original tao Offline

76 Male from Bangkok       102
         
Blog post has been deleted

Blog

Right Before My Very Eyes, a poem



Right Before My Very Eyes
_
2021
_

In a day hidden to all but me,
_
I saw hate put away. It ended.
_

In a night hidden to all but me,
_
I saw anger put away. It ended.
_

In a world hidden to all but me,
_
I saw fighting put away. It ended.
_

In a day hidden to all but me,
_
I saw love peeking out. It began.
_

In a night hidden to all but me,
_
I saw joy peeking out. It began.
_

In a world hidden to all but me.
_
I saw peace peeking out. It began.
_

Walking Above the Clouds, a poem


Walking Above the Clouds
_
2021
_

No loneliness now, only the

Beauty of emptiness to see.
_

My heart is clear of pain and

Fear. A smile for every step.
_

It’s not a miracle, nor ordinary

Either. No sounds to distract.
_

I’m lighter than a feather now.

No baggage weighs me down.
_

There’s room for all to be free.

The views are something to see.
_

Yes! It’s too true about us all.

Walking high above the clouds.
_

I’ll want for nought. Neither

Will troubles follow my tread.
_

All’s forgotten in wonder’s play.

Look at it and see, say it, too.
_

Oh! The void holds such peace.

Beams of light on beauty’s way.
_

Imagine for yourself, and you’ll see.

How it is walking above the clouds.
_


A Robin in a Tree, a poem


A Robin in a Tree
_
2021
_

A small thing with a quickly beating

Heart. Good to look at, at times, even

Fascinating. She, like all her kind, eats

Shiny little seeds and tiny pebbles.
_

Until the time comes, when it must,

She’ll build a small nest out of the

Wind, and take wing to search for

Small morsels, and flutter as she

Chews and reaches down for her

Own hungry, cheeping mouths.
_

What she does, in her season, is a

Beautiful affirmation of care and

Love. But, I digress. The lessons

Of care and love that go into the

Raising up of the next generation,

Have been copied, some say, by

Instinct’s unknowing animation;
_

Generations upon the uncountable,

And that’s probably true, but it takes

Nothing away from the lessons of

Care and love that animate them.

You who have young know of what

I speak, I’m sure you do.
_

And now we’ve come to a reality

That’s hard to face, even harder

To deal with and try to mitigate.

Scientists call it the 6th great death,

Or to be less prosaic: extinction.
_

Robins will be gone from trees, in

A little while. And sterility, well,

We all know what that means.

The weight of the plastic waste in

Our seas, even now, it almost out-

Weighs the fishes in all our waters.
_

What to do, you ask? Very difficult,

But not yet impossible: STOP all

Life and business as usual, as though

Our very futures depend upon it!!!
_

Stop extracting and burning all forms

Of carbon for energy!!! Commit to an

Earth-wide change to renewable forms

Of energy, without any exceptions, for

Any peoples or nations. The rich north

Must aid the poor south in their change

To renewable forms of energy. NOW!!!
_

Millions upon millions of good,, well-

Paying jobs will be created, planet-wide!

And soon after we’ve made the change

To non-carbon energy, we can do the

Same for non-nuclear energy sources.
_

Ask yourselves these questions: would

You rather put all you’ve got into life-

Saving forms of clean energy production,

Or would you rather join, as it impacts

Your generations to come, a forever

Extinction of life on Earth, our only

Home?
_




Unravel Your Patterns


Unravel Your Patterns


There is insight to be gained in seeing how we transfer

life patterns of control, anxiety, or self-consciousness

into our meditation practice.


Learning to undo some of these patterns within our

practice is a meaningful step in learning how to release

their grip on the rest of our lives.


—Christina Feldman, “Receiving the Breath: Meditation Q&A”

A Life Practice, a poem


A Life Practice
_
2021
_

I’m not here to advocate for one

Form of spiritual commitment

Over others. There are so many.
_

But I do believe that claims to

A spritual life practice should be

Validated through mindfulness.
_

I refer, of course, to an awareness

Of our compassion, generosity,

Forgiveness, and lovingkindness.
_

When I say that I know how hard

It is to nourish the seeds of goodness,

And ignore negativity, believe me.
_

To ignore or suppress any of the

Innumerable forms of negativity

Shared by us all, is not easy to do.
_

Negativity, in its many forms, never

Fails to bring confusion, despair, and

Fear to our frail human condition.
_

However, being rooted in goodness,

Never fails to raise our confidence,

Which manifests as peace and calm.
_

It is peace and a state of mental calm,

That enable our compassion, generosity,

Forgiveness, and lovingkindness.
_

Illusions of Be-ing


Illusions of Be-ing
_
2020
_

Seduced by a need to be that begins

When we’re small and then, despite

Lack of understanding why, the need

To be grows into a hunger to become

More and more of a me that will be.
_

And so, the stage is set for all to see,

And watch, as our me morphs into a

Be-ing that brings with it needs that

None could have anticipated as roars

Of want morph into tears of a be-ing

Who’s let those needs weaken itself.
_

Maybe, for some, the urges to be more

Of a be-ing, are gonna be more trouble

Than they’re worth, when all is tallied.
_

A query then, that begs reducible results,

Is this: if our be-coming a be-ing is not

More than illusion’s sleight of life, why

Do we permit those overweening needs

To make us less of a be-ing, instead of

Signaling a reduction of self that will

Bring greater happiness to us, and all

Those whom we love, as our illusory

Needs become the strength of less?
_





What You Discover Through Buddhist Practice


What You Discover Through Buddhist Practice


Practicing Buddhism is about discovering ourselves to be in a great,

flowing river of continuities.


—Roshi Joan Halifax,“Giving Birth to Ancestors”

Concentrate Your Effort


Concentrate Your Effort


Intelligence or lack of it does not matter; between the dull and the sharp-witted there is no distinction.

If you concentrate your effort single-mindedly, that in itself is negotiating the Way.


—Eihei Dogen Zenji,“The Principles of Zazen”

An Ever-Renewing Present


An Ever-Renewing Present


All experience arises in the present, does its dance, and disappears.

Experience comes into being only tentatively, for a little time in a certain

form; then that form ends and a new form replaces it moment by

moment.


—Jack Kornfield,“No Self or True Self?”

Correcting Your Errors


Correcting Your Errors


The primary duty of a trustworthy friend is to point out your faults—

for only when you see your faults can you correct them;

only when you correct them are you benefiting from your

friend’s compassion in pointing them out.


—Thanissaro Bhikkhu,“The Power of Judgment”
Page: 12345678910 ...