Fasting in the monastic community is considered an ascetic practice, a “dhutanga” practice. Dhutanga means “to shake up” or “invigoration”. The Buddha, as is well known, emphasized moderation, the Middle Way that avoids extremes, in all things. Fasting is an additional method that one can take up, with supervision, for a time.
So long as we believe in our heart of hearts that our capacity is limited and we grow anxious and unhappy, we are lacking in faith. One who truly trusts in God has no right to be anxious about anything.
He who knows his soul knows this truth: “I am beyond everything finite; I now see that the Spirit, alone in a space with its ever-new joy, has expressed itself as the vast body of nature…I am the wisdom and power that sustain all creation.”
Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; this whole world is your own.
When a man in the process of dreaming becomes conscious that he is dreaming, he is no longer identified with the phenomena; he is not affected exultantly or dolefully. God consciously dreams His cosmic play and is unaffected by its dualities.
Move on your path with unflinching determination, using all the attributes of success. Tune yourself with the creative power of spirit.
If we only practice compassion at the mind level, we run a great risk of our compassion being just talk. As we know, talk is cheap. To develop true compassion we have to put our money where our mouth is.
The tiger does not come to eat your fruits. His prescribed food is animal flesh. But man’s food is vegetables, fruits, grains, and milk products.
