🅲Week 2020-40: On Contemplation

"There's no wisdom from a man without harmony, and without harmony there is no contemplation. Without contemplation there cannot be peace, and without peace there can be no joy..." (Bhagavad Gita,  cca. 5th-2nd century BC)

"[...] so external sensation is the image of this perception of the soul, which is in its essence truer and is a contemplation of forms alone without being affected. From these forms, from which the soul alone receives its lordship over the living being, come reasonings, and opinions and noetic acts; and this is precisely where ‘we’ are." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"Zazen is seated meditation-the opposite of contemplation-the emptying of the mind of all thoughts in order simply to be. In the midst of all evil, not a thought is aroused in the mind-this is called za. Seeing into one's Self-nature, not being moved at all-this is called Zen." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Further, this power which conceives these ideas does at times gain from sense forms mental, imaginative, and innate in (instinctive to) itself; and in such a case it does this in that it lays before itself the forms that are in the conceiving power and in the remembering (preserving) power, by employing the imaginative and the conjecturing power, and then contemplates them, and finds them to have participated in some forms and to have differed in some other forms; and finds some amongst the forms that are in these powers to be essential and others to be accidental." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina],"A Compendium on the Soul", cca 1010)

"If you would be free of greed, first you have to leave egotism behind. The best mental exercise for relinquishing egotism is contemplating impermanence." (Eihei Dōgen, "Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki" ["The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard"], 1235-1238)

"When a garden is used as a place to pause for thought, that is when a Zen garden comes to life. When you contemplate a garden like this it will form as lasting impression on your heart." (Muso Soseki, 14th century)

"You must contemplate the Way of the warrior's skill so you will be able to beat a man in combat by the use of your eye. With diligent training, you will be able to beat ten men in combat by using your spirit." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"As we contemplate the edifice of the universe, in its vastest extension, in its minutest divisibility, we cannot resist the notion that an idea underlies the whole, according to which God and Nature creatively interact forever and ever. Intuition, contemplation, reflection give us an approach to these mysteries, We are emboldened to venture upon ideas; in a more modest mood we fashion concepts that might bear some analogy to those primal beginnings." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "Doubts and Resignation", 1820)

"When you are engaged in some work or other, you become one with it. In the intervals of your work, you immediately resume your contemplation on the koan. For instance, when you are smoking by the fireside or doing something like that, you are considered to be in the intervals of your work. At such a time you are absorbed in the contemplation on the koan free from dualistic thoughts and imaginations. This is one example of kufu in movement." (Kawajiri Hogin, "Zazen no Shokei" [The Warning/Observation on Zazen], 1904)

"Religion and science are the two conjugated faces of phases of one and the same act of complete knowledge - the only one which can embrace the past and future of evolution so as to contemplate, measure and fulfill them." (Pierre T de Chardin, "The Phenomenon of Man", 1955)

"Contemplation means that we stay with one subject, and although we have known the subject ever so long, a new realization may arise. We see the same thing in a different light. We experience an intuitive knowing, which comes from having discarded discursive thinking and from concentrating on one subject alone. This is how wisdom arises: not by thinking about a subject, but by contemplating its truth and realizing its application to our own life; seeing all its facets and connections to our reality, and gaining a brand new viewpoint." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"If you want to understand suffering you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there. Where suffering lies is right where non-suffering will arise, it ceases at the place where it arises. If suffering arises you must contemplate right there, you don't have to run away. You should settle the issue right there. One who runs away from suffering out of fear is the most foolish person of all. He will simply increases his stupidity endlessly." (Ajahn Chah,"Food for the Heart: The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah", 1992

"The unknown, our own true nature, has the capacity to wake itself up when you start to fall in love with letting go of all the mental structures you hold onto. Contemplate this: there is no such thing as a true belief." (Steven Gray [Adyashanti], "Emptiness Dancing" , 2004)

"One method for calming the mind is to contemplate the transient nature of our thoughts. When you are aware that your thoughts arise and perish of their own accord, there will be no need to be ruled or conditioned by them. Your mind will settle into observing them with detached awareness and your emotions will become even. If you can do this, you will soon be able to pacify your mind." (Sheng Yen, "The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination", 2008)

"In order to meditate, it is very important to first identify what we are meditating on. If we meditate without identifying that, there is the danger it will become idiot meditation or idiot Dharma. If we do not first fully comprehend through listening and contemplating the meaning of what we are meditating on, how can we practice?" (Gyalwa Karmapa, "A Talk on How We Should Practice given", 2009

"In the Martial Arts, introspection begets wisdom. Always see contemplation on your actions as an opportunity to improve." (Mas Oyama) [motto]

🕉️Week 2020-39: Annie Besant - Collected Quotes

"Refusal to believe until proof is given is a rational position; denial of all outside of our own limited experience is absurd." (Annie Besant, "An Autobiography", 1893)

"A thought-form [...] is a mental image, created  - or moulded - by the mind out of the subtle matter of the higher psychic plane, in which, as above said, it works. This form, composed of the rapidly vibrating atoms of the matter of that region, sets up vibrations all around it; these vibrations will give rise to sensations of sound and colour [...]" (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"An idea, a mental image, is a complicated thing, and needs perhaps a whole sentence to describe it accurately, so a salient incident in it is seized, and the word naming this incident imperfectly represents the whole; we say 'triangle', and the word calls up in the hearer's mind a picture, which would need a long description if fullv conveyed in words; we do our best thinking in symbols, and then laboriously and imperfectly summarise our symbols into words." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"But as was written by the sage Iamblichus: What appears to us to be an accurate definition of justice does not also appear to be so to the Gods. For we, looking to that which is most brief, direct our attention to things present-, and to this momentary life, and the manner in which it subsists. But the Powers that are superior to us know the whole life of the soul, and all its former lives." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"If a man's thoughts are pure and noble, he will attract around him hosts of beneficent entities, and may sometimes wonder whence comes to him the power for achievement that seems - and truly seems - to be so much beyond his own." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"In regions where mind speaks to mind there is perfect expression, far beyond anything words may convey; even in thought-transference of a limited kind it is not words that are sent, but ideas. A speaker puts into words such part of his mental pictures as he can, and these words call up in the hearer’s mind pictures corresponding to those in the mind of the speaker; the mind deals with the pictures, the images, not with the words, and half the controversies and misunderstandings that arise come about because people attach different images to the same words, or use different words to represent the same images." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"In the mental and moral worlds, as much as in the physical, results can be foreseen, planned for, calculated on. Nature never betrays us; we are betrayed by our own blindness [...]" (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"It seems that when men generate a large number of malignant Thought-forms of a destructive character, and when these congregate in huge masses on the Astral Plane, their energy may be, and is, precipitated on the physical plane, stirring up wars, revolutions, and social disturbances and upheavals of every kind, falling as collective Karma on their progenitors and effecting widespread ruin." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Karma brings us ever back to rebirth, binds us to the wheel of births and deaths. Good Karma drags us back as relentlessly as bad, and the chain which is wrought out of our virtues holds as firmly and as closely as that forged from our vices." (Annie Besant, Theosophical Review Vol 17, 1895)

"Not only does a man generate and send forth his own thought-forms, but he also serves as a magnet to draw towards himself the thought-forms of others from the astral plane around him, of the classes to which his own ensouled thought-forms belong. He may thus attract to himself large reinforcements of energy from outside, and it lies within himself whether these forces that he draws into his own being from the external world shall be of a good or of an evil kind." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Now the matter on these planes is not the same, and speaking generally, the matter of each plane is denser than that of the one above it. This is according to the analogy of Nature, for evolution in its downward course is from rare to dense, from subtle to gross." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Similarly a man of foul and base thoughts attracts to himself hosts of maleficent entities, and by this added energy for evil commits crimes that astonish him in the retrospect. Some devil must have tempted me," he will cry; and truly these demoniac forces, called to him by his own evil, add strength to it from without." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Similarly, benefits may accrue to him by this indirect action of the Law, as when he belongs to a nation that is enjoying the fruit of some good national Karma; and he may thus receive some debt owed to him by Nature, payment of which would not have fallen within his present lot had only his individual Karma been concerned."(Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"That law should be as invariable in the mental and moral worlds as in the physical is to be expected, since the universe is the emanation of the One, and what we call Law is but the expression of the Divine Nature. As there is one Lite emanating all, so there is one Law sustaining all ; the worlds rest on this rock of the Divine Nature as on a secure, immutable foundation." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"The good man will drive back by his very atmosphere, his aura, all that is foul and cruel. It surrounds him as a protective wall and keeps evil away from him." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"The mind [...] generates images, thought-forms. Imagination has very accurately been called the creative faculty of the mind, and it is so in a more literal sense than many may suppose who use the phrase. This image-making capacity is the characteristic power of the mind, and a word is only a clumsy attempt to partially represent a mental picture." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"The wasted opportunities are transformed into frustrated longings, into desires which fail to find expression, into yearnings to help blocked by the absence of power to render it, whether from defective capacity or from lack of occasion." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Thought-forms may also be directed by their progenitor towards particular persons, who may be helped or injured by them, according to the nature of the ensouling Elemental; it is no mere poetic fancy that good wishes, prayers, and loving thoughts are of value to those to whom they are sent; they form a protective host encircling the beloved, and ward off many an evil influence and danger." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"To every cause is bound its effect, to every action its fruit, and desire is the cord that links them together, the thread that runs between. If this could be burned up the connection would cease, and when all the bonds of the heart are broken the Soul is free. Karma can then no longer hold it; Karma can then no longer bind it; the wheel of cause and effect may continue to turn, but the Soul has become the Liberated Life." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895) 

"To study the workings of Karma on the line suggested by the Master, we must gain a clear conception of the three lower planes, or regions, of the universe, and of the Principles related to them. The names given to them indicate the state of the consciousness working on them [...] The lowest vehicle, the Gross Body, serves the consciousness for its work on the physical plane, and in this the consciousness is limited within the capacities of the brain. The term Subtle Body covers a variety of astral bodies, respectively suitable to the varying conditions of the very complicated region indicated by the name psychic plane. On the devachanic plane there are two well-defined levels, the Form Level and the Formless Level; on the lower, consciousness uses an artificial body, the Mivavi Rdpa, but the term Mind Body seems suitable as indicating that the matter of which it is composed belongs to the plane of Manas. On the formless level the Causal Body must be used. Of the Buddhic plane it is needless to speak." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Wasted opportunities re-appear transmuted as limitations of the instrument, and as misfortunes in the environment." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"In concentration, the consciousness is held to a single image; the whole attention of the Knower is fixed on a single point, without wavering or swerving." (Annie Besant, "Thought Power: Its Control and Culture", 1903) 

"Mysticism is the realisation of God, of the Universal Self. It is attained either as a realisation of God outside the Mystic, or within himself. In the first case, it is usually reached from within a religion, by exceptionally intense love and devotion, accompanied by purity of life, for only the pure in heart shall see God." (Annie Besant, "The Basis of Morality", 1915)

"The true Mystic, realising God, has no need of any Scriptures, for he has touched the source whence all Scriptures flow." (Annie Besant, "The Basis of Morality", 1915)

"Thought is just not something objective in our heads. Thought is power – real, objective power. Moreover, the thoughts we create have a life of their own. They have a kind of material reality that affects other people for good or ill – hence our responsibility to chose." (Annie Besant) 

🅼Week 2020-38: On Moon

"A finger points at the moon, but the moon is not at the tip of the finger. Words points at the truth, but the truth is not in words." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"The capacity of the mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness. If you do, you will fall into a neutral kind of emptiness. Emptiness includes the sun, moon, stars, and planets, the great earth, mountains and rivers, all trees and grasses, bad people and good people, bad things and good things, heaven and hell; they are all in the midst of emptiness. The emptiness of human nature is also like this." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Words are not truth. Truth is like the moon, and words are like my finger. I can point to the moon with my finger, but my finger is not the moon. Do you need my finger to see the moon?" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Spring flowers, autumn moon;
Summer breezes, winter snow.
If useless things do not clutter your mind, Then every day is a good time of year." (Wumen Huikai, 1228)

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky." (Eihei Dōgen, "Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki" ["The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard"], 1235-1238)

"Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full." (Jalal al-Din Rumi, 13th century) 

"Though you find clear waters ranging

to the vast blue skies of autumn,

how can that compare

with the hazy moon on a spring night?

Some people want it pure white,

but sweep as you will,

you cannot empty the mind." (Keizan Jokin, "Denkōroku" ["The Record of the Transmission of the Light"], cca. 1300)

"Every day, priests minutely examine the Law
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
How to read the love letters sent by the wind and rain,
the snow and moon." (Ikkyu Sojun, 15th-century) 

"Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon." (Ikkyu Sojun, 15th-century) 

"Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure.
Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds;
Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night." (Ikkyu Sojun, 15th-century)

"How wide are the horizons of the spinning earth! The moonlight leads the tides and the sun's light will not be confined within the net of heaven. But in the end all things return to the One. The deaf and the dumb, the crippled and deformed are all restored to One's perfection." (Hsu Yun)

On Permanence

"If you would be free of greed, first you have to leave egotism behind. The best mental exercise for relinquishing egotism is contemplating impermanence." (Eihei Dōgen, "Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki" ["The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard"], 1235-1238)

"One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world." (Eihei Dōgen, Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki ["The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard"], 1235-1238)

"When you ride in a boat and watch the shore, you might assume that the shore is moving. But when you keep your eyes closely on the boat, you can see that the boat moves. Similarly, if you examine many things with a confused mind, you might suppose that your mind and nature are permanent. But when you practice intimately and return to where you are, it will be clear that there is nothing that has unchanging self." (Eihei Dōgen, "Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki" ["The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard"], 1235-1238)

"Meditation is a vehicle for opening to the truth of this impermanence on deeper and deeper levels." (Jack Kornfield & Joseph Goldstein, "Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation", 1987) 

"[...] the ultimate idea of rebirth is not purely the idea of physical birth and death. Physical birth and death are very crude examples of it. Actually, rebirth takes place every moment, every instant. Every instant is death; every instant is birth. It’s a changing process: there’s nothing you can grasp onto; everything is changing. But there is some continuity, of course - the change is the continuity. The impermanence of the rebirth is the continuity of it. And because of that, there are possibilities of developing and possibilities of regressing."(Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"One day some people came to the master and asked: How can you be happy in a world of such impermanence, where you cannot protect your loved ones from harm, illness or death? The master held up a glass and said: Someone gave me this glass; It holds my water admirably and it glistens in the sunlight. I touch it and it rings! One day the wind may blow it off the shelf, or my elbow may knock it from the table. I know this glass is already broken, so I enjoy it - incredibly." (Ajahn Chah)

🆃Week 2020-37: On Thought-Forms

"A thought-form [...] is a mental image, created  - or moulded - by the mind out of the subtle matter of the higher psychic plane, in which, as above said, it works. This form, composed of the rapidly vibrating atoms of the matter of that region, sets up vibrations all around it; these vibrations will give rise to sensations of sound and colour [...]" (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"It seems that when men generate a large number of malignant Thought-forms of a destructive character, and when these congregate in huge masses on the Astral Plane, their energy may be, and is, precipitated on the physical plane, stirring up wars, revolutions, and social disturbances and upheavals of every kind, falling as collective Karma on their progenitors and effecting widespread ruin." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Not only does a man generate and send forth his own thought-forms, but he also serves as a magnet to draw towards himself the thought-forms of others from the astral plane around him, of the classes to which his own ensouled thought-forms belong. He may thus attract to himself large reinforcements of energy from outside, and it lies within himself whether these forces that he draws into his own being from the external world shall be of a good or of an evil kind." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"The mind [...] generates images, thought-forms. Imagination has very accurately been called the creative faculty of the mind, and it is so in a more literal sense than many may suppose who use the phrase. This image-making capacity is the characteristic power of the mind, and a word is only a clumsy attempt to partially represent a mental picture." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

"Thought-forms may also be directed by their progenitor towards particular persons, who may be helped or injured by them, according to the nature of the ensouling Elemental; it is no mere poetic fancy that good wishes, prayers, and loving thoughts are of value to those to whom they are sent; they form a protective host encircling the beloved, and ward off many an evil influence and danger." (Annie Besant, "Karma", 1895)

🅲Week 2020-36: On Concentration

"For him who has no concentration, there is no tranquility." (Bhagavad Gita,  cca. 5th-2nd century BC) 

"For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom, nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration; and for him without concentration there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful, how can there be happiness?" (Bhagavad Gita,  cca. 5th-2nd century BC)

"It is just as if a man were to draw out a reed from its sheath. He might think: This is the reed, this is the sheath, reed and sheath are different. Now the reed has been pulled from the sheath. […] In the same way a monk with mind concentrated directs his mind to the production of a mind-made body. He draws that body out of this body." (Gautama Buddha,"Digha Nikaya" [Sutta 2 (Samaññaphala Sutta), verse 86], cca 1st century)

"Don’t use concentration to enter concentration, don’t use meditation to think of meditation, don’t use Buddha to search for Buddhahood." (Pai-chang, "Baizhang Guanglu" ["Baizhang Extensive Record"], cca. 780-814)

"The Great Vacuity is clear. Being clear, it cannot be obstructed. Not being obstructed, it is therefore spirit. The opposite of clearness is turbidity. Turbidity leads to obstruction. And obstruction leads to physical form. When material force is clear, it penetrates; and when it is turbid, it obstructs. When clearness reaches its limit, there is spirit. When spirit concentrates, it penetrates like the breeze going through the holes (of musical instruments), producing tones and carrying them to great distances. This is the evidence of clearness. As if arriving at the destination without the necessity of going there, penetration reaches the highest degree." (Chang Tsai, "Cheng-meng" ["Correcting Youthful Ignorance"], 1076)

"Arouse your entire body with its three hundred and sixty bones and joints and its eighty-four thousand pores of the skin. Summon up a spirit of great doubt and concentrate on this word 'mu'. In order to do so, hold to the problem from morning to night without letting it go even for one second, and become one with the word 'mu' (void) with all your strength."  (Mumon Ekai, "The Gateless Gate" ["Mumonkan"], 1228)

"Awaken your three hundred and sixty bones and eighty-four thousand pores into one great body of inquiry and concentrate yourself into this mu (void)." (Mumon Ekai,  (Mumon Ekai, "The Gateless Gate" ["Mumonkan"], 1228)

"Just concentrate your whole energy into this Mu, and do not allow any discontinuation. When you enter this Mu and there is no discontinuation, your attainment will be as a candle burning and illuminating the whole universe." (Mumon Ekai, "The Gateless Gate" ["Mumonkan"], 1228)

"Even after getting out of samadhi, you should always be on the alert to act responsively and protect your power of concentration as you protect a baby. Then, it will be easy for you to cultivate your power of concentration until it comes to maturity." (Eihei Dōgen, "Zazengi" ["Principles of Zazen"], 1243

"Just stop your wandering, look penetratingly into your inherent nature, and, concentrating your spiritual energy, sit in zazen and break through." (Bassui Tokusho, "Deishūshō" ["Mud and Water"], 1386)

"Look! This is the exercised power of Zen concentration. But a swordsman only exercises his power of concentration when he manipulates his sword. When he is without his sword, he loses his power of concentration. This is no good. On the contrary, the Zen man exercises his power of concentration all the time. That is why he is never defeated in doing anything." (Suzuki Shosan, "Roankyō" ["Donkey Saddle Bridge"], 1648)

"Remember such a stable and firm attitude is itself meditation practice. There is no other method of concentration to seek. Buddhism itself is about applying full attention steadily, without being disturbed by external things. Developing a confident attitude that is never pained or vexed or worried or saddened or altered or frightened is called attaining Buddhahood." (Suzuki Shosan, "Roankyō" ["Donkey Saddle Bridge"], 1648)

"None of you could say that you heard the sounds because you had made up your minds to hear them beforehand. If you did, you wouldn’t be telling the truth. All of you are looking this way intent upon hearing me. You’re concentrating single-mindedly on listening. There’s no thought in any of your minds to hear the sounds or noises that might occur behind you. You are able to hear and distinguish sounds when they do occur without consciously intending to hear them because you’re listening by means of the unborn Buddha-mind." (Bankei Yōtaku, cca. 1690)

"[…] first, you should concentrate on the principle of life and death, with an unbending will, without doubt or hesitation, using neither cleverness nor calculation; if you can keep your mind calm, dignified and free in its normal state, you can respond without constraint even to constantly changing conditions." (Issai Chozan, "The Mysterious Skills of the Old Cat" ["Neko No Myoujutsu"], 1727)

"Genuine insight into one's True Nature only emerges in the midst of Great Doubt and Great Faith; it is not the result of accumulated learning and discrimination. When the time is ripe, it appears of itself. Following this ripening process step by step is the purpose of this book. It is relatively easy to accomplish the important matter of insight into one's True Nature, but uncommonly difficult to function freely and clearly (according to this understanding), in motion and in rest, in good and in adverse circumstances. Please make strenuous and vigorous efforts towards this end, otherwise all the teachings of Buddha and patriarchs become mere empty words, rather than the living Dharma. Tread the path of sincere practice with uninterrupted concentration, and once things have become clear, then it is the time to take up and penetrate the sayings (of the Sutras and Masters)." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp" ["Shumon Mujinto Ron"], cca. 1800)

"You students of the Way, if your power of concentration matures, your suffering will gradually subside, and pleasant phenomena will reveal themselves now and then. They are called good phenomena." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp" ["Shumon Mujinto Ron"], cca. 1800)

"To concentrate on a craft is the best procedure. For the person of inferior gifts it will always remain a craft. The more gifted person  will raise it to an art. And as for the man of highest endowment, in doing one thing he does all things; or, to put it less paradoxically, in the one thing that he does properly, he sees a symbol of all things that are done right. " (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1829)

"Brahman is beyond mind and speech, beyond concentration and meditation, beyond the knower, the known and knowledge, beyond even the conception of the real and unreal. In short, It is beyond all relativity." (Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, 1882)

"The devotee of God wants to eat sugar, and not become sugar. (All laugh.) Do you know how a lover of God feels? His attitude is: 'O God, Thou art the Master, and I am Thy servant. Thou art the Mother, and I Thy child.' Or again: 'Thou art my Father and Mother. Thou art the Whole, and I am a part.' He does not like to say, "I am Brahman." They yogi seeks to realize the Paramatman, the Supreme Soul. His ideal is the union of the embodied soul and the Supreme Soul. He withdraws his mind from sense objects and tries to concentrate on the Paramatman. Therefore, during the first stage of his spiritual discipline, he retires into solitude and with undivided attention practices meditation in a fixed posture. But the reality is one and the same; the difference is only in name. He who is Brahman is verily Atman, and again, He is the Bhagavan. He is Brahman to the followers of the path of knowledge, Paramatman to the yogis, and Bhagavan to the lovers of God." (Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", 1882)

"The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun when they are concentrated they illumine." (Swami Vivekananda)

"The present system of education is all wrong. The mind is crammed with facts before it knows how to think. Control of the mind should be taught first. It takes people a long time to learn things because they can't concentrate their minds at will." (Swami Vivekananda)

"There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point." (Swami Vivekananda, "Raja Yoga", 1896)

"In concentration, the consciousness is held to a single image; the whole attention of the Knower is fixed on a single point, without wavering or swerving." (Annie Besant, "Thought Power: Its Control and Culture", 1903)

"The cultivation of the power of concentration means to cultivate the power which makes us ‘masters wherever we may be.’" (Harada Sogaku, "Sanzen no Hiketsu" ["The essence of Zen discipline"], 1936)

"Pouncing on an idea as soon as it appears kills the idea. Too early and too enthusiastic logical attention either freezes the idea or forces it into the old moulds. Concentration on an idea isolates it from its surroundings and arrests its growth. The glare of attention inhibits the fertile semi-conscious processes that go to develop an idea." (Edward de Bono, "New Think: The Use of Lateral Thinking in the Generation of New Ideas", 1967)

"Meditation is like a single log of wood. Insight and investigation are one end of the log; calm and concentration are the other end. If you lift up the whole log, both sides come up at once. Which is concentration and which is insight? Just this mind." (Ajahn Chah, "A Still Forest Pool", 1985)

"Contemplation means that we stay with one subject, and although we have known the subject ever so long, a new realization may arise. We see the same thing in a different light. We experience an intuitive knowing, which comes from having discarded discursive thinking and from concentrating on one subject alone. This is how wisdom arises: not by thinking about a subject, but by contemplating its truth and realizing its application to our own life; seeing all its facets and connections to our reality, and gaining a brand new viewpoint." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"In our techniques we enter completely into, blend totally with, and control firmly an attack. Strength resides where one's ki is concentrated and stable; confusion and maliciousness arise when ki stagnates." (Morihei Ueshiba, "The Art of Peace", 1991)

"The Buddha said, 'The way to liberation is the way of letting go of clinging.' 'Letting go' is our spiritual growth process. There’s nothing to gain, nothing to get. In order to meditate we have to let go of all sensual desires, no matter how subtle. If we don’t let go of hopes, ideas, thoughts, worries, and problems during our meditation periods, we can’t concentrate. 'Letting go' is the key phrase for the spiritual path. Knowing that all is impermanent, cannot last, and is moving toward dissolution helps us to let go. Wanting always results in anxiety, because we don’t know whether we will get what we desire, and even if we do, we don’t know whether we can keep it."(Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"Breathing meditation can quiet the mind, open the body, and develop a great power of concentration." (Jack Kornfield, "A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life", 1993)

"To learn to concentrate we must choose a prayer or meditation and follow this path with commitment and steadiness, a willingness to work with our practice day after day, no matter what arises." (Jack Kornfield, "A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life", 1993)

"Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as the capacity of your mind to be calm and stable. Without calmness, the mirror of mindfulness will have an agitated and choppy surface and will not be able to reflect things with any accuracy." (Jon Kabat-Zinn, "Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life", 1994)

"Tibetan Buddhism considers sleep to be a form of nourishment, like food, that restores and refreshes the body. Another type of nourishment is samadhi, or meditative concentration. If one becomes advanced enough in the practice of meditative concentration, then this itself sustains or nourishes the body." (Dalai Lama, "Tibetan Dream Yoga: A Complete System for Becoming Conscious in Your Dreams", 1994

"Meditation is not passive sitting in silence. It is sitting in awareness, free from distraction, and realizing the clear understanding that arises from concentration." (Thich Nhat Hanh, "Present Moment Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living", 2008)

"The meaning of tanren (discipline, training) lies in the effort to burn out the energy of one’s mind and body with burning flames. Tanren requires mental integration and concentration that lead to the deep root." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"Concentration is the stable condition of a unified mind when there has been Zen training. This condition is called samadhi in Sanskrit or sammai in Japanese. [...] 'concentration' may simply be interpreted as the stabilization of our confused and excited thoughts and imaginings. In other words, it may be regarded as a completely concentrated state of mind." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"[...] Zen may be regarded from a spiritual perspective as a way of regulating the mind. The unification of mind resulting from it is concentration and the workings of concentration is wisdom." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)