Timeless Wisdom

How Extraordinary is the Ordinary!

The extraordinary is the ordinary seen in all its glory.
			Philip Levine

I had no doubt that I had seen God,
that is, had seen all there is to see;
yet it turned out to be the world
that I looked at every day.
			N.M. in Mysticism and Philosophy,
			by W.T. Stace

The work of the philosopher as artist is to reveal and
celebrate the eternal and purposeless background of
human life.  Out of simple exuberance or wonder he wants
to tell others of the point of view from which the world is
unimaginably good as it is, with people just as they are.	
			Alan Watts
			This Is It, p. 33

He who truly attains awakening knows that deliverance is to
be found right where he is.  There is no need to retire to
the mountain cave.  If he is a fisherman he becomes a real
fisherman. If he is a butcher, he becomes a real butcher.
The farmer becomes a real farmer and the merchant a real
merchant.  He lives his daily life in awakened awareness.
His every act from morning to evening is his religion.
			Sokei-An

There is no place for using effort.
Just be ordinary and nothing special.
Eat your food, move your bowels, pass water,
and when you're tired, go and lie down.
The ignorant will laugh at me,
but the wise will understand.
			Lin-chi

Perfection is not in exhibitions of miraculous powers,
but perfection is to sit among people, sell and buy,
marry and have children; and yet never leave the
presence of God even for one moment.
			Sayyid Al-Kharraz

There is no language of the holy.  The sacred lies
in the ordinary.		Deng Ming-Dao

Your singing-and-dancing is none other than the
voice of Dharma.		Hakuin