🅼Week 2025-35: On Mind (Spiritual Texts)

"A mental image that the mind creates when processing only words is verbal delusion." (Patanjali, "Yoga Sutra", cca. 5th c. BC)

"Here is, in truth, the whole secret of Yoga, the science of the soul. The active turnings, the strident vibrations, of selfishness, lust and hate are to be stilled by meditation, by letting heart and mind dwell in spiritual life, by lifting up the heart to the strong, silent life above, which rests in the stillness of eternal love, and needs no harsh vibration to convince it of true being." (Patañjali,"Yoga Sutra", cca. 5th c. BC)

"Yoga occurs when the machinations, vacillations, perturbations, whirlings, spinning, and agitations (vrtti) of the mind-field (citta) dissolve, cease, and become still (nirodha)" (Patañjali,"Yoga Sutra", cca. 5th c. BC)

"When meditation is mastered, 
the mind is unwavering,  
like the flame of a lamp in a windless place." (Bhagavad Gita, cca. 2nd c. BC) 

"[…] just let your mind be like space, without clinging to a mental image of space, functioning responsively without obstruction, unminding in action and repose." ("The Sutra of Hui-neng", cca. 8th c. )

"Oh! Son of Sari! Forms of object as perceived by our mind is no different from emptiness, (and) emptiness is no different from form. Forms perceived are virtual. Virtuality is the reality of forms perceived. Such are the processing of the stimulus of perception, the mental image of the object perceived, the mental activities of analysing this object of perception and the forming of mental conception of this object." ("Heart Sutra", cca. 7th c.) [Akishi’s translation]

"The mind when sullied, / cannot be purified / in the tirthas where man bathes himself," (Yoga Darshana Upanishad)

"If while speaking of the samadhi of oneness, you fail to practice straightforward mind, you will not be disciples of Buddha. Only practicing straightforward mind, and in all things having no attachments whatsoever, is called the samadhi of oneness. The deluded person clings to the characteristics of things, adheres to the samadhi of oneness, and thinks that straightforward mind is sitting without moving and casting aside delusions without letting things arise in the mind. This they consider to be the samadhi of oneness."

This kind of practice is the same as being insentient like a rock and is the cause of obstruction to the Tao. Tao must be something that circulates freely; why should we impede it? If the mind does not abide in things, the Tao circulates freely; if the mind abides in things, it becomes entangled." (Hui-Neng, "Platform Scripture") 

"The Purusha is Divine, formless, existing inside and outside, unborn, free from Prana and mind, pure, and greater than the great unmanifest." (Swami Krishnananda, on the "Mundaka Upanishad") 

🆂Week 2025-34: On Self (unsourced)

"Buddha-Nature, the Self of all beings, is the simple Truth.

"From Buddhas to insects, it is the seer, hearer, and mover." (Bassui Tokusho)

"Cultivate the self with learning in order to progress and leave all else; for knowledge is an abode of all things. 

The self is like glass, the knowledge, like a lamp, and the wisdom of God, like oil. 

When your self is illuminated - you are alive, and when there is darkness - you are dead."(Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina])

"In the World of Reality there is no self, There is no other-than-self." (Jianzhi Sengcan, "Xinxin Ming", ["Inscription on Faith in Mind"])

"Like vanishing dew,
a passing apparition
or the sudden flash
of lightning - already gone -
thus should one regard one’s self." (Ikkyu Sojun)

"Once you understand non-self, then the burden of life is gone. You'll be at peace with the world. When we see beyond self, we no longer cling to happiness and we can truly be happy. Learn to let go without struggle, simply let go, to be just as you are - no holding on, no attachment, free." (Ajahn Chah)

"Subjecting yourself to vigourous training is more for the sake of forging a resolute spirit that can vanquish the self than it is for developing a strong body." (Mas Oyama)

"Who is hearing? Your physical being doesn't hear, nor does the void.
Then what does?
Strive to find out.
Put aside your rational intellect - give up all techniques.
Just get rid of the notion of self." (Bassui Tokusho)

"You should always be one with everything instead of deviating, and must be awakened to your true self in your daily life while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down."  (Ta-hui Tsung-kao)

🆅Week 2025-33: On Void (unsourced)

"By convention sweet, by convention bitter; by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color: but in reality, atoms and void." (Democritus)

"Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality." (Bruce Lee)

"The concept of the void is central to many philosophies including the Tao. However, it seems so abstract at times. Here void has a functionary role. The pathway connecting the energy centers of the mind is like a long shaft beginning from the perineum and ending at the top of the head. If not for emptiness, or hollowness of this shaft, the sacred energy of the body could not be conducted."(Deng Ming-Dao) 

"The void is no mere emptiness, but is real, free and existing. It is the source from which all things arise and return. It cannot be seen, touched or known, yet it exists and is freely used. It has no shape, size, colour or form, and yet all that we see, hear, feel and touch is "it". It is beyond intellectual knowing and cannot be grasped by the ordinary mind. When we suddenly awake to the realization that there is no barrier, and has never been seen, one realizes that one is all things, mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, sun, moon, stars, universe are all oneself. There is no longer a division or barrier between myself and others, no longer any feeling of alienation or fear. Realizing this, results in true compassion. Other people and things are not seen as apart from oneself, on the contrary, as one's own body." (Bruce Lee)

"Voidness is that which stands right in the middle between this and that. The void is all-inclusive, having no opposite - there is nothing which it excludes or opposes. It is living void, because all forms come out of it and whoever realizes the void is filled with life and power and the love of all being." (Bruce Lee)

🅽Week 2025-32: On Nothingness

"When one knows that the Great Void is full of ch’i, one realizes that there is no such thing as nothingness."(Chang Tsai, "Zhengmeng" ["Correcting Youthful Ignorance"], 1076)

"Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed." (Blaise Pascal, "Pensées", 1670)

"Zen Buddhism emphasizes the concept of Mu, which symbolizes enlightenment. Mu is absolute nothingness that transcends the conflict between existence and non-existence. This notion defies comparisons with other concepts. Mu is existence itself. In Zen Buddhism, becoming mu means to grasp the ultimate nature of reality, which allows you to achieve enlightenment. Mu does not signify a blank state of mind; rather, mu represents detachment from the five organs of the body after understanding their functions. The concept of ku, on the other hand, may evoke the image of a void." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"As to the roaming of sages,
They move in utter emptiness,
Let their minds meander in the great nothingness;
They run beyond convention
And go through where there is no gateway.
They listen to the soundless
And look at the formless,
They are not constrained by society
And not bound to its customs." (Lao Tzu, [via  Wenzi])

"Nothingness cannot be defined; the softest thing cannot be snapped." (Bruce Lee)

🅳Week 2025-31: On Doubt

"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)

"[Nansen:] The Way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion; not knowing is confusion. When you have really reached the true Way beyond doubt, you will find it as vast and boundless as space. How can it be talked about on the level of right and wrong?" " (Mumon Ekai, "The Gateless Gate" ["Mumonkan"], 1228) 

"It cannot be helped that your thoughts arise and perish. Doubt your own mind thoroughly in accord with your thought. It is in order to be aware of the truth of being that you doubt profoundly. When you try to know what is unknown, your wandering mind will lose its way, and you will be at a loss. It is then that you are said to be in zazen. They say that to doubt in this way is kufu. In kufu you are to doubt thoroughly, whether you are on your feet or not, and whether you are asleep or awake, for you are well aware of your own unenlightenment." (Bankei Yōtaku, "Dharma words" ["Kana Hogo"], 14th century)

"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties." (Sir Francis Bacon, "The Advancement of Learning", 1605)

"No doubt you see the sword about to strike you, but do not let your mind 'stop' there. Have no intention to counterattack him in response to his threatening move, cherish no calculating thoughts whatsoever. You simply perceive the opponent’s move, you do not allow your mind to 'stop' with it, you move on just as you are toward the opponent and make use of his attack by turning it on to himself. Then his sword meant to kill you will become your own and the weapon will fall on the opponent himself." (Takuan Soho, "Fudōchi Shinmyōroku" ["The Unfettered Mind"], cca. 1630)

"[…] 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)

"True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance." (Robert Dodsley, "The Œconomy of Human Life", 1750) [attributed to Akhenaton)

"There can be no doubt that all our knowledge begins with experience." (Immanuel Kant, "Critique of Pure Reason", 1781)

"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)

"Knowing is possible only when one knows little. As one comes to experience more, one gets gradually assailed by doubts. [...] No phenomenon can be explained, taken merely by itself. Only many, surveyed in their connection, and methodically arranged, finally yield something that can pass for theory." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1828)

"That calmness of mind, that serenity of temper, that composure and quietness of demeanor, which are the first essentials of Cha-no-yu, are without doubt the first conditions of right thinking and right feeling. The scrupulous cleanliness of the little room, shut off from sight and sound of the madding crowd, is in itself conducive to direct one’s thoughts from the world." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)

"Passion is always a mystery and unaccountable, and unfortunately there is no doubt that life does not spare its purest children and often it is just the most deserving people who cannot help loving those that destroy them." ("Hermann Hesse, "Gertrude", 1910)

"When we raise ourselves through meditation to what unites us with the spirit, we quicken something within us that is eternal and unlimited by birth and death. Once we have experienced this eternal part in us, we can no longer doubt its existence. Meditation is thus the way to knowing and beholding the eternal, indestructible, essential center of our being." (Rudolf Steiner, 1923)

"We want to have certainties and no doubts - results and no experiments - without even seeing that certainties can arise only through doubt and results only thorough experiment." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Everyone has the right to doubt everything as often as he pleases and the duty to do it at least once. No way of looking at things is too sacred to be reconsidered. No way of doing things is beyond improvement." (Edward de Bono, "Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step", 1970)

"Meditation is like going to the bottom of the sea, where everything is calm and tranquil. On the surface of the sea there may be a multitude of waves but the sea is not affected below. In its deepest depths, the sea is all silence. When we start meditating, first we try to reach our own inner existence, our true existence- that is to say, the bottom of the sea. Then when the waves come from the outside world, we are not affected. Fear, doubt, worry and all the earthly turmoils just wash away, because inside us is solid peace. Thoughts cannot touch us, because our mind is all peace, all silence, all oneness. Like fish in the sea, they jump and swim but leave no mark. When we are in our highest meditation, we feel that we are the sea, and the animals in the sea cannot affect us. We feel that we are the sky, and all the birds flying past cannot affect us. Our mind is the sky and our heart is the infinite sea. This is meditation." (Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose,"Child's Heart and a Child's Dreams", 1986)

"When you cease doubting, you have stopped moving forward." (Paulo Coelho, "Brida", 1990)

"Nothing is so uncertain as one 's own common sense or knowledge. Regardless of one's fragile knowledge one must single-mindedly devote oneself to training, especially in times of doubt." (Masaaki Hatsumi, "Essence of Ninjutsu: The Nine Traditions", 1998)

"Do not doubt your own basic goodness. In spite of all confusion and fear, you are born with a heart that knows what is just, loving, and beautiful." (Jack Kornfield, "The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace", 2002)