Spiritual practice

When you say “I am”, don’t append a subject complement, that is, an identifier, e.g., father, son, doctor, lawyer, etcetera, ad infinitum. Just put a period on it and see how that feels.

Inadvertence

We are standing at the punchbowl, glass in hand. Dude ambles over and we say, “Help yourself.” He doesn’t know it and we don’t either, but a spiritual pointer has just been expressed.

The golden rule, Hopi-style

In Hopi mythology, Spider Grandmother appears as either an old woman or a common spider. She is appreciated for her wisdom, medicinal remedies and plain-spoken advice. The following conveys her earthiness and spiritual pungency: “Don’t go around hurting people. And try to understand things.”

Unlisted

“Only the necessary is good,” said the coal-eyed sage and seller of sundries. The mind salutes this statement with a split list of essentials and non-essentials. But that’s not what Nisargadatta was pointing to. His reference was to the necessity of a quiet mind.

Bad, weak, stupid

The man who condemns himself commits what Nisargadatta calls a grievous spiritual error.