Sepenggal Perjalanan

Tears streamed down my face as I sat at my grandmother's funeral. My grandmother lived a very full life, and was full of energy, love, and wisdom. She always said the right thing for the situation. And, whenever we had a problem, we knew we could talk with Grandma.

As a teenager, I can remember many conversations where Grandmother would give us her worldly wisdom and she would always end up saying you have an angel smiling on you dear I know you will do the right thing. Now, here we were at her funeral, and I could almost hear her saying, the angels are smiling on us. Now, I really knew I had an angel smiling on me as I am sure Grandma was in heaven smiling down and watching out for us.

if he had a wallet
your photo would be in it
if he had a refrigerator
your picture would be on it

He sands you flowers every spring
and sunrise every morning

Whenever you want to talk,
he'll listen

He can live anywhere
in the universe
and he chose
your heart

Face it, friend
He's crazy about you

Btw, it may be difficult for you to believe that
God knows your name...
but he does written on his hand
spoken by his mouth
whispered by his lips
your name
"I have written your name on my hand" (Isaiah 49:16)

our hearts are not large enough to contain the blessings
that God wants to give

so try this
the next time a sunrise steals your breath....
or a meadow of flowers
leaves you speechless...
remain that way

say nothing and listen as heaven whispers
"Do you like it?
I did it just for you"

if we gave gifts to show our love
how much more would he?

He could have left the world, flat and gray...
but he didn't

He splashed orange in the sunrise...
and cast the sky in blue
And if you love to see geese as they gather
chances are you'll see that too

Did he have to make the squirrel's tail furry?
Was he obliged to make the birds sing?
and the funny way that chickens scurry...
or the majesty of thunder when it rings?
why give a flower fragrance?
Why give food its taste?
Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face?

So promise me
you'll never forget that you aren't an accident...
or an accident... you are a gift to the world
a divine work of art signed by God

"You knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13)

you were knit together
you weren't mass-produced
you aren't an assembly-line product
you were deliberately planned
specifically gifted
and lovingly positioned
on this earth....
by the Master Crafts-Man

He thinks you are the best thing
to come down the pike in quite a while
Tern to the sidelines;
that God cheering your run
Look past the finish line;
that God applauding your steps

God is for you
Had he a calendar
your birthday would be circled
if he drove a car
your name would be on his bumper
if there's a tree in heaven
he's carved your name in the bark

Maybe you don't want to trouble God with your hurts
But... he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7)
He is waiting for you
to embrace you
whether you succeed or fail

Your heavenly Father is very fond of you
as only wants to share his love with you

Blessed be the LORD you God who has delighted in you (1 Kings 10:9

Untethered by time God sees us all
Vagabonds and ragamuffins all
he saw us before we were born
and he loves what he sees

Flooded by emotion
overcome by pride
the Starmaker turns to us
one by one, and says
"You are my child
I love you dearly
I'm aware that someday
you'll turn from me and walk away
But I want you to know
I've already provided a way back"

You have captured the heart of God
He cannot bear to live without you
God's dream is to make you right with him
And the path to the cross
tell us exactly how far
God will go to call us back

it is not our love for God
it is God's love for us
in sending his Son
to be the way
to take away our sins (1 John 4:10)

"Can anything make me stop loving you?" God asks

"You wonder how long my love will last?
Watch me speak your language
sleep on your earth
and feel your hurts
Find your answer
on a splintered cross
on a craggy hill
That's how much I love you"

God does more than forgive our mistakes;
he removes them!
we simply have
to take them to him.
You can talk to God
because God listens

Let a tear appear on your cheek
and he is there to wipe it
He has sent his angels to care for you
his Holy spirit to dwell in you....
his church to encourage you
and his word to guide you
as much as you want to see him
he wants to see you more

If you want to touch God's heart
us the name he loves to hear
call him "Father"
He thinks you're wonderful!

(Max Lucado)

Yamaoka Tesshu was a tutor of the emperor. He was also a master of fencing and a profound student of Zen.

His home was the abode of vagabonds. He has but one suit of clothes, for they kept him always poor.

The emperor, observing how worn his garments were, gave Yamaoka some money to buy new ones. The next time Yamaoka appeared he wore the same old outfit.

"What became of the new clothes, Yamaoka?" asked the emperor.

"I provided clothes for the children of Your Majesty," explained Yamaoka.

Many pupils were studying meditation under the Zen master Sengai. One of them used to arise at night, climb over the temple wall, and go to town on a pleasure jaunt.

Sengai, inspecting the dormitory quarters, found this pupil missing one night and also discovered the high stool he had used to scale the wall. Sengai removed the stool and stood there in its place.

When the wanderer returned, not knowing that Sengai was the stool, he put his feet on the master's head and jumped down into the grounds. Discovering what he had done, he was aghast.

Sengai said: "It is very chilly in the early morning. Do be careful not to catch cold yourself."

The pupil never went out at night again.

Outside my window, a new day I see,
And only I can determine
What kind of day it will be.
It can be busy and sunny, laughing and gay,
Or boring and cold, unhappy and gray.

My own state of mind is the determining key,
For I am only the person I let myself be.

I can be thoughtful and do all I can to help,
Or be selfish and think just of myself.
I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun,
Or gripe and complain and make it hard on someone.

I can be patient with those who may not understand
Or belittle and hurt them as much as I can.

But I have faith in myself,
And believe what I say
And I personally intend to make the most of each day.

--- Anonymous --- Submitted by Pat Carley --- Florida

The old Zen master's health was fading. Knowing his death was near, he announced to all the monks that he soon would be passing down his robe and rice bowl to appoint the next master of the monastery.

His choice, he said, would be based on a contest. Anyone seeking the appointment was required to demonstrate his spiritual wisdom by submitting a poem. The head monk, the most obvious successor, presented a poem that was well composed and insightful. All the monks anticipated his selection as their new leader.

However, the next morning another poem appeared on the wall in the hallway, apparently written during the dark hours of the night. It stunned everyone with it's elegance and profundity but no one knew who the author was.

Determined to find this person, the old master began questioning all the monks. To his surprise, the investigation led to the rather quiet kitchen worker who pounded rice for the meals. Upon hearing the news, the jealous head monk and his comrades plotted to kill their rival. In secret, the old master passed down his robe and bowl to the rice pounder, who quickly fled from the monastery, later to become a widely renowned Zen teacher.

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.

As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!"

"Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her."

(some versions of this story describe the monk as carrying the woman across a mud puddle )

A hermit was meditating by a river when a young man interrupted him. "Master, I wish to become your disciple," said the man. "Why?" replied the hermit. The young man thought for a moment. "Because I want to find God."

The master jumped up, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dragged him into the river, and plunged his head under water. After holding him there for a minute, with him kicking and struggling to free himself, the master finally pulled him up out of the river. The young man coughed up water and gasped to get his breath. When he eventually quieted down, the master spoke. "Tell me, what did you want most of all when you were under water."

"Air!" answered the man.

"Very well," said the master. "Go home and come back to me when you want God as much as you just wanted air."

One day there was an earthquake that shook the entire Zen temple. Parts of it even collapsed. Many of the monks were terrified. When the earthquake stopped the teacher said, "Now you have had the opportunity to see how a Zen man behaves in a crisis situation. You may have noticed that I did not panic. I was quite aware of what was happening and what to do. I led you all to the kitchen, the strongest part of the temple. It was a good decision, because you see we have all survived without any injuries. However, despite my self-control and composure, I did feel a little bit tense - which you may have deduced from the fact that I drank a large glass of water, something I never do under ordinary circumstances."

One of the monks smiled, but didn't say anything.

"What are you laughing at?" asked the teacher.

"That wasn't water," the monk replied, "it was a large glass of soy sauce."

A rich man asked a Zen master to write something down that could encourage the prosperity of his family for years to come. It would be something that the family could cherish for generations. On a large piece of paper, the master wrote, "Father dies, son dies, grandson dies."

The rich man became angry when he saw the master's work. "I asked you to write something down that could bring happiness and prosperity to my family. Why do you give me something depressing like this?"

"If your son should die before you," the master answered, "this would bring unbearable grief to your family. If your grandson should die before your son, this also would bring great sorrow. If your family, generation after generation, disappears in the order I have described, it will be the natural course of life. This is true happiness and prosperity."

The Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was a national hero for his success as both a statesman and military leader. But despite his fame, power, and wealth, he considered himself a humble and devout Buddhist. Often he visited his favorite Zen master to study under him, and they seemed to get along very well. The fact that he was prime minister apparently had no effect on their relationship, which seemed to be simply one of a revered master and respectful student.

One day, during his usual visit, the Prime Minister asked the master, "Your Reverence, what is egotism according to Buddhism?" The master's face turned red, and in a very condescending and insulting tone of voice, he shot back, "What kind of stupid question is that!?"

This unexpected response so shocked the Prime Minister that he became sullen and angry. The Zen master then smiled and said, "THIS, Your Excellency, is egotism."

Here is Zen Stories:

The wife of a man became very sick. On her deathbed, she said to him, "I love you so much! I don't want to leave you, and I don't want you to betray me. Promise that you will not see any other women once I die, or I will come back to haunt you."

For several months after her death, the husband did avoid other women, but then he met someone and fell in love. On the night that they were engaged to be married, the ghost of his former wife appeared to him. She blamed him for not keeping the promise, and every night thereafter she returned to taunt him. The ghost would remind him of everything that transpired between him and his fiancee that day, even to the point of repeating, word for word, their conversations. It upset him so badly that he couldn't sleep at all.

Desperate, he sought the advice of a Zen master who lived near the village. "This is a very clever ghost," the master said upon hearing the man's story. "It is!" replied the man. "She remembers every detail of what I say and do. It knows everything!" The master smiled, "You should admire such a ghost, but I will tell you what to do the next time you see it."

That night the ghost returned. The man responded just as the master had advised. "You are such a wise ghost," the man said, "You know that I can hide nothing from you. If you can answer me one question, I will break off the engagement and remain single for the rest of my life." "Ask your question," the ghost replied. The man scooped up a handful of beans from a large bag on the floor, "Tell me exactly how many beans there are in my hand."

At that moment the ghost disappeared and never returned.

During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt. On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, "I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself."

He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a lieutenant remarked to the general, "No one can change destiny."

"Quite right," the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.