Dhammapada - The World
Avoid being pretentious
by following false laws and false doctrines.
Avoid being thoughtless by following the minds
that try to indoctrinate and subordinate the mind of enlightenment.
Avoid being worldly by thinking that the world needs more worldly minds.
Awaken! Do not let the drowsiness of intoxicating pleasures
and concepts close one's eyes to Reality
and to the Truth of Buddhahood.
Follow the heart felt aspirations of one's budding awakening
and one's intuitional faculties.
By being selfless, happiness will abound
in all existences and in all realms.
This bubble like world is bound to burst
upon the puncturing of the illusory nature
of countless lifetimes and countless emotional reactions.
The King of Death is powerless when in the hands
of an Accomplished One.
Look at what is before one's perceptions.
Is it not like one continuous mirage of the senses?
The wise, who are perfect in their perception,
are able to bypass the laws of nature
in order to see the Truth of an Empty Consciousness.
Once as foolish as a working ass,
those who become as great as the wise
in their understanding of selflessness
radiate out into the world
the knowledge which dissipates the cloud
like conceptions of a built up identity.
As opulent as the moon,
such Accomplished Ones reflect
the contents of the world's mind
as easily and clearly as any celestial body
orbits around its designated area.
In a world where few are able to break
free from Samsara's net,
the way to Nirvana is reached by the swan like
flying of an Opened and Unlimited Mind.
Not verifying the Dharma for themselves
and rejecting the next life to come,
the suffering of the world swallows their minds,
making them only see what they grudgingly want to see.
Better than a thousand rebirths in the realm of the gods
and better than becoming an immortal
is one step taken towards the Buddha and the Buddha Nature.
By Julian Colgan
Awake to Buddhahood
http://emptinessofmind.blogspot.ca/