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Showing posts with the label Buddhist Poetry

If I Could By Wendy Stern...

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  Be your suffering, Hold it in your hands, Feel it – smooth, clay, porcelain, Feel the enclave Of its cheek-bones, The protrusion of its lips, Search its detail, its intricacy, With the intention Of wisdom, Of acceptance, Of acute subtle awareness. Watch it as it changes, Melts, dissolves, Falls to pieces in your hands, No longer defined, definable. No longer "me” And “my suffering,” Just suffering, Coming and going, Passing through, Coinciding with the self. This way and that, Time and time again, Habits, Responses, Expectations, Loss, Nothing unique, Nothing personal, Just the mind Clinging to an idea of itself. Pieces of clay, Pieces of suffering, Fragments of change, Resting in my hands, Ready to become anything... SOURCE

Earth Touching By Thich Nhat Hanh...

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  Here is the foot of a tree. Here is an empty, quiet place. Here is a cushion. Brother, why don’t you sit down? Sit upright. Sit with solidity. Sit in peace. Don’t let your thoughts lift you up into the air. Sit so that you can really touch the Earth and be one with her. You may like to smile, brother. Earth will transmit to you her solidity, her peace, and her joy. With your mindful breathing, with your peaceful smile, you sustain the mudra of Earth Touching. There were times when you didn’t do well. Sitting on Earth, but it was as if you were floating in the air, you who used to go in circles in the triple world and be drawn into the ocean of illusion. But Earth is always patient and one-hearted. Earth is still waiting for you because Earth has been waiting for you during the last trillion lives. That is why she can wait for you for any other length of time. She knows that finally you will come back to her one day. She will welcome you always fresh and green, exactly like the...

Truth...

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  Few people believe their Inherent mind is Buddha. Most will not take this seriously, And therefore are cramped. They are wrapped up in illusions, cravings, Resentments, and other afflictions, All because they love the cave of ignorance. Fenyang However deep your Knowledge of the scriptures, It is no more than a strand of hair In the vastness of space; However important appears Your worldly experience, It is but a drop of water in a deep ravine. Tokusan

The Song on Reaching the Mountain Peak... MILAREPA

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Hearken, my sons! If you want To climb the mountain peak You should hold the Self-mind’s light, Tie it with a great “Knot,” And catch it with a firm “Hook.” If you practice thus You can climb the mountain peak To enjoy the view. Come, you gifted men and women, Drink the brew of Experience! Come “inside” to enjoy the scene — See it and enjoy it to the full! The Incapable remain outside; Those who cannot drink pure Beer may quaff small beer. He who cannot strive for Bodhi, Should strive for superior birth. –  Milarepa