May 2013
15 posts
The King's Feet
“Curb your speech. Restrain your mind. Commit no evil deed.” -Buddha
“It is respect to bow down to the King’s feet, but it’s a fault compared to other gestures.” -Rumi
“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” -Psalm
You have shown me stretches of...
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Easy
“Right speech, harmlessness, restraint, according to the monk’s discipline. Moderation in food, at peace in remoteness and solitude, devotion to higher meditation.” -Buddha
“The root of all your jealousies is come from God who is beyond all comparison.” -Rumi
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to...
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Life's Narrow Cord
“Unwholesome action, hurting self, comes easily. Wholesome action, healing self, takes effort.” -Buddha
“You will be split apart by whisperings, dear heart, if you distinguish joys and trials.” -Rumi
“My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.” -Psalm
Woozy. Tired. Confused.
Low...
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WatchMeditation Psalm 69:1-3
This is an experiment in musical meditation. I focused on Psalm 69:1-3 and then let myself create music on my viola. This is completely improvised without prior rehearsal.
Psalm 69:1-3 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into to the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out...
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Like Ocean Waves
“The one who drowns in God desires more drowning, his soul tossed up and down like ocean waves.” -Rumi
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” -Psalm
True faith, the tossing up and down of a soul that does not fear.
“Sometimes it causes me to tremble.”
I do not fear drowning when I grow weary of breathing. When daily life feels more...
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These Ancient Doors
“What’s ‘we’ in words? The ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ I’m not affirming. I am essenceless negation. I found identity in the impersonal state; I wove it into the impersonal state.” -Rumi
“Lift up your heads, O you gates, be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.” -Psalm
There is recklessness in barring the...
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The Scent And Flavor
“The thirsty may seek water in the world, and in the world the water seeks the thirsty.” -Rumi
“Do not be far from me for trouble is near and there is no one to help.” -Psalm
My life is not soaked in desperation. When I’ve called upon You, You have answered. When I look to You for help, You have helped me. When I needed a blessing, You have blessed.
How many times...
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Turning Gears
“The wise man, by vigor, mindfulness, restraint and self-control, creates for himself an island which no flood can submerge.” -Buddha
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” -Psalm
Like a broken machine or discarded toolbox, I am unable to fulfill the purposes for which I’m wired....
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Mandala Prints by Daniel ML →
I’ve made photographic prints of some of my mandalas available on redbubble. Please consider purchasing a print if you enjoy my art. Thanks for checking it out!
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Hidden Faults
“Delightful are forests, where more worldly men find no joy. Being free of the pull of desire, saints, who seek no worldly pleasures, find delight in such places.” -Buddha
“Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” -Psalm
Hidden...
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Foes
“It is good to see the holy ones, to live with them is always happiness.” -Buddha
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me.” -Psalm
Where is the space and avenue I should seek?
I have experienced seeing and dwelling with the holy ones. I have...
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April 2013
13 posts
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The God Behind The Storm
“By making yourself as still as a cracked cymbal, not retaliating, you achieve nirvana.” -Buddha
”[…] he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him - the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.” -Rumi
“He reached down from on high and...
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Listening Heart
One may recite a hundred verses full of vain descriptions, but a single verse bringing peace to the listener is worth far more.” -Buddha
“The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of Sheol coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.” -Psalm
Bring peace to my...
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“Have an abundance of confidence, good conduct, effort, concentration. Be aware...”
– The Dhammapada, Buddha
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Boundaries
“I shall bear harsh words, as the elephant in battle endures arrows, for I know that most people behave poorly.” -Buddha
“I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’” -Psalm
Harsh words and acceptance of pleasant boundaries. I am a pot filled with mercy. But I can be emptied. Refill me, Merciful Father, with mercy and...
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Calm Honesty
“The vigilant, who follow the Way day and night, who are wholly intent upon nirvana, their mental intoxicants come to an end.” -Buddha
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” -Psalm
Full of distractions....
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Prairie Grass
“Sit alone and sleep alone, walk alone enthusiastically, tame yourself alone. Enjoy the life of seclusion in the forest.” -Buddha
“This craving, this clinging, overpowers the man caught in it and his sorrows multiply, like prarie grass fed by rain.” -Buddha
“Look on me and answer O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.” -Psalm
Light...
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Answer, Justice, Joy
“If, by giving up lesser comforts a greater happiness is to be found, the wise should give up the lesser comforts in view of the greater happiness.” -Buddha
“Give me an answer! If not, give me justice, or else remind me of the means of joy.” -Rumi
“May my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.” -Psalm
I feel lost confused desperate sad...
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Beliefs And Their Consequences
“You have no place to rest upon the road nor any preparation for the journey.” -Buddha
“O tongue, you are so hurtful to all mortals.” -Rumi
“All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” -Psalm
Am I Your people or am I not Your people? Have You turned Your face from me or is this the fullness of Your...
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Meager Gifts
“Wisdom is born from meditation. Not to meditate is loss. Know the difference between gain and loss. Make the choice to walk where wisdom grows.” -Buddha
“The goldsmith’s skill does not go to the blacksmith; the lovely nature’s not for the ill-tempered.” -Rumi
“He who does these things will never be shaken.” -Psalm
Sometimes I feel as if my...
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A Softer Gem
“As a diamond bores a softer gem, so does the evil committed by a fool crush the doer.” -Buddha
“Your calling and experience return; the door of capability is open.” -Rumi
“You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” -Psalm
A shelter. Calling. Experience. Good Things. I am capable. Even with my wavering heart. You have instilled me...
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Who May Enter?
“Prepare a refuge for yourself. Work hard, use good judgment. Free of flaws and passions, you shall enter the highest realms.” -Buddha
“The holy ones repent - the Lord’s hand shuts the doors of the results of this causation.” -Rumi
“He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue,...
February 2013
0 posts
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January 2013
2 posts
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August 2012
13 posts
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A Type of Seeing
“Right speech, harmlessness, restraint according to the monk’s discipline. Moderation in food, at peace in remoteness and solitude, devotion to higher meditation. All this is the teaching of the Buddhas.” -Buddha
“Since, doubtless, action is a type of seeing, man’s no more than the pupil of the eye.” -Rumi
“Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may...
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Divert the Arrow
“He has controlled his hands and feet. He has controlled his speech. He is withal controlled. He delights in insight development. He is calm. He lives alone and is contented.” -Buddha
“Like crops and inhalation, sex and traps, the outcomes of these things depend on God. The holy ones have power from the Lord; they can divert the arrow in full flight.” -Rumi
“The...
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The Raging Tiger
“Shun anger, let go of pride, break out of every shackle.” - Buddha
“A word that in an instant slips the tongue is like an arrow flying from the bow.” - Rumi
“…[he]who keeps his oath even when it hurts….” - Psalm
I keep returning to the “Anger” section of the Dhammapada. Randomly flipped pages keep landing me there. There are no...
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From Bread to Jewels
“There is no fire like lust, no vise like hatred, no trap like delusion and no galloping river like craving.” - Buddha
“If you would rid this basket of its bread, you’d fill it to the brim with jewels of beauty.” - Rumi
“How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?” - Psalm
You are guarding and guiding Like mothers to...
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Shining Ones
“Speak the truth, control anger. Share even from your meager store. These three steps lead to the presence of the ‘shining ones.’” - Buddha
“For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.” - Psalm
Anger. I’ve felt angry lately. I’ve woken up angry. Been angry in my momentary thoughts. Feeling like I want to pick a fight...
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The Fatherless
“A good man sees what is unwholesome before his good deeds reach fruition. However, when the good ripens he will have a bountiful harvest of good results.” -Buddha
“Prepare a dish of fiery hearts and tears - the garden’s made to bloom by sun and clouds.” -Rumi
“…you are the helper of the fatherless.” -Psalm
My son is at home but I am vacant....
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Breath of the Repentent
“Do not lose a moment of doing good. Protect your mind from evil. Whoever neglects doing good is inviting addiction to evil.” -Buddha
“…fresh tears are like the breath of the repentant.” -Rumi
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” -Psalm
My thoughts keep returning to recent disappointments. Round and round, over and...
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The Inner Well
“To shun all evil. To do good. To purify one’s heart. This is the teaching of the Buddhas.” -Buddha
“Because for speech, the act of listening is needed….” -Rumi
“From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.” -Psalm
There are times to sit, still, in silence, listening and learning in thoughtful reverie. But the time for...
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Your Wonders
“But the shining truth and loving kindness live on, so speak the virtuous to the virtuous.” -Buddha
“A perfect man will dig - earth turns to gold. A fool will dig for gold - it turns to dust.” -Rumi
“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most high.”...
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The Scarlet Rose
“Shun anger, let go of pride, break out of every shackle.” -Buddha
“He brings the scarlet rose out of the fire. He brings advantage out of what is lost.” -Rumi
“What is man that you are mindful of him?” -Psalm
Thank You for the blessing of work. The gift of hope amongst decay. New life budding from ash and mud.
Thank You for the heat of summer sun and easy...
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Incinerate A World
“Living simply on alms does not make a man holy if he also behaves badly.” -Buddha
“How cruel are those who sew their eyes together and with their words incinerate a world.” -Rumi
“…all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” -Psalm
Correct me in Your gentle way. Purify my intent.
Thank You for Your blessing and...
June 2012
4 posts
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The Foundation Of Souls
“The gods praise the energetic monk who is content with his simple lot, living by pure means of livelihood.” - Buddha
“Our souls have Jesus’s breath at their foundation - one breath’s a wound, the other is a salve.” - Rumi
“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how...
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Lament And Take Joy
“A person devoted to his faith, disciplined, illustrious, and prosperous, is honored wherever he chooses to live.” - Buddha
“So make yourself distressed; lament, lament….” - Rumi
“Let all who take refuge in you be glad!” - Psalm
This body is at once a cage and that being caged limited by necessity and desire.
This soul is both a tether and that which...
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The Mercy Of Humility
“He has vanquished the hindrances — lust, anger, sloth, and torpor, skepticism and distraction of mind — and he emerges the noble one, unscathed.” - Buddha
“Happy is the man who has escaped himself, united with a living world of being!” - Rumi
“But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy...
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Shadows Veil Their Eyes
“This craving, this clinging, overpowers the man caught in it, and his sorrows multiply like prairie grass fed by rain.” - Buddha
“When wax and wood get closer to the fire, their own essential darkness turns to light.” - Rumi
“Let the light of your face shine up us, oh Lord.” - Psalm
Sheltering myself in shadow and shuttering my eyes to light. The days...
May 2012
6 posts
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I finished this recording about a month ago. I...
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Divine Lightning
“He is not righteous who judges a situation impulsively. But whoever distinguishes between right and wrong, that one is righteous.” - Buddha
“Since the quality of being sought is opposite of seeking, revelation and divine lightning consume the prophet with fire.” - Rumi
“In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.” -...
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