When things go dead wrong

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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Ben
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Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:49 am
Location: kanamaluka

When things go dead wrong

Post by Ben »

It is easy to smile, when life rolls along like a sweet song;
But the man worth while, is the man with a smile,
When everything goes dead wrong.

-- author unknown, as reproduced by SN Goenka, 10-day course discourses
For when things go...
dead wrong.
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Kim OHara
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Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:47 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: When things go dead wrong

Post by Kim OHara »

POEMS OF CHEER
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
[http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg ... mchr10.htm on Project Gutenberg]

This Volume contains the poems published under the title "Poems of
Life," with the exception of about half a dozen, which appear in my
other volumes. I have also added a few new verses.
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
April 12th, 1910.

WORTH WHILE

It is easy enough to be pleasant
When life flows by like a song,
But the man worth while is the one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble,
And it always comes with the years,
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth
Is the smile that shines through tears.

It is easy enough to be prudent
When nothing tempts you to stray,
When without or within no voice of sin
Is luring your soul away;
But it's only a negative virtue
Until it is tried by fire,
And the life that is worth the honour on earth
Is the one that resists desire.

By the cynic, the sad, the fallen,
Who had no strength for the strife,
The world's highway is cumbered to-day -
They make up the sum of life;
But the virtue that conquers passion,
And the sorrow that hides in a smile -
It is these that are worth the homage on earth,
For we find them but once in a while.
:bow:
Kim
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Goofaholix
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Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:49 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: When things go dead wrong

Post by Goofaholix »

Ben wrote:-- author unknown
It's Ella Wheeler Wilcox http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/ ... ler_Wilcox" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Pronouns (no self / not self)
“Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.”
― Ajahn Chah
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Ben
Posts: 18438
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:49 am
Location: kanamaluka

Re: When things go dead wrong

Post by Ben »

Thanks guys!
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Dan74
Posts: 4529
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:12 pm
Location: Switzerland

Re: When things go dead wrong

Post by Dan74 »

And the old classic from the classic old grump:

"When going through hell, keep going."
Winston_Churchill-Winston_Churchill_Aut_3.jpg
Winston_Churchill-Winston_Churchill_Aut_3.jpg (25.23 KiB) Viewed 2973 times
Another uplifting message I relish at times of trouble is one from a lesser known motivational speaker, Dr Pinhead, who said

"DOWN THE DARK DECADES OF YOUR PAIN, THIS WILL SEEM LIKE A MEMORY OF HEAVEN."

:)
_/|\_
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DAWN
Posts: 801
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:22 pm

Re: When things go dead wrong

Post by DAWN »

Verse 119: Even an evil person may still find happiness so long as his evil deed does not bear fruit; but when his evil deed does bear fruit he will meet with evil consequences.

Verse 120: Even a good person may still meet with suffering so long as his good deed does not bear fruit: but when it does bear fruit he will enjoy the benefits of his good deed.

Verse 124: If there is no wound on the hand, one may handle poison; poison does not affect one who has no wound; there can be no evil for one who has no evil intention.


:namaste:
Sabbe dhamma anatta
We are not concurents...
I'am sorry for my english
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