Signless and aimless,I have come to accept that I amwho I amlooking for. I am already what I havesearched for. As the master taught: Barn’s burned down- now I can see the moon. What do I see when the moonlooks at me? The memory of my muscles aching for you to see me. […]
enlightenment
Lovers of Truth
Love is the absolute The unsurpassable The final dissolution Without destination May I be the lover The honey in all your senses The softness of the goddess May your heart open broadly Without anything to hold back Just pure deliverance May we see our eyes mirroringPure songs humming And the fragrance of fire Burning Clouding the […]
96 Hours In
I’m no ******* Buddha,that’s for sure.Legend has it that he meditated and fasted for months at a time. After one moment he stopped.For me, a meager four days in,that feat might as well be like going to Marsin a paraglider. And my seatbelt is too tight. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work […]
The Spirit of Openness
You have asked me Why is your path like that? Flesh, tears, smiles, sweat Our everyday lives Our struggle Our bliss It is the path It is not beyond Nor hidden It is exposed in everything Sex is sacred Yes. And so is food And the outgoing products of our body What is not sacred? […]
Postcard from Raymond: Holy Chamber
The darkness inspires awe, even as the divine faces around me are illuminated for my mortal eyes. The cavern’s patterns, the motifs, the mosaics, the chapels, the shrines. Mortal channels of traceless wisdom and compassion. Tangible expressions of immaterial insight. Within this cool shroud of black, with only a streak of warm illumination from the […]
Bodh Gaya
A poem about the life of the Blessed One. By Tom Donovan It is a place and nothing more, No different to behold despite particulars Than any village in the district. Still it is here, In the public park, Under the pipal tree, On my mat of kusa grass, I have apprehended the sorrow Of […]
Fathers and Sons: The Buddha and King Suddhodana
This Sunday will be Father’s Day in Hong Kong. Most young people, luckily, will get to enjoy the 18th with their old men. In the grand scheme of things it’s not uncommon for kids to lose their father (or both parents) earlier in life. In the end, we all are destined to be orphans. We […]
If you think of the dark
Ratnadevi I see this poem by Carol Ann Duffy, the current UK poet laureate on our bathroom wall every day; it helps me to keep my cool when faced with the many concerns of 21st century living that easily spark fear. For example: the recent election of Donald Trump as the American president. In a […]
Destination Unknown
Sherri Maxwell When starting on the path, you have the guardrails up, the training wheels on, you are on track, and everybody is there to support you. How wonderful. We are headed towards “Enlightenment.” Your Sangha is heavenly, your Guru is amazing—you are all set. That is, until life events punch holes in your conviction […]
Descent
Steve Braff The left wing tips down into a lazy bank right above the bilious white cloud skyscrape to the horizon – an immensity that almost eclipses the jagged profile of distant range that Everesting place of the so many aspirants fallen. I stare into that expanse and try to take my measure. Humbled, we fall […]