Tuesday, December 29, 2009

deeds of no purpose

If you're thinking of New Year's resolutions, you might consider this:

"... "deeds of no purpose" ... "a life of effortlessness", or in Sanskrit anabhogacarya ...

"All the Mahayana sutras give the greatest significance to the attainment of this "life of no-purposiveness". The lilies of the field are living it, so are the greatest spiritual leaders of the world. And all the "Great Vows" of the Bodhisattva grow out of it; his vows are no vows in the ordinary sense of the word."

- from "The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk", by Daistez Teitaro Suzuki, p. 118

3 comments:

  1. reminds me of "Conjectures.... Bystander", first chapter, about rain.

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  2. You must be thinking of Rain and the Rhinoceros, Gunter ... first essay in the book, RAIDS ON THE UNSPEAKABLE.

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  3. I should check my references before I comment but it did provoke me to look it up and re-read it for the new year for which I'm glad.

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