Sunday, February 03, 2008

Truth is non-possession


The Self-knowing One said:
There is an island standing in the midst
of the fearsome torrent of transience and death,
a refuge to those who flounder
in the flood of impermanence.

Possessing nothing, attaching to nothing,
That is the incomparable island,
That is the ending of decay and death.
I call it Perfect Beatitude
Those who have found refuge there
Are themselves the island of refuge
Where the realm of delusion is no more

Be a refuge unto yourself
Take refuge in none other
Islanded by Trueness
Take refuge in Trueness
Take refuge in none other

Trueness is self-possession
Trueness is non-possession
Of matter, thought or emotion.
Through this one abides
An island unto himself
A refuge unto himself
And is out of the darkness.

-Buddhist text
"So we must train this mind to hear the Dhamma, to cultivate the Buddho, the clear and radiant awareness, that which exists above and beyond the ordinary mind and knows all that goes on within it. This is why we meditate on the word Buddho, so that we can know the mind beyond the mind. Just observe all the mind's movements, whether good or bad, until the one who realizes that the mind is simply mind, not a self or a person. This is called cittanupassana, Contemplation of Mind. Seeing in this way we will understand that the mind is Transient, Imperfect and Ownerless. This mind doesn't belong to us."

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