You may control a mad elephant; You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger; Ride the lion and play with the cobra; By alchemy you may earn your livelihood; You may wander through the universe incognito; Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful; You may walk on water and live in fire; But control of the mind is better and more difficult.
Thoughts are the medium through which the ego, the limited self, appears and paves the way for all our likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain.
Move on your path with unflinching determination, using all the attributes of success. Tune yourself with the creative power of spirit.
A fasting person is in a state of worship even if asleep in bed. Every breath he takes while asleep is ‘tasbih’, and his sleep itself is worship.
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.
Mantra-exercise annuls the negative, the selfish, the sinful elements in us, and creates peace, bliss, well-being and success.
Those who read books cannot understand the teachings and, what’s more, may even go astray. But those who try to observe the things going on in the mind, and always take that which is true in their own minds as their standard; never get muddled.
