direct transmission
19 11 2007
There’s a mirror in your heart,
but you can’t endure the sight
of your face in it: you can bear to look
only when you’ve ceased to doubt.
— from Kabir: The Weaver’s Song
eternal awareness
“Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” -Carl Jung
It is only the non-Truth
that cannot see itself.
Loving Awareness
Very true, Kabir’s words. Thanks for sharing! I’ve missed you.
Beautifully expressed truth.
Hi Mark
I love this quote from Kabir: The Weaver’s Song
Thanks!
That really hits deep for me. Thanks for the post Mark.
What is it that Kabir is suggesting we can’t endure? The reflection of our self will?
This quote really seems to touch on one of the paradoxes of contemporary spirituality, which is that everywhere one hears it being talked up - as we all know, the shelves of even a local neighborhood bookstore are literally groaning with ’spiritual’ books - but there don’t seem to be that many real ’seekers’ around. Could this be because buying books and DVDs and doing workshops etc. can so often just be an adorment for the ego? Yet another way of saying ‘Hey, look at me!’. But actually being a seeker means looking, long and hard, at ‘me’ - and realising that it’s not a nice thing to look at.
The ‘heart’ is a great thing when it’s all about warm and fuzzy feelings. And who could say anything against the heart? Except that most of this talk is simply about the idea of the heart - of reading a few Coleman Barks poems and going off on a euphoria trip. But introduce someone to this organ that threatens everything they feel, think and believe about themselves, and suddenly they don’t seem to want to know any more.
I didn’t know what transmission was until earlier this year when I was visiting Dave Oshana’s web site. It sounded to me highly desirable, and it leaves me wishing that someone in the Louisville area offered something like this. Nothing spiritually exciting happens in Louisville. At least not that I am aware of.
Hi Mark,
I deleted my blog and then realised I had no way to find your new blog.
I may start another blog before long. I am wondering if you found wordpress better than blogger.
Although the conversation about faith and belief is interesting, my hunch is that we can get beyond both faith and belief.
Hi Mark
I can’t find your comment or link to your new blog. If i’m not mistaken you did mention a new blog…i searched and can’t find it. I wish i had clicked on it then..but found myself busy. Sorry. can you lead me there?
Robert* you deleted your blog… *sigh*
Where do you seek me O devout?
I reside neither in the temple or the mosque
in Kashi or in Kaba
Neither in rites nor in ceremonies
in Yoga or in renunciation……
Seek, for within you I reside……
- Kabir
Peace Mark, and everyone else too.
A beautiful poem by Kabir. An important topic to be sure. Does the apparent excess of spirituality (or spiritual books) relate to increasing commercialisation of life? I don’t know, but it may well be the case.
For myself, I think that this whole path (whatever that means in practice) is about practice - trial and error and effort. I can remember thinking of spirituality as merely another thing to acquire at earlier points in my life. Eventually, I moved beyond that stage. Insha Allah, we all will.
Abdur Rahman
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
The first part very much resonats with me, but I wonder what the second part means. Of course, it’s always tough to try to put words to contemplation, but for me, entering deeply into mediation has meant, for the time being, setting aside all thoughts, concepts, language - and beliefs.