talismans ~

the everyday practice is simply to develop
complete acceptance and openness to all
situations and emotions, and to all people,
experiencing totally without mental
reservations and blockages,
so that one never withdraws or centralizes
into oneself.
                          ~ dilgo khyentse rinpoche


i will give you a talisman.
whenever you are in doubt or when the self 
becomes too much with you, try the following expedient:
recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless being
whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step
you contemplate is going to be of use to them.
will they be able to gain anything by it?
will it restore them to a control over their own life and destiny?
in other words, will it lead to .. self-rule
for the hungry and also the spiritually starved millions of the world?
when you do, you will find .... your self melting away.
                                                    ~ gandhi-ji

talisman - tongen practice..

tonglen is tibetan for sending and receiving..
it is a path and a practice that conjures up our willingness
to take on the pain of others and offer whatever may
ease, console and soothe their sorrow, heartbreak and misery.
it is the practice of the wide embrace..
a bigger container to hold the human condition..
tonglen unconditionally exposes our interconnectedness..
tonglen dissolves the barriers of the heart...
the talisman of tonglen frees us from the cage of the self...
when we are free, and open and spacious..
the world is free and open and spacious..


you are the world and the world is you.
                    ~   j. krishnamurti


three treasures  (talismans)

everybody says my way is great
but improbable.

all greatness
is improbable.
what's probable
is tedious and petty.

i have three treasures.
i keep and treasure them.
the first, mercy,
the second, moderation,
the third, modesty.
if you're merciful you can be brave,
if you're moderate you can be generous,
and if you don't presume to lead
you can lead the high and mighty.

but to be brave without compassion,
or generous without self-restraint,
or to take the lead,
is fatal.

compassion wins the battle
and holds the fort;
it is the bulwark set
around those that heaven helps.
                        ~ tao te ching
                           ursula k. le guin


like the earth, water, wind, and fire,
medicinal herbs, and the trees of the wilderness,
may i always be made use of freely
by all beings just as they wish.

may i be beloved of beings and may they
be more beloved to me than myself.
may i bear the results of their negativity,
and may they have the results of all my virtue.

as long as there is even some single
sentient being somewhere who is not yet free,
may i remain (in the world) for that being's sake,
even if i have attained unexcelled awakening.
                           ~ the precious garland
                              twenty verse prayer
                              nāgārjuna