Appamada

Appamada

By AppamadaReligion & Spirituality
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Appamada episodes

  • 2021-05-04 I Inquiry I The Weight of Love I Flint Sparks
    "Song"
    by Allen Ginsberg
    The weight of the world
    is love.
    Under the burden
    of solitude,
    under the burden
    of dissatisfaction
    the weight,
    the weight we carry
    is love.
    Who can deny?
    In dreams
    it touches
    the body,
    in thought
    constructs
    a miracle,
    in imagination
    anguishes
    till born
    in human--
    looks out of the heart
    burning with purity--
    for the burden of life
    is love,
    but we carry the weight
    wearily,
    and so must rest
    in the arms of love
    at last,
    must rest in the arms
    of love.
    No rest
    without love,
    no sleep
    without dreams
    of love--
    be mad or chill
    obsessed with angels
    or machines,
    the final wish
    is love
    --cannot be bitter,
    cannot deny,
    cannot withhold
    if denied:
    the weight is too heavy
    --must give
    for no return
    as thought
    is given
    in solitude
    in all the excellence
    of its excess.
    The warm bodies
    shine together
    in the darkness,
    the hand moves
    to the center
    of the flesh,
    the skin trembles
    in happiness
    and the soul comes
    joyful to the eye--
    yes, yes,
    that's what
    I wanted,
    I always wanted,
    I always wanted,
    to return
    to the body
    where I was born.
    San Jose, 1954"
    1 hr
  • 2021-04-27 I Inquiry I Our Inquiry Vow I Flint Sparks
    Bodhisattva’s Vow
    Torei Zenji
    When I, a student of the Way
    look at the real form of the universe,
    all is the never-failing manifestation
    of the mysterious truth of the Awakened Life.
    In any event, in any moment, and in any place, None can be other than the marvelous revelation of its glorious light.
    This realization made our ancestors and teachers extend tender care, with respectful hearts
    even to such beings as birds and beasts.
    This realization teaches us
    that our daily food, drink, clothes,
    and protections of life
    are the warm flesh and blood,
    the merciful incarnation of the Awakened One.
    Who can be ungrateful or not respectful
    even to senseless things,
    not to speak of humans?
    Even though they may be fools,
    be warm and compassionate toward them.
    If by any chance they should turn against us,
    become sworn enemies and persecute us,
    we should sincerely bow down with humble language
    in the reverent understanding
    that they are the merciful messengers of the Awakened One,
    who use devices to emancipate us from blind tendencies,
    produced and accumulated upon ourselves
    by our own egoistic delusion and attachment
    through countless cycles of space and time.
    Then on each moment’s flash of our thought
    there will grow a lotus flower
    and on each lotus flower will be revealed
    Perfection, unceasingly manifest as our life,
    just as it is,
    right here and right now.
    May we extend this mind to all beings
    so that we and the world together
    may attain maturity in the wisdom of the Awakened Life.
    Flint’s modern translation
    The world is always asking you to open up and be more loving.
    Look closely and you will begin to learn things that are
    more interesting than the things you think about everyday.
    No matter what you love, what you hate, or what you imagine,
    everything belongs somehow.
    When you truly open to this way of looking and living
    you will learn how to care for what used to scare you.
    Do your best to be friendly, even when it’s hard.
    Sometimes people are difficult or even mean. Think of them
    as strict teachers in a school where you learn about
    these hard, confusing, or scary things.
    When you have good friends with you in this kind of school,
    things begin to look really different. There is a lot more love…
    and more of everything else, too…but you can do it.
    Just keep going. Offer your love back as best you can. If you do,
    you and your friends will grow together in ways you could have
    never imagined.
    Inquiry Vow
    Open your drama eye and see that
    what you seek is right in front of you.
    ––already and always!
    When you see––what you realize__will bring you to
    your knees with humility and lift you up with gratitude
    ––for receiving your life and giving back your life.
    Dharma gate never close, but
    you can refuse to step through.
    Expect nothing. Appreciate everything.
    Tell the truth and love everyone.
    58 min

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