Rejoice in sorrow; it will unite you with God.
Bow down and reach the highest peak.
-Rumi
One who stays focused on the beautiful,
is unrestrained with the senses,
knowing no moderation in food,
apathetic, unenergetic:
Mara overcomes him
as the wind, a weak tree.
As stars, a lamp, a fault of vision,
As dewdrops or a bubble,
A dream, a lightning flash, a cloud,
So one should see conditioned things.
-Diamond Sutra
One who stays focused on the foul,
is restrained with regard to the senses,
knowing moderation in food,
full of conviction & energy:
Mara does not overcome him
as the wind, a mountain of rock.
-Dhammapada
For have you not heard?
You are pure awareness,
And your beauty is infinite!
So why let lust mislead you?
-Ashtavakra Gita
An act of meditation is actually an act of faith - of faith in your spirit, in your own potential. Faith is the basis of meditation. Not of faith in something outside you--a metaphysical buddha, an unattainable ideal, or someone else's words. The faith is in yourself, in your own "buddha-nature." You too can be a buddha, an awakened being that lives and responds in a wise, creative, and compassionate way.
-Martine Batchelor