I am awake | Sujal Magar

Book I - On Waking and Beginning the Day

When you rise, remember; you have woken into a world that will one day bury you. Do not waste it.
This body is fragile, this mind easily led astray. Guard both well.
Today you will meet man who are ignorant, selfish, distracted, ungrateful. Do not be surprised; to expect otherwise is folly.
Their ignorance harms them more than it harms you. See them as patients in need of care, not enemies.
Begin each day resolved; to speak truth, to act with compassion, to guard the mind from excess.

What do men desire? Wealth, praise, pleasure, safety. All of it vanishes. None of it belongs to you.
Ask; if I gain this, am I freer? If I lose this, am I broken?
Fear too is empty. It borrows trouble from a future that may never come.
Desire and fear are two ends of the same chain. Cast off both, and the chain falls.
The one who sees clearly does not chase, does not run. He stands firm.

Let no word escape that does not serve truth or kindness. A tongue unruled is sharper than any sword.
Speak little, and when you speak, let it be plain.
Do not delay in doing the good. Life is short, and excuses are endless.
If a deed cannot be done with integrity, do not do it. Better to abstain than to act wrongly.
The worth of a man is measured not by what he says of himself, but by how he lessens suffering in others.

The mind is a citadel. Guard its gates well.
Thoughts will arrive like visitors, some noble, some vile. Admit only those that strengthen clarity and compassion.
Do not mistake your thoughts for yourself. You are the space in which they rise and fall.
A restless mind seeks distractions; a steady mind sees reality.
Cultivate stillness, not as escape, but as the ground from which right action springs.

When anger arises, pause. It is fire; if you feed it, it consumes both the burner and the burned.
See the one who angers you as bound by ignorance. Would you strike a blind man for strumbling into you?
Anger promises strength but delivers weakness. Compassion promises nothing but leaves you unshaken.
To repay harm with harm is easy. To meet harm with patience is mastery.

Withdraw daily into silence. A few breaths in stillness are worth more than hours of idle distraction.
In solitude, you see what is within. If it is chaos, do not flee; sit with it until it settles.
Silence is a teacher greater than many books. Listen.
Do not fear being alone. You are always in the company of the mind. Train it well, and solitude becomes a friend.

Each day gone is a page turned, never to return. Do not live as if you had a thousand yet to read.
Death is not to be feared. It is the nature of all compounded things to dissolve.
Fear of death belongs to those who have not lived rightly. Live rightly, and you will not tremble.
What matters is not how long, but how honourably you live.
The honoured one is not the one who outlives others, but the one who awakens before life passes.

Do not chose honour. What men praise today they forget tomorrow.
The only true honour is to live in accordance with truth.
The awakened one does not say, “I am above others.”. He says, “I am free of delusion.”.
When you strip away desire, fear, and ignorance, what remains is vast, unshaken, luminous. That is honour enough.
Remember: throughout heaven and earth, the honoured one is not a man among men, but the awakened mind itself.

All things are transient: bodies, possessions, praise, anger.
Cling to nothing, for all will pass. Cling only to what cannot pass; the mind awake.
When grief arises for what is lost, remind yourself: it was never yours to hold.
To live with awareness of impermanence is to touch freedom.
Nothing is permanent, nothing is stable. To see this clearly is to cease grasping.

The body is a tool; the mind is a garden. Both require tending.
Do not indulge every whim, nor let every thought roam unchecked.
Daily discipline is not punishment but cultivation of freedom.
Train yourself in small acts first; greatness grows from tiny seeds.
If you stumble, return at once. Even the smallest course correction returns you to the path.

Others suffer; you suffer. See no separation.
Extend your hand where you can, even in small ways. Each act is a step toward freedom.
Do not expect gratitude. Compassion is its own reward.
The awakened mind delights not in possession, but in release.
The one who sees all beings as equal is already honourable; the world need not agree.

True humility is not self-deprecation, but the recognition of one’s place in the whole.
Do not boast of insight or virtue; let them show quietly in action.
Every man and woman you meet has lessons for you, as you have for them.
Humility does not shrink; it frees. Pride chains the mind to illusion.

Wisdom is not knowledge alone, but the seeing of things as they are.
Observe cause and effect. Observe impermanence, suffering, desire, and delusion.
Learn from experience, but let experience not harden you.
Wisdom without action is hollow; action without wisdom is blind.
Seel both, daily, humbly, persistently.

Nothing is owed; nothing is guaranteed.
See the world as gift, life as privilege, suffering as lesson.
Gratitude softens the heart and sharpens perception.
Even the smallest blessings: breath, food, companionship: contain depth beyond measure.

Do not wait for the extraordinary. Awakening is in the ordinary, full seen.
Peel away ignorance, craving, and fear. What remains is luminous and unshaken.
To awaken is not to conquer others, but to free yourself.
The honoured one is not a title. It is the mind awake, compassionate, and free.
Return daily to this practice. Small steps, repeated faithfully, lead to the greatest path.