The Search

The Search for the Bull and Discovering the Footprints

The Search for the Bull and Discovering the Footprints. The ten bulls of Zen. 'In the pasture of this world, I endlessly push aside tall grasses in search of the bull.' The bull has never been lost—only because of separation from my true nature, I fail to find him. Greed and fear entangle me. Discovering footprints: seeing the traces of the bull. The search begins with the realization that something is missing—the bull is your true self.

Dropping the Why

Dropping the Why. 'I don't know why I am here.' Nobody knows—and there's no need. The constant questioning 'why' is a disease of the mind. No answer satisfies—the why can be asked again. Drop it! Be! The answer comes not as an answer but as a lived experience. Existential, not intellectual. Dropping the why: stop asking and start living. The question dissolves in the act of being.

Perceiving the Bull

Perceiving the Bull. 'I hear the song of the nightingale. The sun is warm, the wind is mild.' Here no bull can hide! When one hears the voice, one senses its source. The six senses merge—the gate is entered. The slightest thing is not apart from self. Catching the bull: a terrific struggle—his will and power are inexhaustible. Perceiving the bull: a glimpse of your true nature through the senses, in nature, in beauty.

Happiness Knows No Tomorrow

Happiness Knows No Tomorrow. 'Mind's substance is memory—does reading inflate the mind?' Reading can be food for the ego—dangerous. Or it can be listening to the song of the divine. The question is: how do you listen? Greedy for knowledge, or aware? To be impressed is dust on the mirror. To be inspired is totally different. Happiness knows no tomorrow: don't read to know—read to be. Wisdom exists in total ignorance.

Taming the Bull

Taming the Bull. The whip and rope are necessary, else he might stray. Being well trained, he becomes naturally gentle. When one thought arises from enlightenment, all subsequent thoughts are true. Delusion is not caused by objectivity—it's the result of subjectivity. Hold the nose ring tight. Riding the bull home: the voice of my flute intones through the evening. Taming the bull: discipline is needed until the wild mind becomes naturally gentle.

Come In!

Come In! 'I keep a journal but now I just stare at the blank page.' Feel blessed when silence comes instead of words. The Sufi Book of the Books is completely empty. A blank page has more than any written page. Come in: silence is the true journal. Words are for those who haven't found emptiness. The blank page is the entry—the void is the door. Nothingness is where God appears.

The Bull Transcended

The Bull Transcended. 'Astride the bull, I reach home. I am serene.' The bull too can rest. Dawn has come—I've abandoned whip and rope. All is one law, not two. The bull was a temporary subject, like a trap for a rabbit. Both bull and self transcended: whip, rope, person, and bull all merge in no-thing. This heaven is so vast no message can stain it. The bull transcended: the seeker and the sought dissolve into oneness.

Life is the Goal

Life is the Goal. 'Everything I perceive seems my own creation or projection. What is?' There's no need to distinguish between thoughts, dreams, and reality. As far as mind is concerned, everything appears as thought. Don't try to distinguish—remain centered in witnessing. When the mind disappears, open your eyes: whatsoever there is, is real. Life is the goal: don't try to figure out what's real—become still enough to see it directly.

Reaching the Source

Reaching the Source. 'Too many steps have been taken returning to the root.' Better to have been blind and deaf from the beginning! Dwelling in one's true abode, unconcerned with that without: the river flows tranquilly on and the flowers are red. In the world: barefooted and naked of breast, I mingle with the people. My clothes are ragged and I am ever blissful. Reaching the source: returning to where you never left, then bringing that into the marketplace.