Han Shan : The enemy is in ourselves
For some information on the Buddhist monk and teacher Han Shan Te Ching (1546–1623 CE) see this post. Our mind and body are by nature pure; but we sully them Continue Reading →
Category: English
Elephants
When a creature is as large as an elephant – large on the human scale – it is easy for us to ascribe symbolic meanings to it. The ‘elephant in Continue Reading →
Ching-Yuen : The wind bears no shape or shadow
Loy Ching-Yuen was born in China’s Hubei province in 1873. He studied with a Taoist master, learning tai chi chuan, chi gung, and naturopathic medicine. Most of his life was Continue Reading →
Hazrat Inayat : Dependence upon God
In just a few concise paragraphs Hazrat Inayat Khan sums up the origin of dependence, the unreliability of depending on the material, and the necessity of learning to depend upon Continue Reading →
Shah Latif : Remove the veil from your heart
For some background on the Sufi and poet Shah Abdul Latif, see this post. Full of ego, the world wanders lost, not realising that this magic show is created by Continue Reading →
Hazrat Inayat : God’s dealings with us
Hazrat Inayat Khan gives a Sufi explanation of the apparent inconsistencies and injustices in God’s dealing with humanity. Mankind tends to consider that all that is pleasant has come from Continue Reading →
Catherine of Siena : Consumed in Grace
Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380 CE) was a mystic and a brilliant writer, who was canonised by the Catholic Church and is considered a Doctor of the Church. In Continue Reading →
Tales : Nasruddin’s conversation with the prophets
The experience of Mullah Nasruddin is much wider than people think. In his youth, for example, he once served a Sufi shaikh, thinking that he might learn something useful. He Continue Reading →
Hazrat Inayat : The Self and the Merit of God
Hazrat Inayat Khan lays before us the explanation of a very subtle matter. In Sufi terms the self of God is called Zat, and His qualities, His merits, are named Sifat. The Continue Reading →
Muso Soseki : Clear valley
Muso Soseki was a 14th c. Japanese Zen master, poet and designer of meditative gardens. ‘The Sixth Patriarch’, mentioned in this poem, is the Chinese Chan master Hui Neng, who Continue Reading →