Author Archives: Bob OHearn

Unknown's avatar

About Bob OHearn

My name is Bob O'Hearn, and I live with my Beloved Mate, Mazie, at the base of Spirit Mountain. I have a number of photo and literary blogs you may enjoy, please see the "About" tab for further links. Thank you!

First There Is a Mountain

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“Before I had studied Ch’an [Zen] for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and rivers as rivers. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Enlightenment, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

What Am I?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“If you think, ‘I breathe’, the ‘I’ is extra. There is no you to say ‘I’. What we call ‘I’ is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all. … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Enlightenment, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Fate or Free Will

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Bob OHearn

Are we ruled by some predetermined destiny, or are we endowed with the capacity for the exercise of free will? This question has been the source of ceaseless debate among philosophers, religious pundits, and expounders of every persuasion through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

War and Peace

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“You fight others all the time for your survival as a separate body-mind, a particular name and form. To live you must destroy. From the moment you were conceived you started a war with your environment – a merciless war … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Points of View

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Bob OHearn

 “The most fatal illusion is the settled point of view. Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one.” ~Brooks Atkinson To study the world is to study ourselves. When we begin to … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Shaking Others Awake

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“When you wake up from a dream, do you go about searching for the characters in that dream, to awaken them?” ~Ramana Maharshi We often encounter passionate voices in the alternative media seeking through various means to “raise consciousness” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

How To Change

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“One of the most powerful teachings of the Buddhist tradition is that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will. As long as you’re wanting yourself to get better, you won’t. As long as you … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Discipline of Silence

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does self-awareness effect changes in the mind. In the light of calm and … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Enlightenment, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , , , , | 42 Comments

The Practice of Non-Dwelling

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“Just let things happen without making any response and keep your minds from dwelling on anything whatsoever; for they who can do this thereby enter nirvana.” ~Ta-chu Hui–hai, Zen Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening It is an extremely rare one indeed … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Enlightenment, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , , | 46 Comments

Deconstructing the Story

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Bob OHearn

“O Architect! You are seen! You shall build no house again. All your rafters are broken. Your ridge pole is shattered.” ~Dhammapada It’s a bit scary, and often even threatening, to begin the process of questioning one’s entrenched habit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Consciousness, Nonduality, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments