illusion

If we refuse to think of anything except what we are doing or the person that we are with, we develop the habit of being present to the present moment. In a way, the present moment becomes as sacred as being in church. Far better to be present to your duty if you are a bartender, than to be present in church and to be thinking about being in a bar. At least you are present to yourself when you are paying attention to what you are doing.

Attention, then, is a way of doing what we are doing. It cracks the crust of the false self (our psychological awareness of daily life) in which we are the center of the universe while everything else is circling around our particular needs or desires. This is an illusion, but unfortunately it is the heritage we all bring with us from early life.

The human being taken in his profound reality as well as in his great tension of becoming is a divided being, a being which divides again, having permitted himself the illusion of unity for barely an instant. He divides and then reunites.

When a country is in harmony with the Tao,
the factories make trucks and tractors.
When a country goes counter to the Tao,
warheads are stockpiled outside the cities.

There is no greater illusion than fear,
no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself,
no greater misfortune than having an enemy.

Whoever can see through all fear
will always be safe.

"The desire to be in control, the illusion of being in control, and the hope of being in control are all based on the megalomaniacal belief that you know when and what the outcome should be."

When you can see through the mist of Maya to the Self, that mist has not disappeared. You have just learned to see through it. "

Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives us illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion...

" Miracles happen in silence... lesser important things create world headlines." ...... silent lotus

When I compare life to a dream I do not mean to denigrate it as some sort of meaningless fantasy.   Life is too wonderful to be called an "illusion" unless we whisper the word in amazement, as we might when witnessing the most astonishing magic trick.  What could be more magnificent than this glorious universe, in all its multifarious extravagance?  Its awesome vastness and delicate detail.  Its impersonal precision and intimate intensity.  Its harsh necessities and lush sensuality.  This dream of life is truly marvelous.

God alone is real, and all else is illusion.

i sat there afraid that I might discover that the world around me is not real. then i thought: wait. i need fear that only if its true, and if it is, i must consider that while this may be bad, worse than that is living in a world that is only real because i am a coward.