for his forging of blades of unparalleled quality. His pupil, Senzo Murasama, rivaled him, also creating incomparable swords. It was widely believed that the swordsmith's personality was reflected in his work. Thus, Murasama's blades were said to be "bloodthirsty" because the artist was a violent man, while his master's works were considered "morally good." The only way to distinguish the master's blades from those of his pupil, who were equally excellent, was to immerse them in the waters of the same river. The leaves floated downstream and were sliced by Murasama's blades, while they eluded his master's blades of their own accord, since the latter's edge "knew how to distinguish between appearances like a honed intelligence.".
- 155
The master of the sword path said to his new student: "From today on, you will go into the forest every day to cut down wood and draw water from the river."„
The young man obeyed and did as the master commanded for three years. But then he asked him: "Master, I came to learn fencing and I haven't even crossed the threshold of the dojo."„
„Come with me to the dojo today,“ was the master’s reply, „and walk around the entire hall on the edge of the tatami without putting a foot on the mats!“ The student diligently performed this exercise, but after a year he became angry and exclaimed: „Now I’m leaving. I haven’t learned anything I wanted to learn.“
Then the master asked the student to follow him and said, "Today I will show you the way." They went into the mountains and stopped before a ravine spanned by a tree trunk laid across the abyss. "Go across!" commanded the master. The student felt dizzy as he gazed into the chasm that yawned below, and fear paralyzed him. Just then, a blind man came along, feeling his way with a crutch, stepped onto the tree trunk without hesitation, and crossed the ravine with calm steps.
Then the student grasped the secret of the path. He lost all fear of death, stepped onto the tree trunk, and calmly walked across the abyss until he was on the other side. "Now you have learned the secret: Let go of the ego, do not fear death! The wood you felled and the water you drew each day have increased your physical strength; the mindful walking along the edge of the tatami has given your movements finesse and precision. And today you have understood the secret of the Sword Path. Come, you will become very strong!"„
p.169
On a physical level, mastery of the form (kata) is the crucial point of training. The teacher demonstrates the exemplary form, the student observes meticulously and repeats it countless times until the movement is completely internalized. No words are spoken, no explanations are given; the burden of learning rests with the student. With the ultimate mastery of the form, the student is freed from clinging to it. This liberation occurs due to inner psychological changes that begin from the very first practice. The eternally unchanging, tedious, and monotonous practice routine tests the student's commitment and willpower, reduces their stubbornness, curbs their willpower, and eradicates bad habits of body and mind. In this process, their true strength, character, and potential begin to emerge. Spiritual mastery is inseparable from psychological mastery but only begins after an intense and prolonged period of practice.
The heart of spiritual mastery is this: The ego self becomes the egoless self.
In every martial and cultural art, the free expression of the self is blocked by one's own ego. In the path of swordsmanship, the student's mastery of posture and form must be so total that there is no gap (suki) into which the opponent could penetrate. If a gap exists, it has been created by the ego. One becomes vulnerable when one ceases to think about winning, losing, gaining an advantage, impressing, or ignoring the opponent. When the mind stops, even for a brief moment, the body freezes, and free, fluid movement is lost.
Foreword by Taitetsu Unno in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 7
The art of the sword consists in...,
never to be worried about victory or defeat, strength or weakness,
to move neither one step forward nor backward,
To not be seen by the opponent and not to see the opponent.
To penetrate to that which is fundamentally before the separation of heaven and earth, where even Yin and Yang are insufficient, one immediately attains the highest proficiency in art.
Zen monk Takuan (1573-1645) in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 8
The goal in martial arts training is to,
Six types of diseases to overcome:
the desire for victory,
the pursuit of being able to rely on technical skills,
the wish to indicate,
the attempt to psychologically overwhelm the opponent,
the desire to remain passive in order to wait for an opportunity and
the desire to be free from all these diseases.
Samurai Yagyu Munenori (1571-1646) in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 8
Ultimate physiological, psychological, and spiritual mastery are one and the same. The egoless self is open, flexible, supple, fluid, and dynamic in body, mind, and spirit. Egoless, the self identifies with all things and all people by seeing them not from a self-centered perspective, but from their own unique point of view. In a circle of boundless extent, every point becomes the center of the universe. The ability to see all that exists from a non-self-centered perspective is central to Shinto's identity with nature and also signifies what Buddhism calls wisdom, which in its highest expression is nothing other than compassion.
Foreword by Taitetsu Unno in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 9
Budo is not a means to kill an opponent with violence or deadly weapons. Nor does it intend to lead the world into destruction through weapons and other illegitimate means. True Budo strives to bring the inner energy of the universe into a state of order, to protect peace in the world, and to treat and preserve everything in nature in its proper form. Training in Budo is synonymous with strengthening the love of kami, the goddess who creates, protects, and nourishes everything in nature, within my body and soul.
Quote from Ueshiba Morihei (1883-!969) in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 9
Hannya Shingyo
The Bodhisattva, called Kan Ji Zai, who perfected himself completely in wisdom, understood that all things in the world, consisting of five elements of existence, possess no substance.
He (the Bodhisattva) removed all bitterness and all suffering. He said: O Sariputra, all appearances of this world are no different from non-substance; there is no difference between non-substance and appearances. This implies that all appearances of the world are "non-substance." That is to say, non-substance encompasses all appearances of the world. The same applies to the senses, ideas, will, and knowledge.
O Sariputra! All things in the world have the appearance of non-substance. There is nothing that is born, nothing that perishes. There is neither impurity nor purity. There is no growth nor decrease of growth. Thus, in non-substance, there are no appearances of this world. There are no senses, no ideas, no will, no knowledge. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no brain. No appearances of this world: no voice, no smell, no taste, nothing tangible, no objects in the realm of sense perception. No field of vision, no realm of knowledge: nothing between the two.
There is no impediment, nor the disappearance of impediments, no aging, and no death. There is no suffering, nor a cause of suffering, nor the suppression of suffering, nor a way to suppress suffering, no possibility of knowing, nor the content of knowledge. The Bodhisattvas, therefore, pursue perfection in wisdom. For them, there is no veil before the heart. There is no veil, and therefore there is no fear. All impediments that prevent them from seeing clearly remain far behind them. They finally enter Nirvana. The Buddhas in the three worlds—past, present, and future—have attained the best, the perfect Satori, because they pursue the perfection of wisdom.
We must therefore learn the perfection of wisdom. This is the great word of incantation. It is the mantra of incantation that completely removes suffering. Truly, truly, the word that reveals the perfection of wisdom is this: O all who go, O all who go, O those who go to Nirvana.
Mumon Kai Sotetsu Zuzen Zenzei
HANNYA SHINGYO
the Sutra of Supreme Wisdom („Heart Sutra“)
The Bodhisattva Kanjizai (Kannon) is deeply practicing great wisdom when he suddenly realizes: all existence and all phenomena are KU (Emptiness, nothingness), and so he helps and saves all beings.
O Shariputra, appearances are no different from emptiness. Emptiness is no different from appearances. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness is form, and the same is true of perception, thought, action, and consciousness. O Shariputra, all existence is essentially emptiness; there is neither arising nor passing away, neither purity nor defilement, neither increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form and no sensation, perception, thought, action, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no colors, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, or concepts. There is neither the realm of perception nor its six objects. Nor is there the world of the six types of consciousness (eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, mouth consciousness, body consciousness, and will). There is no ignorance, nor the cessation of ignorance. There is no old age and no death, and no cessation of old age and death, and the same is true of the twelve inside). The Four Noble Truths (suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and DO, The path to it doesn't exist. There is no insight and no gain. Therefore, it is mushotoku (Without a goal, there is nothing to gain).
Through this supreme wisdom, the Bodhisattva possesses an unwavering mind, free from obstacles. Without obstacles, there is no fear. Through separation from all confusion and illusion, he finally attains Nirvana. The Buddhas of the three worlds (past, present, and future) receive the highest Satori through Hannya Haramita. Therefore, one must understand that Hannya Haramita is the great universal sutra, the great shining sutra, the highest, unsurpassed of all sutras, the incomparable sutra that cuts off all suffering. In true truth, there is no error.
Therefore, the Sutra of Supreme Wisdom states: 'Let us go beyond this, beyond this and even beyond this, across to the shore of Satori.'.
http://budoforum.net/jigenryu/sutra.html
The pure soul has peace everywhere, for it always carries peace with it, so that for the sake of this peace all places and all things are right for it.
Margareta Porete, French mystic, 14th century.
Those who voluntarily do the best-paid work in the world – working on themselves – no longer need the pressure exerted through suffering.
Erhard F. Freitag
The cessation of organic life in an individual does not necessarily mean that the same previously active force has also become nothing; – any more than one can conclude that the spinning wheel that has stopped spinning has led to the death of the spinner.
Schopenhauer
Every birth is a death sentence – no human being survives life. We simply repress this fact and live as if we had an infinite amount of time ahead of us.
Ayya Khemã
Examine, my soul, your life in daily dialogue. Carefully observe how far you benefit and how far you harm; what your disposition is, how you are in your inclinations.
Bernard of Clairvaux
Human beings suffer in this world only because they lack dispassion. They are usually attached to so many things: their wives, children, parents, friends, and relatives; to honor, fame, and money. This attachment often causes them excruciating pain, and as long as they do not strive for equanimity toward these worldly things, they cannot truly find peace and lasting happiness. All worldly things disappoint because they are transient and constantly changing. A person enters this world entirely alone, and they depart from it entirely alone in death. What follows them like a shadow are the good and bad consequences of their actions.
Swami Nara yãnananda
All that really matters is
how pictures move the viewer not the level of difficulty in obtaining them.
Owen Edwards in „Poollight“ by Howard Schatz
All knowledge is memory.
plato
Death is a defeat of oneself.
Novalis
Photographs convey to people the imaginary possession of the past.
Learning to live and being able to die are the same thing.
Karl Jaspers
Life has ended, but movement continues; eternity is nothing other than that.
Joseph Beuys
A true work of art is the creation of love.
Love for the subject first
and for the medium second.
Eliot Porter
A clear mind and a loving heart should work together.
- Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Success comes only to those who take action.,
while he waits for it.
Thomas Edison
As he entered the assembly hall, Master Huang-Po said:
„"Possing many kinds of knowledge is not comparable to giving up the search for anything. That is the best of all things.".
There are no different kinds of spirit, and there is no doctrine that can be expressed in words. Since there is nothing more to say, the meeting is adjourned.“
Huang-Po (OBAKU)
„Nature (or the visible) stimulates me… but I want to approach the truth as closely as possible; for this, I abstract until I penetrate to the essence of things (although still their external essence)… I am certain that by avoiding expressing everything unambiguously, one arrives at the expression of the ultimate: the (all-encompassing) truth.“ Piet Mondrian
Hakuin Zenji Zazen Wasan
Choral singing by Zen master Hakuin
Human beings are Buddhas in their deepest essence,
like water is ice.
And just as there is no ice without water,
Thus, without Buddha, there is no human being.
Woe to those who search far and wide,
And what is obvious, not knowing!
They resemble those standing in the middle of the water.
and yet cry out for water.
Born as sons of the most distinguished and wealthiest,
They nevertheless descend into poverty and misery
desolate and far away.
The cause of the eternal cycle in the sixfold kingdom
is the dark path of one's own dullness and stupidity.
But things are getting darker and darker around her.
in the darkness of error.
When should they ever separate?
of life and death?
O wonder of the perfect vision of Mahayana,
which is beyond all praise!
All virtues: benevolence and faithfulness to the commandments,
All good deeds: praising Buddha,
Regret and exercises,
They all lead here!
For those who only complete a single seat,
Immeasurably accumulated evil disappears.
Where should a place of exile be located?
find for evil,
What if pure land is so close?
Anyone who has ever experienced this praiseworthy truth
hears and feels holy bliss,
He will be blessed with immeasurable happiness;
even more so if he gives himself to her
and directly experienced its own nature.
Then his own being is nothing else
as the nature of perfect nothingness,
and it is above the play of thought.
The gate of unity opens wide
of cause and effect;
and the only way opens up, straight ahead,
No second or third.
Whoever walks it takes on the form
the form of the formless;
and neither his going nor his coming
are foreign to her.
He takes the thinking of non-thinking as his thinking.
And his singing and also his dancing
are the voice of truth.
The Heaven of Samadhi
is unhindered,
and the full moon is shining
of the fourfold wisdom.
What was still missing?,
Where does Nirvana reveal itself?
This is nothing but Lotus Land,
And this body here is none other than Buddha.
Excerpt from „The Little Prince“ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
At that moment the fox appeared: "Good day," said the fox. "Good day," answered the little prince, who turned around but saw nothing. "I am here," said the voice, "under the apple tree..." "Who are you?" asked the little prince. "You are very pretty..." "I am a fox," said the fox. "Come and play with me," suggested the little prince. "I am so sad..." "I cannot play with you," said the fox. "I am not yet tamed!" "Ah, pardon me!" said the little prince. But after some thought, he added: "What does 'tame' mean?" "You are not from around here," said the fox. "What are you looking for?" "I am looking for people," said the little prince. "What does 'tame' mean?" "It is a forgotten thing," said the fox. "It means 'to make oneself familiar.'" "To make oneself familiar?" "Certainly," said the fox. „To me, you are still nothing but a little boy, exactly like a hundred thousand other little boys. I don’t need you, and you don’t need me either. But if you tame me, we will need each other. You will be unique to me in the world. I will be unique to you in the world…“ „I’m beginning to understand,“ said the little prince. „There’s a flower… I think it has tamed me…“ „That’s possible,“ said the fox. „You meet all sorts of things on Earth…“ „Oh, that’s not on Earth,“ said the little prince. The fox seemed excited: „On another planet?“ „Yes.“ “Are there hunters on your planet?“ „No.“ „That’s interesting. And chickens?“ „No.“ „Nothing is perfect!“ sighed the fox. But the fox returned to his thoughts: „My life is monotonous. I chase chickens, and people chase me. All chickens are alike, and all people are alike. So I'm a little bored. But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I will know the sound of your footsteps, which are different from all others. The other footsteps chase me underground. Yours will lure me from my burrow like music. And then look! You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. Wheat is useless to me. The wheat fields remind me of nothing. And that's sad. But you have wheat-blond hair. Oh, it will be wonderful when you have tamed me! The gold of the wheat fields will remind me of you. And I will come to love the sound of the wind rustling through the grain.“ The fox fell silent and looked at the prince for a long time: „Please tame me!“ he said. „I would like to,“ answered the little prince. “But I don’t have much time. I have to find friends and learn about many things.“ „You only know things you tame,“ said the fox. „People no longer have time to learn about anything. They buy everything ready-made in shops. But since there are no shops where you can buy friends, people no longer have any friends. If you want a friend, tame me!“ „What do I have to do?“ asked the little prince. „You must be very patient,“ answered the fox. „First, sit down in the grass a little way away from me. I will look at you surreptitiously, out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Language is the source of misunderstandings. But every day you will be able to sit a little closer…“
So the little prince made the fox acquainted with him.
And when the hour of parting drew near: „Ah,“ said the fox, „I shall weep.“ „That is your fault,“ said the little prince, „I certainly wished you no harm, but you wanted me to tame you…“ „Certainly,“ said the fox. „But now you shall weep!“ said the little prince. „Surely,“ said the fox. „So you have gained nothing!“ „I have,“ said the fox, „gained the color of the wheat.“ Then he added: “Go and look at the roses again. You will understand that yours is unique in the world. You will come back and say goodbye to me, and I will give you a secret.“
And the little prince came back to the fox: "Goodbye," he said. "Goodbye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It is very simple: one sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye." "What is essential is invisible to the eye," repeated the little prince, so that he would remember it. "The time you have wasted on your rose, it is what makes your rose so important." "The time I have wasted on my rose..." said the little prince, so that he would remember it. "People have forgotten this wisdom," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your roses..." "I am responsible for my rose..." repeated the little prince, so that he would remember it.
Things are as they are, not as we would like them to be. Understanding and accepting this is the key to happiness.
Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
You have to hurry if you want to see something; everything disappears. - Paul Cézanne
Photography is like writing with light, like making music with colors, like painting with time, and seeing with love.
Almut Adler
The truth usually lies at the edges, not in the middle.
Henry Miller
Through you, consciousness awakens from its dream of identification with forms and withdraws from it.
Eckhart Tolle
All that really matters is how pictures move the viewer, not the level of difficulty in obtaining them.
Owen Edwards
Abide with a calm mind where you find contentment! Thus the essence of happiness will reveal itself to you!
Vijnana Bhairava Tantra
In life, there comes a moment after you've worked hard, when the forms and images come naturally; you don't need to worry about it at all – everything comes by itself.
picasso
One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
What I cannot see is of infinitely greater importance than what I can see.
Duane Michals
As transient manifestations of emptiness, things in this world have no fundamental identity.
Fritjof Capra
In mystical consciousness, form and formlessness are one. It is the fulfillment of all our longings. There is no subject and object, but only Being.
Willigis Jäger
Every state, indeed every moment, is of infinite value, for it is the representative of an entire eternity.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
You cannot discover new continents without having the courage to lose sight of all the coasts.
André Gide
The present moment is absolute peace. Although it exists in this moment, it has no boundaries, and therein lies eternal bliss.
Hui Neng
If you can't see anything, you look longer.
Gerhard Hoehme
I am here and there is nothing to say. What we need is silence.
John Cage
We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are.
Anais Nin
Nothing is as it seems. Least of all reality.
Karin Kneffel
Relative truth is what we perceive with our senses. Absolute truth, however, is indescribable.
Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Form is nothing other than emptiness, emptiness is nothing other than form.
Hanna Hara Mita Shingyo
If you want to see, simply open your eyes; if you start thinking, you will miss it.
Zen
The purest form of insanity is to leave everything as it is and still hope that something will change. Albert Einstein
| Zen story 7 arrows like in King Lear | |
| A father had seven sons who often disagreed. Their bickering and quarreling caused them to neglect their work, and some wicked people wanted to exploit this discord to cheat the sons out of their inheritance after their father's death. So the old man summoned his sons, presented them with seven sticks bound tightly together, and said, "To the one of you who breaks this bundle of sticks, I will pay one hundred large thalers." One after another, they exerted all their strength, but each, after much fruitless effort, said, "It is impossible." "And yet," said the father, "nothing could be easier!" He untied the bundle and broke one stick after another with little effort. „Oh,“ cried the sons, „that’s certainly easy, even a little boy could do that!“ The father replied: „As with these staffs, so it is with you, my sons. As long as you stand firmly together, you will endure and no one will be able to overcome you. But if the bond of unity that is meant to bind you is broken, then you will suffer the same fate as the staffs that lie broken here on the ground.“ | |
The feeling of happiness associated with desire is short-lived and constantly demands replenishment.
Dalai Lama
Digital is made to forget, analogue is made to remember.
Roberto Polidori (found at Steidl)
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything!
plato
Deceiving yourself without realizing it is just as easy as deceiving others without them noticing it is difficult.
(La Rochefoucauld)
Once you have found yourself, you have nothing in the world to lose.
Stefan Zweig
Thoughts are just thoughts, too.,
Feelings are just thoughts, too.
Kabat-Zinn
The truth lies beyond reality.
Max Ernst
From Cristián Gálvez's "Logbook for Heroes"„
p. 240
Eliminate constant contact with people who regularly "bring you down" and hinder you from achieving your goals: Instead, make it a rule to spend even more time with people beyond your immediate life boundaries.
p. 203
„"If you live each day as if it were your last, one day you'll be right." If today is the last day of my life, would I want to do what I'm about to do? If the answer is no for many days in a row, I need to change something.
p.162
Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible. Paul Klee
p. 139
I myself can ensure that my body, my mind, my heart and my soul powerfully carry me through an exhilarating life.
p. 131
It is not things that disturb us, but our opinions about them. – Epictetus
p.95
You too will discover that many of the truths we cling to are dependent on our personal point of view. Star Wars VI
Hiking a lot makes you well-versed.
Otto Kimmig
Everything we do is a distraction, and what we are distracting ourselves from is our own mortality.
Duane Michels
Anyone who says, "My house is full, there's no room for any more art," isn't a collector. Anyone who says they don't have the money for it isn't a collector. If my wife and I really wanted a painting and couldn't afford it, we simply paid for it in installments over a year.
Wilfried Wiegand
You never find a picture – they come and bite you.
Elliot Erwitt
A photographer doesn't need to know much. He just needs to look.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
„Are you afraid of death?“ the little prince asked the rose. She replied, „But no. I have lived, I have bloomed, and I have used my strength as much as I could. And love, given a thousandfold, returns to the one who gave it. So I will wait for new life and bloom without fear or despair.“
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Where there is fear, there is the path.
Pema
(The ego doesn't want to…)
(THE EXALTED ONE)
Never associate with fools, only fellowship with the wise.,
Worship of those who are worthy of worship – that, truly, is the highest salvation.
260
To reside in a favorable location, to have performed a good deed in a previous life,
And even now to follow high aspirations – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
261
To be rich in knowledge and skill, to have well-practiced the rules of morality,
Only well-spoken words speak – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
262
Give the parents every help, care for wife and child,
Occupation that is calm and orderly – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
263
Generosity and living lawfully, caring for relatives,
Employment of an impeccable nature – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
264
Avoid bad things, abstain; avoid intoxicating drinks.,
To be tireless in all that is good – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
265
A heart full of reverence and humility, a contented and grateful mind,
To listen to the teaching at the right time – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
266
Be approachable and patient, even when visiting ascetics.,
A timely and instructive dialogue – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
267
Ascetic practice and chaste conduct, insight into Noble Truth,
To experience Nibbāna itself – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
268
A heart that does not tremble when struck by worldly events [2],
That which is free from sorrow, spotless and peaceful – that, truly, is the highest salvation!
269
Those who achieve such things are everywhere and always undefeated;
They go everywhere in search of happiness – for them, this is the highest salvation!
Mangala Sutta (German) Ü(translation)
This is how I heard it. At one time, the Exalted One was staying at Savatthi, in the Jeta Forest, in the grove of Anathapindika. Then, as night drew near, a certain deity of great beauty, whose light illuminated the entire Jeta Forest, went to where the Exalted One was staying. After going there, it greeted the Exalted One and stood to one side. Having stepped to one side, this deity addressed the Exalted One in verse:
„Many gods and humans have thought about the paths to salvation,
by striving for prosperity. Call that the highest salvation!“
The Buddha:
The greatest happiness
Not to follow fools, but to serve the wise.,
Admiring good people brings good luck.
To live in the right country, in the right place,
Merit acquired through good deeds and
Real effort brings happiness.
Be honest and open, efficient and disciplined
And being mindful of your own words – that brings happiness.
Parents support and are loving towards their life partner.,
Doing your work undisturbed brings good luck.
Be charitable and good, friendly to your relatives.
And giving your best – that brings happiness.
Avoiding harmful acts,
Don't get intoxicated
And tirelessly fulfilling your tasks – that brings happiness.
Respecting others, being humble
Content, grateful, and taking time for oneself
Listening is wise: Teaching brings happiness.
Be patient and gentle,
Seek the company of good people,
Taking time for wise conversations brings happiness.
Restriction and salutary acts,
Recognizing the truth and living accordingly – that brings happiness.
To have a mind that is not moved by the ups and downs
The world that is without care, free from passion
And full of peace – that brings happiness.
Whoever achieves this is invincible.,
He is doing well and
He achieves the highest happiness.
Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he originates, as well as the universe that surrounds him.
Blaise Pascal
What within me causes my environment to behave this way?
Christian Weber
A quote from the Book of Revelation: „Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.“ Revelation 3:20
from "Hermit" by Kerstin Rubel:
Wonder and respect for the power behind everything is my religion.
Albert Einstein
Peace begins with each of us taking good care of our own body and mind.
Thich Nhat Hanh
It's a beautiful idea that miracles can happen. But at some point, you have to decide whether you want miracles to happen to you.
Deepak Chopra
My mind already thinks it knows everything.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Heart, how torn you are,
And how blissful to rummage blindly,
Not to think, not to know,
Just to feel, just to feel.
Hermann Hesse
Rain
Light rain, summer rain
It rustles from bushes, it rustles from trees.
Oh, how good and full of blessings!,
To dream to my heart's content once again!
I was outside in the daylight for so long,
This rippling is unusual for me:
To dwell in one's own soul,
Never moved to a foreign country.
I desire nothing, I demand nothing,
Hum soft children's sounds,
And I arrived home in amazement.
In dreams, warm beauty.
Heart, how sore and torn you are
And how blissful to rummage blindly,
Nothing to think about, nothing to know,
Just breathe and feel!
I believe that no feeling is as widespread among women as "feeling wrong".
Eva-Maria Zurhorst
I know of nothing as beautiful as you.
Xavier Naidoo
Do you really want to feel bad?
Eva-Maria Zurhorst
Begin by becoming still within yourself. Let the outer world fall silent so that the inner world can grant you insight.
Neale Donald Walsch
No one can eat for me.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Primary reality is within, secondary reality is without.
Eckhart Tolle
Loss of the present is loss of being.
Eckhart Tolle
Thoughts are completely impersonal. They come and go.
I am breathed, I am thought.
Byron Katie
It's still taken for granted by most of us to dedicate all our energy each day to our work, our financial security, and our advancement. But what about our relationships, our hearts, our souls?
Eva-Maria and Wolfram Zurhorst
You cannot be responsible for how well someone else accepts your truth; you can only ensure how well it is communicated. And by "how well," I don't just mean the degree of clarity; I mean how lovingly, compassionately, sensitively, courageously, and completely.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness is like a loving, knowing mother who compassionately observes her child and knows that everything that troubles the child will pass. This mindfulness cultivates love, kindness, and compassion for ourselves and others.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Paradoxically, everything gets worse and better at the same time, except that the bad stuff is more noticeable because it makes so much "noise".
Eckhart Tolle
Every human thought and every human action is based either on love or on fear.
Neale Donald Walsch
We believe that if we do nothing, we waste our time. That's not true. Our time is primarily for us, to simply be. To be what? To be peace, to be joy, to love. And that is what the world needs most urgently.
Thich Nhat Hanh
It's never too late to have had a happy childhood.
Lency Spezzano
And the spirit found itself gifted with an understanding that did not understand, surpassing all knowledge.
John of the Cross
The ego is the unsupervised mind.
Eckhart Tolle
Feelings are the language of the soul, but you must make sure that you listen to your true feelings and not to a false model that your mind has constructed.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
You realize that the worst thing that can happen to you is a thought.
Byron Katie
The waves of life never stop. Let's learn to surf.
Chuck Spezzano
There is nothing more attractive than a person who loves – and from whom you can tell that they love not just anything or anyone, but life itself.
Erich Fromm
The person who loves the most is the one who is self-centered.
Neale Donald Walsch
Nowadays, there are very few adults left in a world full of grown-ups.
Eva-Maria Zurhorst
Don't give up until you encounter happier feelings.
Chuck Spezzano
Your soul doesn't care what you do for a living—neither now nor after your life ends. Your soul is only concerned with your being, while you do whatever you do.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mind your own life and then mind us.
Xavier Naidoo
I breathe in and my mind returns to my body, back home.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The only thing to learn is mindfulness.
Osho
To love, you must be present.
Thich Nhat Hanh
I am not my thoughts.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
It is what it is – says love.
Erich Fried
All your problems stem from a feeling of isolation.
Chuck Spezzano
There is an island within me to which I can return.
Thich Nhat Hanh
In every human relationship, at the crucial crossroads, only one question arises: What would love do now?
Neale Donald Walsch
Now please stand up and look out the window. Do you see anything happening that you're not involved in?
Karin
May I be free from fear and go through life with serene composure. May all beings be free from fear and go through life with serene composure.
Champa
I'm not interested in how you earn your money. I want to know what you long for and whether you dare to dream of fulfilling your heart's desires.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
You can also love from the other side of the room.
Chuck Spezzano
Please don't stop dreaming of a better world.
Xavier Naidoo
I can stop time.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
You realize that everything that truly matters – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – originates beyond the mind.
Eckhart Tolle
The ego selects another person and makes them into something special. In this egoic state, love becomes entangled in the form of this other person.
Eckhart Tolle
We can decide for ourselves at any moment where we want to sit: on a lotus blossom or on glowing coals.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Let your face shine upon me.
Psalm 31
When I see an obstacle, I throw my heart over it and jump after it!
Gerda Klingenfuss, entrepreneur
Seeing is feeling with the eyes.
Jef Verheyen, painter
No problem can be solved by the same consciousnessöst will be,
which it created.
Albert Einstein
| »"Those who seek the truth should not be afraid when they find it." - Chinese proverb |
„"A photograph is a secret about a secret.".
The more it reveals, the less you know.“
(Diane Arbus)
Our lack of insight is responsible for the fact that we constantly cause our own misfortune.
Dalai Lama
In Germany, the person who points out the dirt is considered far more dangerous than the person who makes the dirt.
Kurt Tucholsky
The introductionävalid
There is nothing to prove, and therefore he doesn't want to deceive anyone.
There is nothing to search for, because everything is already there.
The present is its eternity.
He neither takes himself seriously nor does he find himself tragic.
„One reason (purpose) for the existence of science is the abolition of miracles: science is an ongoing discourse of explanations, and the definition of a miracle is something that has not yet been clarified. […] The less wondrous the world is, the more we wonder why it is there and even whether it exists at all.“
(Vilém Flusser, Wondering About Science, 1989)
Humility doesn't consist of considering ourselves inferior, but rather of being free from the feeling of our own importance. This is the state of natural simplicity, which is in harmony with our true nature and allows us to savor the freshness of the present moment.
Matthieu Ricard
Nothing is inside, nothing is outside, for what is inside is outside.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Not what a person does, but the reason and will behind their actions.
Augustine
The whole misfortune of humankind consists in their inability to remain quietly in their room.
Blaise Pascal
My life has been full of misfortunes, most of which did not come to pass.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
In a community, it is easy to live according to others' ideas. In solitude, it is easy to live according to one's own ideas. But only those who maintain their independence within a community are truly remarkable.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If there is an answer to our enormous problems,
then the one after Löto search for songs,
the bedüneeds of all those affected aboutütake into account.
This is not utopian idealism.
I have experienced such things.ösung möare equal
– again and again, all over the world.
Marshall Rosenberg NVC Nonviolent Communication
Turn towards the sun, and the shadows will stay behind you.
| »"If what you want to say is not more beautiful than silence, then be silent." (from China) |
Poems by Hermann Hesse
From the years 1911 to 1918
| I do love the dark night.I do love the dark night; but often, when it laughs, pale and gloomy as if in pain, I am horrified by its wicked realm, and I long to see the sun and light-filled clouds in the blue, to dream warmly in shining daylight of the night.Summer nightO dark, glowing summer night! Violins beckon in the balmy garden, luminous orbs bloom upwards in soft, delicate arcs. My dance partner laughs. Secretly I slip away. The branches of blossoming trees grow pale with dawn. Ah, all joy soon fades, only longing burns without ceasing. Wondrous, glorious summer night festivals of my youth, where have you gone? All dances, though I am merry, glide so coolly, the best is missing. O dark, glowing summer night, let me just once empty the dream-laden cup of pleasure to the very bottom, that satiates me and finally makes me still!LoveOnce again my joyful mouth longs to meet Your lips, which kiss and bless me, I want to hold Your dear fingers And playfully fold them into my own, Fill my thirsting gaze with yours, Deeply enfold my skin in your hair, With ever-awake, young limbs I will faithfully reciprocate the stirrings of your limbs And from ever-new fires of love I will renew Your beauty a thousand times, Until we, both completely sated and grateful, Blissfully dwell above all suffering, Until we greet day and night, today and yesterday, without desire, as beloved sisters, Until we, above all doing and acting, Walk as transfigured ones in complete peace.inspirationNight. Darkness. In weary hand, I let my brow rest from the day's noisy activity, turned downwards to eternal night. How still! How soundless the vastness! Scarcely a withered leaf rustles in the way, the clouds' dark journey is guided neither by moon nor stars. Slowly, the wicked sting slips from my breast, unconsciously stripping away all that surrounded it by day, my soul. What comforting and loving it knows, emerges familiarly from the wondrous homeland of dreams and bends over it. O comforter of my soul, be welcome, you who foreshadowed one, whose melody so often lifted the nightmare from my breast! Let me listen again to your voice, dream-deep wellspring of adorned songs, to the rustling of your silver strings, raptured and lost in dreams!Lying in the grassIs this all, a play of flowers and the downy colors of the bright summer meadow, a delicate blue sky stretched, the song of bees? Is this all a god's groaning dream, a cry of unconscious forces for redemption? The mountain's distant line, which rests beautifully and boldly in the blue, is it too only cramp, only wild tension of fermenting nature, only woe, only torment, only senseless groping, never resting, never blissful movement? Ah no! Forsake me, you unhappy dream of the world's suffering! A mosquito's dance rocks you in the evening glass, a bird's call cradles you, a breath of wind that cools my brow with caresses. Forsake me, you ancient human woe! Let all be torment, let all be suffering and shadow—but not this one sweet summer hour, nor the scent of red clover, nor the deep, tender feeling of well-being in my soul.The KüartistWhat I created in the blazing heat of years, stands displayed in the noisy marketplace. The merry world passes by easily, laughing and praising and finding everything good. No one knows that this joyful wreath, which the world laughingly presses into my hair, swallowed up the strength and splendor of my life, alas, and that the sacrifice was useless.To melancholyTo wine, to friends I fled from you, For I dreaded your dark eyes, In loving arms and to the sound of the lute I forgot you, your unfaithful son. But you silently followed me And were in the wine I desperately drank, Were in the sultry heat of my lovemaking nights And were in the scorn I spoke to you. Now you cool my weary limbs and have taken my head into your lap, As I have come home from my travels: For all my wandering was a path to you.Without youMy pillow gazes at me in the night, empty as a gravestone; I never imagined it would be so bitter, to be alone and not nestled in your hair! I lie alone in the silent house, the lamp switched off, and gently stretch out my hands to embrace yours, and softly press my hot mouth toward you and kiss me, tired and sore—and suddenly I have awakened, and all around the cold night is silent, the star in the window shines clear—Oh you, where is your blond hair, where is your sweet mouth? Now I drink woe in every pleasure and poison in every wine; I never knew it would be so bitter, to be alone, alone and without you!The SchönoJust like a child who is given a toy, who looks at it, hugs it, and then breaks it, and tomorrow forgets the giver, so you playfully hold in your little hand my heart, which I gave you as a precious trinket, and you don't see how it twitches and suffers.TransformationSince I was a youth, since my first timid forays into the longed-for land of love all brought me back desolate and miserable into the misunderstood, glaring day, then my only solace was to wallow deep in sorrow with open hands, self-destructively with voluptuous bitterness to turn every lovely color to black, wildly on breaking strings to the agony of my deprivation. And in the evening I fled the light, fled the convivial gardens, to creep alone deep in the shadow of the beeches down the rugged shore, following darkly drifting waves, longing for death in my burning heart. But today, since a meager day slips unfelt into fleeting hours, since my buried soul, rising deep from the ruins of hastily built castles in life, lost the path to hope, since the darkest, most unhappy hour of youth still reveals to me a treasure of gold from a distant depth. Laughs, Today I have left the dark paths, Slothily flowing melancholy, Sweet lament. In the evening, when the quiet hour comes, I brightly light my lamp, So that before the window the hostile night sinks. Tenderly I string the most golden strings That remain to me, and In the deliberate play of every lovely form, Every cheerfully comforting beauty, I follow. Far is death and far is sorrow in my dreams, Carefully I guide them, that their tangled tendrils Show nothing but light and comfort and happy images: Blessed gardens, people full of childlike joy, Intimate enjoyment of love and flower-adorned festivals, Pure, sublime women, Men full of kind ardor, This I create for myself in dreams and seek, What remains of shattered treasures, To gather anew in harmony into beautiful forms. Lonely thus in peaceful hours My longing plays its Play, look, and often I can laugh without desire, outwitting life's senseless cruelty through my meaningfully dreaming play. And the most glorious image of a girl, to whom I once sacrificed the splendor of my youth in ardent longing, in gloomy renunciation, walks (she, who long ago lost herself far in the gray of everyday life) radiant, more beautiful than ever, spotless, like a spring blossom, across the lovingly spread carpet of my melodious dreams. As she strides and has become wholly a goddess, the misery of my life sinks far away, and it becomes the secret meaning of my days to be the beloved's echo and ennobling mirror. Thus, from earliest youth, when my hour comes, I build the memory of all my years into a temple of a love that knows no more desire, no more disappointment.When going to sleepNow, the day has weary me, May my yearning desire be kindly received by the starry night, Like a tired child. Hands, cease all doing, Forehead, forget all thinking, All my senses now Will sink into slumber. And my soul, unguarded, Will soar in free flight, To live deep and a thousandfold in the magic circle of the night.The flameWhether you go dancing in trinkets and trinkets, or your heart aches with worry, you still experience anew each day the wonder that life's flame burns within you. Some let it blaze and squander it, drunk in the rapturous moment; others carefully and serenely pass on their destiny to children and grandchildren. But lost are only those whose path leads through dull twilight, who satiate themselves in the day's toil and never feel life's flame.Tough peopleHow hard is your gaze, seeking to petrify everything. Is there not even the smallest dream within it, is it all cold present? Can no sun shine in your mind? And must you not weep that you were never children?To friends in difficult timesEven in these darker hours, dear friends, let me be with you; whether I found it bright or gloomy, I will never scold life. Sunshine and storm are the same heaven's faces; fate, whether sweet or bitter, shall serve me as dear food. The soul treads winding paths, learn to read its language! Tomorrow it will praise as grace what was torment today. Only the brutish can die; the divine wishes to teach others to nourish the soulful mind from the lowly and the high. Only on those final stages may we grant ourselves rest, where, called by our fathers, we can already behold heaven.RainGentle rain, summer rain, rustles from bushes, rustles from trees, Oh, how good and full of blessing, To dream once more, sated! I was out in the daylight for so long, This surging is unfamiliar to me: To dwell in my own soul, Nowhere drawn away from a stranger. Nothing do I desire, nothing do I demand, I hum soft childlike tones, And wondertily I came home To the warm beauty of dreams. Heart, how wounded you are, And how blissful, to rummage blindly, Not to think, not to know, Only to feel, only to feel.Lost SoundOnce in my childhood days, I walked across the meadow, and came, carried silently by the morning breeze, a song, a note in the blue air, or a fragrance, a flowery fragrance, that smelled sweet. The sound lasted for an eternity, all my childhood long. I was no longer aware of it—only now, in these days, do I hear it beating hidden within my breast again. And now the whole world is the same to me; I don't want to trade places with the happy ones, I only want to listen, to listen and stand still, to hear the fragrant sounds, and whether it is still the sound from back then.Lonely eveningIn the empty bottle and in the glass, the candle's flickering light falters; it is cold in the room. Outside, the rain falls softly onto the grass. Once again you lie down for a brief rest, shivering and sad. Tomorrow comes and evening again, always coming back, but never you.LossNightwalker, I grope my way through forest and ravine, Fantastically a magic circle glows around me, Heedless of whether courted or cursed, I faithfully follow the inner command. How often has reality awakened me, In which you live, and summoned me to itself! I stood in it disillusioned and frightened, And soon stole away again. O warm homeland, which takes me away, O dream of love, from which you disturbed me, To you my being flees by a thousand stealths, as water returns to the sea. Springs secretly guide me with song, Dream birds stir their gleaming plumage; The sound of my childhood resounds anew, In the golden braid, in the sweet song of bees, I finally find myself with my mother again.A path into solitudeThe world falls away from you, all joys fade away that you once loved; from its ashes, darkness threatens. Inwardly you sink, unwillingly, pushed by a stronger hand, shivering you stand in a dead world. Behind you, the weeping echo of a lost homeland drifts, children's voices and tender tones of love. Hard is the path into solitude, harder than you knew, even the wellspring of dreams has dried up. But trust, at the end of your journey there will be home, death and rebirth, grave and eternal mother.concertThe violins swirl high and soft, The horn laments from the depths, The ladies glitter brightly and richly, And sparkle of light above. I close my eyes silently: I see a tree in the snow, Standing alone, it has what it wants, Its own happiness, its own sorrow. Uneasy, I leave the hall, And behind me the noise fades away. Half pleasure, half pain—It remained unmoving to me. I seek my tree in the snow; I want to have what it has, My own happiness, my own sorrow, That satisfies the soul.BüdearAll the books in the world won't bring you happiness, but they secretly guide you back to yourself. There is everything you need: sun, stars, and moon, for the light you sought dwells within you. Wisdom you long searched for in libraries now shines from every page—for now it is yours.Waking up in the nightThe moon from the window woke me, sleep-heavy eyes wringed, in the pallor solemnly I sensed new dreams swinging. Here and there a light and white, behind all blue blackness, glassy, reflecting gleam, devil's tail and pious candles. From the light and dark, the dream spirit builds silent palaces, block and axe, crowned bride, dancers, intoxication, feasts. And the soul, enraptured, tears at the decaying realities, to glide anew, blissfully into its own realm. |
»"If you see someone worthy, strive to emulate him. If you see someone unworthy, examine yourself."«
Confucius
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
The most important prerequisite for happiness is the willingness to be happy.
Bernhard Moestl
„"Beautiful things don't ask for attention."“
Photographer Sean O'Connell in
„"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"“
The true nature of existence is free from suffering, but as long as we have not recognized this, painful experiences are a part of our existence.
Dalai Lama
»"The wise man seeks what is within himself, the fool seeks what is outside."«
from China
An atheist professor of philosophy was teaching his class about the problem that science has with God, the Almighty. He asked one of his new Christian students to stand up and…
Professor: You're a Christian, right?
Student: Yes.
Professor: So, you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely.
Professor: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Professor: Is God omnipotent?
Student: Yes.
Professor: My brother died of cancer, even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would at least try to help others who are sick. But not God. How can this God be good then, hmm?
(The student remained silent…)
Professor: You can't answer that question, can you? Let's start again from the beginning, young man: Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Is the devil good?
Student: No.
Professor: Where does the devil come from?
Student: From God.
Professor: That's true. Tell me, is there any evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God created everything, correct?
Student: Yes.
Professor: So who created evil?
(The student did not reply…)
Professor: Does illness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness exist? All these things exist in this world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created these things then?
(The student had no answer)
Professor: Science proves that you have five senses to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, have you ever seen God?
Student: No.
Professor: Tell me, have you ever heard of God?
Student: No.
Professor: Have you ever felt, tasted, or smelled your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God?
Student: No, sir, I haven't.
Professor: And yet you still believe in God?
Student: Yes.
Professor: According to an empirical, test-rich, and demonstrative protocol, science states that YOUR God does not exist. What do you say to that?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes… belief. That's precisely the problem that science has…
Student: Professor, isn't there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student: And is that something like cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student: No, sir, that doesn't exist.
(The lecture hall became very quiet as the conversation changed)
Student: Sir, you can have a lot of heat, even more heat, or even super heat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat, or no heat at all. But there isn't such a thing as cold. We can reach -458 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn't heat, but we can't go beyond that limit. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We can't measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold isn't the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(The lecture hall was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop)
Student: What about darkness, sir? Does darkness even exist?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there is no darkness?
Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have a little light, normal light, bright light, or even glaring light. But if you constantly have no light, then you have nothing, and that's called darkness, right? So, in reality, darkness doesn't exist. If it did, couldn't you make the darkness even darker?
Professor: So, what are you trying to say, young man?
Student: Sir, what I'm saying is that your philosophical understanding is incomplete.
Professor: Incomplete? Can you explain why?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You claim that there is life and death, a good God and a bad God. You imagine God as something finite, as something we can measure.
Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has neither seen nor fully understood either of them.
Those who see death as the opposite of life ignore the fact that death is not a substance. Death is not the opposite of life, only its absence. Now tell me, sir, do you teach your students that they descended from apes?
Professor: If you're referring to the theory of evolution: Yes, of course I teach that.
Student: Have you witnessed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where this discussion was leading)
Student: If no one has witnessed evolution in action and cannot prove that this process is progressive, are you not teaching your own opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist, but a preacher?
(The class went wild)
Student: Is there anyone in this room who has seen the professor's brain?
(The class laughed)
Student: Is there anyone here who has felt, heard, touched, or smelled the professor's brain?
No one seems to have done it. So, according to the established rules of the empirical, stable, and demonstrative protocol, science says you don't have a brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how can we trust your teaching, sir?
(The lecture hall was silent. The professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Professor: I guess you'll have to take them by their faith, boy.
Student: That's it, sir! Exactly! The connection between people and God is FAITH. That's the only thing that keeps things alive and drives them forward.
Those who don't love themselves in the right way cannot love others. For true self-love is also the natural way of being kind to others. Self-love is therefore not selfishness, but rather being good.
Robert Musil
In a way, forgiveness sometimes simply means that we decide to no longer carry the hatred inside us because we have realized that it is poisoning us.
Jack Kerouac
Inner strength begins with one's own thoughts.
Bernhard Moestl
Free yourself from your own power.
Wing Chun
Everything is within us when we look inward and are truthful.
Mengzi
„Master, if I have nothing in my mind, what should I do?“ Joshu replied, „Then throw it out.“ – „But if I have nothing at all, how can I throw it out?“ – “Well, then carry it out.“
Learn that you can start anew at any moment.
Bernhard Moestl
Experience is like a lantern at your back; it only illuminates the part of the path we have already traveled.
Chinese
People only see what they expect to see.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The greatest and best thing you can do for someone is not to share your wealth with them, but rather to reveal to them the wealth that already lies within them.
Benjamin Disraeli
Once you have found yourself, you can lose nothing in this world.
Stefan Zweig
A rider of a tiger cannot dismount.
Chinese
Art is magic, freed from the lie of being truth.
Theodor W. Adorno
Before you act, listen.
Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Ernest Hemingway
The best way to resolve conflicts is to show understanding and respect to the other person.
Dalai Lama
Silence in itself is gödaily; It contains and conveys the power of God's essence. Silence is often equated with 'space,' so that it appears as nothingness, but in reality it is a divine 'something,' the divine field in which every 'thing' appears. Mother does not give speeches and rarely answers questions in public. Here, too, she remains true to her principle of giving only what is essential, the divine. She leads us to silence— the essential nondual field in which everything appears —and thus gives us more than would be possible through endless explanations. In a world where we are surrounded by information sources and noise everywhere, both in our private and public lives, Mother gives us her silence, the ultimate Ütransmission medium für teachings and transformation.
God is silent. Everything comes from silence. More work can be done in silence. The true experience of bliss knows no words.
Mother Meera
Fulfill your work and duties wholeheartedly and with joy, bring peace and happiness to your family and your surroundings, perform your Japa (repeating the divine name), and then ask for what you desire.
Mother Meera
A person's character, as an expression of their individual personality, determines their fate.
Transform your personality, and your destiny will change as well. This wisdom is ancient, yet highly relevant in today's world, which is marked by dramas and misfortunes of all kinds.
What generally defines a person's personality? That they are different from everyone else, at least in one tiny detail! What specifically defines you with your individual personality? Perhaps simply the desire to be something truly special or to create something unique? Yes, absolutely, because otherwise you wouldn't have been born into this era with its small and large dramas, into this world full of bad news, disaster reports, and conspiracy theories.
It was your free choice to experience this world in this way because you were curious about duality.
This freedom of choice can never be lost to you, no matter what circumstances you currently find yourself trapped in. You can choose anew at any moment, even if you've forgotten how. Thus, even today you have the freedom to recreate your destiny, because you are weary of life's struggles and deep down already know that you have experienced all the dramas and successes, all the highs and lows of life. Your curiosity about duality has been satisfied, but you have missed the opportunity to escape the dramas. The way out seems blocked, or the door locked. Begin now, in this very moment, to transform your destiny and open yourself to self-knowledge. Without self-knowledge, there is no purpose for change, for knowledge is the first step toward improvement.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
Treatment through love
Deep within my being, an infinite spring of love bubbles forth. I now allow this love to surge to the surface. It fills my heart, my body, and my mind, my consciousness and my innermost being, and it radiates from me in all directions, returning with renewed strength. The more love I practice and give, the more I have to give; the supply is limitless. When I practice love, I feel good; this is the expression of my inner joy. I love myself, and therefore I lovingly care for my body. I lovingly nourish it with good food and drink, and I lovingly tend to and dress it. My body thanks me for this with love, radiant health, vitality, and energy. I love myself, therefore I create a comfortable home that fulfills all my needs and where being there is a pleasure. I permeate all the rooms with vibrations of love so that everyone who enters them—including myself—will feel this love and be strengthened by it.
I love myself, therefore I work in a place where I truly enjoy my work, where my creative talents and abilities are put to good use. I work with and for people I love and who love me, and I earn a good income doing so. I love myself; therefore, I treat all people with love and think of them with love, because I know that everything I give will return to me in abundance. I attract only loving people into my world, because they are a reflection of who I am. I love myself; therefore, I forgive and completely release myself from the past and all past experiences, and I am free. I love myself, therefore, I live each day in the present and experience every moment as good. I know that my future is bright, joyful, and secure, because I am a beloved child of the universe, and the universe lovingly cares for me, now and forever. So it is. I love you.
Louise L. Hay
If I could put it into words, I wouldn't need to paint it. My paintings speak for themselves. I couldn't explain them either.
Gotthard Graubner
The space between the words is more important than the words themselves.
The more space there is between the words, the better.
This only works, however, if one is aware of this space. Otherwise, it's just an unwelcome interruption, and one waits impatiently for the next word or sentence.
Eckhart Tolle
Nature is sufficient unto itself and should be sufficient unto humankind as well. What we can still find of nature around us (I deliberately avoid the word 'have') needs no human additions. It is itself—and a revelation to us…
Herman de Fries
I have never in my life seen a fanatic with a sense of humor.
Amos Oz
Be patient if your conversation partner doesn't seem to be listening. Maybe they're just a bit dense.
Winnie the Pooh
Life doesn't have to be easy, as long as it's fulfilling.
Liese Meitner
The more I see of people, the more I appreciate dogs.
Frederick the Great
The present: that part of eternity which separates the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope.
Ambrose Bierce
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
unknown thinker
The space between the words is more important than the words themselves.
Eckhart Tolle
The difference between what is and what we perceive is the source of all suffering.
Dalai Lama
Because all pornography is an image that transcends itself, it is therefore dissatisfied, always striving for more, wanting to be more immediate, to step out of the image, to get under the reader's skin as if it were a part of themselves. And because pornographic images become increasingly elusive the more one stares at them, they become ever more colorful, wild, and crude.
Thomas Steinfeld on Jonathan Littel's "The Kindly Ones" in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 17, 2013
If a man doesn't acknowledge his feminine traits—his feelings, his creative and gentle side—he projects them onto women, who then fascinate him. Projection always creates fascination.
The man should admit and affirm that he carries within himself everything that attracts him to women.
Anselm Grün
Spending his whole life trying to push open the door, sinking down exhausted and realizing the door opens inwards.
God empties us through disappointments, he reveals our emptiness through our failures, he works on us through the suffering he inflicts upon us.
Anselm Grün
„"The easy option is right.".
Start right and it's easy.
Continue gently, and it will be correct.
The right way to find what is easy is,
to forget the right way and to forget,
that he is light."“
-Zhuang Tzu- (also: Yang Zhu)
A life without morality reduces humans to the level of animals.
Dalai Lama
“Health is less a state than an attitude, and it thrives with the joy of life.”
Thomas Aquinas (1224 – 1274)
Therefore, the true artist despises nothing; he is obliged to understand rather than judge.
Albert Camus Nobel Prize speech
| That which is composed of components in such a way that it forms a unified whole, not in the manner of a heap, but like a syllable, is evidently more than merely the sum of its components. |
| Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) |
If we consistently make an effort over a long period of time, success is ultimately inevitable.
Dalai Lama
The future should not be predicted, but rather made possible.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
If life has no vision to strive for, to yearn for, to realize, then there is no motivation to make an effort.
Erich Fromm
The world doesn't owe any of us a livelihood, but we all owe each other a livelihood.
Henry Ford
Inner satisfaction is not dependent on material or sensual satisfaction.
DALAI LAMA
The open-minded person finds a solution for every problem, the closed-minded person finds a problem for every solution.
Albert Einstein
Every change begins within us.
Dalai Lama
Belief in an afterlife helps us to accept things as they are.
Dalai Lama
It is better not to insist on one's personal views, but to engage in dialogue with the other person.
Dalai Lama
And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust in the magic of beginnings.
Master Eckhardt
Ultimately, the question is: what have you made of your life? Do now what you wish you had done.
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Don't let anyone pressure you into a decision you might later regret.
Bernhard Moestl
Life is the sum of your decisions.
Albert Camus
Everyone pursues a dream in their life. Either someone else's or their own. Make sure you pursue your own dream.
Christopher La Brec
We cannot predict what truly matters. The greatest joy is always found where we least expect it.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One should not consider oneself so divine that one cannot occasionally improve one's own works.
Ludwig van Beethoven
„Magnificent!“ exclaimed the emperor. „This is the most beautiful garden in all of Japan. And that one there is the most beautiful stone in the entire garden.“ Immediately, the gardener removed the stone that had so pleased the emperor. „Only now is the garden perfect,“ he said. „Only now, with nothing standing out, does its appearance convey true harmony. A garden is like life. It must be seen in its entirety. If we allow ourselves to be captivated by the beauty of one detail, the rest will appear ugly to us.“
We are called upon to achieve a non-judgmental awareness of our own selves.
Bernhard Moestl
Humility means accepting even what we don't like, if we cannot change it.
Bernhard Moestl
Humility means not comparing yourself to others.
Dag Hammarskjöld
When hopelessness becomes apparent, running away in time is the best method.
from China
Anyone who notices that you avoid confrontations will seek them out.
Bernhard Moestl
Ultimately, the decision to consciously accept something flawed in order to avoid a confrontation is yours alone.
Bernhard Moestl
Confrontation means steadfastness, not conflict.
Bernhard Moestl
Learn that the fear of confrontation weakens you and makes your opponent strong.
Bernhard Moestl
Imagine there's a war and nobody goes – then the war will come to you.
Bertolt Brecht
The great cease to rule when the small cease to crawl.
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller
Surround yourself exclusively with the best employees you can get. Only then will you remain king in the long run.
Bernhard Moestl
Meeting on equal terms doesn't just mean not looking up to anyone. It also means the opposite: not looking down on anyone.
Bernhard Moestl
Meeting people on equal terms means understanding that you are just as valuable as everyone else.
Bernhard Moestl
A wise man scattered seeds around his house every evening. One day, one of his students, who was watching him, asked, "Master, why do you scatter seeds around the house?" "To keep the tigers away," replied the wise man. "But Master," retorted the student, "there are no tigers in the area!" "Then," said the wise man, "my method is effective."„
China
Comparing yourself to others only wastes energy and makes you weak.
Bernhard Moestl
No matter where you go, be your own master, and wherever you stand, stand upright.
Linji
Peace should not be sought outside, but only within oneself. He who has found inner stillness grasps at nothing, and he rejects nothing.
Buddha
In the end, good concepts are only discarded because someone else didn't react enthusiastically enough.
Bernhard Moestl
In my opinion, those who automatically consider themselves the best don't make it to the top, but rather those who have learned to deal with their doubts and fears.
Bernhard Moestl
Value good company, even when you're alone.
Asia
It is impossible to please everyone.
from Germany
Like true strength, true wealth comes exclusively from within. In the end, it's not what we have that counts, but solely who we are.
Bernhard Moestl
Wanting something but not being able to have it causes us suffering.
Bernhard Moestl
If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours forever.
Confucius
Everything that exists, however great and good it may be, has its time, fulfills its purpose and passes away.
Francis of Assisi
Attachment to the object always leads to the downfall of the owner.
Marcel Proust
Those who don't love themselves in the right way cannot love others. For true self-love is also the natural way of being kind to others. Self-love is therefore not selfishness, but rather being good.
Robert Musil
Free yourself from your own power.
Wing Chun
Everything is within us when we look inward and are truthful.
Mengzi
The easiest path for us is the one we have always taken.
Bernhard Moestl
Experience is like a lantern at your back. It only ever illuminates the part of the path we have already traveled.
China
People only see what they expect to see.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The greatest and best thing you can do for someone is not to share your wealth with them, but rather to reveal to them the wealth that lies within them.
Benjamin Disraeli
Once you have found yourself, you can lose nothing in this world.
Stefan Zweig
A rider of a tiger cannot dismount.
China
It is probably fair to say, generally speaking, that in
the history of human thought often the fruit-
The most significant developments have resulted where two ver-
Different ways of thinking have met. These
Different ways of thinking may have their roots in
have different areas of human culture or
in different times, in different cultural contexts
environments or different religious traditions. If
They will only really meet, i.e., if they at least go that far.
enter into a relationship with each other, that a genuine
If an interaction occurs, then one can hope that...,
that new and interesting developments will follow. Werner Heisenberg
If I could put it into words, I wouldn't need to paint it. My paintings speak for themselves. I couldn't explain them either.
Gotthard Graubner
QUOTES IN THE EXHIBITION:
STILL MOVES
VIDEO ART AND OLD MASTERS
13.10.2013 – 23.2.2014
What is high fame / and youth / honor and art?
When this hour comes: everything will turn to smoke and mist.
Andreas Gryphius, To Himself
Wherever you look, you see only vanity on earth.
What one builds today, another tears down tomorrow:
Where cities now stand / there will be a meadow /
Auff der ein Schäfers-Kind wird spelen mit den Herden.
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
What now blooms so splendidly / will soon be trampled.
What now throbs and defies will be ash and bone tomorrow.
Nothing is eternal, not even ore or marble.
Now luck smiles upon us / soon complaints will thunder.
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
The glory of great deeds must fade like a dream.
Should the game of time / the light man endure?
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
Ah! What is all this that we consider so delicious?
As a bad nothingness / as a shadow / dust and wind;
Like a meadow flower / that you won't find again.
No one wants to consider what is eternal!
Andreas Gryphius, It is all vanity
Man plays the game of time / because he lives here.
In the stage of this world; he sits / and yet not firmly.
One rises and that one falls / he who sought palaces /
And he who has a bad roof / rules, and he who weaves.
What was yesterday is gone / what happiness now elevates;
The previously green branches will perish tomorrow.
We are now withered and dead / we poor are merely guests
Whether a sharp sword is suspended on delicate silk.
And learn: that when one departs from Pancket of life:
Crown / Wisdom / Strength and Goodness / remain a borrowed splendor.
Andreas Gryphius, Image of Our Life
These years are not mine,
Those who took the time for me;
These years are not mine,
They would like to come;
The moment is mine,
And should I take care of him?
That's mine,
Made for years and eternity.
Andreas Gryphius, Reflections on Time
Come on friends! Let's hurry to the table!
In which the sun is held in the center of the sky
And the world weary of heat and work
Seek their way / and to share our day.
The floral ornament is adorned with flames.
Too badly damaged / the parched field
If you wish for the dew, the reaper for the tent;
No bird complains about its love ropes.
Now the light reigns. The black shadow flees.
Into a cave / into which one hides /
It forces one to hide oneself from shame and fear.
One can escape the glitz of the day!
But not the light / that / where we always stand
Vhn siht und richt / und Hell' und Grufft durchdringet.
Andreas Gryphius, Noon
You live in time / yet know no time /
Thus you humans do not know of / or in what you are.
This you know / that you were born in a certain time.
And that you too will be lost in a time.
But what was the time / that brought you into it?
And what will this be that makes you worthless?
Paul Fleming, Thoughts on Time
Man exists in time; time exists in him as well.
But man must give way / if she remains.
Time is what you are, and you are what time is.
Only that your Wenger is still / than what time is / be.
Paul Fleming, Thoughts on Time
That which you call beauty / Are flower-like things / That are fleeting / And
flee like the wind.
There will not be constant spring on your cheeks. The starlight fades.
As if the flowers were in full bloom.
No river fades away so soon / As beauty and form.
Christian Hofmann von Hofmannswaldau
My whole life
At all times /
Remain firmly devoted /
In joy and sorrow /
Eternity.
Christian Hofmann von Hofmannswaldau, Transience
„"What is blooming so beautifully /
should be entered soon
What now throbs and defies
Tomorrow is ash and bone /
Nothing is / that is eternal /
"No ore / no marble stone."“
Andreas Gryphius: It is all vanity
For whom time is like eternity,
And eternity like time;
He is free
From all arguments.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Darkness is the greatest enmity of light, yet it is the reason why light may be revealed.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
God has given me knowledge. Not I, the "I," know it, but God knows it within me.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
The scoffer will say I despise the stone church because the congregation gathers there. To that I say no. Instead, I point to the hypocritical Babylonian whore who only engages in whoring with the stone church, calls herself a Christian, but is nothing more than a whore's brat.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
But the saint has his church with him and within him in all places.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
The true heaven is everywhere, even in the place where,
where you stand and go.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Just open your eyes and you will see:
The world is filled with God.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
There is no more beautiful music, for it makes a person feel at peace within.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
No work pleases God unless it is done through faith in God.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
The sun has often gone out for me, but has risen again, and the more often it has gone out, the brighter and more beautiful it has risen again.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
You will not find a book that allows you to experience divine wisdom more fully than walking in a verdant, blossoming meadow. There you will see, smell, and taste the wondrous power of God.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
We all stand here in the same field in which we grow; God has sown us in it, and from the same grain we all grow.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Whatever you build and create here in your mind, be it with words, deeds, or thoughts, that will be your eternal home.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Go where the road is hardest.,
And take in what the world throws away!
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Why do you talk about God more than you know or what has been revealed to you?
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Every person is free and is like their own god; they can transform themselves into anger or into light in this life; the garment they wear explains them.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
You must not say that you do not dwell and exist in God, or that God is something foreign to whom you cannot come, but where you are, there is the gate of God.
Jakob Böhme (1575 – 1624)
Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
Mae West
What do we understand by liberation?
The victory over our emotions.
Dalai Lama
In ancient times, the True Humans breathed Yin and Yang. All beings looked to their virtue and thus found themselves in peaceful harmony. In those times, the leaders worked in secret and spontaneously created pure simplicity. Pure simplicity had not yet been lost, and so the ten thousand beings were free and unconstrained.
Wen-tzu
Society gradually deteriorated. During Fu Xi's reign, conscious effort awakened: people slowly lost their innocence and began to grasp the universe through conscious understanding. Human virtues became multifaceted and no longer formed a unified whole.
Wen-tzu
In the times when Shen Nong and Huang Di ruled the land and created the calendar to achieve harmony with Yin and Yang, people rose up and thoughtfully bore the burden of seeing and hearing. Therefore, order prevailed, but harmony was lost.
Wen-tzu
The path of evolved beings consists of nurturing the body through rest and nourishing life through contentment… If you wish to guide the body and nourish your true nature, sleep and rest only in moderation, eat and drink appropriately, bring harmony to your emotions, and simplify your actions. If you are mindful of your inner self, you will achieve this and be impervious to corrupting energies.
Wen-tzu
Those who adorn their outward appearance harm their inner selves.
Giving free rein to one's feelings harms one's mind.
Those who display their ornaments hide their reality.
Anyone who cannot put their intellect aside for even a moment inevitably burdens their innermost nature.
Anyone who, even on a 100-step walk, doesn't forget to keep up appearances, inevitably puts a strain on their physical body.
Therefore, the beauty of feathers harms the bones, and dense foliage on the branches damages the roots. No one can excel at both.
Wen-tzu
What applies to the lower levels of society must not be disregarded at the higher levels: what is forbidden to the common people must not be permitted to privileged individuals. Therefore, when those who lead others enact laws, they should first apply them to themselves to test them. Only when a regulation proves suitable for the rulers may it be imposed on the people.
Wen-tzu
When there is more than enough, the people are compliant; when there is less than enough, competition prevails. When people are compliant, courtesy and justice develop; when competition prevails, violence and confusion arise. When desires are numerous, worries do not diminish. For those who seek enrichment, competition never ceases. Thus, in an orderly society, the people maintain their integrity and are not seduced by profit or advantage. In a disorderly society, the ruling class acts criminally, and even the laws cannot restrain them.
Wen-tzu
Discern your destiny, control your thoughts, order your desires, and live in harmony with your true nature; then you will have grasped the path of leadership. Discern your destiny, and neither fortune nor misfortune can overwhelm you. Control your thoughts, and you will not be helplessly at the mercy of feelings of joy or anger. Order your desires, and you will not crave what is useless. Live in harmony with your true nature, and your desires will not be excessive.
If neither fortune nor misfortune can confuse you, then you follow reason, whether you are acting or resting. If you don't leave it to chance whether you feel joy or anger, then you don't flatter people in hope of reward or fear of punishment. If you don't desire what is useless, then you don't harm your nature with greed. If your desires are not excessive, then you nourish life and experience contentment. These four things you cannot find externally; they do not depend on other people. You can attain them by returning to yourself.
Wen-tzu
Great people are peaceful and free from desires. They are calm and free from worries. They make the sky their canopy and the earth their vehicle. They make the four seasons their horses and darkness and light their charioteers. They travel into the pathless, traverse the inexhaustible, and set out through the gateless.
Wen-tzu
Therefore, the affairs of the world cannot be forced, but only fostered in accordance with their own nature. Nothing can support the myriad things in their change unless one grasps the essence and returns to it. For this reason, the wise cultivate their inner foundation and do not adorn their outward appearance with superficiality. They activate their vital spirit and bury their preconceived notions. Thus, they are open and free from all intention, and yet there is nothing they would not do; they do not order, and yet there is nothing that is not ordered.
Wen-tzu
To be empty means to be free from burdens within. To be balanced means that the mind is free from shackles. When habitual desires do not weigh you down—this is the pinnacle of emptiness. When you know neither likes nor dislikes—this is the pinnacle of balance. When you abide in oneness and do not change—this is the pinnacle of tranquility. When you are not entangled in anything—this is the pinnacle of purity. When you feel neither sorrow nor delight—this is the pinnacle of virtue.
Wen-tzu
The great path is gentle and not far from yourself.
Those who seek in distant lands go and return.
Wen-tzu
Happiness has nothing to do with wealth or prestige, but is a matter of harmony. Those who know enough to consider themselves important and the world insignificant are close to the path.
Wen-tzu
Those who are so-called true people are inherently connected to the Way. Therefore, they possess gifts, even though they appear to have none; they are fulfilled, even though they appear empty. They direct the inner, not the outer. In their purity and utter simplicity, they do not strive for the artificial, but return to simplicity.
Wen-tzu 42
Take the world lightly, and your mind will be free from all burdens. Don't attach importance to the myriad things in life, and your heart will not be troubled. Let life and death be equally important to you, and your mind will be without fear. Adopt the same attitude toward change and constant, and nothing will cloud your clarity.
Perfected individuals lean against a pillar that will never shake, they travel on roads that are never interrupted, they draw from a spring that never runs dry, and they learn from a teacher who is immortal. Everything they undertake is crowned with success, and wherever they go, they arrive. No matter what they do, they accept their destiny and walk their path free from all confusion. Misfortune and fortune, gain and loss, cannot harm their spirit.
Wen-Tzu 32
When people lose their innermost nature by giving in to their desires, their actions are never right. Leading a nation in this way can only end in chaos; leading oneself in this way defiles one's inner being.
Wen-Tzu
The path gives form to the myriad things, yet is itself forever formless. It is still and immobile, and yet in its entirety it encompasses the undifferentiated unknown. Nothing is so vast as to transcend it, nothing so minuscule as to penetrate its interior. It has no dwelling place and arises between being and non-being.
True people embody this through open emptiness, balanced spontaneity, clear calm, flexible yielding, unadulterated purity, and simple simplicity, and they do not allow themselves to be entangled in things. Their perfect virtue is the way of heaven and earth. That is why they are called true people.
Wen-tzu
Look straight ahead like a newborn calf, without asking why; let your body be like a weathered tree and your mind like dead ash. Realize true knowledge and do not follow convoluted trains of thought. Preserve your openness and lack of intention, for then you can attain clarity and mastery. How could there be any talk of ignorance then?
Wen-tzu 5
Kindness, compassion, humanity, and duty form a short and narrow path: He who first treads this narrow path and then enters a broader one will lose his way; he who first travels a short way and then a long way will become confused. On the path of the wise, one enters the vastness without getting lost and travels far without becoming confused. The pinnacle is reached when one constantly dwells in emptiness and with oneself.
Wen-tzu 118
Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, a German army officer from the First World War who was personally sidelined by Hitler during the Second World War due to his skeptical views, mentally divided his officers into four camps: The stupid and lazy, who made up ninety percent of every army, were suitable for routine tasks. The clever and diligent belonged on the General Staff. The clever and lazy, however, were predestined for the highest leadership positions, because only they possessed "the mental clarity and the composure for difficult decisions." One should beware of the stupid and diligent, on the other hand. They should not be entrusted with any responsibility, because they would "always only cause harm." In fact, this framework would still offer good guidance today in the recruitment of elites.
When you create art, you live in a world full of dreams that have become reality.
Ignacio Lopez Porras
Happiness comes from taming the mind.
Dalai Lama
The secret to happiness lies not in possessing, but in giving. Those who make others happy will be happy themselves.
André Gide
It's best if we don't constantly worry about our personal gain or loss.
Dalai Lama
We only suffer because we overthink things.
Dalai Lama
The best qualities in humans are love and compassion.
Dalai Lama
Talking a lot without needing to be necessary is like letting our garden be overgrown with weeds.
Dalai Lama
The only way to develop the enlightened mind is: Meditate, meditate, meditate.
Dalai Lama
Without hope there is no progress.
Dalai Lama
It is an illusion to believe that the outside world can fulfill our wishes.
Dalai Lama
The more collected a person
lives within him,
the stronger his charisma,
which originates from him
and captivates others.
But the greater the impact, the stronger it also carries
all free mental behavior
the stamp of personal individuality,
which is located in the innermost part of the soul.
Furthermore, the stronger the body is the more
shaped by this and thus "spiritualized".
This is the true center of the
physical, mental, and spiritual being.
Edith Stein
Art should do something other than sit on your backside in a museum.
(Claes Oldenburg)
Works of art only stay in the public eye if they stand out from the frame.
(Wolfram Weidner)
„"The head is round so that thinking can change direction."“
(Francis Picabia)
I was already fully grown up –
And now this relapse.
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you, they do not belong to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but do not seek to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bow be in the archer's hand for gladness, for even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is steady.
Khalil Gibran: The Prophet
The culture of a people can be recognized by how they treat their dead.
Pericles
Receive what you are: the Body of Christ!
Become what you receive: the body of Christ!
Aurelius Augustinus (354-430), Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, philosopher, Church Father, saint
Look for what you are looking for, but not where you are looking.
Augustine
If you are searching for the truth, you are already separated from it.
ZEN
„"The key is not to prioritize what's on the schedule, but to schedule deadlines for your priorities.".
Stephen R. Covey
I am only responsible for that,
what I say,
Not for what you understand.
My boss doesn't eat honey, he chews bees!
Money alone does not bring happiness,
It has to belong to you.
Life is delicious, you just have to have the courage to,
to lead his own life. Giacomo Casanova
Extension question:
If everything goes as it did last month, would you continue to live the same kind of life with me in the future?
Would you rather come home or go?
First marriage, then a tricycle, then a house, then it's over.
Only when you are doing well can you give your best to the world.
The smallest bee collects more honey every day.
than the elephant in a year.
folklore
Zhuang Zi:
„"Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, a fluttering butterfly, feeling comfortable and happy, and knowing nothing of Zhuang Zhou himself. Suddenly he awoke: there he was again, truly and genuinely Zhuang Zhou. Now, I don't know whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, or whether the butterfly dreamed that it was Zhuang Zhou, although there is surely a difference between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly. That's how things change."“
In Genesis, my camera allowed nature to speak to me. And it was my privilege to listen.
(Sebastiao Salgado)
Gratitude is the most important key to wealth.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
„"Love in the beginning, love in the end!"
All experiences in between are meaningless;
That's all you have to learn.“
Mhaádeii AmaMia
Elphism
The five creation theories
The first creation theory states:
Everything is you. You are the beginning and the end of your world as the ONE creator.
The second creation theory states:
If there is only You as the ONE Creator, then the Other must be a reflection of You and is therefore not separate from You.
The third creation theory states:
If you and the other person are not separate, then you yourself are the cause of "good and evil" and thus both the perpetrator and the victim.
The fourth creation theory states:
If you, as the creator, are both victim and perpetrator, then there is no guilt on the part of the other. If there is no guilt on the part of the other, then there is no reason to look for the cause within the other or to demand punishment for guilt from external sources.
The fifth creation theory states:
No being is inherently "evil" or "good," but rather, at its core, always "holy." However, every being has the right, through its free will, to experience "good" and "evil," thereby being able to experience duality.
The seven theses of life
The first life thesis is:
All people are fundamentally equal and should not be judged differently based on their outward appearance. For this reason, respect and consideration for every life form are the foundation for harmony within any collective world.
The second life theory is:
Every person has the right to dispose of the wealth of their world through their creative power without restrictions, as long as they accept the consequences.
The third life thesis is:
Every person bears direct responsibility for all consequences of their creations, whether they are aware of it or not.
The fourth life thesis:
Every person, if they have violated one of the tenets of life, is obligated to attain natural forgiveness through their capacity for self-awareness of cause and effect. From this forgiveness, the person receives unconditional salvation.
The fifth life thesis:
Everything a person sends out through the power of their free, creative spirit will inevitably return to them in due time. If they do not accept this, they lose access to their creative power.
The sixth life thesis:
The free will of every human being is inviolable. If a person uses their free, creative spirit to manipulate or deliberately harm another person, they lose their own free will and thus their creative power.
The seventh thesis of life:
Every human being is obligated to maintain their highest consciousness in order to recognize the capacity to distinguish between "good" and "evil" in their creations. If a person loses this capacity for discernment, they remain powerless until they regain it.
The eyes of the other person are yours
Reflecting mirrors, you can recognize them by them,
where you stand. You can only see it in the eyes then.
encountering the love of another person,
when you look deeper than your ego allows.
Meet the ego without fear, then it will
willingly step aside and you will find behind it the
Recognize the radiant purity of your own love,
and blissful joy will fill your heart
spread out, if you may know,
that YOU are love.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2013
Those who do not live with consideration and respect,
who has not practiced gratitude,
He can in no way lead a humble life.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2013
Follow the river moment by moment
of life and accept everything,
what wants to come to you,
and hold nothing back,
that wants to leave you again,
then you are in flow with yourself
and fear will drive you without your own
must abandon exertion.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2013
Only the overcoming of darkness through the
Acceptance of fear and powerlessness can bring light
to make it shine within yourself.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Find the tiny seed from the source within you and
Open within yourself the door to the light of love and
Encounter your own divine essence.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
The light of grace transforms our
self-destructive thoughts,
Emotions and actions in a constructive and
Healing thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Isn't it great to see,
that disappointment is a blessing for you.
Because only in this way could you gain experience with
Make it yourself and for yourself and your
Flaws in loving, forgiving greatness
and turn to strength.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
If you can immediately recognize that all
Obstacles are only a temporary test,
which have no real consequences,
You will soon have achieved freedom.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Recognizing one's own weaknesses is the
clear indication of the beginning
of enlightenment.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Do you criticize your body, your thoughts,
Your feelings or actions are negative,
In doing so, you criticize yourself at the core of your strength.,
Negative at the core of your power.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
With every change of perspective
Are you changing?,
Your living conditions, the other people,
Your future and your past.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
The addiction to emotions is holding you back,
to linger at the moment, and prevents,
that you have the necessary skill
You can develop patience.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
It all always begins with the desire to,
as an individual being, a unique
to have meaning,
to stand out from the crowd,
to be able to perceive oneself in the mirror through being different.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Forget about fulfilling your wishes,
Give up your search for perfection and
Focus on the peace within yourself,
then you can feel them very gently,
the budding, blissful love.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Do not seek enlightenment, peace, or perfection,
as long as you haven't realized the trust within yourself.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
Start living in the moment today.
Draw a line under your expectations.
and allow fate to,
To bring you surprise and adventure.
Mhaádeii AmaMia 2012
The source of love can be found in your own heart.
Mhaádeii 2011
Freedom
does not mean,
to do what one wants,
rather
to want what one does.
Mhaádeii 2010
I respect your individual being and see beauty in it; I respect your unique qualities and see beauty in them; I respect your talents and see beauty in them. I acknowledge your limitations and respect them; I acknowledge your individual dislikes and respect them; I acknowledge your weaknesses and respect them; I acknowledge your individual vulnerabilities and respect them. I respect you as you are, with your many individual ways of expressing yourself as a human being. I neither judge your strengths nor your weaknesses. Because I don't judge you, I see no flaws in you. Because I don't idealize you, no envy or rejection arises within me; no competition or dissatisfaction does.
Mhaádeii AmaMia
„"It is not because it is difficult that we do not dare,
"But it's difficult because we don't dare."“
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The relative truth is this:,
what we perceive with our senses.
But the absolute truth is indescribable.
Dalai Lama
The people of ancient times knew neither the joy of being born nor the aversion to dying. Their entry (into the world of the physical) was no joy for them, their arrival (in the afterlife) was without resistance. Calmly they departed, calmly they returned. They did not forget their origin; they did not strive for their end; they accepted their fate and rejoiced in it, and (forgetting death) they returned (to the afterlife).
Zhuang Zi
Living in the present moment is all that matters.
Dalai Lama
It is not what you openly express through your mouth that determines your life, but what you whisper to yourself has the most power.
Robert T. Kiyosaki
Good ideas have the greatest energy immediately after being opened.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The space you give,
is the proportion,
who determines your share.
Nicole Spitzenberg
If you want to wait for things to progress on their own,
Let it roll downhill.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The shoes you put on,
They help determine how you progress and how you arrive.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Headwinds bother him.,
who does not feel enough warmth for his goal.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Those who duck their heads,
can only look in one direction.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The greatest development opportunities are often buried there,
where you lose your composure.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Some people go pretty far,
so as not to have to abandon one's own point of view.
Nicole Spitzenberg
New paths are growing over again,
if you admire them long enough
but you don't wander.
Nicole Spitzenberg
Above every door of longing is written:
Let yourself in.
Nicole Spitzenberg
The lasting enjoyment of beautiful memories
is a first-class contraceptive against fertilization by new embryos.
Nicole Spitzenberg
I am here, and there is nothing to say. What we need is silence.
John Cage
We should all be concerned about our future,
because we will spend the rest of our lives in it.
Charles F. Kettering (1876-1958), American industrialist
Morality is not a divine matter, but a purely human one.
Albert Einstein
Nothing in the history of mankind legitimizes such endless suffering and misery as good intentions.
Richard David Precht, p. 48 „The Art of Not Being an Egoist“
In the world we encounter in ordinary experience, we are faced with decisions between equally ultimate goals and equally absolute demands, some of which can only be achieved by sacrificing others.
Sir Isaiah Berlin 1909-1997
Don't rely on the expedient meaning, but on the ultimate meaning.
Don't rely on the conditional, but on the unconditional.
Don't rely on words, but on meaning.
Buddha Shakyamuni
My Father is the wisdom of immediate awareness,
My mother is the highest joy and emptiness.
My land is the uncreated space of Dharma,
I do not belong to any particular caste.
Clarity and confusion serve as my sustenance.,
And I am here to destroy the poisons of the mind.
Yeshe Tsogyal, wife of King Trisong Detsen, disciple of Padmasambhava
I think about myself differently than everyone else. I don't know anyone, not one person, who thinks about me the way I think about myself.
Solve the problem – not the question of blame.
Assess the damage and repair it.
No one is being accused.
The real composer is in the brain of the audience.
Brian Eno extracted from Clifford Ross
The most beautiful monument a person can receive is in the hearts of their fellow human beings.
Albert Schweitzer
You are today what you thought you were yesterday.
You will be tomorrow what you think today.
Boris Grundl
The difference between what is,
And what we perceive is the source of all suffering.
Dalai Lama
Every state, indeed every moment, is of infinite value.,
for he is the representative of an entire eternity.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
When I think about how good and comfortable I have it,
I am overcome with deep shame:
For my poor, brave people have only trouble, toil, and hardship!
Emperor Fushimi (reigned 1288-1298)
Simplicity is not a goal,
but one arrives at her unintentionally,
by getting closer to the essentials.
Constantin Brancusi
The eye sees what it seeks... .
Max Slevogt
I am ready to meet my Maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Sir Winston Churchill
Science abolishes all belief and transforms it into vision.
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
“Everything will be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, then that can't be the end!”
Dev Patel in the movie „Best Exotic Marigold Hotel“
The day you were born was a rainy day.
But it wasn't really rain; the sky was crying because it had lost a star. We rejoice in the birth of…
I'm too old to just play,
Too young to be without desire.
JW Goethe Faust
It is inherent in the nature of violence that it cannot be calculated. Therefore, its use cannot be controlled.
Dalai Lama
Pleasure or pain, gain or loss, praise or blame, fame or shame: these eight worldly worries shape our lives.
Dalai Lama
Today I'm not making myself supper, today I'm going to think.
Wolfgang Neuss
A world of difference:
We can have thoughts, but not feelings.
Ernst Ferstl, Interjections
There are no limits.
Not for thoughts, not for feelings. Fear sets the limits.
Ingmar Bergman
Poverty has its freedoms, wealth its constraints.
Denis Diderot
In the beginning, all thoughts belong to love.
Later, all love belongs to thoughts.
Albert Einstein
Thoughts make you great, feelings make you rich.
Marcus Fabius Quintilian
The richest people are those who can do without the most things.
Rabindranath Tagore
A work of art must arise from inner necessity, appealing not only to the eye, but also to the soul and mind, and enriching humanity with its vision.
Arturo Schwarz, gallery owner, Milan
If it is true that we can only live a small part of what is inside us, what happens to the rest?
Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon.
If you can't see anything, you look longer.
Gerhard Hoehme
I am not interested in the relationship between color and form. I am only interested in expressing basic human emotions – tragedy, ecstasy, ruin, etc.
Marc Rothko
„"We dream of travel"
through space –
Isn't the universe within us?
We do not know the depths of our minds –
Inwards
the mysterious path.
Within us, or nowhere.
is eternity with its worlds –
the past and the future."“
Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772–1801) Novalis
The real voyages of discovery consist not in getting to know new landscapes, but in seeing something with new eyes.
Marcel Proust
By giving the commonplace a high meaning, the ordinary a mysterious appearance, the familiar the dignity of the unknown, the finite an infinite semblance, I romanticize it.
Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772–1801) Novalis
What is the hardest thing of all? What seems easiest to you: seeing with your eyes what lies before your eyes.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The moment is timeless.
Leonardo da Vinci
You often see something a hundred times, a thousand times, before you really see it for the very first time.
Christian Morgenstern
„"The more systematically people proceed,
the more effectively chance can strike them.“
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
The most important thing is that we can enjoy the happiness of being there for others.
Dalai Lama
If you don't think about it, then nothing else will happen.
Everything comes from the fact that humans think.
Leo Tolstoy
It is not the things themselves, but only our ideas about things that make us happy or unhappy.
Epictetus
Don't complain that God created the tiger, but thank him that he didn't give it wings.
Amharic wisdom
If there is a faith that can move mountains, it is faith in one's own strength.
Marie Ebner-Eschenbach
Happiness is a matter of will. I am the result of what I imagined and envisioned, what I wanted, and what I decided to be.
Karl Lagerfeld
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
Marcus Aurelius
Only that which you yourself give up on is truly lost.
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
It is pointless to complain about spilled milk.
Chinese
Most people make happiness a condition. But happiness only comes when you don't set conditions.
Arthur Rubinstein
One must buy one's superiority with constant vigilance.
Mark Twain
The best way to be deceived is to think you are smarter than others.
La Rochefoucauld
Before one desperately desires something, one should examine the happiness of the one who already possesses it.
La Rochefoucauld
Avant que de désirer fortement une chose, the faut examiner quel est le bonheur de celui qui la possède.
La Rochefoucauld
Happiness lies within us, not in things.
La Rochefoucauld
Egoism speaks all languages and plays all roles, even that of selflessness.
La Rochefoucauld
Problems can never be solved with the same mindset that created them.
Albert Einstein
Good fortune and misfortune don't come of their own accord, they are only summoned.
Chinese
Other people's thoughts are snare. Those who follow the Tao do not allow themselves to be defined, disturbed, or admired by others.
Deng Ming
Realize that no one else ever does anything to you; you always make it happen yourself.
Bernhard Moestl
Peace
One can neither at work
still enjoying themselves,
neither in the world nor in a monastery,
but can only be found within one's own soul.
William Somerset
“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”
Duane Michels
It is better to fail with originality than to impress with imitation.
Herman Melville
Those who lack courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.
Albert Camus
Success means going from defeat to defeat without losing your enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are.
Anais Nin
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a car mechanic.
Laurence J. Peter
Satisfaction is the bizarre lure of mediocrity.
Michel Montaigne
What the mind can imagine, it can also create.
Clement Stone
The noble man suffers only from his lack of ability.
Confucius
One day everything will be alright, that is our hope.
Everything is fine today; that's our illusion.
Voltaire
For we are all mortal as long as we fear death, but are immortal as soon as we do not identify with the limitations of our present personality and surrender to the eternal rhythm of the universe in which we live.
Lama Anagarika Govinda
Don't waste too much time looking for obstacles. There might not be any.
Franz Kafka
I don't understand why people are afraid of new ideas.
I'm afraid of the old ones.
John Cage
Human freedom lies not in being able to do what one wants, but in not having to do what one does not want.
Jean Jacques Rousseau
„"Where the journey leads depends not on where the wind blows – but on how you set your sails..."“
Chinese
Is there anything more blissful than knowing someone you can talk to as you would to yourself?
(Marcus Tullius Cicero)
There is perfection deep within all that is imperfect.
There is a silence, deep amidst all the bewilderment.
There is a goal, deep amidst all worldly worries and troubles.
Buddha
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
Πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει
„Pánta chorei kaì oudèn ménei“
„"Everything moves on and nothing stays."“
Heraclitus
As soon as the light of the colors red, green and blue
When mixed in the same way, it appears to us as white.
Hermann von Helmholtz
There are always two people involved in a picture: the photographer and the viewer.
In unfavorable lighting conditions or with unphotogenic subjects, it is an art NOT to press the shutter button!
Andreas Feininger
The eye creates the image, not the camera.
Gisèle Freund
The photographer's one eye is wide open, looking through the viewfinder.,
The other, the closed one, looks into one's own soul.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Everyone can see the material, but only those who have something to add to it will find the content.,
and the shape is a secret to most.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Using a camera is similar to using a knife:
You can use it to peel potatoes, but also to carve a flute.
Erich Kahlmeyer
The development doesn't only take place in the darkroom.
Almut Adler, 1951
The first 10,000 shots are the worst.
Helmut Newton, 1920
Photography is the mortal enemy of painting; it is the refuge of all failed painters, the untalented and the lazy.
Charles Baudelaire
Photography is a craft.
Many want to make an art out of it, but we are simply craftsmen who have to do their job well.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
The camera seemed destined for me, and I used it.
like a musician the piano, or a painter the canvas.
I felt like a master of the elements and believed wonderful things were happening.
to be able to effect change.
Alfred Stieglitz, 1864 – 1946
Nature seems to me more imaginative than the most gifted brain.
My achievement lies in discerning from the abundance of what is available what is suitable for my image, and in doing so,
To eliminate a lot of unnecessary things. I try to think with my eyes.
Hans Martin Erhardt
The fact that people are born with two eyes but only one mouth,
This suggests that they should see twice as much as they talk.
Marie Marquise de Svign
The fact that a technically flawed photograph (in the conventional sense) can be more emotionally effective
As a technically flawless image, it will shock those naive enough to believe that,
that technical perfection is what gives a photograph its true value.
Andreas Feininger
A photograph never shows the truth.
Richard Avedon, 1923
A photograph no longer tells the truth. It only suggests one possibility.
photokina 2000
A photograph is usually only looked at – rarely is it looked into.
Ansel Adams
A picture should be looked at – not talked about.
Elliott Erwitt, 1928
A good photograph is one that you look at for more than a second.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908
It is no more a coincidence that the photographer becomes a photographer than it is a coincidence that,
that a lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.
Dorothea Lange, 1895 – 1965
Photography is the mourning of fleeting time and the need to capture a few moments –
There are formal emotions, evoked by light or form, sentimental or sensual,
those caused by humans, and purely intellectual ones.
Photography can unite them and create new ones from them…
Photography is inextricably linked to the time it captures, to the time that passes between the fingers,
between moments, it slips away with the time of things and people,
of light and emotions.
Time will never be the same again.
Jeanloup Sieff
Photography means bringing the head, the eye, and the heart onto the same line of sight.
It's a way of life.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
To photograph is to hold your breath when, in the fleeting moment of impact, all our abilities come together.
Head, eye, and heart must be aligned. Photography is a way of shouting.,
It's not about proving one's originality, though. It's a way of life.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography is like archery:
Aim correctly, shoot quickly, get out of there.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography is like writing with light, like making music with colors,
Like painting with time and seeing with love.
Almut Adler, born 1951, Munich photography course instructor
Photography means recognizing something simultaneously and within fractions of a second –
a fact itself and the strict arrangement of the visually perceptible forms,
which give it its meaning.
It aligns the mind, the eye, and the heart.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
For me, a photograph and a drawing are one and the same.,
Neither takes precedence over the other…
I don't separate the two,
except with regard to the tool.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
I never questioned what I was doing; it told me what to do.
The photos were taken by themselves with my help.
Ruth Bernhard 1905-2006, American photographer
I love symbols. You photograph something banal and then present it in a different way.
People understand immediately and say:
Oh, I've never seen the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty like this before!
At that moment you know that you have created something.
Peter Turner
I discovered that digital photography allows for a more organic and natural way of seeing.
It's more like how the human eye sees. You take a camera, take a picture.
and can react and deal with it immediately. That's not possible with film.
And the latest technology that has now come onto the market is proving to be clearly better than the film.
Jim Brandenburg 2003
Anyone can take a picture. Even a machine. But not everyone can observe.
Photography is only art insofar as it makes use of the art of observation.
Observation is a fundamentally poetic process.
Reality, too, must be shaped if one wants to make it speak.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
You can record people without photographing them
© Almut Adler
You have to hurry if you want to see something.,
Everything disappears.
Paul Cézanne, 1839 – 1906
Inferior painting results from the desire to reproduce everything.
The whole thing gets bogged down in details, and boredom is the result.
But the impression that arises from the simple distribution of colors, lights and shadows,
That is the music of the image.
Paul Gauguin
In my opinion, one cannot claim anything
to have seen it before photographing it.
Emile Zola, 1840 – 1902
Photography is a way of screaming, of freeing oneself…
It's a way of life.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908
Photography is more than just pressing the shutter button.
Bettina Rheims, 1952
Learning to see develops awareness.
Robert Häusser, 1924
Seeing changes our knowledge. Knowledge changes our seeing.
Jean Piaget, 1896 – 1980
Talent is more important than technique.
Andreas Feininger, 1906 – 1999
If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need any
lugging a camera around.
Lewis W. Hine, 1874 – 1940
Beginners who ignore the rules of composition in photography lack common sense.
But those who cling to photos their entire lives have no imagination.
Detlev Motz in „Devilish Views“
Anyone who can see can also take photographs.
Learning to see, however, can take a long time.
Leica advertisement
We must learn to understand that artistic creation should not be limited to professionalism.
Art is not a craft, although craftsmanship is an art.
Art exists in all the actions of happy people.
Art is the joy of life; it is the automatic reflex of our attitude towards life.
Asgar Jorn
To all the things we cannot see, there are also the things we do not want to see.,
because we have decided to ignore them. For example, I have decided at the moment to,
the sound of my breathing, the feeling of the ring on my finger, the sight of the glasses directly on my nose,
yes, even to ignore the nose itself.
The aperture of a camera and the pupil are not there to let in information,
but to hide which ones.
Anyone who has ever held a camera knows that too much information can blind you just as much as too little.
If you tried to listen to all nine of Beethoven's symphonies at the same time, you would only hear noise.
KC Cole, American science journalist and writer
Twelve good photos in one year is a good yield.
I'm glad I haven't found my style yet; I would be bored to death.
Edgar Degas
»"An artist must approach his work in the same state of mind in which a criminal commits his crime."«
Thomas Mann
When I take photographs, I am actually looking for answers to things.
Wynn Bullock
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. LEAST REALITY.
KARIN KNEFFEL
Not from giving,
But we get sick from keeping things.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
„"I slept and dreamed that life was joy.".
I awoke and saw that life is duty.
I did my duty, and lo and behold, life became joy.“
Rabindranath Tagore
„"Why don't you marry an archaeologist? The older you get, the more interesting he'll find you!"“
Agatha Christie
| Yes, I know where I come from, unsaturated like the flame's glow, and I consume myself. Light becomes everything I grasp, coal everything I let go of, flame I am surely. |
Loup Igaly
„"I don't want to say anything with any of my pictures.".
The only thing that interests me about photography is seeing what something looks like when photographed.“
Gary Winogrand
The beauty of nature is a revelation of God's love.
Irmgard Erath
What is seen is not the object itself, but the light rays reflected by it.
Michael Heinrich
„Being right“ means clinging to one’s old ways of thinking and living.
T. Harv Eker
Order for rich people: BEING, DOING, HAVING
Order for poor people: HAVE, DO, BE.
T. Harv Eker
„"In death, the world of appearances dissolves."“
Dalai Lama
If, remaining in love, one falls to the point where one can no longer suppress the cry, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" and then remains at that point without ceasing to love, one ultimately touches something that is no longer misfortune, that is not even joy, but rather the pure, transcendent, innermost, essential essence that unites joy and sorrow, and that is the love of God itself. Simone Weil
Love is not there to make us happy, but to show us how much pain we can endure. (from "White as Milk, Red as Blood" by Alessandro D'Avenia)
To those who expect, the expected happens; to those who hope, the unexpected. Heraclitus
If you are not happy with what you have,
How can you be happier with more? Friedhelm Wachs
„"Those who trust others too little are afraid at every turn; those who rely too much on others awaken in terror. Only a light fence separates them, the two causes of worry: too little and too much trust are neighbors' children."“
Wilhelm Busch
Our problem is not painful experiences,
but our reaction to it.
Dalai Lama
Going means missing the place.
Michel de Certeau
The head is round so that thought can change direction. Francis Picabia
The most beautiful harmony arises from bringing opposites together. Heraclitus
So you too seek God, and yet He is everywhere. Everything proclaims Him to you. Everything bestows Him upon you. He walked beside you, He surrounded you, He permeated you, and He dwelt within you... and you sought Him! You strive for a conception of God, and in doing so, you essentially possessed Him. You pursue perfection, while it lies in everything you encounter without seeking it. In the form of your sufferings, your actions, the impulses you receive, God Himself confronts you. Therefore, you strive in vain for lofty conceptions with which He does not wish to clothe Himself.
Jean P. Caussade „Devotion to God’s Providence“
Willigis Jäger, Return of Mysticism, p. 84
Or whoever loves something so passionately, with all their heart, that nothing else pleases or touches their heart but this, and desires only this and nothing else: most certainly, wherever such a person may be, or with whomever, or whatever they begin, or whatever they do, that which they love so much never fades within them, and in all things they find the image of this thing, and this is all the more present to them the stronger and stronger the love becomes. Such a person does not seek rest, for no restlessness hinders them. Meister Eckhart
Willigis Jäger, The Return of Mysticism, p. 88
If we do our best, we are happy if we succeed. But if we don't, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for.
Dalai Lama
Even if I am ground into powder,
My ashes will embrace you.
Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2010, to his wife in 2008
Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Emptiness is no different from form, and form is no different from emptiness. What is form is emptiness; what is emptiness is form. Buddhist Sutra, Fritjof Capra, "The Tao of Physics," p. 213
The great void can only consist of qi; this qi must condense to form all things; and these things must dissolve again to form the great void once more. Chang Tsai
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.212
As transient manifestations of emptiness, things in this world have no fundamental identity. Fritjof Capra, "The Tao of Physics," p. 211
In this spiritual world, there are no divisions of time like past, present, and future, for these have contracted into a single moment of the present, where life vibrates in its true sense... Past and future are unfurled in this present moment of enlightenment, and this present moment, with all that it contains, is not still but moves ceaselessly onward. DTSuzuki
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.180
The present moment is absolute peace.
Although it exists in this moment, this moment has no limits, and therein lies eternal delight. Hui-Neng
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.180
Time, space, and causality are like the glass through which one sees the Absolute... In the Absolute, there is neither time nor space nor causality. Swami Vivekananda
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.189
Most people believe that time passes. In reality, it stands still where it is. The idea of passing can be called time, but it is the wrong idea, because since we only see time as passing, we don't understand that it stands still where it is. Master Dogen
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.188
In Einstein's theory, matter cannot be separated from its gravitational field, and the gravitational field cannot be separated from curved space. Matter and space are thus seen as inseparable and interconnected parts of a single whole.
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.206
The theory of relativity showed that the activity of matter
that is the very essence of their being. The particles of the subatomic world are not only active in the sense of rapid motion; they are processes themselves! The existence of matter and its activity cannot be separated. They are simply different aspects of the same space-time reality.
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.202
European philosophy sought reality in substance,
Chinese philosophy in relation to others. Joseph Needham
Today, as I once again surrender to the moment, I skip around happily. Tenkai-san
Good role model
Follow the example of an old cow:
She is happy to sleep in the barn.
You need to eat, sleep, and shit.
This is unavoidable.,
Furthermore, you don't need to worry about anything else.
Do what you have to do,
and stay for yourself.
Patrul Rinpoche
Jealousy is the most radical, primal, and unashamed form of admiration, so to speak, admiration in wartime.
painting. Robert Louis Stevenson
Love is that you are the knife with which I dig inside myself.
Franz Kafka to Milena Jesenka
The observer cannot be separated from the observed.
Humans create their own world.
What we perceive is different from reality.
Nothing is what it seems. Willigis Jäger
Nothing is as it seems, least of all reality. - Karin Kneffel
If humans were perfect and "whole," they probably wouldn't yearn for union with another human being. Pamela Ball, "10,000 Dreams"„
Emptiness is not nothingness.
It is the fullness of non-material consciousness.
Willigis Jäger
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Willigis Jäger
Trying to grasp or hold onto something is painful,
because there is nothing to grasp or hold onto.
Everything comes from emptiness and returns to it.
Student of Willigis Jäger
Everything we can allow tends to turn into something pleasant.
But what you resist, grips you. - Willigis Jäger
You cannot lengthen your life, nor can you broaden it. But you can deepen it! Gorch Fock
Thoughts proliferate like ivy, which clings so tightly to the tree.
Incompatibility as a Chinese wall between lovers?
At the intersection of sea and sky, the sun blazes towards the day.
There is no such thing as "self-salvation"; salvation can only be discovered. It is always there. The source of power flows within each of us, and our efforts can only be directed toward removing the obstacles that separate us from it.
Willigis Jäger
The story of awakening is the "love story" between the divine and the human, with the initiative always coming from God. We only think we are the seekers; in reality, we are the sought.
Willigis Jäger
Mystical consciousness could be described as a dimension of experience where everything is as it is, and as it is, it is also perfect. There, one is neither happy nor unhappy, neither content nor dissatisfied, neither joyful nor sad. Joy would already be a lesser degree, as would sadness. Acceptance and love already belong to a subordinate realm. There is no bliss, no happiness in the sense of a feeling. All other levels of consciousness appear relative in comparison, while that state is self-contained and perfect, fulfilled to the utmost.
Willigis Jäger
The connection between body and mind is established through emotions. Willigis Jäger
In mystical consciousness, form and formlessness are one. It is the fulfillment of all our longings. There is no subject and object, but only Being.
Willigis Jäger
The love that lasts the longest is the love that remains unfulfilled.
W. Sumerset Maugham
„"Mystical knowledge can never be attained through observation alone, but only through full participation with one's whole being."“
Fritjof Capra „The Tao of Physics“ p.142
„"The most fruitful developments have occurred wherever two different ways of thinking have met."“
Werner Heisenberg
„"THAT I CAN'T SEE,
IS OF INFINITELY GREATER IMPORTANCE,
AS WHAT I CAN SEE.“ Duane Michels
The key to happiness is being content with who you are and what you have in the present moment. —His Holiness the Dalai Lama
I welcome whatever happens next. John Cage
Whoever recognizes the futility of all conceptual thinking will experience reality as pure being-as-it-is. Nagarjuna
„"A conflict is a tragic expression
an unmet need"“
Marshall B. Rosenberg
„"We don't see the world as it is,
We see the world as we are.“
from the Talmud
„"Be determined to do so."
and that's it"“
Confucius
„"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift,
The rational mind is a faithful servant.
We have created a society,
which distinguishes the servant
and forgot the talent.“
Albert Einstein
„"One should offer the body something good so that the soul is happy to dwell in it." Winston Churchill
To make someone desire something,
You just have to make it seem unattainable. Mark Twain.
Impatience is the fear that it might not work out.
A lack of trust in oneself, in others, or in the world.
Not knowing how to purposefully develop yourself and others creates precisely this uncertainty. Boris Grundl
Nothing in this world lasts forever.,
Nothing exists on its own.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
„"You were my companion.".
Now you're gone, comrade.“
Let language be to you what the body is to lovers.
He alone is the one who separates beings and unites them.
Friedrich Schiller
Whoever tells themselves they can achieve their goals will inevitably succeed. – Dalai Lama
What is man? Where does he come from? And why didn't he stay there? Matthias Beltz
The most dangerous worldview is that of people who have not seen the world.
Alexander von Humboldt
YOU CAN'T DISCOVER NEW EARTH PARTS WITHOUT THE COURAGE,
To lose sight of all coasts. (André Gide)
If we succeed in simply accepting what is happening to us at present, without judging or evaluating, and then allowing it to happen, our lives will gradually become a paradise.
Jan van Helsing Hands off p. 163
I open myself up to all of that,
what belongs to me and finds its way to me, which is what I prefer to do most,
what I do best,
which gives me the most joy.
There is always enough money available,
And for me, the partner is the one I'm happy with and who suits me best.
Jan van Helsing „Hands off“ p. 384
I live in the here and now, in today. My life is defined by my positive thoughts and actions. I shape my life according to my own ideas and plans. I enjoy being successful. My successes are based on my perseverance and persistence in thinking positively, planning creatively, and acting decisively. I have a creative mindset regarding money. I have a fantastic instinct for money and good earning opportunities. I take responsibility for everything in my wonderful life—for my thoughts, my words, and my actions. I am constantly improving my professional skills, and I enjoy being well-prepared. I approach all people openly, regardless of their position or rank. I know that everything in my life depends solely on my attitude toward it. I look ahead and am determined to make the most of my life. I smile often and radiate positivity, and I know that everything I send out comes back to me. I am now in the best shape of my life.
Jan van Helsing „Hands off“ p. 390
„"Reside with a calm mind where you find satisfaction!"
Thus, the essence of happiness will be revealed to you!“
Vijnana Bhairava Tantra Daniel Odier
Through you, consciousness awakens.
his dream of identifying with the forms and withdraws from it.
Eckhart Tolle
Plan your work.
Work your plan.
Gil Reyes, coach of Andre Agassi
„In the early 1970s, documentary photography was praised for its potential for objectivity. But I have always believed that photography can only be effective if it is personal and subjective.“ Nobuyoshi Araki
Happy people seem to live less hectic lives.
They have more time and can enjoy the moment.
This happiness is within our reach.
Those who do not enjoy life become unenjoyable.
Oscar Wilde
The future should not be predicted, but made possible.
Atoine de Saint-Exupéry
The past is a source of knowledge, the future a source of confidence!
Coming together is a beginning
Staying together is progress
Working together leads to success
Henry Ford
All that really matters is how pictures move the viewer, not the level of difficulty in obtaining them.
Owen Edwards
Things are as they are, not as we would like them to be. Understanding and accepting this is the key to happiness. —His Holiness the Dalai Lama
We want to completely eliminate emotions,
We must meet them with wisdom. Dalai Lama
We only ever regret the things we didn't do.
Marcel Proust
The photographer's one eye is wide open, looking through the viewfinder.,
The other, the closed one, looks into one's own soul.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography is like writing with light, like making music with colors, like painting with time, and seeing with love.
Almut Adler, born 1951, Munich photography course instructor
Seeing changes our knowledge. Knowledge changes our seeing.
Jean Piaget
From the moment man recognizes no limits to his power, he is prone to self-destruction. C. Lévi-Strauss
Growing old is a wonderful thing,
if you haven't forgotten,
What it means to begin. Martin Buber
„Truth is a category that changes as we acquire new knowledge,“ writes Mexican writer Juan Villoro.
We all have a need for connection and security, and at the same time
The need for variety and freedom. Michael Cöllen
He looked at it like a person looks at a withered flower that he has picked and can only with difficulty recognize the beauty for which he tore it down and destroyed it.
Vronsky on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I don't believe we have a right to happiness. If happiness comes along, we should be grateful.
Marlene Dietrich
The peculiar thing about love is that it must grow continuously.,
if she shouldn't lose weight. André Gide
The moment two partners believe they are safe with each other,
They've usually already lost each other. Max Frisch (Stiller)
Sometimes you have to argue in marriage,
For then one learns something about each other. Goethe
Love me when I least deserve it,
Because that's when I need it most. Eugen Drewermann
It is not those who argue who are to be feared,
but those who evade it. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Crisis is a productive state.
One simply has to remove the aftertaste of catastrophe. Max Frisch
Many who are believed to be dead,
are merely married. Françoise Sagan
Admiration is blissful self-absorption.,
Envy is an unhappy form of self-assertion. – Søren Kierkegaard
Behind contempt lies desire. Sigmund Freud
He married her because he loved her.
She loved him because he married her. Jean Paul Richter
How else should one describe love than as a movement of the soul that makes everything external in the appearance of the other transparent to us in terms of their soul, and at the same time awakens in us the urge to learn more and more about the other, to recognize them and to understand them ever more deeply in everything?.
Eugen Drewermann
Without effort and without the willingness to experience pain and fear,
No one can grow. Erich Fromm To Have or To Be
Marriage is a constant battle against a monster that devours everything: habit. Honoré de Balzac
Partnership doesn't mean that only the partner does the work. (Swabian)
4
Our life is a river that flows into the sea called death. - Garcia Lorca
Often the secret to a successful partnership lies in one's own shortcomings:
Because you're such a sexual daredevil, you're good for me, the uptight wallflower.
We all use each other and call it love.,
And when we can't use each other, we call it hate.
Tennessee Williams Suddenly last summer
To love a person means to see them as God intended them to be.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
No fire, no coal
It can burn so hot
as a secret love,
which nobody knows about.
Swiss Cheese Model by James Reason 1990
There are different types of errors:
- Genuine error – arises from carrying out an incorrect action.
- A pause – occurs when an action is forgotten within a process.
- A slip-up occurs due to the incorrect execution of a correct measure.
There are different levels:
- practical and craft-based level
- Rule-based level of rules and reaction sequences
- Level of abstract thinking (knowledge-based level)
There are several factors:
- People involved: boss, team, colleagues, friends
- Technical conditions, equipment, workplace
- Organizational elements: task definition, time management
- External influencing factors: time, economic situation, mood, weather
Happiness (flow) occurs when we a) are focused on an activity that we b) choose ourselves, that c) neither underwhelms us (boreout) nor overwhelms us (burnout), that d) has a clear goal, and that e) provides immediate feedback. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 1961
We do not fail because of the defeats we suffer, but because of the battles we fail to fight. Graffiti in Bern
From today onwards, I release my partner, my family, my friends from the tyranny of longing for love.
From today on, I love myself. Safe in this love, I am free to give love to others.
Essen (0-40 nC)
Moral outrage consists, in most cases, of 2 percent morality, 48 percent inhibitions, and 50 percent envy. La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
In the fog
It's strange to be walking in the fog!
Life is being lonely.
No one knows the other,
everyone is alone
Hermann Hesse
From Death
For Ilse
Autumn
The leaves are falling, falling as if from afar,
as if distant gardens were withering in the heavens;
They fall with a gesture of rejection.
And at night the heavy earth falls
from all the stars into solitude.
We all fall. This hand is falling.
And look at others: it's in everyone.
And yet there is One who causes this falling
infinitely gently in his hands.
Rilke, Rainer Maria 1875-1926
| Joseph von Eichendorff: On the Death of My Child |
| The little child played outside in the spring sunshine, and rejoiced and had so much to see, how the fields shimmered and the streams flowed—then evening peered in through the trees, confusing all the beautiful images. And as it now grows so still all around, a secret singing begins from the valleys, as if it wanted to embrace the world with melancholy; the colors fade and the earth grows pale. Full of wonder, the little child asks: ‘Oh, what is that?‘ And lies down dreamily in the rustling grass; then the flowers touch its heart with coolness, and smiling, it feels such sweet pain, and the earth, the mother, so beautiful and pale, kisses the little child and does not let go, draws it tenderly into her lap, and lays it down below, warm and soft, still beneath flowers and moss. "And why do you weep, father and mother, for me? In a far more beautiful garden I am, It is so large and wide and wondrous, Many flowers stand there of clear gold, And beautiful little children with wings soar Up and down on them and sing. -I know them well from springtime, How they wandered far and wide over mountains and valleys And many a one called to me from the blue sky, When I slept down in the garden. -And in the middle among the flowers and lights Stands the fairest of all women, A shining little child at her breast. -I cannot speak nor weep, Only sing again and again, then gaze, Still with great, blissful joy."’ |
A monk visited a dying friend. „Shall I guide you across?“ he asked. „I came alone, and I go alone,“ was the reply. „If you truly believe you come and go, that is an illusion. Let me show you the path where there is no coming and going.“ The monk smiled and died. ZEN
The Absolute Spirit is the true nature of all living beings. It is here now, eternal, unchanging. When we experience this, we experience our true face, our primordial countenance, as it is called in Zen. Recognizing this true face, this Oneness, is the goal of all spiritual paths. So tell me, what is your true face? What is your original face? What is your face that is always, eternally, and unchangingly your own? This face that no one can take from you? This wonderful face of yours that is you yourself?
It manifests in many ways, it changes like a wave on the sea, yet it always remains unmistakably your face, which cannot hide. It is primal and familiar to you, and when you discover it, you will recognize it again. Then you will know that it is and always has been the same—before your birth, before the birth of your parents, before endless ages, and at the end of the world. Then you will learn that the world may perish, but your primal countenance will never fade. Whoever breaks through to it immediately recognizes it as their true essence. You can then die, for what you are is imperishable.
Mysticism and Zen often use negative descriptions for the ineffable reality, stating what it is not. Zen Master Bassui described it similarly to Dionysius: „It does not come into being at birth, and it does not disappear at death. It is neither male nor female. It is neither good nor evil. It is incomparable to anything. Therefore, it is called the Buddha-being.“
It is without attributes and transcends everything we know and can imagine. And yet this One is our true identity. We do not come into being at birth. The One limits itself to this form. We do not perish in death; it merely loses its form.
It is always only the Absolute Spirit that has the many experiences, even though it itself is neither born nor dies. The One experiences itself as both birth and death.
In a profound spiritual experience, a person learns that only outer form arises and passes away. Then, finally, they recognize themselves as infinite and absolute Being. They discover that they have always known themselves and had simply forgotten, and that they have now rediscovered themselves. Then they could speak as it is written in an Indian text: "I am the infinite ocean – I am eternal and immortal – I am spirit."„
From „East-West Wisdom“ by Willigis Jäger, pp. 113-114
Into Your hands, O Lord, I place my spirit with complete confidence.
Psalms
Pain that does not speak suffocates the full heart and makes it break.
William Shakespeare
Back
Why should one be afraid of death?
For as long as we exist, death is not there,
And as soon as he's here, we're no more.
(From that perspective, it actually didn't have any human being
(ever tormented to be dead)
(Epicurus)
None of us knows what death is;
Perhaps it is the greatest good on earth?
(Plato)
Afraid of death?
I will – perhaps – be 80 or 90 years old one day,
and have done nothing else my whole life,
than the fear of dying prematurely.
(Kristiane Allert-Wybranietz)
I have given something to so many people;
One probably doesn't need another form of immortality.
(Hans-Georg Gadamer shortly before his „death“)
Out of fear that death might snatch the child from us,
we withdraw it from life;
to prevent his death,
Let's not let it live properly.
(Janusz Korczak)
So many are falling victim to the regime,
Some people have to fall against it eventually.
(Sophie Scholl)
Dying does not take a smart person by surprise.
(Jean de la Fontaine)
Truth sits on the lips of dying people.
(Matthew Arnold)
Steps
Like every flower fades and every youth
As age gives way, every stage of life blossoms,
Does every wisdom and every virtue also flourish?
It has its time and cannot last forever.
The heart must beat with every call of life.
Being ready to say goodbye and begin anew,
To act bravely and without mourning
To give new, different bonds.
And every beginning holds a magic within it,
The one who protects us and helps us to live.
We should cheerfully walk through room after room,
No one is as attached to it as to a homeland.,
The world spirit does not want to bind or confine us,
He wants to raise and expand us, step by step.
We have barely settled into a circle of life,
And comfortably settled, sluggishness threatens,
Only those who are ready to depart and travel,
May escape paralyzing habit.
It may also be the hour of death.
Sending us into new spaces, young and vibrant,
Life's call to us will never end…
Well then, heart, take your leave and be well!
(Hermann Hesse)
No one who walks over corpses can walk the path of Jesus.
Violence is meant to force the end of all violence. Blood is to flow only so that never again will blood be shed. But who guarantees this certainty? Beautiful banners they are, shining in the wind, these ideas, but horrifying when carried before storming regiments. No idea is a whole truth, but every single human being is a whole truth. This, and only this, seems to me essential to hammer into the consciousness of confused humanity, to promote this one revaluation in the human sensibility: the devaluation of ideas, the elevation of the individual human being.
(Stefan Zweig)
Only when we definitively abandon the willingness to wage any war, regardless of its aim or reasons, will we leave the madhouse of human history. Wars are what they are: the deliberate killing of people on command and the suppression of all guilt for the end of humanity. But we are not yet living in George Orwell's 1984. War is not yet a means of peace. Killing people is not yet saving people. Lying is not yet a prerequisite for truth.
It was on May 26, 1999, in Athens that Patriarch Bartholomew I, the honorary head of the Orthodox Church, declared: „The war is not the work of rationally thinking, responsibly acting people, but the work of the mentally disturbed.“
But this „mental disorder“ is still justified as „duty“, „responsibility“, „courage“, „loyalty“ and „obedience“.
(Eugen Drewermann)
We humans don't give each other a chance.
If we detonate this thing, we'll have to invite the Japanese generals so they can see what awaits them.
(Albert Einstein, 1942, during the construction of the atomic bomb)
… It wasn't done
Under these circumstances, it is of utmost importance to relearn an old truth now and for all time: Violence does not serve justice, war does not serve peace, and killing people does not serve life. It is not pacifism of the Gandhian variety that is dead; what is deadly is the steel-helmeted pacifism of German politicians in the service of NATO.
The path to war is always psychologically the same: In a complex historical situation, reality is simplified into the simplistic scheme of good and evil, then guilt is assigned unilaterally to one side, and then evil is personified in a single individual. This individual must then be fought like Saint Michael fighting the devil.
(Eugen Drewermann)
The following stories are from Anthony de Mello's books
„"A Minute of Nonsense", "A Minute of Wisdom", "Why the Shepherd Loves All Weather", "Who Makes the Horse Fly?" and "Times of Happiness"“
Made easier
A student had to rush home when he received news that his house had burned down.
He was an old man, and everyone felt sorry for him.
All the master told him was: "It will make dying easier."„
For most
“Some people claim there is no life after death,” said one student.
„"Do they do that?" the master asked noncommittally.
„"Wouldn't it be terrible to die without ever seeing, hearing, loving, or moving again?"“
„"Do you find that terrible?" replied the master. "That's how most people are, even before they die."“
Like a child
One student decided to ask the master more personal and direct questions.
„"Do you actually believe in life after death?" she asked him.
„"It's strange that you're clinging to this topic so much," said the master.
„"Why should that be strange?"“
„Here you have this glorious May day before you,“ replied the master, pointing out the window. — „Like a child who refuses to eat today because it knows what tomorrow will bring. You are hungry. Eat your daily bread!“
Father, I'm back
A soldier was urgently recalled from the front because his father was dying. He received special permission because his father had no other family members.
As he entered the intensive care unit, he immediately realized that this semi-conscious man with tubes in his mouth and nose was not his father. Someone had made a mistake and brought the wrong soldier back from the front.
„"How much longer will he live?" he asked the doctor.
„"Just a few more hours. They just made it."“
The soldier thought of the dying man's son, who was, God knows where, thousands of miles away at the front. He thought of the old man who had only stayed alive in the hope of seeing his son one last time before he died. That determined his decision. He bent down, took the old man's hand, and whispered:
„"Father, I'm here. I'm back."“
The dying man clutched the outstretched hand; his empty eyes opened and looked around; a contented smile crossed his face and remained there until he died about an hour later.
„"I was convinced you would come."“
„"My friend has not returned from the battlefield, sir. Please allow me to search for him and bring him in."“
„Refused,“ said the officer, „I don’t want you to risk your life for a man who is probably dead.“
The soldier nevertheless set out to search and returned an hour later mortally wounded, with his dead friend in his arms.
The officer raged. „I told you he was dead. Now I’ve lost you both. What was the point of going out to bring back a corpse?“
The dying man replied: „It was worth it, sir. When I found him, he was still alive. And he said to me: “I knew you would come, Jack.’”
Redistribute
The master enjoyed playing cards and once spent the entire night playing poker with some of his students during an air raid. When they took a break for a drink, they started talking about death.
„"If I were to drop dead in the middle of this game, what would you do?" asked the master.
„"What would you like us to do?"“
„"Two things. First, get rid of the body."“
„"And then?"“
„"Reshuffle the cards," said the champion.
Something else is necessary to be truly alive: to be present now. What does that mean? It means, first and foremost, understanding something that very few people grasp: that the past is not reality, any more than the future is, and that to live in the past and the future is to be dead. I am perfectly aware that there are many wonderful things in the past from which we can learn, and that the past influences and shapes us. Fine! But it is not reality.
Priorities
According to legend, God sent an angel to the master with the following message: „Ask for a million years of life, and they will be given to you, yes, even millions upon millions of years. How long would you like to live?“
„Eighty years,“ replied the master, without the slightest hesitation.
The students were dismayed. "But Master," they said, "if you could live for a million years, consider how many generations could benefit from your wisdom."„
„"If I lived for a million years, people would be more concerned with prolonging their lives than with developing wisdom."“
Present
When the students asked him to give them a model of spirituality that they could emulate, the master simply said, "Hush, listen!"„
And as they listened to the sounds of the night outside, the master began to quietly recite the famous haiku:
„"From an early death,
The cicada appears unimpressed.
She sings.“
reality
Although the master seemed to enjoy life to the fullest, it was also known that he didn't shy away from great risks. For example, when he condemned the tyranny of the government, thereby inviting arrest and death. Or when he and a group of his students provided aid in a plague-ridden village.
„"The wise know no fear of death," he used to say.
„Why would a person so recklessly risk their life?“ he was once asked.
„"Why does it affect people so little when a candle goes out after daybreak?"“
Recognize
When the master grew old and ill, his students begged him not to die. The master replied, "If I didn't die, how would you ever learn to see?"„
„"What is it that we don't see when you are with us?" they asked.
But the master refused to say so.
As the moment of his death drew near, they said, "What will we see when you are gone?"„
With a smile in his eyes, the master said: "I did nothing more than sit on the riverbank and hand out water. When I am gone, I hope you will see the river."„
Socrates was in prison awaiting execution. One day he heard a fellow prisoner singing a difficult lyrical song by the poet Stesichorus.
Socrates asked the man to teach him this poem.
„"Why?" asked the singer.
„That I can die with the knowledge that I have learned something new,“ was the great man’s reply.
Student: "Why should you learn something new a week before you die?"„
Master: "For the same reason you would learn something new fifty years before your death."„
The hero
„My friend,“ the master said to the freedom fighter in his prison cell, „you will bravely face your execution tomorrow. Only one thing holds you back from celebrating death with joy.“
„"What is that?"“
„"The wish that your heroic deeds will be remembered. The desire that future generations acknowledge your heroic struggle."“
„"Is there anything wrong with that?" asked the condemned man.
„"Has it ever occurred to you that it is not you that posterity associates with your deeds, but your name?"“
„"Aren't they both the same?"“
„Oh no, my friend! Your name is the sound you respond to. Your calling card, your trademark. Who are you?“
That was all the man needed to "die" in the darkness of that night – even before the execution squad stood at his door at dawn.
Those who embark on the spiritual path without being able to control their emotions will create more suffering than before – for others and themselves. Dalai Lama
Death is as natural as breathing. – Dalai Lama
What would have become of us if our parents hadn't loved us? – Dalai Lama
You want to know what Nirvana is? A quality of mind. – Dalai Lama
My religion is kindness. Dalai Lama
Compassion automatically leads to non-violence. Dalai Lama
Because we cannot control our minds, we are incapable of recognizing true nature. – Dalai Lama
First, we should learn to value ourselves in order to then extend that appreciation to others. Dalai Lama
No one has ever accomplished anything without self-confidence. Dalai Lama
Everyone can love without making their entire happiness dependent on that love. Dalai Lama
You can't teach a person anything, you can only help them.,
to discover it within oneself. Galileo Galilei
The organs of the elderly
The village elder was asked by a young man if he could sell the village produce at a distant market. The elder considered him for a long time and then granted his request, saying, "Very well, try your luck, but please take an orange with you." A week later, the young man returned, very upset, angry, and disappointed. He hadn't been able to sell anything; all the customers were "stupid" and didn't want anything from him. The elder listened to his rant about the impossible customers for a short while, then interrupted him with the question, "Didn't I tell you to take an orange?" Now the young man was quite confused. "What am I supposed to do with the orange?" The elder smiled and said, "People buy from you when they sense that you carry love within you." "But what does that have to do with the orange?" the young man wanted to know. "What do you get when you cut it open and squeeze the halves?" "Orange juice." „What comes out when you hit the orange with a hammer?“ „Orange juice.“ „What comes out when you stomp on it?“ “Orange juice.” The old man continued, ”You see, whenever the orange is under pressure, orange juice comes out. When you are under pressure, what comes out is what is inside you. So try to awaken so much love within yourself that you are like the orange. Whenever you are under pressure, love comes out. I promise you that you will then be a very successful merchant at the market.“ The old man stood up and went back to his work, but the young man sat for a long time, holding an orange in his hands. Lena Lieblich
Whoever I love should be free.
From me too.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
„"One must mourn people at their birth, not at their death." – Charles de Montesquieu
„Do you want peace, or do you want to be left in peace? These are not the same: not the same policy, not the same strategy – and above all, not the same consequences. I want you to think about that.“
(French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 2009)
(to the Munich Security Conference)
Being free means
Freedom to do something,
not necessarily
Freedom from something.
With that in mind, I wish you all the best in your new apartment.
Freedom to meditate
Freedom to think
Freedom for creative work
Freedom to be yourself.
Only when you have found yourself can you find the right connection to your neighbor, to you, to other people.
Helmut Bollen, Cologne, August 25, 1984
My heart flows there in longing.
Where?
Here it is.
MBo 1982
Some aphorisms from the works of Teresa:
„Our nature is so dulled that we like to follow only what we see in front of us at present (V 10,6).“
„If someone worries about things that he shouldn’t be worrying about, he will naturally only be able to perform his actual duties imperfectly (C 34,5).“
„What can we buy with the money we crave? Is it something precious, something lasting? Or what do we want it for? Alas, it is a miserable peace that costs us so dearly! Often, money buys us hell, purchasing an unquenchable fire and endless torment. Oh, that all people would consider money useless dust! What peaceful order would then reign in the world, and how many burdens of worry would be banished! How friendly people would be with one another if they were free from the lust for honor and money! I believe everything would be solved then (verses 20:27).“
„How different our human will can be from the will of God; God wants us to reach out for the eternal – we bend down to things that are transient! He wants us to strive for great and high values – but we cling to the lowly and purely earthly! He wants us to seek that which alone gives security – but we love the flimsy (C XLII, 4).“
„The safest thing is to want nothing other than what God wills; for he knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us. Let us place ourselves in his hands, so that his will may be done in us; and we will not go astray if we always adhere to this with a resolute will (C VI 9-V).“
„He who does not grow, shrinks. I consider it impossible that love should be content to constantly stand still (C VII 4-V).“
„I suddenly considered why our Lord loved the virtue of humility so much, and then—it seemed to me not through deliberation, but quite unexpectedly—the insight came to me: because God is the highest truth, and humility is nothing other than walking in truth. For it is certainly true that we have nothing good of ourselves, but only wretchedness and nothingness. And whoever does not recognize this walks in falsehood. The more one understands this, the more one corresponds to the highest truth, since one walks in it (C VI, 11-V).“
„Science is of great importance; for it instructs us who know little; it enlightens us; and when we have come to know the truth of Holy Scripture through it, we also do what we owe. But God preserve us from foolish devotions (vv. 13, 16-A)!”
Whoever seeks the truth seeks God, whether they realize it or not.
Edith Stein
Many people's horizon is a circle with a radius of zero – and they call that their point of view.
Albert Einstein
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
Regarding the characteristics of the general condition of the people:
Emaciated children, degenerate tribes, people and animals living in shared quarters, incessant, mind-numbing work, subservience, despondency. And on the other side, the ministers and governors: nothing but self-interest, ambition, ostentation, and a lust for influence and power.
Leo Tolstoy, The Young Tsar, 1894
When asked about the secret to his success, Woody Allen replied: "Just go."„
The noblest development comes from reflection, the simplest from imitation, and the most painful from experience.
„"Some people's horizon is a circle with a radius of 0. And they call that their point of view."
A. Einstein
If I go before you, I don't know if I'll lead you to the right path.
If you go ahead of me, then I don't know if you'll lead me on the right path.
If I walk beside you, we will find the right path together.
South African proverb
Do you want to keep wandering further and further?,
Look, the good things are so close at hand;
Just learn to seize happiness,
Because happiness is always there.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground, 27who sleeps and rises night and day; and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28For of its own accord the earth produces grain: first the stalk, then the head, then the full wheat in the head. 29And as soon as it produces grain, he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.
Mk 4, 26-29
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We often ask ourselves: Who am I to call myself brilliant, great, talented, fantastic?
But who are you not to call yourself that? You are a child of God. Playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about making yourself so small that others around you feel insecure.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us—it is in everyone.
And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. When we are freed from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandela
A true work of art
is the creation of love –
love for the subject first
and for the medium second.
Eliot Porter
If you don't want to be caught lying, just don't lie!
Kent Kobersteen, National Geographic
A person's true wealth is that,
what good he did for others.
Mahatma Gandhi
The pessimist sees difficulties in every situation. The optimist sees opportunities in every difficulty.
L.-P. Jacks
All true coercion for human beings ultimately stems not from things, but from thought, and is therefore not an external constraint, but a self-constraint. In truth, a person can only be coerced if they coerce themselves, and this is only possible if they have grasped the necessity of that to which they are compelled. From this, it follows that all real progress in the world can be brought about not through laws, decrees, or even coercion, but only through instruction. From time immemorial, the world has not needed so-called great men, but teachers; and from time immemorial, for the thinking person, the greatest deed is not victory and conquest, not discovery and invention, not mastery of the world, but mastery of oneself. And the only true path to this is: to understand oneself.
Paul Dahlke (1865-1928)
Huang Po:
If you awaken only to the One Spirit, there is nothing else left to realize.
GRAMES ZEN p.13
Hannya Hara Mita Shingyo:
Form is nothing other than emptiness, emptiness is nothing other than form.
GRAMES ZEN p.13
„"The first prerequisite for immortality is death." – Stanisław Jerzy Lec
Bassui Zenjii To a Dying Man:
The essence of your spirit was not brought into being and does not die. It is not being, it is not nothingness. It is not empty vastness, it is not sensuality. It is also nothing that feels pain and pleasure. However much you strive to understand that which is now sick and full of pain, you cannot understand it with your intellect. Well then, what is the spiritual substance of one who suffers sickness and pain? Ponder this, and have nothing else in mind, not even any other desire. Do not seek to understand anything, and do not rely on anything else. Thus, when you conclude your days, just as the clouds in the sky pass away, the course of your karma will end, and you will soon be redeemed.
GRAMES ZEN p.37
Mumon:
Those who start thinking in terms of "has" or "has not" have lost their connection to life.
GRAMES ZEN p. 41
Huang Po:
If you awaken only to the One Mind, there is nothing else to realize. This is the true Buddha. The Buddha and all living beings are the One Mind and nothing else.
GRAMES ZEN p. 43
Huang Po:
The true nature of the spirit cannot be grasped or conveyed through human words. Enlightenment cannot be attained, and he who finds it does not claim to know. Even if I were to explain it, you still would not understand.
GRAMES ZEN p. 45
Huang Po:
As he entered the assembly hall, Master Huang Po said:
„"The possession of many kinds of knowledge cannot be compared to giving up the search for anything. That is the best of all things. There are not different kinds of mind, and there is no doctrine that can be put into words. Since there is nothing more to say, the meeting is closed."“
Buddha:
The phenomena of life can be compared to illusions: an air bubble, a shadow, reflections in the dew, the flash of lightning, and as such they must be regarded.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 7
Hindu proverb:
A mother is as good as ten fathers, but a teacher is as good as ten mothers.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 7
Picasso:
In life, there comes a moment after a lot of hard work when the forms and images come by themselves; you don't need to worry about it at all - everything comes by itself.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 7
The art of the samurai already included something that was completely independent of the strategy itself: namely, the idea that one wages battle with the intention of ending it and upholding justice.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 12
For Aikido, these higher purposes consist of mutual human understanding and striving for harmony and peace.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 13
This ability to act in a way that is fair to external circumstances as well as internal standards requires the ability to grasp situations that one has never encountered before.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 14
Very few practitioners and perhaps not many teachers still believe in the possibility of acquiring or maintaining human qualities such as patience, perseverance, and enjoyment of effort through the practice of martial arts, let alone in the possibility that a person's character can be shaped by the art of the sword.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p.19
Shinto culture has shaped an attitude among the Japanese that is characterized by the pursuit of harmony between man, nature and the deities, by respect for all that lives, by ancestor worship and by a feeling of serenity and constancy.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 24
the insatiable desire that makes people constantly chase after things that vanish into nothing once they are attained.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 29
The teaching encourages students to suppress all egoism and body awareness, to accept nothing but the equality of all creation, and to regard nothing as permanent or lasting. This is achieved by suppressing all feelings, desires, and hatred, and ultimately leads to the highest stage, Nirvana, a kind of perfect enlightenment in which one completely detaches oneself from one's own life and from every life that touches one.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 30
The attitude of non-attachment to transient things probably helped the warrior to overcome his fear of death.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 34
The center, the unmoving core around which everything is distributed, is called Hara. This is the center of gravity, the core of all stability and balance, from which all paths to perfection and inner harmony originate. The more stable the core, the wider the sphere it generates around itself, and the greater its radiance.
ANDRÉ PROTIN AIKIDO p. 37
Knowing others makes you smart.
He who knows himself is wise.
Tao Te Ching 33
That the weak defeat the strong
and the soft the hard,
Everyone on earth knows this, but no one is able to act on it.
Tao Te Ching 78
Humans consist of body and mind; the mind is like a clear mirror.
The body, however, dulls the mind. Aikido clears the body of dust.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 38
Competition deprives Budo of its essence and severs it from its tradition. It takes away the pursuit of wisdom that made it such a demanding activity.
Training fighters is one thing; perfecting people through the art of competition is another. Moreover, it's uncertain whether victory in competition brings much happiness.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 46
If you sit, then sit; if you walk, then walk… but above all, avoid any inner turmoil! Yun Men
André Protin AIKIDO p. 51
If you want to see, simply open your eyes; if you start thinking about something, you'll miss it. – Zen Master
André Protin AIKIDO p. 51
In such a moment, I no longer see the opponent before me, threatening me, but rather I transform into the opponent; and it happens as if every movement, every thought of the opponent were my own. Intuitively, or rather unconsciously, I then know how and when I must act. I find all this perfectly natural. Tkano Shigeyoshi
André Protin AIKIDO p. 53
The fact that the warrior disregarded his own well-being, even his own life, allowed him to place that life in the service of a higher power.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 57
From Bujutsu to Budo
To the originally destructive fighting technique, which was embedded in the ethics of warfare, another and even more evolving element is now added: integration into society and into the universe.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 66
Morihei Uyeshiba
Every time he set about learning a martial art, he persevered to the end, and often he retained nothing from it but the complete mastery of a technique and a much strengthened mind.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 75
The ideal in the martial art of Master Uyeshiba is to intuitively find the behavior appropriate to the requirements of the situation.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 78
I understood that Budo is not about violently throwing your opponent to the ground, and that it is not a tool to lead the world toward destruction through weapons. True Budo means absorbing the spirit of the cosmos, maintaining peace in the world, and creating, protecting, and respecting all living things in nature according to its example.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 79 very nice passage!
It differs from other forms of warfare in its consistently humane and peace-promoting character.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 79
In order to retain its full value and effectiveness, the art of war is committed to unconventionality.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 85
What allows the Aikidoka to control the attacker is not their technical skill, but something else entirely, something that may seem unimaginable to many and which in Aikido is called "Wu-Wei". This is a way of fighting without offering resistance, which makes the Aikidoka unassailable, but which can only fully develop after acquiring and mastering the basic techniques.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 91
Furthermore, Aikido presupposes the desire to maintain physical and mental balance and one's own integrity, while also restoring the integrity of other people when it is momentarily disturbed.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 93
By gaining some distance from our own time and environment, we may renew and preserve our inner balance and intellectual independence in a society that, sometimes without us even realizing it, is constantly distancing us from ourselves.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 94
Its distinctive feature compared to other martial arts and combat sports lies in the fact that Aikido has broken free from the narrow sphere of combat and competition and has become a form of personal development, with the intention of cultivating the body and all human abilities in the spirit of perfect order and harmony. The highest goal of Aikido is the mastery of human behavior, the assertion of the mind against the body.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 100
Series of movements and actions suitable for diverting the attack from its target and controlling it so that it exhausts itself.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 100
The overriding principle is never to meet the opponent's force with one's own strength, to avoid any direct confrontation, and to use the energy of the attack to neutralize the attack and subdue the attacker.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 101
In a world where anything can become a cause of clashes, struggle, and conflict, resistance and power struggles inevitably lead to the annihilation of the weaker party. Therefore, it is better to adopt an attitude of "letting go" or allowing oneself to be carried along by the forces at work, while maintaining one's own position and reacting only when these forces diminish or are about to dissipate on their own.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 101
If you push a judoka, he pulls, and if you pull him, he pushes.
The Aikidoka, on the other hand, performs an evasive turn around his own axis when pushed, and enters the opponent's action when pulled.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 102
The basic attitude is called the attitude of non-resistance.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 102
Aikido never resists, and the effect of its technique can only be recognized through the success of regulatory measures, namely the restoration of unity and harmony.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 103
Those who adopt a stance of non-resistance are afforded unlimited freedom of action, with countless possibilities for how they can live and act according to the circumstances and their own knowledge and abilities.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 104
Excess, regardless of its motivation, inevitably separates man from himself and from the world.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 107
"Guiding" refers to the course of action that leads the opponent back to the path of peace, tranquility, and harmony. The invincible weapon with which Aikido aims to achieve this goal is empathy.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 107
The ultimate goal of Aikido is to dissipate and exhaust the opponent's force, or to redirect it in such a way that it turns against the attacker – this, of course, in a non-aggressive, non-violent manner.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 113
In Aikido there is no attack. This martial art is fundamentally so defensive and without any intention to fight that it teaches no offensive strategy.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 116
The path of Aiki as a fighting form leads to the practice of non-violence.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 117
When the practitioner, having completed the long and arduous path to mastery, is inwardly and outwardly free, he sees the attack that disturbs the peace emerging before it has even taken concrete form. It is then sufficient to stop the attack's progress by a decisive and measured means, perhaps even before it has physically manifested.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 119
Those who choose the path of Aiki know from the outset that they must first gain a thorough knowledge of themselves and resolve their own contradictions before they can set about resolving the contradictions that life's circumstances present to them; they also know that they will need to muster a high degree of sympathy for others and a great deal of self-confidence in order to "take to heart" those who attack them.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 120
Respecting etiquette and ceremony means, first and foremost, expressing the desire to learn by attending a school steeped in Eastern tradition. This requires intellectual openness, great curiosity, and at the same time, considerable humility.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 130
The goal is to bring about reconciliation by first overcoming oneself: one's own selfishness, one's own harshness, the violence of which one is capable when feeling attacked. Finally, it is about firmly influencing the other person and leading them back to the path of kindness.
The struggle is no longer a fight against the other in the sense of annihilation, but rather a fight with him, something shared in which one tries to win the other over.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 133
…to train your minds in such a way that, if you simply sit quietly, even the most boorish lout will not dare to attack you. Inazo Nitobe
André Protin AIKIDO p. 134
However, there is no right action without a right perception and assessment of things as a whole and in detail.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 136
The goal of self-discovery is rather to prepare oneself to receive all events, not merely to endure them; to accept them without attaching too much importance to them, so that the mind does not dwell on one thing and miss others; to "go with life," wherever it leads when it comes to an end. In this way, one learns to maintain composure under all circumstances.
André Protin AIKIDO p. 137
The wisdom of Master Uyeshiba lies in having understood that the highest power or the greatest authority is that which we exercise at every moment in relation to our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
p. 138
Through controlled, regular and deep breathing, man maintains continuity and thus establishes the relationship of his being to himself and to the cosmos.
p. 143
The yogi follows his own path, renounces solidarity with his fellow human beings and isolates himself, while the aikidoka seeks the unity of his self in order to better integrate into the world of his fellow human beings, so that his path may also benefit them.
p. 147
Spiritual influence is mediated through symbols. We owe our knowledge of things to appearances, but our awareness of reality to the heart. Lin Hsieh
p. 149
It takes great humility, patience, and moderation to examine, internalize, and adopt the qualities of simplicity, modesty, wisdom, and expediency, as possessed by the reed that bends under the gusts of wind, or the willow branch that brushes off the snow without ever having had to exert itself.
p. 151
Man must go to the heart of things and settle there. To get there, he must rediscover a state of primal simplicity, purify himself of his passions and thoughts, and curb his ambition in order to perceive reality as it is. He must, as it were, "dust off" the mirror. He must remove the dust that cloudes it, the rust that corrodes it.
p. 154
The opponent is not a rival, but a mirror with which both can correct their mistakes, a stone to hone your technique and behavior against.
p. 155
The Legend of the Blacksmith Masamume
The care taken in the sword's ornamentation demonstrates the importance the Japanese attached to this weapon. In addition to the splendor of the decoration, the quality of the blade was paramount; its manufacture was subject to a secret ritual and its final polishing was carried out with particular care.
One of the most famous swordsmiths was Masamume, whose art was highly revered for his forging of blades of unparalleled quality. His pupil, Senzo Murasama, rivaled him, also creating incomparable swords. It was widely believed that the swordsmith's personality was reflected in his work. Thus, Murasama's blades were said to be "bloodthirsty" because the artist was a violent man, while his master's works were considered "morally good." The only way to distinguish the master's blades from those of his pupil, who were equally excellent, was to immerse them in the waters of the same river. The leaves floated downstream and were sliced by Murasama's blades, while they eluded his master's blades of their own accord, since the latter's edge "knew how to distinguish between appearances like a honed intelligence.".
p. 155
The master of the sword path said to his new student: "From today on, you will go into the forest every day to cut down wood and draw water from the river."„
The young man obeyed and did as the master commanded for three years. But then he asked him: "Master, I came to learn fencing and I haven't even crossed the threshold of the dojo."„
„Come with me to the dojo today,“ was the master’s reply, „and walk around the entire hall on the edge of the tatami without putting a foot on the mats!“ The student diligently performed this exercise, but after a year he became angry and exclaimed: „Now I’m leaving. I haven’t learned anything I wanted to learn.“
Then the master asked the student to follow him and said, "Today I will show you the way." They went into the mountains and stopped before a ravine spanned by a tree trunk laid across the abyss. "Go across!" commanded the master. The student felt dizzy as he gazed into the chasm that yawned below, and fear paralyzed him. Just then, a blind man came along, feeling his way with a crutch, stepped onto the tree trunk without hesitation, and crossed the ravine with calm steps.
Then the student grasped the secret of the path. He lost all fear of death, stepped onto the tree trunk, and calmly walked across the abyss until he was on the other side. "Now you have learned the secret: Let go of the ego, do not fear death! The wood you felled and the water you drew each day have increased your physical strength; the mindful walking along the edge of the tatami has given your movements finesse and precision. And today you have understood the secret of the Sword Path. Come, you will become very strong!"„
p.169
On a physical level, mastery of the form (kata) is the crucial point of training. The teacher demonstrates the exemplary form, the student observes meticulously and repeats it countless times until the movement is completely internalized. No words are spoken, no explanations are given; the burden of learning rests with the student. With the ultimate mastery of the form, the student is freed from clinging to it. This liberation occurs due to inner psychological changes that begin from the very first practice. The eternally unchanging, tedious, and monotonous practice routine tests the student's commitment and willpower, reduces their stubbornness, curbs their willpower, and eradicates bad habits of body and mind. In this process, their true strength, character, and potential begin to emerge. Spiritual mastery is inseparable from psychological mastery but only begins after an intense and prolonged period of practice.
The heart of spiritual mastery is this: The ego self becomes the egoless self.
In every martial and cultural art, the free expression of the self is blocked by one's own ego. In the path of swordsmanship, the student's mastery of posture and form must be so total that there is no gap (suki) into which the opponent could penetrate. If a gap exists, it has been created by the ego. One becomes vulnerable when one ceases to think about winning, losing, gaining an advantage, impressing, or ignoring the opponent. When the mind stops, even for a brief moment, the body freezes, and free, fluid movement is lost.
Foreword by Taitetsu Unno in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 7
The art of the sword consists in...,
never to be worried about victory or defeat, strength or weakness,
to move neither one step forward nor backward,
To not be seen by the opponent and not to see the opponent.
To penetrate to that which is fundamentally before the separation of heaven and earth, where even Yin and Yang are insufficient, one immediately attains the highest proficiency in art.
Zen monk Takuan (1573-1645) in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 8
The goal in martial arts training is to,
Six types of diseases to overcome:
the desire for victory,
the pursuit of being able to rely on technical skills,
the wish to indicate,
the attempt to psychologically overwhelm the opponent,
the desire to remain passive in order to wait for an opportunity and
the desire to be free from all these diseases.
Samurai Yagyu Munenori (1571-1646) in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 8
Ultimate physiological, psychological, and spiritual mastery are one and the same. The egoless self is open, flexible, supple, fluid, and dynamic in body, mind, and spirit. Egoless, the self identifies with all things and all people by seeing them not from a self-centered perspective, but from their own unique point of view. In a circle of boundless extent, every point becomes the center of the universe. The ability to see all that exists from a non-self-centered perspective is central to Shinto's identity with nature and also signifies what Buddhism calls wisdom, which in its highest expression is nothing other than compassion.
Foreword by Taitetsu Unno in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 9
Budo is not a means to kill an opponent with violence or deadly weapons. Nor does it intend to lead the world into destruction through weapons and other illegitimate means. True Budo strives to bring the inner energy of the universe into a state of order, to protect peace in the world, and to treat and preserve everything in nature in its proper form. Training in Budo is synonymous with strengthening the love of kami, the goddess who creates, protects, and nourishes everything in nature, within my body and soul.
Quote from Ueshiba Morihei (1883-!969) in Kisshomaru Ueshiba THE SPIRIT OF AIKIDO p. 9
Hannya Shingyo
The Bodhisattva, called Kan Ji Zai, who perfected himself completely in wisdom, understood that all things in the world, consisting of five elements of existence, possess no substance.
He (the Bodhisattva) removed all bitterness and all suffering. He said: O Sariputra, all appearances of this world are no different from non-substance; there is no difference between non-substance and appearances. This implies that all appearances of the world are "non-substance." That is to say, non-substance encompasses all appearances of the world. The same applies to the senses, ideas, will, and knowledge.
O Sariputra! All things in the world have the appearance of non-substance. There is nothing that is born, nothing that perishes. There is neither impurity nor purity. There is no growth nor decrease of growth. Thus, in non-substance, there are no appearances of this world. There are no senses, no ideas, no will, no knowledge. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no brain. No appearances of this world: no voice, no smell, no taste, nothing tangible, no objects in the realm of sense perception. No field of vision, no realm of knowledge: nothing between the two.
There is no impediment, nor the disappearance of impediments, no aging, and no death. There is no suffering, nor a cause of suffering, nor the suppression of suffering, nor a way to suppress suffering, no possibility of knowing, nor the content of knowledge. The Bodhisattvas, therefore, pursue perfection in wisdom. For them, there is no veil before the heart. There is no veil, and therefore there is no fear. All impediments that prevent them from seeing clearly remain far behind them. They finally enter Nirvana. The Buddhas in the three worlds—past, present, and future—have attained the best, the perfect Satori, because they pursue the perfection of wisdom.
We must therefore learn the perfection of wisdom. This is the great word of incantation. It is the mantra of incantation that completely removes suffering. Truly, truly, the word that reveals the perfection of wisdom is this: O all who go, O all who go, O those who go to Nirvana.
Mumon Kai Sotetsu Zuzen Zenzei
HANNYA SHINGYO
the Sutra of Supreme Wisdom („Heart Sutra“)
The Bodhisattva Kanjizai (Kannon) is deeply practicing great wisdom when he suddenly realizes: all existence and all phenomena are KU (emptiness, nothingness), and so he helps and saves all beings.
O Shariputra, appearances are no different from emptiness. Emptiness is no different from appearances. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness is form, and the same is true of perception, thought, action, and consciousness. O Shariputra, all existence is essentially emptiness; there is neither arising nor ceasing in it, neither purity nor defilement, neither increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form and no sensation, perception, thought, action, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no colors, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, or concepts. There is neither the realm of perception nor its six objects. Nor is there the world of the six types of consciousness (eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, mouth consciousness, body consciousness, and will). There is no ignorance, nor the cessation of ignorance. There is no old age and no death, and no cessation of old age and death, and the same is true of the twelve within. The Four Noble Truths (suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and DO, the path to it) do not exist. There is no knowledge and no gain. Therefore, it is mushotoku (without goal, there is nothing to attain).
Through this supreme wisdom, the Bodhisattva possesses an unwavering mind, free from obstacles. Without obstacles, there is no fear. Through separation from all confusion and illusion, he finally attains Nirvana. The Buddhas of the three worlds (past, present, and future) receive the highest Satori through Hannya Haramita. Therefore, one must understand that Hannya Haramita is the great universal sutra, the great shining sutra, the highest, unsurpassed of all sutras, the incomparable sutra that cuts off all suffering. In true truth, there is no error.
Therefore, the Sutra of Supreme Wisdom states: 'Let us go beyond this, beyond this and even beyond this, across to the shore of Satori.'.
http://budoforum.net/jigenryu/sutra.html
The pure soul has peace everywhere, for it always carries peace with it, so that for the sake of this peace all places and all things are right for it.
Margareta Porete, French mystic, 14th century.
Those who voluntarily do the best-paid work in the world – working on themselves – no longer need the pressure exerted through suffering.
Erhard F. Freitag
The cessation of organic life in an individual does not necessarily mean that the same previously active force has also become nothing; – any more than one can conclude that the spinning wheel that has stopped spinning has led to the death of the spinner.
Schopenhauer
Every birth is a death sentence – no human being survives life. We simply repress this fact and live as if we had an infinite amount of time ahead of us.
Ayya Khemã
Examine, my soul, your life in daily dialogue. Carefully observe how far you benefit and how far you harm; what your disposition is, how you are in your inclinations.
Bernard of Clairvaux
Human beings suffer in this world only because they lack dispassion. They are usually attached to so many things: their wives, children, parents, friends, and relatives; to honor, fame, and money. This attachment often causes them excruciating pain, and as long as they do not strive for equanimity toward these worldly things, they cannot truly find peace and lasting happiness. All worldly things disappoint because they are transient and constantly changing. A person enters this world entirely alone, and they depart from it entirely alone in death. What follows them like a shadow are the good and bad consequences of their actions.
Swami Nara yãnananda
All that really matters is
how pictures move the viewer not the level of difficulty in obtaining them.
Owen Edwards in „Poollight“ by Howard Schatz
All knowledge is memory.
plato
Death is a defeat of oneself.
Novalis
Photographs convey to people the imaginary possession of the past.
Learning to live and being able to die are the same thing.
Karl Jaspers
Life has ended, but movement continues; eternity is nothing other than that.
Joseph Beuys
A true work of art is the creation of love.
Love for the subject first
and for the medium second.
Eliot Porter
A clear mind and a loving heart should work together.
Dalai Lama
Success comes only to those who take action.,
while he waits for it.
Thomas Edison
As he entered the assembly hall, Master Huang-Po said:
„"Possing many kinds of knowledge is not comparable to giving up the search for anything. That is the best of all things.".
There are no different kinds of spirit, and there is no doctrine that can be expressed in words. Since there is nothing more to say, the meeting is adjourned.“
Huang-Po (OBAKU)
„Nature (or the visible) stimulates me… but I want to approach the truth as closely as possible; for this, I abstract until I penetrate to the essence of things (although still their external essence)… I am certain that by avoiding expressing everything unambiguously, one arrives at the expression of the ultimate: the (all-encompassing) truth.“ Piet Mondrian
Hakuin Zenji Zazen Wasan
Choral singing by Zen master Hakuin
Human beings are Buddhas in their deepest essence,
like water is ice.
And just as there is no ice without water,
Thus, without Buddha, there is no human being.
Woe to those who search far and wide,
And what is obvious, not knowing!
They resemble those standing in the middle of the water.
and yet cry out for water.
Born as sons of the most distinguished and wealthiest,
They nevertheless descend into poverty and misery
desolate and far away.
The cause of the eternal cycle in the sixfold kingdom
is the dark path of one's own dullness and stupidity.
But things are getting darker and darker around her.
in the darkness of error.
When should they ever separate?
of life and death?
O wonder of the perfect vision of Mahayana,
which is beyond all praise!
All virtues: benevolence and faithfulness to the commandments,
All good deeds: praising Buddha,
Regret and exercises,
They all lead here!
For those who only complete a single seat,
Immeasurably accumulated evil disappears.
Where should a place of exile be located?
find for evil,
What if pure land is so close?
Anyone who has ever experienced this praiseworthy truth
hears and feels holy bliss,
He will be blessed with immeasurable happiness;
even more so if he gives himself to her
and directly experienced its own nature.
Then his own being is nothing else
as the nature of perfect nothingness,
and it is above the play of thought.
The gate of unity opens wide
of cause and effect;
and the only way opens up, straight ahead,
No second or third.
Whoever walks it takes on the form
the form of the formless;
and neither his going nor his coming
are foreign to her.
He takes the thinking of non-thinking as his thinking.
And his singing and also his dancing
are the voice of truth.
The Heaven of Samadhi
is unhindered,
and the full moon is shining
of the fourfold wisdom.
What was still missing?,
Where does Nirvana reveal itself?
This is nothing but Lotus Land,
And this body here is none other than Buddha.
Excerpt from "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
At that moment the fox appeared: "Good day," said the fox. "Good day," answered the little prince, who turned around but saw nothing. "I am here," said the voice, "under the apple tree..." "Who are you?" asked the little prince. "You are very pretty..." "I am a fox," said the fox. "Come and play with me," suggested the little prince. "I am so sad..." "I cannot play with you," said the fox. "I am not yet tamed!" "Ah, pardon me!" said the little prince. But after some thought, he added: "What does 'tame' mean?" "You are not from around here," said the fox. "What are you looking for?" "I am looking for people," said the little prince. "What does 'tame' mean?" "It is a forgotten thing," said the fox. "It means 'to make oneself familiar.'" "To make oneself familiar?" "Certainly," said the fox. „To me, you are still nothing but a little boy, exactly like a hundred thousand other little boys. I don’t need you, and you don’t need me either. But if you tame me, we will need each other. You will be unique to me in the world. I will be unique to you in the world…“ „I’m beginning to understand,“ said the little prince. „There’s a flower… I think it has tamed me…“ „That’s possible,“ said the fox. „You meet all sorts of things on Earth…“ „Oh, that’s not on Earth,“ said the little prince. The fox seemed excited: „On another planet?“ „Yes.“ “Are there hunters on your planet?“ „No.“ „That’s interesting. And chickens?“ „No.“ „Nothing is perfect!“ sighed the fox. But the fox returned to his thoughts: „My life is monotonous. I chase chickens, and people chase me. All chickens are alike, and all people are alike. So I'm a little bored. But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I will know the sound of your footsteps, which are different from all others. The other footsteps chase me underground. Yours will lure me from my burrow like music. And then look! You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. Wheat is useless to me. The wheat fields remind me of nothing. And that's sad. But you have wheat-blond hair. Oh, it will be wonderful when you have tamed me! The gold of the wheat fields will remind me of you. And I will come to love the sound of the wind rustling through the grain.“ The fox fell silent and looked at the prince for a long time: „Please tame me!“ he said. „I would like to,“ answered the little prince. “But I don’t have much time. I have to find friends and learn about many things.“ „You only know things you tame,“ said the fox. „People no longer have time to learn about anything. They buy everything ready-made in shops. But since there are no shops where you can buy friends, people no longer have any friends. If you want a friend, tame me!“ „What do I have to do?“ asked the little prince. „You must be very patient,“ answered the fox. „First, sit down in the grass a little way away from me. I will look at you surreptitiously, out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Language is the source of misunderstandings. But every day you will be able to sit a little closer…“
So the little prince made the fox acquainted with him.
And when the hour of parting drew near: „Ah,“ said the fox, „I shall weep.“ „That is your fault,“ said the little prince, „I certainly wished you no harm, but you wanted me to tame you…“ „Certainly,“ said the fox. „But now you shall weep!“ said the little prince. „Surely,“ said the fox. „So you have gained nothing!“ „I have,“ said the fox, „gained the color of the wheat.“ Then he added: “Go and look at the roses again. You will understand that yours is unique in the world. You will come back and say goodbye to me, and I will give you a secret.“
And the little prince came back to the fox: "Goodbye," he said. "Goodbye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It is very simple: one sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye." "What is essential is invisible to the eye," repeated the little prince, so that he would remember it. "The time you have wasted on your rose, it is what makes your rose so important." "The time I have wasted on my rose..." said the little prince, so that he would remember it. "People have forgotten this wisdom," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your roses..." "I am responsible for my rose..." repeated the little prince, so that he would remember it.